Best Dialogue from Last Week's Deadwood

"Are you the fucking cocksucker?"
"I may well be"

This Week's Wish List

Via FE - I'll probably just go with the Caribou and Iggy Pop live CD, though.




SLITS, THE: Cut LP (4M 506) 15.00
"Originally released in 1979, the debut from British all-girl post-punk band The Slits is available on 180 gram vinyl for the first time. Mixing a punk attitude and D.I.Y style with reggae rhythms and dub recording techniques, The Slits made some of the most avant pop of the period, which still sounds fresh and innovative today. Mixing unavoidable hooks, minimalist arrangements, and exuberant vocals with a rough, street smart style, Cut is a classic masterwork."



FLAMIN' GROOVIES: Jumpin' In the Night CD (DBK 512CD) 16.00
"The third of the Groovies' Sire Records releases, first released in 1979, is now available on CD for the first time. Contains their great cover of Warren Zevon's 'Werewolves of London' plus 12 more. Extensive liner notes by singer/songwriter Steve Wynn."



CARIBOU: The Milk of Human Kindness CD (DNO 050CD) 14.50
"At the conclusion of our last episode, you might recall that our show was called Manitoba. Alas, what was a lighthearted sitcom became a drama, as lots of paperwork with lots of big words on it exchanged hands, and it was revealed that Dan Snaith was no longer Manitoba but Caribou. All the while, our protagonist has been hard at work on an artistic response, which has turned out to be a doozy in the form of his third album, The Milk of Human Kindness. Building upon the artistic foundation of Up In Flames, Snaith has shed some of the kaleidoscopic haze in favor of crisper, clearer vibe. Moving to the fore is a distinct influence from the likes of Neu!, Silver Apples and Soft Machine (names not thrown lightly around here)."

	POP, IGGY: Zombie Birdhouse CD (DYNAM 014CD) 15.00 "Produced by Blondie's Chris Stein and featuring Clem Burke on drums, this album was originally released in 1982 on Stein's short-lived Animal label. After three attempts at commercially viable albums on Arista, Iggy Pop returned with this artistic return to form full of ideas and sharp angles."
	POP, IGGY: Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell CD (DYNAM 015CD) 15.00 "Iggy Pop has often been referred to as the 'Godfather of Punk' -- he proves how he earned the title on this live set." Recorded live in Tornto, 10/28/82.

Tortoise Gets Blog-Critiqued

Prolific Music Afficiendo UEO does his thing on everyone's favorite post-rock band.

"Fearless Freaks" Flaming Lips Docs NOT Banned in Boston

boston globe:

''Fearless Freaks" is an uncommonly intimate portrait, in large part because the filmmaker, Bradley Beesley, is a longtime neighbor, friend, and collaborator. He's been hanging with the Lips since 1991, directing music videos and low-budget films, shooting footage of live shows and recording sessions, compiling hundreds of hours of interview tapes, and documenting every significant happening in the life of the band. Happening, by the way, isn't too vague a description for some of the Lips' endeavors, among them the Parking Lot Experiment, which involved chief Lip Wayne Coyne conducting an orchestra of 40 automobiles with their tape decks blaring specially composed music at the same time.

The film benefits from an unusual absence of boundaries. Over 14 years Beesley's presence became ordinary and even integral to the Flaming Lips, and there were no limitations on what he could watch, inquire about, or film. In an especially harrowing sequence, drummer Steven Drozd matter-of-factly discusses his death march while preparing and savoring a dose of heroin. It's the only ''Behind the Music" moment in ''Fearless Freaks," which revels less in rock-band clichés than in the real-life experiences of a bunch of Midwestern misfits in all their dysfunction and glory.

Green Day Now Considered Mostly Harmless By Cali Venue

Green Day's Not-So-Punk Rock

Home Depot Center takes the Grammy winners off its list of banned acts drafted after rowdy Deadheads besieged neighborhood.

By David Pierson, Times Staff Writer

Mindful of a Grateful Dead concert that got seriously out of hand 15 years ago, the Home Depot Center in Carson maintains a blacklist of 28 musicians — including Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Metallica — whom officials consider too wild for its venue.

One of the acts on the list was Green Day, the punk rock band that rocketed to fame in the mid-1990s with songs about suburban alienation mixed liberally with references to drug use and sex.

They take leave of much more dangerous bands like Creed and Def Leppard.

On the rock side, the list bans the Grammy-winning and multi-platinum metal band Metallica. Other groups include the now-disbanded Rage Against the Machine, Christian rockers Creed, and 1980s stalwart Def Leppard, best known for its hit "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

When it was added to the list, Green Day was known mostly as a teen band whose angst-filled songs dealt with juvenile delinquency and bodily functions.

But since then, the group changed its look and became more political. Band members traded in dyed green hair for eyeliner, T-shirts for pinstripe suits, and lyrics about suburban ennui for President Bush-bashing.

Green Day was approved by a 5-1 vote at an April 15 meeting that also gave approval for possible concerts by the Dave Matthews Band and Santana.

link

I don't know what's more fucktarded...

the "real" punx sitting on their computers decrying the "punk prom" or the blithering 20-something idiot who organized it. So much fun, they're gonna have call Guiness Book of World Records... tar...:

Punk Rock Prom

Today, Parker, 25, plays guitar for a local rock band called the Silent Press. The group attracts a lot of teen fans who wear retro sweatbands and puffy ski vests and are more likely to be reading "Catcher in the Rye" than running student government - outsiders who'll likely feel as estranged at their proms as Parker did.

Wanting to give something back to his fans, Parker began organizing an anti-prom: a night where fun-seekers can wear what they want without worrying that the cheerleaders might rag on their dresses and where they don't have to dip into their college fund to afford a ticket.

He dubbed it the Punk-Rock Prom. It'll be held Saturday in the Moody Center at Hollins University.

The event's name almost immediately drew scorn from followers of starcitypunk.com, a Web site centered around the Roanoke punk-music scene. One posting implies that the promgoers are posers who'll have to borrow a Clash T-shirt to look punk. Another dubs the event the Emo-tastic Prom ("emo" refers to rock music with emotionally charged lyrics - not a compliment in hard-core punk circles).

It's true you don't need a blue mohawk or a pierced lip to attend. Parker encourages people of all ages, backgrounds and fashion tastes to come out for the event.

"People have done what they call Punk-Rock Proms before, but it's just a dance with punk-rock music," said Parker. "I wanted to expand that."

"It's more like the attitude of it all," explained Greg Szechenyi, the band's bassist.

Having a punk-rock attitude, according to Szechenyi, means having a lot of fun, a word he uses about every other minute when discussing the prom - as in, "I'm pretty sure people are going to have a ton of FUN."

So much FUN, Szechenyi said, he might have to call the Guinness World Records.

"Hello, Guinness," Szechenyi said, making the telephone gesture with his hand. "We're having the most FUN per square foot!"

Three bands will play at the prom: the Silent Press; Shapiro, a Harrisonburg-based piano-driven band that draws comparisons to Ben Folds Five; and the Greensboro-based rockers Farewell. Between sets, a DJ will play '80s music and other FUN dancing songs.

As of Monday, the prom was to be a no-booze affair.

What the prom will offer is lots of dancing. Hovering around the punch bowl because you're too scared to boogie will be strictly prohibited.

Parker and Szechenyi dance like swans on crack, but that won't stop them from shaking their groove thangs under the disco ball. Punk-rock Prom, after all, isn't about looking cool; it's about having FUN.

Szechenyi said most of his friends plan to dress formally for the prom, but he also expects to see campy '80s outfits from Goodwill and the ever-popular jeans and T-shirt combo.

"You can wear whatever you want," said Parker. "Obviously," he added, "you have to wear something."

Late Night Tales (Flaming Lips comp album) review

The first one I've seen in the press at least - find the record heah

The Flaming Lips' latest release is actually a mix-disc compilation of band favorites. The selection is often surprisingly sedate, considering who's doing the selecting here, though even fringe-dwellers need their particular solace.

"Tales" manages to meaningfully segue music from some disparate sources. Bjork's "Unravel" opens the set, moving on to '50s-era Miles Davis with his "My Ship," then into the acoustic melancholia of Big Star's Chris Bell.

Flaming Lips fans will want to tune in for the sought-after version of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," dubbed "Harry Potter's and George W. Bush's Severed Head Army Mix." Wailing sirens signal the familiar riff, and Wayne Coyne appears with lyrics lifted from the Butthole Surfers' "Moving to Florida" before moving on to name-check Colin Powell and John Ashcroft as dive-bombing guitars enter the picture.

read the rest

Bars & Guitars: Great Lakes Swimmers...

Bars & Guitars has some songs by Great Lake Swimmers, a band that made it into one of Vinyl Mine's recent MP3 mixes. There kind of in my maybe buy list - I'll listen to these and see what I think - thanks B&G!

If your ears can handle it... it's Wing (no not the 80's group!)

cd 9 - Dancing Queen by Wing

Dancing Queen (7:44)	listen	download
Knowing Me Knowing You (8:21)		download
Mama Mia (8:02)		download
I Have A Dream (9:26)		download
Money Money (6:27)		download
S.O.S (6:52)		download
Chiquitita (10:04)		download
Fernando (9:05)	listen	download
Gimme Gimme (9:58)		download
I Do (6:45)		download

more here

Dowdy Indie Chick Swoons Over Colin

It must be the costumes, man...

In other words, Colin Meloy is the type of guy that a girl like me—gawky, unathletic, fearful of prom queens—is supposed to find dreamy, and I do. So did all the other casually dressed, slightly dowdy indie rock girls in the audience at Fez. We swooned and sighed as Meloy played a lengthy set of Decemberists favorites and Morrissey covers, interspersed with jocular banter and references to his girlfriend (grrr!)—the illustrator Carson Ellis, who is responsible for the band's whimsical album artwork. Meloy ended the set with a hushed cover of Cheap Trick's "Southern Girls," which he introduced as "an old folk song." Then we all went home and blogged about it.

Village Voice

KRS to release Tarkio Back Catalogue

Decemberist's First Band Gets Released

Apr 26, 2005

[Email This Article >>] [Get News In Your Email >>]

When does a college band from Missoula, Mont. become a hot property? When Decemberists front man Colin Meloy spent his formative years in it.

Kill Rock Stars will release a pair of albums recorded by Meloy’s college band, Tarkio. Both were recorded while Meloy was studying at the University of Montana. No release date for the album, I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More and the EP, Sea Songs For Landlocked Sailors has been finalized.

track listing

Just Because We Love 'Em When No One Else Does

here's the rest of the tour dates of Damon and Naomi and Kurihara:

Friday, April 29
Portland, OR — Doug Fir
with Colossal Yes

Saturday, April 30
Seattle, WA — The Tractor Tavern
with Colossal Yes, Joshua Beckman (spoken word)

May

Saturday, May 14
Hasselt, BELGIUM — Kunstencentrum Belgie

Sunday, May 15
Amsterdam, HOLLAND — Paradiso

Monday, May 16
Paris, FRANCE — TBA

Michio Kurihara will join D&N for all UK / Spain / Portugal shows
nperign will join for the London and Newcastle shows
Bhob Rainey will join for all Spain / Portugal shows

Thursday, May 19
Bristol, UK — Cube Cinema

Friday, May 20
London, UK — TBA

Saturday, May 21
Glasgow, SCOTLAND — Barfly

Sunday, May 22
Newcastle, UK — Live Theatre

Tuesday, May 24
Barcelona, SPAIN — La Pedrera

Wednesday, May 25
Madrid, SPAIN — Nasti Club

Thursday, May 26
Huelva, SPAIN — Universidad

Friday, May 27
Lisbon, PORTUGAL — Galería Ze Dos Bois

Saturday, May 28
Valladolid, SPAIN — Subterfugio

Sunday, May 29
Castellón, SPAIN — Ricoamor

Saturday, June 4
Istanbul, TURKEY — Babylon

June

Japan and Korea dates tba

Youth (Sonic) Dominate French Music Festivals this year

VIA

Festivals : entre Art Rock, les Effervessonne, le Rock Dans Tous Ses Etats et le Furia Sound Festival, le mois de juin s'annonce explosif ! Art Rock (Saint Brieuc, Côtes d'Armor) - du 2 au 5 juin 2005 www.artrock.org Programmation : Mercury Rev, Sonic Youth, Metric, Alla, Elli Medeiros, Text Of Light (Lee Ranaldo, Ulrich Krieger, Alan Licht, Tim Barnes, et Steve Shelley), Mirror/Dash (Kim Gordon et Thurston Moore), Door (Jim O'Rourke), Marie Modiano, Afel Bocoum, David Roback & Friends (Mari Boine et Bert Jansch), White Tahina, Ktribe, La Phaze, Luke, Daphné, Florent Marchet, Françoiz Breut, Thomas Dybdahl, Rubin Steiner, Nosfell, Björn Berge, David Crozon, The Herbaliser, Rachid Taha, Amadou & Mariam, Capleton, Under Byen, Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band, X-Makeena, Santa Cruz, Camille, Naçao Zumbi, Yann Tiersen, Morcheeba, Whitey, DJ Dolores & Aparelhagem... Les Effervessonne (Bondoufle-Evry, Essonne) - les 4 et 5 juin 2005 www.effervessonne.fr Programmation : Iggy Pop & The Stooges, The Chemical Brothers, Asian Dub Foundation, Death In Vegas, Daniel Darc, Louis Bertignac feat. Carla Bruni, Nic Armstrong, Piers Faccini, Candidate, DJ Zebra, DJ Pytch, DJ Ty, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, La Phaze, Mass Hysteria, No Bluff Sound, DK Sunshine, DJ Kaine, Dr Vince... Le Rock Dans Tous Ses Etats (Evreux, Eure) - les 24 et 25 juin 2005 www.lerock.org Programmation : Sonic Youth, Ghinzu, Garbage, The Kills, Sons And Daughters, Polyphonic Spree, Devendra Banhart, CocoRosie, Vitalic, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Morcheeba, Ska-P, Black Mountain, Kinski, Sage Francis, Mr Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Whitey, Morgan Heritage, Modeselektor, Interlope, Dick Voodoo, Cake, Amadou & Mariam, Hollywood Porn Stars, Loic Lantoine, Balkan Beat Bow, Chloe... Furia Sound Festival (Cergy-Pontoise, Val d'Oise) - les 24, 25 et 26 juin 2005 www.furia.tm.fr Programmation : Soulwax, LCD Soundsystem, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Turbonegro, Louise Attaque, Rachid Taha, Balkan Beat Box, Arno, Didier Super, Babylon Circus, Le Tigre, Groundation, Chumbawamba, Republic of Loose, Flogging Molly, La Phaze, Dirge, Jackson Thelemaque, Millencolin, Pennywise, Anti-Flag, Luke, Deportivo, Les Ogres de Barback, Sinclair, Kyo, The Film, Scenario Rock, La Rumeur, Les Wriggles, Debout sur le Zinc, Guerilla Poubelle, Deckard, Dead Combo, Gomm, Bumcello, Rinocerose, Full Screen, The Servant, Mano Solo, Therapy?, Aqme, Sinsemilia, Lofofora, No One Is Innocent, Kasabian, Amadou et Mariam, 17 Hippies, The Neck, 22 Pistepirkko, The New Bomb Turks, The Infadels, Riton, H2O, Mon Côté Punk, Zea, Modey Lemon, Twage...

Tommy Ramone to become country rocker?

Tiny Mix has all the details... hey Waylon and Hank are punks at heart.

Lame, lame, lame.

Foo Fighters' Grohl Proves He Can Kerry a Torch

Tuesday, April 26, 2005; Page C03

F oo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl pays tribute to defeated presidential candidate John Kerry with the title of the band's new two-disc album, "In Your Honor," due in June. The title was inspired by campaigning for Kerry, the singer-guitarist says in the new issue of Rolling Stone, but adds, "It's not a political record."

"We'd pull into small towns, and thousands of people would come to be rescued by this man," Grohl, 36, tells the magazine. The Kerry camp returned the compliment in a statement yesterday describing Grohl, the former District punk band drummer who was a member of Nirvana, as a "hero" on the campaign trail who "inspired a record number of young voters" to support the Democratic senator.

Furthermore, spokeswoman Katharine Lister tells us that Kerry, a one-time high school bass player, "is ready to return the favor and go on tour with Dave Grohl and open for the Foo Fighters anytime."

Grohl's boyhood in Vienna was another influence on the album. A cut featuring piano and vocals by Norah Jones is titled "Virginia Moon." ...

read the rest...

Burma to hang it up?

Burma: State of the Reunion
By Linda Laban
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Updated: 11:44 AM EST

It's almost a year since Mission of Burma released the critically lauded ``OnOffOn'' and hit stages again after a two-decade split. The big question now is, are these Boston post-punk legends still on, or off again?
``It is kind of full circle at this point,'' said guitarist and co-vocalist Roger Miller, glancing back at an incredibly successful year for the band. ``I would say that we are somewhat up in the air as to our future.''

read it at the Boston Herald

I just listened to the new Foo Fighters MP3 that making the rounds.

My one sentence review:

Isn't one Nickelback too many?

*delete*

Message from Tin Huey

From:	BARKYBOY@aol.com Add to Address Book
Date:	Tue, 26 Apr 2005 12:53:41 EDT
Subject:	Tin Huey. Gold/Carney/Butler et al
To:

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

You may recall, from our last e-mail, a benefit, organized by Huey "Bongo" Bob Ethington, was to be held on April 8 and 9 to assist Tin Huey members Mark Price and Michael Aylward, as they've had some recent health issues with some serious financial impact.

Dubbed The Nicked Up Hueys Rock-a-thon Benefit Weekend, it was a smashing success on all levels, selling out both nights a couple of weeks in advance, and hosting some fabulous performances. We've posted a report with pictures on the Huey's website:

http://www.tinhuey.com/news.htm

Thanks to all who attended, to those of you who couldn't make it but sent contributions to the cause, and to all the wonderful musicians who played WONDERFULLY! Why Akron? What's so special about Akron? Plenty of fun answers to that have been given over the years, but what we saw here was solid evidence that SOMETHING IS STRANGE AND GLISTENING HERE IN AKRON, and it continues with the new bands coming up. A strangely excellent phenomenon! Also, apologies to those who couldn't get tickets. We wish everyone could have been there. We missed you.

It was recorded multitrack by the house, so we'll see how the tapes turn out. Rumblings of a new "From Akron" compilation CD from the gig, produced by the legendary Clone Records mogul, Nick Nicholis have been overheard in certain dark places.

A shout out to the multiple videographers as well: Huey Aylward (yeah THAT Huey), Susan Aylward (yeah THAT Aylward), and the enigmatic Jimi Imij. Anyone else that picked up a DV Cam and burned some tape, please let us know as Huey plans to edit it all together in one giant underexposed red blob of grand historic impact! If the above mentioned audio effort pans out, this might end up being a real Monterey Pop, y'know?

In the meantime, we're closing in on "Before Obscurity: The Bushflow Tapes" our forthcoming archival release, and are beginning to huff and puff about finishing "New Stuff: Obscurity Deluxe." The problem with that one is sifting through all the new live recordings that have been done of Tin Huey in the last months, giving us a ton of stuff to evaluate and perhaps wreck before settling (if that's possible) on the tracks for the new CD. We'll probably have to just stop, close our eyes, throw darts at the board, burn what we hit, accept the bad reviews and move on.

To that end, as we speak, Mark Price, back in the Bay area, is about to commence a remix of our TV Show, "The Crooked River Groove" Some audio from that taping may appear on the new CD in some form, but the bottom line is to make the show itself available to our fans in some form or other. We're working on it ... by scratching our heads and wondering if there's any of that leftover meatloaf in the fridge.

Finally, lifting our heads above the waters of mixing and mastering, we're looking towards gigs of some nature in early July and August. When, where, and how many, depend on health, welfare, and the whim of club owners, promoters, and um ... us.

And... oh yeah... just heard a new self produced promo EP from Ralph's cool combo, Carneyball Johnson: Extended Play from 12 Galaxies. If you want to learn more about hearing it or acquiring one, contact Ralph directly at ralph@akroncracker.com

Once again, on behalf of Mark, Michael, and all of us who were privileged to participate, the most profound thanks.

Please stay tuned and as always ... tip your Waitresses. Cheers.

*And, as always, if you want out of this mailing list, just hit 'reply' and say something. Preferably something really cool and mildly insulting. No excuses like "My mailbox has soooo much, blah, blah, blah." Hey, if we're Spam to you, well ... tell us to get the hell out of your life and we'll do it. Danke

Where Are They Now? Dept

Ex-Mekon, Cowboy Painter puts on Milwaukee multimedia show to benefit anti-death penalty efforts. Tony Maimone and Sally Timms providing an assist.

Excerpt from review:

With the backdrop of a screen manned by friend and collaborator Barry Mills, Langford was able to display huge projections of his paintings and prints, with their sense of the near-religious iconography of country-music greats such as Bob Wills and Johnny Cash.

Using those songs, those paintings, detailed anecdotes, polemics and a few jokes, Langford sketched a bold self-portrait of the young man as an art student, the art student as a punk rocker, the punk rocker as a major-label slave . . . and, eventually, the older and wiser man as a commercially but not artistically marginal cultural figure.

While the presentation had technical glitches and rough spots, "The Executioner's Last Songs" was infrequently strident, rarely pretentious and never dull. Timms and violinist Jean Cook spoke and sang in counterpoint to Langford's end of the tale, while Mills - also a TV writer and producer - alternated Langford's art with his wit. Langford can give a variety of answers to "Who are you?" and Saturday he gave them in manner both entertaining and enlightening.

Reasons to Blow a Wad in NYC, Patrioticlly...

Monday, July 4
3:30pm
Battery Park

MUSIC CONCERT

Downtown Alliance presents

YO LA TENGO + STEPHEN MALKMUS AND THE JICKS

+ Laura Cantrell

Our annual Independence Day Concert showcases a blockbuster double bill featuring legendary indie-rock trio Yo La Tengo, whose creative and intelligent sounds have delighted critics and audiences alike for more than two decades. Freewheeling singer-songwriter and former Pavement front man Stephen Malkmus with his band The Jicks will rock the park with tunes from his new album Face the Truth. Country songstress Laura Cantrell will open the show. For information call 212.835.2789.

Swell Maps Booty To See Light of Day

Epic Soundtracks Lives On 'GoodThings'


Before singer/songwriter Epic Soundtracks' death in 1997, the former Kevin Paul Godfrey compiled quite a discography, both as a member of influential cult-punks Swell Maps, a collaborator with other bands (the Jacobites, Crime and the City Solution) and as a solo artist.

As such, it's no surprise Soundtracks left behind an extensive backlog of songs that have yet to see the light of day. The first such collection is "GoodThings," which will be issued May 24 via the DBK Works label.

more...

Rock Crit Fart Fest Scene Report

There are conferences about Buffy the Vampire Slayer too... just saying, is all.

POP MUSIC

Behind the music: It's more than fun, sex, noise

At the fourth-annual Pop Conference in Seattle, music scholars went way beyond rock-crit jargon to find meaning.

There are undoubtedly people who still scoff at the idea of taking pop music so seriously. Certainly, such academic and rock-crit jargon as methodology, genealogy and authenticity were overused at the expense of concepts of fun, sex and noise. Courses in rock and hip-hop have become standard fare at universities, as have critics at daily newspapers. Thankfully, most presenters were careful not to take themselves too seriously. If someone dared to drone on about Dylan, you could go to another room and check out, say, disco historian Tim Lawrence's appreciation of Sylvester, or the presentation on Genesis P-Orridge's transsexual self-mutilation odyssey, or the secret Chicano history of punk. The conference received a record number of proposals, 275, in its third year.

Rock criticism has been around long enough to have dinosaur figures. Greil Marcus (author of the seminal '70s tome Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music) and longtime Village Voice writer and editor Robert Christgau roamed the halls of Frank Gehry's bizarre museum space, drawing the faithful to their presentations on blues songs and the Coasters, respectively. There were also genuine music legends: Patti Smith Group guitarist Lenny Kaye talked about crooners, while Pere Ubu frontman David Thomas ranted and raved about a 1960s sci-fi movie host in Ohio.

readitall

MP3 Blues Collection

This appears to be within the bounds of fair use - hours of MP3 selections (at high bit rates) from the greatest blues musicians, an often overlooked part of our musical heritage. Happy hunting...

La-la-palookaville Lineup

Another reason to fry in the hot sun for two days...

... Via Audio Torium

July 23 & 24
Chicago: Grant Park

60 Bands & Performers on 5 Stages

Lollapalooza 2005 lineup released:

• Pixies
• Widespread Panic
• Weezer
• The Killers
• Dinosaur Jr.
• Cake
• Dashboard Confessional
• The Arcade Fire
• Billy Idol
• Death Cab for Cutie
• Digable Planets
• Liz Phair
• G Love & Special Sauce
• Blonde Redhead
• The Black Keys
• Kasabian
• Kaiser Chiefs
• The Bravery
• The Walkmen
• Louis XIV
• Sound Tribe Sector 9
• Z-Trip
• Los Amigos Invisibles
• M83
• The Dandy Warhols
• Tegan & Sara
• VHS or Beta
• Brian Jonestown Massacre
• Soulive
• Ambulance LTD
• Shout Out Louds
• Blue Merle
• The Warlocks
• deSoL
• World Leader Pretend
• The Redwalls
• The Changes
• 
  
• Beck (*unconfirmed*)
• Kings of Leon (*unconfirmed*)

Spotlight: Drag City Records

They're a little bit old but worth the effort to clip...

Bill Callahan's 12th full-length album as Smog, "A River Ain't Too Much To Love," will arrive May 31 via Drag City. The 10-track set was recorded at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas, and features Connie Lovatt on bass and Jim White on drums; Callahan also produced. Labelmate Joanna Newsom plays piano on "Rock Bottom Riser."

"I realized I had a bunch of songs about rivers and some sort of imagery, and once I got a few of them it started to fit into everything I had half-finished" Callahan tells Billboard.com.
read the rest

BONNIE “PRINCE” BILLY

His Lordship needeth not yon feature, but whatevs
Nolan Gawron

Will Oldham already had a royal air about him when his recording career began in 1993. His early work in Palace, Palace Brothers and Palace Music was key to the formation of the Drag City dynasty. By the time he started recording under his own name, his seat on the indie rock throne was secure. When he dubbed himself Bonnie “Prince” Billy in 1998, it just seemed right.

Oldham lets his music speak for itself, exclusively. After obtaining an interview back in 2002, I realized quickly that most of my questions would be met with curt dismissal, personal reservations and an overall detachment between him and his songs. Though he remained cordial, there were no answers.

Me: This record [Master and Everyone] is filled with distance, loneliness and lost love ...

BPB: I don't know what it's about; but if you do, that's great.
read the rest (Boston Weekly Dig)

Fresh off a triumphant reunion tour with Slint, David Pajo will release a new solo album under the moniker Pajo on July 5 via Drag City. According to the label, the 10-track set was recorded with a software program that came with Pajo's laptop, into which he sang the vocals directly. It also features appearances by three unnamed contributors who Pajo has yet to meet in person.

read the rest

amp-archives: Terrastock IV

amp-archives: Terrastock IV

An excellent review of a historic 2000 show...

This Week's Forced Exposure Wishlist

FLAMING LIPS, THE: LateNightTales CD (ALN 013CD) 16.00
"The Flaming Lips, bona-fide platinum status artists, are the latest in a long line of acclaimed talents to share their music collection with fans on Azuli's celebrated CD series 'LateNightTales'. Compiled by the trio, LateNightTales is the perfect representation of what The Lips listen to, kicking back at home in Oklahoma City. The Flaming Lips' infamous version of The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' -- which has been eagerly sought after across the worldwide web since the group performed it live at the Hammersmith Apollo late last year -- is featured as an exclusive on this comp. Playfully dubbed 'Harry Potter's and George W. Bush's Severed Head Arm Mix,' the wacky rendition takes sideswipes at anyone in range with febrile Lips-ian logic. Also featuring songs by Bjork, Miles Davis, Radiohead, 10cc, Nick Drake, Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers, and many more."



ARTHUR: # 16 May 2005 MAG (ARTHUR 016) 0.01
On the cover: "Bomb Pop" - Raised in Sri Lanka and London, rising star M.I.A.'s pop instincts, radical consciousness and proudly pan-ghetto sound have no easy origin. Features: "Freedom Now Maybe" - Peter Lamborn Wilson on U.S. secessionist movements; "Reality as Subversion" by Douglas Rushkoff; plus Daniel Pinchback on Transhumanism, Scandinavian black metal, Druids and Ferries, Magma & Mars Volta. Plus: reviews by Byron Coley and Thurston Moore. Arthur is a free publication and you may add a copy to your order at no cost while supplies last.


WIRE, THE: #255 May 2005 MAG (WIRE 255) 7.50
On the cover: Electrelane (How Steve Albini, The Ex and a passing US military train helped shape their formidable rock noise). Features: Foetus (With a new album and a bunch of orchestral side projects, Jim Thirwell's career just changed gear); Kali Z Fasteau, Alex von Schlippenbach, Josephine Foster, Boris (Japan's heaviest power outfit); Annie Gosfield (the star-mapping soundworld of this innovative New York composer), Wojt3k Kucharczyk (the founder of Poland's Mik.Musik!. electronica label); Steve Beresford's Invisible Jukebox.

Can Someone Help Me Crack the Code

How do tix for Bright Eyes (two nights) sell out before they are even announced? Is there some hipster network out there separate form the Internet in which people get to buy tix beforehand? Fuck it, I didn't really want to see the little twerp anyway. Jerk should be playing at DAR, not some dinky little club like the 930.

.... oh wait, there it is... thanks Dceiver... now is there one for blackcat too?

The Legacy of Bruce Springsteen

AVN News, the first place to go for rock and roll news, notes that the Brucester is starting to look back and identifying the fascinating milestones that describe his brilliant career arc:

Bruce Springsteen taped an episode of VH1's Storytellers series Monday night at the Two River Theatre in Red Bank, N.J., which will debut on the network April 23. According to reports, he divulges that the line "Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes" from "Blinded By the Light" may well be ""possibly the first reference to female breast enhancement in popular music."

"Blue Orchid" a "misleading introduction" to new White Stripes?

so says volume 10 news. Those of you who may have been disappointed by the bland "Blue Orchid" might take heart:

The White Stripes unveiled their latest album, "Get Behind Me Satan", in the bizarre setting of the Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall last night.

The band only entered the studio last month and say that no songs were finished and none had been played live when they started recording. That said, the album is now complete and due for release on 6th June.

The first single, "Blue Orchid", is out in May and available as a download now, but it's metal-tinged simplicity is a misleading introduction to the album.

Classic White Stripes tracks sit alongside more reflective songs, like the traditional old-country ballad "I'm Lonely" and "White Moon" which is a tortured song punctuated by sombre throbs of bass. Alongside these is the dense but upbeat "My Doorbell" and a swaggering song called "The Denial Twist".

The highlight of the album is a track called "Little Ghost", a cheery back porch strum-a-long, with a similar feel to their breakthrough hit "Hotel Yorba".

Stupid Moby Quote of the Day

"From my weird perspective, I'm a little guy in the Lower East Side of New York who makes records in his bedroom, and the records are pretty nice. They're not the best records in the world, but they're not the worst records in the world."

Getcher Tickets now

Electric Picnic and Benicassim Lineups Announced

The line-up for the Electric Picnic has been announced, with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Damien Dempsey, Flaming Lips, Kraftwerk and Mercury Rev among the acts confirmed for the festival at Stradbally Hall, Co Laois.

The festival takes place on 3 and 4 September, with this year's site almost four times the size of last year's and capacity limited to 25,000.

Other acts on this year's bill include The Arcade Fire, De La Soul, Laurent Garnier, Goldfrapp, The Human League, Mr Scruff and Stereo MCs.

The nice, hot non-scally alternative to festival goers, Benicassim in Spain, has announced a raft of headliners and other acts for it's 2005 shin dig.

The festival - seen as one of the more unique and better ones on the continent - is a beachside extravaganza and takes place from the 4-7th August.

This year offers Oasis, Nick Cave, LCD Soundsystem, Keane, Basement Jaxx, Dinosaur Jr., Underworld and Yo La Tengo in the top billing placements, with a slew of other bands also confirmed...

A full list would be...

!!! Abe Duque, Andrew Weatherall, Athlete, Basement Jaxx, Daniel Johnston, David Carretta, Deluxe, Devendra Banhart, Diefenbach, Dinosaur Jr., Dj Koze, Dorian, Doves, Erlend Øye, Fischerspooner, Four Tet, Jeans Team, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Keane, Kings Of Convenience, La Habitación Roja, Ladytron, Larry Tee, LCD Soundsystem, Lemon Jelly, Les Très Bien Ensemble, Lori Meyers, Love Of Lesbian, Matthew Herbert, Mouse On Mars, Mylo, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nosfell, Oasis, Pan Sonic, Radio 4, Refree, Sr. Chinarro, Tarwater, The Glimmers, The Kills, The Polyphonic Spree, The Posies, The Raveonettes, The Tears, The Wedding Present, Underworld, Xiu Xiu, Yo La Tengo.

See? pretty decent...

Check out the official site for ticket details and so forth - they're available now...

unbashadly plagarized from Drowned in Sound and RTE.ie Entertainment

Hey, someone halfway intelligent writes for MRR

What we do is secret is henry yu's columns for Max Rock 'n' roll. His most recent includes a Lydia Lunch spoken word show review. His bottom line:

If she didn’t reek of fringe (and a hangover), she’d be the ultimate, if not accidental, testimonial speaker for the Scared Straight program. I hope I don't see her ranting on a corner in the East Village someday, like Lenny Bruce.

Perhaps but I still think Selfish C*nt would be better in Scared Straight.

Also, Hazelmayer, Sun Ra...

But at the end of the day, he's still - David Candy

Well, as we didn't predict but should have, Eric Cheevers took time from their busy day to pen a letter to the Washington City Paper for equating Ian Svenonius' David Candy phase with a bad career move.

Thank God Mike DeBonis didn't write about Ian MacKaye's latest project or the letters section would be crammed for the next couple of months with outrage. In actuality, young Cheevers should be happy his hero finally got some decent press in this town:

How Dreary— to Be—Somebody!

By Eric Cheevers

With regard to the last segment of Mike DeBonis’ “Washington’s Worst Career Moves” (4/8): Am I to construe that the measure of success of one’s musical career is heavy rotation on MTV2? Call me naive, but exposure for exposure’s sake isn’t synonymous with “good,” as anyone witnessing the Paris Hilton media juggernaut can attest. Not every artist equates success with fame. By DeBonis’ logic, should I confer fuckup status to, say, John Kennedy Toole or Emily Dickinson, both writers who did not pursue fame and whose works were not widely celebrated until after their deaths?

The art world is rife with artists who, for one reason or another, either opted to forgo the typical trappings of fame for artistic integrity or simply were not on the cultural radar during their lifetime. Some artists have the misfortune of simply being ahead of their time or perhaps favor their own artistic growth over mass recognition.

Ian Svenonius has undeniably been greatly influential to many, many musicians. And imitation, as they say, is the sincerest form of flattery. The fact that Svenonius has remained true to the integrity of his artistic vision should be viewed as success, in light of the current glut of overhyped, overexposed bands of the month. More power to him.

Woodley Park

Sounds Fishy...

Yo La Tengo mounts its Sounds of Science show this weekend.

"Thank you for saying that," Ira Kaplan murmurs. The part-time frontman for the band (he shares vocal duties with wife Georgia Hubley) is quick to note, "We enjoy St. Louis, but I'll say there is something of a coincidence that this keeps happening. The Sounds of Science in particular -- we haven't done it in about three years. It's a pretty hard show to mount, so in particular we don't seek them out. They're self-selecting in that if somebody comes to us, we think they might be ready to deal with everything that's involved. You know, coordinating the films from France, and us and our special needs."

The films Kaplan refers to are the documentaries of Jean Painlevé; the French filmmaker created a strange marriage of science and art when he took his cameras underseas in the '50s and '60s. Somewhere between (and beyond) Jacques Cousteau and Steve Zissou, Painlevé crafted tiny epics with titles such as The Love Life of the Octopus and How Some Jellyfish Are Born. In 2001 the San Francisco Film Festival approached Yo La Tengo about performing live to a film of the band's choice, and after much deliberation, the undersea world of Painlevé was determined to be the perfect showcase for Yo La Tengo's talents. Thus was birthed Yo La Tengo's "The Sounds of Science" project.

Birdsongs to Headline US Festival, I mean, MacWorld-Berklee Fest

Macworld-Berklee Music Festival

Macworld Conference & Expo and Berklee College of Music will present a music festival, featuring select Berklee artists who use Macintosh computers to compose and produce music. Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, one of Boston's most prolific and original bands, will headline the first-ever Macworld-Berklee Music Festival.

The Festival will kickoff the week of July 4 at Berklee's David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston Street, across the street from the Hynes Convention Center. The Festival will continue through the week of July 11 at Macworld Boston. Macworld will also showcase Berklee's Dream Studios, a simulated state-of-the-art music studio, designed and developed by Berklee faculty and students. Users will be able to take self-guided tours of the Dream Studios, participate in demonstrations and listen to presentations by Berklee faculty.

reference

Cynthia in Alabama

Cynthia Connolly's Art show at Transformer (1404 P St NW) (Apr 2 - May 7th) was featured in today's Washington Post Galleries section.





Cynthia probably doesn't remember me but I was friends with one of her best friends back in the late '80s. She drove an Edsel which I totally coveted and was always interesting to talk to and hang with. Her show documents her year in Alabama building creative housing solutions for the areas poor as part of the Auburn University Rural Studio program.

Check out some nice up close photos from one of the recent Sonic youth shows at City Rag.

You Go, Tommy

Tom Waits responds to fake Euro-ads...

"In answer to the many queries I have received: No, I did not do the Opel car commercial currently running on TV in Scandinavia. I have a long-standing policy against my voice or music being used in commercials and I have lawyers over there investigating my options. But I got to tell you, it doesn't look good. This is the third car ad, after Audi in Spain and Lancia in Italy.

"If I stole an Opel, Lancia, or Audi, put my name on it and resold it, I'd go to jail. But over there they ask, you say no, and they hire impersonators. They profit from the association and I lose time, money, and credibility. What's that about?

"Commercials are an unnatural use of my work... it's like having a cow's udder sewn to the side of my face. Painful and humiliating."

Send Hasil a Note

Via Next Big Thing:

Nimereht from the Staysick fraternity received this from Hasil Adkin's Manager, Jim... look away now if cussing distresses you.

"Hasil's ok, you're not gonna believe this though. i'm gonna have to curse on this one, hope you forgive me... some fuckin kid up in west virginia was out fuckin rampaging or i don't know what the fuck kind of bullshit he was fuckin doin. anyway
Hasil was not feeling well, he went outside to feed his puppies and sat down on the top step to his trailer to pet them for a minute. this little fucking shit came around the bushes on his four wheeler fucking full throttle and fucking reared up and fucking hit him on purpose on the steps and fucking rode off. fucked him up good. Hasil flew about 6 feet and hit the ground. took him like 10 minutes to get up and another 5 to crawl into the trailer. then the little fucker went a few miles down and caught someone else walking down a gravel road and swerved over and reared up and hit them! they got the fucker. Hasil says he hopes they only keep him for 5 years and he learns his lesson and can still have a chance. i hope they beat the fucking shit out of him myself. alright, so look...

Hasil's address is Hasil Adkins , p.o. box 668, Madison, WV, 25130.

send him something, ok?"

Wishlist for this week

Via Largehearted Boy here's my picks for this weeks shopping bag:


[crickets]


what a shitty week for music at the mainstream outlets. However, see previous forced exposure posting...

Cleveland Rocks Again!

Drew Carey, Move Your Car! Looking at yourself in the mystique on the Lake Resurgent

by Richard Riegel April 18th, 2005 10:45 AM

They'll be our Mirrors, reflecting what Cleveland r'n'r truly achieved in those oft abused 1970s. Retrieved from the same Velvets salt mine that gave us the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu in that time, recent CD releases of fugitive recordings from the previously barely heard Rocket From the Tombs, Mirrors, Styrenes, and Electric Eels have revealed the reach of that always shifting collective of hiptrons who scooped up spilled guitars from Cleveland's freeways as the '70s rear-ended the stalled '60s....read it all in Village Voice

Sonic Youth Play in small Pennsylvania Town, low turnout among yokels

"I've never even heard of Sonic Youth," said College freshman Alex Feldman, who did not attend the concert. "I didn't want to waste that much money on a band I've never heard of."

Feldman said that no one he knew had planned on attending the concert.

But there was a positive effect to having the aging Massachusetts rockers in the small little collge town they played. Lauren Sloss writes:

"I think headlining with Sonic Youth was a problem," he said.

He did like the fact that it was a "self-selected crowd -- there weren't a bunch of random, drunk, angry Penn students."

link

Speaking of videos

via a best truth - here be a motherload of viddies including Diamanda Galas, Aphex Twin, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth, Misfits. Alas, no Fugazi.


bonus: Sonic Youth do Stan Brakhage improvs DVD with free MP3s .... (via TF)

Robert Pollard - Drunkest Man on PBS

I believe this is the same Frank Smith who put out a San Francisco Tiffany fanzine.

I’m a Strong Lion: Robert Pollard’s From a Compound Eye

April 18, 2005

by Frank Smith

Robert Pollard is the drunkest man I’ve ever seen on PBS. Granted, I don’t watch a lot of PBS. And, when I told a friend that I didn’t like the new Robert Pollard album, he prevailed upon me to take a suitcase of acid, drive out to the desert and listen to the album on an eight-track player. Lacking the resources to put any of this together, I shotgunned a twelve- pack of the new Anheuser-Busch B-to-the-E concoction and listened to Pollard’s From a Compound Eye while lying on my floor. Midway through the third listen, I found myself tuned to the proper wavelength and I have since been incapable of listening to anything else.

read the rest....

Arcade Fire video hits rotation on MTV

Arcade Fire - "Rebellion"

....Appropriately for such intensely personal material, the band traveled to Butler's small Maine hometown to shoot the album's first video, "Rebellion (Lies)." The beautifully evocative autumn weather, along with locations that include the graveyard where five generations of Butler's family are buried, help create an ideal visual counterpoint to the band's haunting take on mortality.

iPod Mugger Alert

Apr 17-Sun.

"Fifteen Minutes of Fame" - iPod DJ night FREE

Bring out your ipod and sign up for your fifteen minutes of fame!! Drink Specials and Giveaways!!

That's at dcnine:

DC 9
1940 9th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Best place to lay in wait is along U street.

I wonder if the Rock Creek Mens Club will be patrolling?

What's Wrong With Fiery Furnaces?

For a band that showed so much promise and knocked me off the feet when they debuted in DC with Mission of Burma last year, I, like others, was under-underwhelmed by last week's headlining show at the 930 club.

I didn't hear any of the delicate yet forceful touch they displayed last year. The songs seemed rushed and they seem enamored with new toys. While I'm convinced (despite what others say) that Blueberry Boat was a step back from the easy going nature of Gallowsbird Bark (even putting up the worst tracks on Boat against the best of Bark and its a no-brainer to me - one was an A+ and the other is a C-), I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and plopped down my Hamilton for the show. I was up front and perhaps that isn't the sweet spot for the 930 club. I'm thinking that it is in the back on the credenza but even so, the band seemed listless, tense and (with the exception of the pre mental patient drummer) oblivious of the audience.

And while it's no business of my own and I'm the last person to make comments about people's exercise and diet regimen - Eleanor appears to have lost weight and despite fashion expert She's Bitter wowwing over her ensemble, I thought it made her look like an extra in a Charlie's Angel's nightclub scene. Her brother, sedentary for most of the show in front of his keyboards, appears to have put the pounds on that E. has lost. It's a sign of stress when people lose and gain weight (everyone's different in this regard, I guess).

My diagnosis (or is it prognosis?) is after Coachella for the band to take a vacation from each other - E. to rediscover the joy of cooking and Matt to start jogging... and then go find some isolated yet comfortable place where they can make a lot of racket, spend a few days or weeks just playing together for fun and work on those new songs (which sounded interesting at least what I could hear and discern of the lyrics from the crappy P.A. system).

an opposing opinion from a gig idiot... UPDATED: My invective was not warrented as I was equating this gentleman with the young drunken man screaming in our ears through the beginning part of the set. Apologies.

Sonic Youth Play Their Daughter's School

So much for the kids putting on a talent show... read about the benefit here

Greenfield Center School is "a progressive alternative for education in the valley," according to Laura Baker, executive director, who came on stage with some students to introduce the headlining band.

"Our mission is not only to educate but to make the world a better place," she said.

Greenfield Center School, which serves 150 children in kindergarten through eighth grade, is hoping to retire its mortgage with this capital campaign.

Locals Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth were simply doing their part as good citizens and good parents. Their daughter is a student at the school.

...

This was not some stuffy, reserved charitable event. Gordon wore heels and her best rock-star mini-dress and, by the third song, Gordon was sprawled across the floor, dragging his guitar against any flat surface he could find, inducing a feedback frenzy.

This Week's Forced Exposure Wish List

VA: Songs For Nao - 14 Bands From Japan CD (CHAPTER 046CD) 17.00
"Songs for Nao (pronounced 'now') is a compilation featuring many incredible Japanese artists... Most work in a rarefied world of wide-eyed, folky psych-pop. Songs For Nao includes new tracks by Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Nagisa Ni Te, Tenniscoats, Kazumi Nikaidoh, Yumbo, Andersens, My Pal Foot Foot, Pervenche and more. Songs For Nao is a taste of an incredible music scene. Isolated from the music industry at large, these artists create genuinely inspired music, fresh even to the ears of the most conditioned music-geek. The release is accompanied by a full colour, 16-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes on each band, and beautiful photos by Eigo Shimojo."



PRIMITIVE CALCULATORS: Primitive Calculators CD (CHAPTER 047CD) 17.00
"Melbournes Primitive Calculators met as teenagers in the early 70s, growing up in the grim outer suburb of Springvale. An older friend who lived in a bungalow behind his parents house provided an oasis of culture, and there they were introduced to music of a kind rarely heard in their neighbourhood. The Velvet Underground and The MC5 were obvious heroes, but they were also inspired by lesser known bands like The Fugs, The 13th Floor Elevators, and The Godz (they went on to dedicate their album to Godz singer Jim McCarthy) as well as the writing of obsessive rock journalist Lester Bangs. Their own debut single was also released in 1978, featuring the songs 'I Cant Stop It' and 'Do That Dance'. Pressed with plain black labels and stark monochrome sleeve, the single introduced many to the impassioned, atonal, electronic chaos that was the Primitive Calculators trademark, and it has gone on to become a highly collectable classic of Australian post-punk. The following year the band attempted to relocate to London, but seeing how difficult life was for fellow expats the Birthday Party and Whirlywirld, they decided instead to take an indefinite break. A 1979 live recording of a gig supporting The Boys Next Door turned out to be the Primitive Calculators swansong. Released by friend and supporter Alan Bamford in the early 1980s, Primitive Calculators is a crucial document of a band whose originality, power and humorously belligerent Australian mindset has never since been duplicated. Chapter Music's reissue of the Primitive Calculators album, twenty-five years after its original release, includes six bonus tracks plus a rarely seen video."



MY CAT IS AN ALIEN: When the Windmill's Whirl Dies LP (ECLIP MCIAA2) 15.00
"The new work by the space-brothers Maurizio and Roberto Opalio, alias My Cat Is An Alien. Both the words, recited and shaped by Roberto from his own homonymous poem that suggested the title of the album, and the oblique minimalism of the complex musical texture made of flowing space sounds, represent the abstract neo-expressionistic substratum of the whole corpus of the work. Moving throughout a nebula of space dust and debris, the starting spoken-word vocals alongside the percussive section sound as powerfully impressive as the violent imagery of trees beaten down by the storm, while the whispered silence of 'Perspective of Time' and 'Fallin'', on side two, discloses the emotional and existential universe of an isolated broken soul, lost in a world of inanity. This is the center of the No-thing Universe, where each single word or sound assumes the aspect of a sort of pagan prayer that speaks the language of astral folk-blues. In this context, MCIAA's outer space becomes a re-found uterus, meant to be the form of a new self-biogenesis. At the same time, space is conceived as symbol of the eternal theatre surrounding the mysterious cycle of life & death; such infinite space, despite such limited time. This cosmic-chant of the new millennium may heat our nights like a flame left to enlighten the shadows of the coldest darkness." Edition of 600 copies.

Speaking of Moby...

Poor guy just can't a break. Here's what the other "paper of record"'s Joe Heim said about his show:

At one point, the elfin electronic-pop star reminisced about a fabulous rave outside Washington in 1992 where everyone did wonderful drugs and danced all night long.

Perhaps they should have handed out some of those wonderful drugs at the door. Or at least a time-travel kit, because there is no real joy left in Mobyville (or soul, for that matter). It all seems to have been lost in his effort to become bigger than the music he has brought to the mainstream.

Leading a three-piece band, and with a great deal of help from able backup singer Laura Dawn, Moby trudged through much of the new material early, including "Raining Again" and a cover of New Order's "Temptation." He also played the extremely derivative "Spiders" as a "tribute and/or homage to one of my all-time heroes, David Bowie."

Part of what sucked the life out of the show was that Moby simply talks too much, and his dull between-song banter would put an ecstasy-fueled raver to sleep. He offered a long introduction to "Beautiful," explaining what it was about (banal celebrity love affairs) and adding that he liked it because it gave guitarist Daron Murphy a chance to "play a kick-[posterior] guitar solo." You almost expected a PowerPoint presentation: "Here, fans, are some aspects of the following song that will entertain you over the next five minutes."

This Weeks's Moby Blog Award

You're a hot young thang with a brother whose career is taking off. Your parents are famous and you have a hit attention grabbing single. Your new record is coming out soon. But do you really have to prove that the flacks don't write your PR?

The alcohol-induced haze I often find myself in has a strange way of comforting. It is a familiar space where I let my guard down, throw off the shackles of my press-face facade, and can accept an offer to smile without hesitation. Getting there is half the fun, with the edges of my sleeve wet from condensation slowly ruining a wooden table and perfectly round, tiny circles of darker fabric on my lap where the head of my beer has been carelessly dripped onto my clothes without my notice. The familiar mating dance of seducing a drink and subsequent refills thereof from a jaded waitress has become something I could do in my sleep (which comes in handy when these typical waking activities inhabit my dreams). These excursions have become mileposts, acting as refreshing intermissions in between the times when I am living my life. It's when I begin thinking of my existence this way that the world flips, yin becomes yang, right becomes wrong, and the oceans and the sky trade places. Then I blink the fog from my eyes and realize that intermission has become the main act, and I'm suddenly living like I haven't before.

Dumbest Newspaper Angle of the Day

People steal stuff= Dog Bites Man. No Story.

People Steal iPods = Front Page Story, Baby!

IPod Devotees Rocked by thefts...

Victims of Growing Crime In Area Say Loss of Playlist Makes Them Feel Violated

By Del Quentin Wilber

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 16, 2005; Page A01

The burglar visited every room of Sara Scalenghe's Northwest Washington apartment, stealing an expensive digital camera and a gold necklace passed down from her grandmother. But Scalenghe did not begin seething until she confirmed her biggest fear: Her new iPod had been swiped, too.

The digital music player held 50 favorite songs, ranging from Mozart to Italian rap. The device also contained thoughts on a looming dissertation and recorded conversations with friends. For Scalenghe, her privacy, as well as her home, was invaded.

"I know it sounds silly, but it changed everything. I was really upset," said the 34-year-old graduate student. "I can't explain it. But it hurt."

[...]

[Police Detective David] Swinson, a former punk rock promoter who owns an iPod, said he has come to empathize with the victims. Of his own device, he said, "I don't know how I survived without one. I would be destroyed if someone took it."


UPDATE: As if on cue, DCIST (our local bloggers who don't want to have a real job but end up with two web page) has picked up this scare story and noted someone was allegedly stabbed for his "MP3 player" - call out the dogs!

DCIST should read the DC police blotter, people get stabbed, shot and whacked on the heads every night by muggers and thieves and electronic devices have been fair game since portable phones came into existence ...and a local blogger is suggesting men of DC band together to form vigilante teams to seek out Mp3 player thieves - regular muggers are okay, I guess:

Although the Metropolitan Police have canvassed the neighborhood, Rock Creek Rambler is suggesting that the Cleveland Park Men's Club "round up a posse and go vigilante-style on the perp's ass."

Rampant Hoggish Materialism (cont)

Meet the latest member of my sad family, the JBL Creature which is set up in my "living room" (that means a place where I "entertain" -- myself, often...). $99 from MacMall. At that price, I may add one to my bedroom. My den is where the "real" stereo and turntable reside.

iPod or laptop or CD player plugs directly into it.

Decent sound especially on the high end although it doesn't rattle the windows and I can't be the neighborhood DJ with it... and you are subject to the vagaries of the the quality of MP3s but just fine for space and ethedick considerations.


There's two tiny speakers and the subwoofer.

Fuck Bloglines and their Terms of Service (Updated)

UPDATE: Heh...Bloglines must have had an outage... oh well, I take back every nasty thing I said..you can check VM Clip Shack Version 1.0 here... never mind...but I'll be blogging from here forevermore...

Here's where the party now is. Because people expect Vinyl Mine to be an MP3 blog, I need an outlet to either pass on news of interest, make some light banter or just vent - so I'm moving my old Clip Shack to Blogger and hopefully they won't throw me off.

I think the reason Bloglines got mad is because I pirated photos from newspapers and bigger websites. I don't take photos from personal websites or if I do I find some other way to host them but I'm guessing someone somewhere complained and with no notice I got kicked off. It was a sucky service anyway - all blogroll items for instance pointed to their RSS feed of those blogs. So, kiss off, AskJeeves and your shitty search engine and recent acquisitions. All bow to Google and Blogger... SUckahs...

The anti-Sufjan reports in

Selfish Cunt scene report: (via Drowned in Sound's Gen Williams )

It's funny. Actually it's fucking hilarious, when you're watching the belligerent fucker push and assault and wrench savage kisses from the assembled boys and girls. As a slomo, bluesy bass note lingers poisonously while Tomlinson does his thing, it's performance art married to rock and roll. Then the crowd parts, and he's stalking towards you with intent, a predatory, murderous glint flashing in his eyes. He's a hair's breadth from you, staring you out, and everyone's watching. Cameras flash in your direction, and you feel a nervy, self-conscious thrill. You stare back, but he's pushing his face into yours, forcing you backwards. It's a battle of wills. It's not so funny anymore.

Tomlinson forces every person in sight to interact, to acknowledge, to react to him. The once-surly hipsters are pushing him, goading him, tussling with him in the flood of spilt beer and discarded clothes. Inhibitions dissolve; exhibition reigns. The Iggy of old crawls naked, usurped and fire-scorched at the back of the stage beneath a mesh of scattergun synthesised beats, while Tomlinson parades about in front wearing his crown, his affected yelps licking the sweat from Patrick Constable's filthy, dripping riffs. Those "controversial", "offensive" lyrics and incensed political direction are lost in the melêe. Selfish Cunt are a pure sensory experience, a deadly, transfiguring vampire bite. To the masses they're a joke. To the fifty or so people here, they're already immortal.