April 02, 2007

New PSF

Neu Perfect Sound Forever – I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it'll make me ZOMB OUT.

Posted by timothompson at 07:23 PM

November 05, 2006

Holy Crap

Heyyyy. What's shaking, space cowfolk? As good as the setlist was for the Stones at Zilker Park in Austin, I would have killed to have seen the Beacon Theater setlist (see my earlier RS setlist post). How quirky and cool!!!

October 29, 2006, Setlist

1. Start Me Up
2. Shattered
3. She Was Hot
4. All Down The Line
5. Loving Cup with Jack White
6. As Tears Go By
7. I'm Free (last played in Dec 21, 1969)
8. Undercover
9. Just My Imagination
10. SHINE A LIGHT
11. Champagne and Reefer with Buddy Guy
12. Tumbling Dice
13. You Got The Silver
14. T & A
15. Sympathy For The Devil
16. Live With Me with Christina Aguilera
17. Paint It Black
18. Jumping Jack Flash
19. Satisfaction

November 1, 2006, Setlist

1. Jumping Jack Flash
2. Shattered
3. She Was Hot
4. All Down The Line
5. Loving Cup
6. As Tears Go By
7. I'm Free
8. Some Girls
9. (Just My) Imagination
10. Far Away Eyes
11. Champagne & Reefer
12. Tumbling Dice
13. You Got The Silver (Keith)
14. Connection (Keith)
15. Sympathy For The Devil
16. Live With Me (with Christina Aguilera)
17. Honky Tonk Women
18. Start Me Up
19. Brown Sugar (encore)
20. Satisfaction (encore)

I am sooo buying the (Martin Scorsese directed) DVD (tentatively titled "Shine a Light")! It's also interesting to hear "I'm Free" being used in a bank commercial.

In other news:

• Check the anti-Bush vid set to George Michael
• Beep beep ribby ribby!

Posted by timothompson at 01:34 PM

September 20, 2006

Best "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your ASS"

Best "I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your ASS" [via]

Posted by timothompson at 11:22 PM

September 16, 2006

ACL in Fotos

• Cat Power in silhouette.
• Bloody Ben Kweller with tampon in his nose.

That's all I got for now.

Posted by timothompson at 09:22 PM

September 12, 2006

WEst S

You fake them. (mp3)

Posted by timothompson at 09:20 PM

August 17, 2006

Stones: Surcharges and More

Well, I purchased my tickets today in the presale. What they don't tell you is that there's a $17.00 per ticket service charge added on by TicketMaster, a $1 facility charge and a $4.95 per order charge. And I thought that Front Gate Tickets was bad?

Here's the opening acts we know so far:

• Kanye West
• Alice Cooper
• Sloan
• Three Days Grace
• Dave Matthews Band
• Van Morrison

Dave Matthews Band is playing a hometown gig in Charlottesville, Virginia, that day, so they are out (thankfully). Van Morrison is playing the Austin City Limits Festival the month before, so I'd rule him out as well. My guess is that the opening act may be of local interest and somehow connected to Capital Sports and Entertainment and Charles Attal. And bosom buddies Lance and Matthew McConaughey will be the co-introducers.

Posted by timothompson at 12:55 PM

August 15, 2006

Rolling Stones 2006 European Tour Setlists

After compiling my ideal Stones set in anticipation of their October 22nd visit to Zilker Park, I started to wonder how many of the songs in my list would make the cut for this tour. After checking message boards like Rocks Off, I finally found some well-updated current setlists from the European tour. From those setlists, I compiled a spreadsheet to see what kind of patterns I could find. What I discovered is that the first three songs and last three songs are exactly the same and in the same order at every show.

Set Openers

1. Jumpin' Jack Flash
2. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
3. Oh No, Not You Again

Set Closers

1. Brown Sugar
2. You Can't Always Get What You Want
3. Satisfaction (encore)

Before the set closers, the Stones have been playing “Honky Tonk Women” followed by “Sympathy for the Devil”. In between, the Stones play a few other songs that are guaranteed to be played in the middle of the set (though the order varies):

Consistent Midpoints

• Tumbling Dice
• Streets of Love
• Night Time is the Right Time
• Before They Make Me Run
• Miss You
• Rough Justice
• Start Me Up

Of the songs in my ultimate setlist, the Stones have only played 13 of them. What they have been doing is rolling out old favorites like “Bitch”, “Wild Horses” and “Sway” at certain shows. Most of these have only been played once or twice. But I'd totally be willing to give up “Streets of Love&rdquo and “Night Time is the Right Time&rdquo to get more of those songs in the set. Will they switch it up for the States?

Update: The Statesman now has a dedicated page for the show.

Posted by timothompson at 01:29 PM

August 09, 2006

Guess the Pitchfork Rating

Stereogum points to Predictfork (That's Mr. Tower), a site that handicaps Pitchfork ratings. Calling LazyWeb: We need to do this like the Dylan Pool.

Posted by timothompson at 10:43 AM

August 07, 2006

The Six-Word Jim DeRoPalose-a Revue

"Lollapalooza doesn't care about black people."

Posted by timothompson at 10:48 AM

August 06, 2006

Holy Schnikes

Nels Cline can shred.

Posted by timothompson at 08:58 PM

Wayne Coyne Makes Sure the Lips Are Flaming During Shows

Just watch the video interview at the Rolling Stone blog.

Posted by timothompson at 02:24 PM

July 28, 2006

Just Noticed...

...that there's a blink and you'll miss it Har Mar cameo at 3:01 in Spoon's "Small Stakes" video.

Posted by timothompson at 11:33 AM

July 27, 2006

My Ideal Stones Set

With the Rolling Stones playing Zilker Park in Austin October 22nd, Joe Gross of the Statesman asks us for our ideal top 25-song Stones sets. Here's mine in fairly chronological order. I considered adding newer songs like "Saint of Me" and "Rough Justice" to be realistic, but who am I kidding? They are good, but don't cut it.

1. 19th Nervous Breakdown (Single)
2. That's How Strong My Love Is* (Out Of Our Heads)
3. Paint It, Black (Aftermath)
4. Under My Thumb (Aftermath)
5. Ruby Tuesday (Between The Buttons)
6. 2000 Man* (Their Satanic Majesties Request)
7. She's A Rainbow* (Their Satanic Majesties Request)
8. Jumpin' Jack Flash (Single)
9. Street Fighting Man* (Beggars Banquet)
10. Sympathy For The Devil (Beggars Banquet)
11. Live With Me (Let It Bleed)
12. Monkey Man* (Let It Bleed)
13. Midnight Rambler (Let It Bleed)
14. Gimme Shelter (Let It Bleed)
15. Honky Tonk Women (Single)
16. Brown Sugar (Single)
17. Moonlight Mile* (Sticky Fingers)
18. Rocks Off (Exile On Main St.)
19. Happy (Exile On Main St.)
20. Tumbling Dice (Exile On Main St.)
21. It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It) (It's Only Rock 'N Roll)
22. Miss You (Some Girls)
23. Emotional Rescue* (Emotional Rescue)
24. Start Me Up (Tattoo You)
25. Undercover Of The Night* (Undercover)

(* Not played on 2005 tour.)

Near Misses:

1. Get Off Of My Cloud
2. 2000 Light Years From Home
3. Soul Survivor
4. Bitch
5. Dead Flowers
6. I'm Free
7. Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow?
8. Mother's Little Helper
9. Hang Fire
10. You Can't Always Get What You Want
11. Before They Make Me Run
12. Sweet Virginia
13. She's So Cold
14. Waiting On A Friend

Update: Sirius has compiled its own list of people's favorite Stones' songs and will be playing the top 100 during Labor Day weekend.

Posted by timothompson at 02:19 PM

July 26, 2006

Robert Hilburn on Criticism

Robert Hilburn of the LA Times looks back on his career as a critic [via]:

The next year I raved about John Prine, a young Chicago singer-songwriter whose folk-country style employed a literary ambition and soulful insight that was extraordinary. But Prine never became a major seller, though he is widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of his era.

The lesson was that it takes more than raw talent — and glowing reviews — to reach the top commercially. More important, it taught me that critics can't always predict stardom, but they can spot excellence, and that, ultimately, is the most important thing they can do.

Posted by timothompson at 06:35 PM

July 21, 2006

"Wowee Zowee" Reissue Update

Lukas Glickman (aka Simmer Simmer Down) says he's received word on what's planned to be included in the upcoming deluxe reissue of Pavement (hopefully out in November 2006):

Patrick from Matador recently informed me of some details about the upcoming Wowee Zowee Reissue. As of now I must remain vague, so here is what I can tell you:

• Multiple album covers [like 20!] by Steve Keane [sic]
• A never before heard [atleast to my ears] concert during the Wowee Zowee Tour
• A bundle of previous unreleased tracks and rarities note: many of the unreleased tracks are alternate takes

Please, please, let "Rattled by La Rush" and "Pacific Trim" be on there.

Related: Said the Gramophone likes "Pueblo". [via]

Posted by timothompson at 03:38 PM

July 19, 2006

Live Pavement

Here and here.

Posted by timothompson at 01:44 PM

July 18, 2006

On Ranking Music

"ryan adams" commenting on stereogum:

nobody is "better" than anybody else. records arent baseball cards where one is in better condition so its better. they are not fucking speed trial. people aare not erunning laps up and down a tennis court. its not football. its not sports. nobody wins and loses. bright eyes is conor. i am me. starship is starship. its ridiculous to think you could compare and contrast a painter with another or writer or musician. its just pointless.

Mark Hemingway writing in "Big Takeover":

Then let’s not talk about Blender magazine’s infatuation with lists. By the time you get to the “The 25 Biggest Wusses In Rock” you’re scraping the barrel. And VH1 is practically the Channel of Lists.

I’m not foursquare against combining lists and music by any means. Making lists is an easy point of reference and arguing music’s relative merits is fun. But it would be nice every once in while to enjoy music for its own sake. I can barely listen to any new music without immediately trying to contextualize it. I have no doubt that my voracious consumption of music journalism is a large part of this conditioned response.

Posted by timothompson at 01:59 PM

More Syd

• Jason Gross found a Robyn Hitchcock interview about Syd (Hitchcock mentions this Nick Kent article).
• Eric Francis examines Syd's astrological chart.

Posted by timothompson at 01:44 PM

July 17, 2006

Cover of Syd Barrett's "Bike" by Travis Higdon and Britt Daniel

Travis Higdon of Peek-A-Boo Records has posted a 1995 cover (fairly short) of Syd Barrett's "Bike" covered by him and Britt Daniel. I think Britt sings only the last verse, but Travis does a great job channeling Syd. Here's the story behind the track.

Posted by timothompson at 02:36 PM

July 05, 2006

Sound Team v. Pitchfork

I've commented before on anecdotal evidence that a Pitchfork review can make or kill a budding musical career. However, though many bands have been slammed by Pitchfork writers (who use a 10-scale binary digit ranking instead of the Rolling Stone-influenced 5-star system), I personally haven't seen a band react to a bad review like Austin's Sound Team or its fans have. After receiving a 3.7 from Pitchfork writer Marc Hogan, the band has produced a video of an effigy/proxy being poked, mutilated, hurled off a cliff and burned.

In a way, you have to give them credit for hitting back with a metaphor on the Pitchfork effect. On the other hand, there's a part of me that cringes a bit when seeing the video. It's like begging for change or something. Still, it's about time that someone called "bullshit" on the Pitchfork effect (and it's getting people to write about it, so it's good publicity).

In addition, Christopher Zane took it upon himself to defend Sound Team by writing a letter to Marc Hogan and posted Hogan's reply.

Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Tapes 'n Tapes and Voxtrot, Sound Team owes a great deal of its buzz to blog pimping. But backlash strikes so quickly nowadays, and some people would love to be the first ones to puncture the blog hype balloon, because how could any band live up to the constant encomiums of the mp3 blog community, who constantly need to find new music to embrace, and pounce on each feted discovery until the life is sometimes squeezed out of it before the album's release date.

Does that mean Sound Team got a raw deal from Pitchfork, perhaps in reaction to blog hype? Noise for toaster comments "if (Pitchfork) can't handle the rise of influence from independent music bloggers, even with the same ultimate goal in mind - that is, to share good undiscovered music - and continue relentlessly to step up and imitate the qualities of blog posts (mp3 downloads, youtube streaming, live concert pictures blog-style), we have a bunch of immature foot-stomping adults on our hands". Or is it true that their "adenoidal overemoting and Wall-of-the-Edge guitars can't hide a shortage of, like, actual decent songs"? In this case, the answer most likely exists somewhere between the blog and Pitchfork hyperboles.

Posted by timothompson at 12:30 PM

June 13, 2006

Envelopes Remix

It sounds really summmery, and it's available on their MySpace.

Posted by timothompson at 10:57 AM

June 09, 2006

Bostonism

This Big Takeover article prompted me to open up Napster and reevaluate Boston's debut album. The album was played endlessly on our local radio stations, by the jocks in high school, at the beach, etc. I heard it so much, along with other music by Journey, REO Speedwagon and the rest of the 70s arena rock hair bands, it became like wallpaper. I retreated from it in my personal music listening time, preferring to listen to the Police and Elvis Costello, acts that were given critical approval by Rolling Stone, but weren't widely played on our city's radio stations until the early 80s.

I remember going to college and hearing this album echoing from dorm rooms again and again as we played basketball in the parking lot. At times I wanted to put my hands to my ears and just scream "Noooooooo! I cannot hear it again. Please stop telling me about your smokin' and tokin'."

Listening to it now, it seems so innocuous and not as evil as I once deemed it. Now that I have control, and I'm not hearing Brad Delp's voice emanating from my radio and in the streets over and over and over again, I kind of like hearing it. Does that mean I'm going to cue it up and listen to it again every day for the next few weeks like I've been doing with the Fall's "Rowche Rumble" lately? I don't think so. But it sounds so syrupy and lugubrious – it tickles my ear drums like honey. A drop of honey tastes sweet. A vat of honey can cause digestive problems. We won't even get into the lyrics.

Now I'm understanding the whole open-minded tip the geeks have been raving about for the past year or so. How do you know if you like music you detested as a youth unless you listen to it again with the ears of an adult? Have you tried it yourself, or have you relied on the opinions and rubber stamp of others to guide you? But it's like finding out you really like chick peas/ceci beans after years and years of avoiding them because you thought they were too gross looking and shiny? Wha? I like chick peas? What else might I like? Does this mean that even "Midnight at the Oasis" might appeal to me?

There are invisible lines we've all drawn, unconscious judgments we've made of the validity or vapidity everything we encounter. Some judgments will stand after careful speculation and inner reflection. Others may have been a snap judgment that we didn't even evaluate or give a second thought, programmed by outside forces like television, peers, or other media, or determined like mine, as a survival method against the inundation of the era's anointed cultural icons.

However, we must make these evaluations on our own. When it comes down to brass tacks, we have our desert island discs. We enjoy music that speaks to us for reasons both known and unconscious, and after trying something that someone else has anointed as this era's new messiah, we have the option to either take it or leave it. There are no absolutes, and nothing should be accepted just because someone else deems it so.

Update: Boston Globe critics debate the merits of the Boston album [via LHB] (I didn't realize it was the LP's 30th anniversary).

Posted by timothompson at 12:52 PM

May 10, 2006

Excuse me, weren't you in the Fall?

Here's January's Guardian Unlimited story in which the author attempts to track down anyone who ever played with the Fall (PDF version). MES: "It's a bit like a football team. Every so often you have to get rid of the centre-forward."

Posted by timothompson at 01:06 PM

May 08, 2006

Banana Peel Hits The Fall Tour

Yikes–more problems are afoot on this US Fall tour. A member of opening band the Talk threw a banana peel at MES's head. Below is a verbatim report from the Unofficial Fall site.

Sonia from the Teenage Fanclub message board:

I suppose if it wasn't a specticale it wouldn't be a Fall show, would it?

The night started with the barman saying they had their liquor license pulled on Friday. Yeay. There were maybe 50-60 people at the show. $25/head on a Sunday in downtown Phoenix - no surprise. But still, it's THE FALL for fecks sake. We missed the first band, and the second sent me to the bar to stare into my coke. The ice was nice - the kind that crumbles in your mouth.

I've always liked the Fall, but wouldn't call myself a "fan," with only two or three of their how many records, and having never seen them before (not for lack of want, but for lack of availability). The show opened with promise, with a nice video/audio distortion of Queen & Elvis. Then the band came on, only to find that the keyboard hadn't been set up by the crew. Huh? WTF? Minor chaos, but fixed fairly quickly. Mark takes the stage - I had no idea he was so tiny. He seemed to be in good spirits despite the pathetically small audience, so I thought, "Okay, we might actually get to hear a few songs." Second song in (no idea what was played, sorry) and the singer from the 2nd opener (The Talk) runs on stage and throws something at Mark's head. He rips off his jacket and chases after him out the back door. And so does half the audience. And the chick keyboard player. The rest of the band keeps playing. The crowd gets pushed back in, and a few minutes later back comes Mark. We get maybe two more songs (one being "I Can Hear the Grass Grow"), and the keyboards don't seem right. Crew can't manage to get things straight, Mark and her walk off in the middle of the song. Band left alone to play out the tune (clearly they're used to it). Then they all leave and eventually keyboard chick comes back and said something about "Sorry, but we were getting violently abused and disrespected, yada yada." Hello - it was your own tourmate and the crew that did the damage, not us. She walks off in disgust, some people start chanting "USA" and that was that. Hooray - I've seen the Fall once in my life!

Here's a message from the Talk, the support band. I have no idea if the rest of the tour is off but it doesn't sound good ...

...what you don't understand is the band was quitting anyway you're lucky they played as long as they did they played for less than that a few days ago mark is a dick and his band hates him and his wife they flew home tonight without him even knowing he pulled a corkscrew on steven the bass player poured beer and ashed on their tour managers head while he was driving and tonight was his last show as well and they weren't even going to play tonight but we asked them to do it for us so don't be a dick unless you know what's going on thanks.... THE TALK

More on the message board:

Update: The official site says the tour will continue with possible itinerary changes. I had originally mistakenly assumed that it might end since the entire backing band flew back to the UK. Narnack has now recruited The Cairo Gang as the replacement backing band. The unofficial site has posted an mp3 of MES's wife Eleni talking to the Phoenix crowd about the incident. And for completeness, here's the Pitchfork story.

Update: Another update from the 'Fork.

Update: The gig in San Diego is going on with Tim Presley on guitar, Rob Barbato on bass, and Orpheo McCord on drums.

Update: San Diego gig goes off without a hitch. "Don't throw away your tickets for the second half of the tour. Reports of the death of the Fall have been somewhat exaggerated." Amazing.

Posted by timothompson at 03:22 PM

May 03, 2006

"Fuck ‘em. Elvis never did encores. Never."

I can't comment much on the Fall show from last night as I got there right before the encore (after paying $10. Thanks, Stubb's staff.) due to a previous engagement. I was hoping that maybe we'd get something like "Big New Prinz" or even "Mr. Pharmacist." I love "Fall Heads Roll," so anything off of that would have been sufficient. We did get one of my favorite tracks off that LP, "I Can Hear the Grass Grow," but that was only two verses. It was disappointing because the last show I saw at Emo's had been a blast.

From reading the comments at the Fall discussion board, I didn't miss much. Following only seven songs, Mark E. Smith abruptly left the stage. For those who paid $20 + service charges, that amounts to about $3 per song. For better or worse, MES and the Fall's unpredictable live legend lives on.

Posted by timothompson at 02:35 PM

May 01, 2006

Pitchfork Killed Travis Morrison's Solo Career?

Like the 'Fork or hate it, that is some power (or abuse of power) there:

Morrison was the frontman for the Dismemberment Plan, a D.C. art-rock band that was adored by Pitchfork's staff -- so much so that they named the group's "Emergency & I" album of the year in 1999. Five years later, though, Morrison released a solo project, "Travistan," that Pitchfork deemed a complete disaster.

The album was branded with a dreaded 0.0 rating (Liz Phair and Sonic Youth are among the other artists who've suffered that indignity), and Morrison's bandwagon quickly emptied: College radio programmers cooled to his new project, a record store in Texas initially refused to stock the CD, and fans suddenly decided they probably shouldn't like Morrison anymore, either.

"I just got the sense [Pitchfork] thought I was a rock star and they wanted to take me down a peg, but I don't think it occurred to them that the review could have a catastrophic effect," says Morrison, who is working on a new album, with a new band. (He's also working a day job as a programmer for Washington Post-Newsweek Interactive.) "Up until the day of the review, I'd play a solo show, and people would be like, 'That's our boy, our eccentric boy.' Literally, the view changed overnight. . . . I could tell people were trying to figure out if they were supposed to be there or not. It was pretty severe, how the mood changed.

"The review isn't the story. The reaction to it is. The seriousness with which everyone takes Pitchfork is kind of mind-boggling."

Update: Long DCist thread on the issue [via].

Update: Derek discovered that Pitchfork may have reduced the new Tool album's rating by a point a day after the review was filed.

Posted by timothompson at 01:05 PM

April 21, 2006

MySpace Blogs

I've been liking Chris Stroffolino (who also writes for Big Takeover) and The Creature with the Atom Brain's MySpace blogs lately. Lots of insight and cool playlists.

Posted by timothompson at 12:50 PM

April 19, 2006

AABondy/LNuby

Former Verbena songwriter Scott Bondy has started to post some of his new demos on MySpace. There's one lofi rocker (blacklaffin), a folky Nick Drake-style song (Killing Tree) and another track reminiscent of "Souls for Sale"-era Verbena (hey preacher). Drummer Les Nuby has branched out on his own as well.

Posted by timothompson at 04:10 PM

April 15, 2006

It's Wiki

If three is a trend, then I suppose Matador and Mission of Burma starting a wiki preceding the release of its new album The Obliterati means having a wiki for your favorite band is the new black. Other sites started in the last few months include the Destroyer wiki and the Silver Jews wiki.

Posted by timothompson at 12:33 PM

April 04, 2006

Austin City Limits Festival Pre-sale Encounters Technical Malfunctions

Life's not fair. But you'd think after running an award-winning festival (or 2) for a few years running, the Austin City Limits Festival promoters would be able to handle server loads during their annual $35 limited pre-sale event to newsletter subscribers. I realize that the pre-sale is a crapshoot and that we should be grateful that the promoters allow people to buy some 3-day passes at such a affordable rate (and that the festival has been a sweaty torture chamber for the past two years due to unseasonably hot Indian summers here in Austin). However, it's piss poor performance for such an esteemed festival to have failed to email their entire list at once. Whatever the case, I finally received my announcement email at 10:36 p.m. (and others had similar experiences). I probably won't boycott the festival like Derek, but I'm feeling a little sour grapes about it right now.

As a big-time operation, it's time to invest some money into a ticket service provider that has scalability. As for me, I may be investing my $35 elsewhere this year.

Update: I was contacted by an ACL site coordinator about the issue.

Posted by timothompson at 12:11 PM

March 27, 2006

Berman Sings and Tour Report

• The Jewish site Nextbook features a podcast with David Berman talking to Sara Ivry about his faith and singing the new tune he unveiled on this tour, an adaptation of Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!"
• Thunder Down Country has a tour report from Ann Arbor with Berman sporting old mannish J. Mascis specs and Bob Nastanovich floating the possibility of a Pavement reunion.

Posted by timothompson at 02:17 PM

March 26, 2006

New Loud Family

Sue Trowbridge sent out an email about the new Loud Family LP, which should be coming out in July. They have a new track, "Total Mass Destruction," on their MySpace page. Their label has started a blog, and Jeff Norman has posted some rare mp3s on his site.

Posted by timothompson at 02:34 PM

March 08, 2006

Jocks vs. Soft Males

Stephen Metcalf discussing Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again postpunk book in Slate:

And now for a brief aside, if you'll indulge me. As someone imprisoned within a bizarrely testosterone-addled culture, it seems to me that the hermetically sealed universe of grad student twee epitomized by Orange Juice, and later by Belle and Sebastian, does have a larger significance. If you're an American, the very ideas of "literate, playful, witty, camp" conjure up a gender indeterminacy that makes many American males squeamish, to say the least. You close your book by adverting to George W. Bush; you wonder if the current crop of bands that name-check postpunk can oppose Bush, and his and Blair's joint venture in Iraq, with the same intensity that the original postpunkers opposed Reagan and Thatcher. We think of punk rock as necessarily violent and loud, but does political anger always have to be violent and loud? Look at how Bush came to power, then stayed there: in no small part by feminizing his opponents, often on the issue of national security. Responding to the tone colors the Republicans surrounded him in, the American electorate saw John Kerry as French, a kept man—good god—a windsurfer. Why not say it outright: He hits like a girl. A society with such a low tolerance for the ironic and quirky is a society with a low tolerance for ambiguity and nuance, and we're paying for this fact dearly right now.

Village Voice writer Mikael Wood trashing The Boy Least Likely To's The Best Party Ever in the Village Voice:

Next week these U.K. indie-pop wimps set out on a North American tour with James Blunt, the former Kosovo peacekeeper who surprised the world by proving that it's possible to be more insufferable than David Gray. Trés savvy: Nothing makes tunes called "Warm Panda Cola" and "God Takes Care of the Little Things" sound less puke worthy than ones titled "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover."

On The Best Party Ever, their debut (out since 2005 in England, but due here next month), the Boy Least Likely To come off as the boys most likely to replace Belle and Sebastian in the hearts of frail indie folk for whom Belle's recent diversion into swinging T. Rex glam-boogie constituted treason. Like Stuart Murdoch, singer Jof Owen tempers his hothouse melodrama with crucial wisps of black comedy; in "Fur Soft as Fur" he celebrates "fresh strawberries and cream" before admitting, "Sometimes at work I feel like a machine."

Owen's multi-instrumentalist partner Pete Hobbs helps keep the train out of the ditch too. He laces "Sleeping With a Gun Under My Pillow" with tumbling-tumbleweed slide guitar, and makes a jubilant Fisher-Price fiesta out of "I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Star." Best party ever? Hardly. Best pity party ever? Maybe.

Posted by timothompson at 01:56 PM

March 07, 2006

Silver Jews Warm-Up Show in Nashville

A couple meager reports (Lou Barlow?) from the Silver Jews show last night at The End in Nashville.

Update: The Nashville Scene has a review blurb of the show. Posted by timothompson at 10:04 AM

March 03, 2006

Texas Indie Music Video Festival Results

I've posted the Texas Indie Music Video Festival Results to MetroBlogging.

Posted by timothompson at 12:33 PM

February 04, 2006

Ray Davies Planning Porn Musical

File under bizarre: "THE KINKS star RAY DAVIES is brushing up on his pornography knowledge for a new stage musical based on his 1970s hit LOLA. The WATERLOO SUNSET singer fears he doesn't know enough about the world of porn movies to make a start on the provocative stage show, and so he's planning to research the genre thoroughly. He explains, 'I'm going to write a porn musical called Lola... I'm not a porn actor, so I have to do a bit of research, but I believe that society is so graphic that it's going to be my first Broadway hit.'"

Posted by timothompson at 09:29 AM

January 31, 2006

Disposable Music

Robert Christgau in the Pazz and Jop:

The blogosphere eats up music so fast that whole backlash cycles are over in weeks. On Metacritic, the enthusiasm of the Pitchfork rave that got the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah thing rolling is now exceeded by, I kid you not, that of Billboard—and also, just barely, that of me, which took months to formulate, after I dismissed a borrowed EP and then decided to buy the album and ran it through my head on cassette (right, cassette, stole that music myself) and finally woke up from a nap one day saying, "Gee, whatever this is it moves." By this time, CYHSY were a cliché. They're a nice little band who will enjoy a profitable alt-circuit run. But with bloggers and listserv geeks joking about their name, their hot moment is permanently over. Never before has rock criticism been so into three of its ancient sins: cooler than thou, instant gratification, and what have you done for me lately.

Posted by timothompson at 07:17 PM

January 29, 2006

Current Top 5

1. Luminous Orange: Sounds like: My Bloody Valentine, Lush
2. The Grates: Sounds like: KaitO
3. The Black Angels: Sounds like: the Velvet Underground and Brian Jonestown Massacre.
4. Jennifer Gentle: Sounds like: ?
5. The High Water Marks: Sounds like: Apples in Stereo and Dressy Bessy.

Posted by timothompson at 12:26 PM

January 26, 2006

Selling Indie Music For Cheap

Maria pointed to a screed by Patrick Monaghan at the saki store blog, who's annoyed that indie labels like Merge and Matador are now selling their wares at Best Buy at discount prices. I guess the post has been making the indie label rounds since Merge and Secretly Canadian commented about it in these threads.

Indie is hot and trendy right now--is it going to get like the alternative boom of the 90s with everybody trying to boast about their indie cred to be stylish? As I was reading Britt Daniel of Spoon (who has seen a few trends come and go) say the other day in the New York Times,

"There are great bands on major labels and bad bands on independent labels, but it seems like the records made on independent labels are more about real creativity and more heartfelt stuff," Daniel said. "It may just be a three-, four-, five-year cycle where indie music is cool. Sometimes I get cynical, but people tell me, 'No, this is the way things are going to be from now on."'

As Iggy once sang, "Here come the assholes they can smell the money."

Posted by timothompson at 04:21 PM

January 24, 2006

Brothers and Sisters

My new favorite Austin band is Brothers and Sisters. Here's what I posted about them last week on Austin Metroblogging:

I was watching my TiVo of Red River Rocks on ME Television this morning and caught a music video for a local band called Brothers and Sisters. Not only was I captivated by their chimey guitars and boy/girl Jayhawks-like singsong sound--I enjoyed watching their cutie cute video (directed by Michael Cash) featuring Trail of Dead singer Conrad Keeley and a mophead blondie getting all lovey dovey in the skating rink (Skateland?) under disco lights. Oooh, look at Conrad making puppy dog eyes. Look at the two running into each other as they leave the restrooms. Now they're smooching as the music fades and the guitars are a windin'. I'm probably going to watch this thing 10 more times today just to pick me up when I'm depressed.

Turns out the Bros and Sisses are playing Stubb's Thursday night with Knife in the Water. Maybe some girl will look me in the eye there, and we'll start smooching (yeah, right). But a boy can dream, can't he?

Lately the band's been downplaying that catchy song ("One Night") from the video (they call it their MySpace hit), but you can download it and another one called "Sunday Living" from last Sunday's Local Live performance on KVRX here.

Posted by timothompson at 02:02 PM

January 14, 2006

Common Words in SXSW Band Names

American

• American Eyes
• American Minor
• American Princes
• My American Heart

Black

• Black Angels
• Black Diamond Heavies
• Black Dice
• Black Furies
• Black Heart Procession
• Black Hollies
• Black Joe Lewis
• Black Moses
• Blackbud
• My Black Alps

Boy

• Boy
• Boy Least Likely To
• deadboy & the Elephantment
• Ex-Boyfriends
• Golden Boys
• Goldenboy
• Grassy Knoll Boys
• International Playboys
• Jacques and the Shakey Boys
• Nice Boys
• Skeletons & Girl-Faced Boys

Dirty

• Dirty on Purpose
• Dirty Pretty Things
• Dirty Projectors

Golden

• Golden Arm Trio
• Golden Boys
• Golden Dogs
• Goldenboy

Heart

• Black Heart Procession
• Metal Hearts
• My American Heart
• Young Heart Attack

Living

• Living Better Electrically
• Living End
• Living Things

Magnolia

• Magnolia Electric Company
• Magnolia Summer
• Magnolias

New

• New Amsterdams
• New Buffalo
• New Found Road
• New Pornographers

Pilot

• Amazing Pilots
• Dizzy Pilot
• Pilot Drift

Pink

• Ariel Pink
• A Pink Cloud
• Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds
• Pink Nasty
• Pink Spiders
• Pink Swords

Young

• Young and Sexy
• Young Heart Attack
• Young People

Posted by timothompson at 08:08 AM

January 12, 2006

New Cat Power Video Shot By Harmony Korine

Two weeks vacation in wintry Pennsylvania and an ensuing onslaught of work-related business (all good) have prevented me from getting my blog flow on. Apologies.

But I was reading the local daily this morning and saw that former buzz auteur director Harmony Korine shot the next video, "Living Proof," for Chan Marshall/Cat Power in Nashville and had to share (Not sure if that's hit the blog wires or not). And guess what--it's a bit racy. Can't wait to see it.

P.S. I like Santino (even with his raging ego). He posted the "Fashion" song. Woo!

Update: Patrick at Matador says the video is "not racy but amazing and will debut on Sunday." Cat Power (Chan Marshall) will be hosting MTV2's Subterranean for the debut.

Update: Video here. One Matador board commenter calls it "heavy handed" and "pretentious." I wouldn't call it racy or amazing. Boring, maybe? Love the song though.

Posted by timothompson at 01:10 PM

December 13, 2005

Drag City Christmas Gift

Rockin' Rian Murphy from Q101: "Yes, the Bob Nastanovich solo record could be yours!"

Posted by timothompson at 10:45 AM

December 11, 2005

New Graham Coxon Album

Woohoo!

Posted by timothompson at 10:59 PM

December 05, 2005

SJ Tour Rumors

Charlottesville, VA? Possibly with Malkmus?

Update: I guess they have a web page on Satellite Booking, so it looks to be true.

Update: According to someone on the Pave list, March 16th is solid, which means it falls the week of SXSW.

Update: I guess this is as close to an official announcement as we'll see. And the SJ MySpace is new to me.

Update: Blucarbnpinwheel posts the notice from the Drag City newsletter. According to SJ list, tour will last about two weeks and not go west of the Mississippi. So get ready to make couch arrangements, gas up the car or save up cash for a plane ticket.

Posted by timothompson at 07:01 PM

Real Audio Stream of Stooges Debut LP Rhino Reissue

"It's another year for me and you. Another year with nothing to do." [via] Purchase here.

Also: Confessions of a MySpace Junkie

Posted by timothompson at 04:05 PM

November 30, 2005

The Poor and the Fair and the Good

Whenever I see the title that "Tanglewood Numbers" song, I struggle to remember why it's so ingenious. And then it hits me. As someone on the Silver Jews board pointed out recently, the words correlate to grades (poor=D, fair=C, good=B), spelling out the initials of David C. Berman (DCB).

Posted by timothompson at 01:16 PM

Depraved Fangirls Interview with John Roderick

Depraved Fangirls Interview with John Roderick

DFG: I get the feeling from hearing "Everything is Talking" that our whole information on demand, instant communication way of life these days is seriously compromising notoriously famous reclusive nature. Or is this another example of that famous Long Winters ambiguity? You're quite a visible presence on the band's message board and elsewhere about the Interweb, so it doesn't seem like you're too much of a Luddite. Is your relationship with technology a love/hate one?

JR: Technology is fine for me, as long as it's people driven. You know, I love to surf people's photo sites, or read their blogs, or catch up on my High School Reunion, or read their MySpace pages. What I fucking hate are when cash machines address me by my first name, or when I get auto-dialed, or spammed. That song is about the distance that's growing between people as a result of some corporate shit-for-brains thinking that a recorded message in a hip-hop dialect is going to make me forget that I wanted to talk to a fucking person.

Posted by timothompson at 12:04 AM

November 18, 2005

Truly Disappointed...

Donewaiting.com hosts a discussion of most disappointing albums of 2005 (not the most disappointing albums of all time). For me, I might put Beck and Teenage Fanclub on the list.

Posted by timothompson at 03:33 PM

November 07, 2005

Concert Etiquette

So I get the feeling that people are a little perturbed by their fellow concertgoers lately. For the third time today, I've read a rant about how some idiot(s) at the show is (are) harshing the good times.

Exhibit A (Craigslist. I think I linked to a version of this before):

Yes, you in the pink Killers shirt. You must be a big fan. I know this not because of your attire (although that was a pretty good clue), but because of the way that you raised your hands and rocked them back and forth wildly in my field of vision for the entire show. At first, I admit I was annoyed by the distraction, but soon enough my annoyance turned to curiosity as I began to notice what you were doing.

It started off slowly. There would be a lyric saying "come on" or something similar and your raised hands would beckon slightly. I figured that you were kind of in the moment and perhaps dreaming about beckoning the dreamy midget lead singer to come ravish you in front of your meathead boyfriend. Fair enough. But then a few seconds later, there was a line saying "you shouldn't do that" or something similar and I noticed that you reverted to a wagging finger like Dikembe Mutumbo used to do after blocking a shot.

Exhibit B (mihow.com):

Toby Joe almost got into a fight with the entire O.C. Fan club. The two girls in front of us spoke about emailing boys the entire time AMC was on (the band I most wanted to see) and would clap wildly between songs. Pretty arrogant of them to clap at their own conversations. The sound at The Warsaw leaves a LOT to be desired. But, man, they have one kickin' disco ball.

I have said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, I really have to give *some* of this crap up which is why I left during Spoon's fourth song.

People don't talk during piano recitals, do they? Missy told us that doesn't happen. Why do folks feel the need to do so during other music shows? What happen?

Hey music-goers everywhere: SHUT THE HELL UP.

Exhibit C (Craigslist):

You suck my ass!

I shoulda punched you out first thing straightaway - then maybe your spastic gyrations and off-key yelling of song lyrics wouldn't have annoyed everyone in your general vicinity. Trust me - you are hated by all those who stood in front of Chris Walla about 20 feet from the stage near the stairs. The nice mother next to me wanted to beat your brains out with a rock...

Thank you sooooo much for ruining a perfectly lovely experience. Nobody paid $30 bucks to watch your lame ass flail and listen to you butcher the vocals. Speaking of your ass - that thing was outta control. A word to the wise - other people don't want your ass on them. Ever. Period.

Perhaps you missed that turn that would have taken you to the Bon Jovi concert or some equally inane rocker show where you could have done that cool backwards high five with your idiot pals. Who does that? Did you guys totally make that up all by yourselves?

Hell - even the girls you were with were annoyed. And when you tried to pick that one up - ah well, you shouldn't ever try to pick up a fat girl. Everybody knows that.

Please self-abort immediately if not sooner.

People are getting annoyed. Is it a generational thing? Is it people who like the OC versus the rest of the world? And why the intense hatred? Are people extra-sensitive? Is the music quieter?

Update: Michele from mihow.com emailed me a link to her earlier concert rant.

It made me think of a new solution to concert disturbances. Perhaps you could have concert zones. You could have the singing/drumming/air guitar zone, the text messaging zone, the marijuana smoking zone, the unlimited talking zone (somewhere in the back third), the sweaty zone, the drunks zone, the tall guy zone and the dancing with myself zone.

Posted by timothompson at 10:38 PM

Sam Bisbee: Music Licensing King

Went to Stereogum and learned that Cat Power had covered the Nerves'/Blondie song "Hanging on the Telephone" for a Cingular commercial. Looking for it on the Matador board, I then discover that Sam Bisbee produced it. According to his last news update, he's now licensing or releasing songs with MTV/Acuvue, CVS, Sundance, and GM in addition to his Cingular gig. And he doesn't even have a label. This guy could teach a course in the music licensing business.

Posted by timothompson at 02:42 AM

October 31, 2005

Ian Svenonius of Weird War Ties Together Neo-Folk and Electroclash

On Marketplace last week, Ian Svenonius related current music trends to today's economic serfdom [via]. Here's the Real Audio stream.

Posted by timothompson at 04:28 PM

Adam Green Coming Out With New Album

He tells Rolling Stone Beck attempted to pitch Scientology to him:

The former Moldy Peaches singer says he's halfway through recording his new album, after popping in and out of a New York studio throughout the summer to lay down a handful of tracks. Among them are "Hollywood Bowl," a tune about "dancing, teenage arcades and bowling," and "Novatell," inspired by a day hanging out with another sardonic singer-songwriter.

"When I was nineteen, Beck tried to take me into the [Scientology] Celebrity Centre," says Green. "I met a bunch of people, but I decided that it wasn't for me. I don't think I could get any kind of religion -- I never felt like I belonged to any kind of group other than my family."

Posted by timothompson at 12:02 PM

October 27, 2005

Record Labels Take Note

Ryan responds favorably to Merge including an mp3 download coupon along with the new Clientele vinyl album and adds some advice to quash album leaks:

Anyway, also, Merge, since you seem open to these new ways of thinking w/r/t this digital music stuff, here's another idea: You know how labels send out promo copies of an album months before the official release? And then those copies inevitably end up getting ripped and shared digitally (months before the official release)? How about this: At the same time promo copies go out in the mail, you immediately also make the album available for purchase from iTunes. You don't need to stop any of that other normal prep work that may be going on, like finalizing artwork, putting together PR stuff, etc. -- just make the album available on iTunes *in addition* to all that.

Here, here! I know that labels want to have all their press and magazine coverage in order, which requires a few months of lead time, but with the speed of the Web, a lot of buzz that could be capitalized on is lost by the time the album comes out. Who in the Hell reads magazines to learn about music releases anymore anyway? In the case of artists with large fanbases, fans will buy the album regardless of press commentary, and if the album does receive bad reviews, you can make mucho sales before the public reacts to them.

And when did this release tradition happen anyway? The Beatles used to record an album one month and release it a month later. The White Album was completed on Oct. 14, 1968, and released in the UK on Nov. 22, 1968.

According to this report, Eminem is one artist that reacted to leak pressures when releasing his last album:

"Eminem will finish his highly anticipated fourth album, ‘Encore’, days before it is to go on sale, according to published reports. This tactic is to be used by parent label Universal to crack down on pirating of the album which is due in November, a problem which affected ‘The Eminem Show’ in 2002. This resulted in its release date being brought forward by one week."

I'm sure accelerated download release schedules will become standard practice someday. But hurrah to Merge for being so forward thinking with mp3 coupons.

Posted by timothompson at 01:10 PM

October 26, 2005

Bobby Bare Makes a Play for the Younger Crowd

A la Jack White and Loretta Lynn, Bobby Bare Jr. helps his 70-year-old father to record a new album with Mark Nevers from Lambchop, mixing country and indie sounds in the smooth country tradition.

Related: "I'd like you introduce you to the next superstar. 20 years from now, he'll probably be ashamed of what I have done. He's probably going to sue me, and he and all of his friends will be sitting around stoned saying, 'Look what the old man made me do.' Let's give a big round of applause for Bobby Bare Jr."

Posted by timothompson at 10:38 AM

October 19, 2005

Silver Palace 7"

Turns out to be a joke novelty.

Related(?): K-Rock Brings You Pavement mp3 (courtesy of WFMU).

Posted by timothompson at 01:22 PM

October 11, 2005

Son of a Son of a Son

YABI in Magnet Magazine [via]: "As for the haters, let them picket the awards dinner when I’m inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I can just see it now. It’s January, in the future, and old (rock critic) Jim DeRogatis is all bundled up against a bitter wind coming off Lake Erie, steam coming out of his maw. He’s breathing hard, leaning against a frosted flagpole, with a rough-hewn picket sign fallen at his feet. It is only then that you notice he’s bleeding."

Not sure what DeRogatis did to inspire the comment. Interviews with Thurston Moore and the Dandy Warhols are also up.

Posted by timothompson at 03:00 PM

October 07, 2005

Links/Quotes (as usual)

Charles Cross gets the Art Chantry treatment:

I wrote a cover story for The Rocket, which is still legendary because we had an insane art director at the time, Art Chantry, who I was feuding with at the time. I wrote the first story, arguably, that anyone had ever done in appreciation of the Sonics. I tracked all of them down and wrote about their legendary tours and recordings. It was a massive, 5,000-word story, the biggest story that [The Rocket] had ever run. Art decided to get me back—he would run the entire story, but he would run it in 8-point type. So he has a gigantic out-of-focus picture and then here's this massive story that fit onto one single page. I mean, literally, you need a magnifying glass to read the story.

Mark Jenkins on the ubiquity and mediocrity endemic in today's bands (as epitomized in Spin's Band of the Day):

Oranger is OK, a designation that seems to fit most, if not all, of the other band-of-the-day (BOTD) acts. Perhaps it's unfair to describe BOTD as a sort of ghetto, but it does seem designed to give a little cyber ink to groups that Spin would otherwise feel compelled to ignore. It's a Web feature, so you can browse the list in various ways: most recent, alphabetical, and top five based on votes from the site's visitors. Last time I checked, the No. 1 of all time—which is only a few months, so far—was the Coral. Now, really, what other musical index is so dedicated to marginality that it could put the Coral in the top five? (Other than the U.K. charts, that is.) You can like or dislike the group, but no one's going to hail the Coral—or such other BOTD picks as I Am Kloot, American Analog Set, and Say Hi to Your Mom—as The Only Band That Matters, or The Beginning of a New Age. They're the 2005 equivalent of the Cyrkle, or Gerry and the Pacemakers, or the Beau Brummels (all of which had their charms, of course).

Posted by timothompson at 12:56 PM

October 05, 2005

New Music

I've fallen into a rut musicwise lately. Devendra and Co. just don't scratch my itch. So I'm going to actively try to reach out and discover new stuff. Since we all need another place to blog, I'm going to start posting my efforts to this last.fm journal.

The Dust Congress has a couple old and new Berman interviews for ya. And I found this article in the Ice Rocket engine recently.

Re: the DeLay indictment: Three strikes and you're out, right? Well, here's one and two. Let's hope Ronnie Earle can pull this off without any more fuck-ups.

Posted by timothompson at 05:11 PM

September 26, 2005

More

Just reposting items from the SJBB message boards and newsletters again. The latest rumor mills below:

• The Uni-Quarterly State of the Jews Address
• Drag City: "You see, Silver Jews are a tradition to the young and semi-young of our global village — they quote David Berman’s lyrics, incorporating them as catch-phrases into their impressionable lives, fashion their lifestyles after what they imagine Silver Jews’ albums to be espousing and burn their favorite songs onto mix-CDs that they seek to influence others with, the cheap bitches! Ah, what we wouldn’t do for this fandom…it seems like the least we could do (literally) to release an album every four years or so from one of Drag City’s most celebrated of bands."
• Drag City on Silver Palace: "Hey, American friend — wanna buy a really rare record? If you’re near a fine Drag City direct retailer, you’ll have a chance to buy one on October 18th. See, that’s the day Drag City’s little sister label Sea Note issues a mystery single so strange and mysterious…let's see, so strange and mysterious, we can’t tell you a single thing about this single! Well, perhaps just one little note — this record is related to our big October 18th release and a rumor that’s spread for some years over a collaboration with this band and another band on Drag City. That’s all we’re telling you — put together the pieces and five dollar bills and be the first in line — and you too might have this rarest of items!"
• Anonymous tour rumor: silver palace is happening and the shows are currently being booked. it looks like paul's going to come along and we'll have chasnny on guitar. we're going to ease dave into touring. i'd say more but i'm fairly drunk and have said too much. expect a decent amount of both our catalogs. malk might do a couple of shows.

Posted by timothompson at 05:12 PM

September 21, 2005

John Strohm Interview

Formerly of the Blake Babies and Lemonheads. Now a lawyer (guess this coincides with yesterday's Stereogum post). He'll also be covering Jackson Browne on the upcoming indie all-star "High School Reunion" album.

Posted by timothompson at 11:43 AM

September 16, 2005

Joos Touring or Lack Thereof

According to someone on the Silver Jews board who seems like they know what they're talking about, Silver Palace (David Berman and Will Oldham) will be releasing something next year. The same post mentions small to no tour for Tanglewood #s, but a possibility of a large tour for the Silver Palace project. I also found a few anecdotes on this site about Berman and another interview here.

Posted by timothompson at 08:14 PM

September 15, 2005

Recommended Blog for Austin Music Fans

Ian at Austin360blogs.com.

Posted by timothompson at 12:25 PM

September 14, 2005

Soi Disantra: Tangled Up in Jews: The Genius of the Silver Jews' Tanglewood Numbers, Part 1

Here.

Posted by timothompson at 10:14 AM

September 10, 2005

Ice Cream Man

At ArthurFest.

Posted by timothompson at 03:23 PM

September 07, 2005

The Kinks' Ray Davies on New Orleans and Katrina

From The (London) Times: "I have been astonished by the reactions and apparent shame of some of the U.S. television reporters who seemed overwhelmed to discover that there actually is poverty in America," Davies writes. "They made me want to grab my television and shout 'Hello, dear reporter, yes, America actually does have poor and underprivileged people as well. Hello, yes, the president might well be slow to react but at times like this, that's all that an over-burdened, out-of-touch president can be."

He's placed some photos of his New Orleans visits on his site.

Posted by timothompson at 08:09 PM

September 03, 2005

Thank You

[via]

Posted by timothompson at 12:52 PM

September 01, 2005

R.L. Burnside: 1926 - 2005

From Fat Possum:

We at Fat Possum are sad to announce that R.L. Burnside died today at his hospital room in Memphis.

Blues artist R.L. Burnside, who redefined the blues genre by incorporating indie rock acts and hip-hop production, died September 1, 2005, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Burnside was born November 21, 1926, in Harmontown, Mississippi, and spent most of his life in the north Mississippi hill country, where he worked as a sharecropper and a commercial fisherman and played guitar at weekend house parties. In 1968, noted folklorist George Mitchell recorded Burnside for the first time. In 1991 Burnside was the first artist signed to then-fledgling Fat Possum Records in Oxford, Mississippi. His debut, "Too Bad Jim," was produced by former New York Times pop critic Robert Palmer. Along with his friend, neighbor, and label-mate Junior Kimbrough, Burnside was one of the most popular and important blues musicians to emerge in the last two decades. He recorded the crossover collaboration "A Ass Pocket of Whiskey" with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in 1996 and became a cult hero. In 1998, music from "Come On In" was featured in several movies and television shows, including The Sopranos. Burnside sold hundreds of thousands of records in his lifetime. He is survived by his wife Alice Mae, twelve children, and numerous grandchildren.

Those wishing to help should send donations to:

Freeland & Freeland Trust Account
Burnside Memorial
P. O. Box 269
Oxford, MS 38655
(662)234-3414
All proceeds will go directly to RL's widow, Alice Mae.

Posted by timothompson at 09:29 PM

August 30, 2005

Computer Geeks: You Are Free to Join Bands

Are OK Go the geekiest band around today? Not only do they blog and podcast, but lead singer Damian Kulash told the Austinist's Allen Chen that new guitarist Andy Ross also does programming while on the road:

Well, Andy’s a total nerd. If you think I’m a nerd, Andy’s a huge-o nerd. Andy was a professional computer programmer when we met him. And guess what?

He didn’t quit his job - he still does it from the road.

Posted by timothompson at 03:22 PM

August 22, 2005

"Gimme Fiction" VS "Mr. Brightside" VS "Arcade Fire"

"Gimme Fiction" VS "Mr. Brightside" VS "Arcade Fire"

Posted by timothompson at 01:28 AM

August 19, 2005

Girl in Pink

Update: It was removed by CL, but reposted here and here. RANT: The girl in the pink Killers shirt at the Killers concert

Posted by timothompson at 06:39 PM

August 15, 2005

L.A. Times Article Explores Indie/Major Distribution Agreements

CalendarLive: Indies, majors tune into a new act [via].

Posted by timothompson at 11:57 AM

August 11, 2005

Steven Heller interviews "Punk" Magazine Founder John Holmstrom,

Holmstrom: "The battle over CBGB's is really–the astronomical rents, the elimination of crime in our beloved city and the suburbanization of our street culture, block by block–having the unintended effect of wiping out all the art and culture that made New York City an 'interesting' (although frightening) place to live. New York was the center of world culture for most of the 20th century. It's now becoming a gated community for the rich–ironically, the opposite of John Carpenter's vision in the film Escape From New York, where it was an out-of-control crime zone. Most of the reasons so many of us moved here in the 1970s, '80s and even the '90s was to be near the nightlife and the art scene and the culture. Now that culture is disappearing, and CBGB's has become the icon for this lost scene."

Isn't this what many U.S. urban centers, including Austin, are facing this decade?

Posted by timothompson at 08:37 PM

August 09, 2005

Another Berman Interview

Silver Jews site The Corduroy Suit features an October 1997 interview with David Berman by 5RP (aka Adalena Kavanagh).

Update: And now a web site. Will wonders never cease?

Posted by timothompson at 05:44 PM

August 06, 2005

[This is bad]

Every Stones album (even the ABKCO) on iTunes for around $10 each = quite tempting.

Posted by timothompson at 05:40 PM

Clothesline Saga

Various clothing styles worn by Bob Dylan.

Posted by timothompson at 02:33 PM

July 12, 2005

New Willie Album

I doubt this will be appearing on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart (An MSNBC article confirms it: "Universal Music Group Nashville is substituting palm trees for the marijuana leaves on CDs sold at the retail chain Wal-Mart, a huge outlet for country music that's also sensitive about lyrics and packaging.").

Posted by timothompson at 12:21 PM

July 09, 2005

A Badly Dressed Death Rocker

Ian Svenonius of Weird War in OC Weekly:

OC Weekly: What do you say to some 18-year-old kid who votes Republican?

Ian Svenonius: That’s some kind of weird death trip—the same thing as kids cutting their arms. Kind of apocalyptic in a sense. You’re really explicitly saying you want the economy to crumble, you want car bombs to go off in American cities. It reminds me of the proletarian masses marching to their death in World War I. The death urge is really central to the human psyche. The Bush people are like death rockers in a way. Goth/death weirdoes, but with really bad dress sense.

Posted by timothompson at 12:57 PM

July 07, 2005

Deathray Davies

Nice Flash site for Dallas' Deathray Davies. Seems a little Wes Anderson influenced, as also evidenced by their video featuring bad lip synching by Anderson favorite Kumar [via].

Posted by timothompson at 01:23 PM

New Joos Album Details: Berman to Tour?

From Billboard: "In fact, Berman is so pleased with the finished product that the notoriously stage-shy artist seems more likely than ever to support it with live shows at some point in 2006. Estimating that he's performed "about 12" times in his career, Berman acknowledges, "My attitude about performance is more mercenary now."

Related: The Dust Congress offers "Old New York" for download.

Update: Malkmus may join the tour, according to Fitted Sweats.

Posted by timothompson at 12:28 PM

June 26, 2005

Graham Coxon

Guitar Player: Graham Coxon's Studio Secrets: "One of my favorite tricks for adding excitement to a guitar track has nothing to do with guitar—it’s overdubbing maracas. I’m not a huge Stones fan, but when I first heard the maracas come in after the saxophone solo on “Brown Sugar” it gave me goose bumps. There’s something swampy and greasy about maracas. Tambourines sound too happy"

Posted by timothompson at 12:17 PM

June 22, 2005

Zombies Interview

Trevor Anderson of The High Dials interviews Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone of The Zombies: "At some point in the next year or so -- we don’t know when -- we’re thinking that we would like to play Odessey & Oracle in its entirety."

Posted by timothompson at 09:18 PM

May 31, 2005

Faith Boogie

"Let Me Do My Thang" rox like Roxanne Shante.

Posted by timothompson at 11:53 PM

May 25, 2005

I Am Phil Spector

What's wrong with a fro, man? It works for Omar Rodriguez. But seriously, if you read Ronnie Spector's bio, you'd know the man was bald as a cueball.

Posted by timothompson at 11:35 PM

May 18, 2005

Ask David Berman, Week Four and A Half

In case you missed it (I'm just syndicating this crap).

Posted by timothompson at 12:57 PM

May 13, 2005

May 13th: This Day In Beatles History

May 13th is a significant day in the history of the Beatles. In Steve Matteo's book on the Beatles' final album "Let It Be" from the Continuum 33 1/3 series, he mentions that the group posed for their famous photo in the EMI stairwell that reprised an earlier photo from their Please Please Me album on May 13, 1969.

All four Beatles gathered in the stairwell at EMI House, at Manchester Square, for a photo shoot for the cover of an album that was still going to be called Get Back. The photo was taken by Angus McBean, who in February of 1963 had photographed the Beatles in the exact same pose and location for the cover of Please Please Me, which, of course was only released in the UK. As it turned out, the shot was not used for the released Let It Be album. Instead, it appeared on the cover of The Beatles 1967-1970 (the Blue Album), a double album released in the U.S. in 1973.

The furry-faced and hippified Beatles looked quite different from the fresh and youthful young lads of the Please Please Me cover photo.

Steve Moss, whose photo is shown above, took the concept a little further. He merged the 1963 and 1969 stairwell photos together in Photoshop.

I had so much time on my hands that day that I decided to try to combine the 2 pictures, putting the young Beatles on the balcony above the older Beatles. First, I scanned the two covers on my housemate's scanner and brought them into Photoshop. Deciding to work with the Blue album's cover as my main image, the first thing I realised I had to do was match the colors on both covers - the photo on the Blue cover is balanced more toward more blue than white, and the Red cover's is conversely redder that white. Having done that, I had to correct for angle and scale on the Red cover, rotating it slightly and shrinking the young Beatles down to fit on that upper balcony. Then came the key: rather than simply joining the two pictures along a cut line, the image you see is 90% the Blue album's photo. After sizing the 1962 Beatles down and positioning them properly, I removed every part of that picture EXCEPT the Beatles themselves, leaving them floating in place. A large part of the remaining work lay in placing them believably into the shot, adding shadow and reflections where they would naturally go. After that, I took pieces of the Red album's photo (the ceiling and a few actual balconies) and merged them into the shot, correcting for perspecive changes (the depth of field on the 2 photos are very different). To finish it off and enhance the blending, I added a slight, fading red tint to the upper half of the photo so that toward the top of the image it would more closely match the palette of the Red album. That was pretty much it.

May 13, 1970, marked the day that the film version of that album Let It Be premiered in America, almost a month after Paul McCartney announced the Beatles break-up in a press release for his McCartney album. And that ends this installment of "This Day In Beatles History."

Posted by timothompson at 04:30 PM

May 09, 2005

McCartney + Godrich = McCartney III?

I've been reading a great book on under the radar musical treasures called Lost in the Grooves (web site here and blog here), which covers albums that were either overlooked, badly reviewed or under-marketed when they originally came out. One such release was Paul McCartney's post-pot bust 4-track experimental album McCartney II (on which he played all the instruments in a sequel to his first solo album McCartney).

For his next album, McCartney told Rolling Stone [via] that Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich convinced him to play all the instruments (as he did on McCartney, McCartney II and the "Spies Like Us" theme song–ok, maybe not that one). As long as Godrich can avoid too much knob twiddling, this news is almost as exciting as hearing that Sting has started rocking seldom heard Police tunes in concert again.

Update: Some great Lost in the Grooves merch (including illustrations from Tom Neely) from Cafe Press here.

Posted by timothompson at 03:42 PM

April 27, 2005

Pavement Space Ghost MP3s

Altruist Mike B. (nice front page!) provides mp3s of Pavement's performance on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Posted by timothompson at 10:32 PM

April 22, 2005

Glorious Noise Reveals...

The Morning News' much loved wannabe indie musician Gary Benchley turns out to be none other than FTrain's Paul Ford. And it's a book (and there is no Santa Claus).

Posted by timothompson at 12:35 AM

April 21, 2005

Ask David Berman

Do you have a question for the Silver Jews' David Berman? fittedsweats is here to help (you can email questions here).

Posted by timothompson at 05:16 PM

April 14, 2005

Marty the MC

If you've ever seen the Shins live, you'll notice that between songs lead singer James Mercer will take a break while keyboardist Marty Crandall handles the between song banter. I always wondered how they came to that arrangement. Well, according to this interview with Mercer in the Montreal Mirror, you have his father to thank for that:

(My father) watches us and gives us pointers about things, like how to handle yourself between songs. My dad was a big proponent for having Marty as the emcee, with me off to the side. There are rare occasions where I'm talkative on stage, but Marty just seems to naturally love the spotlight, so he can have it.

Posted by timothompson at 03:38 PM

April 13, 2005

New York Dolls Working on New Album

Jason Gross (of Perfect Sound Forever) reports that the New York Dolls have about 11 songs lined up for a third album (despite David Johansen's comments at SXSW saying he was quitting the business because he had a fellowship at Columbia University).

Posted by timothompson at 03:15 PM

Year of the Music Festival?

Yet another summer music festival, the CMJ-Rock Hall Fest, will take place June 9-11 at the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio. MTV reports on the artists who are headlining:

The Pixies, Futureheads, Spoon, Stephen Malkmus and the Misfits have been added to the lineup of the inaugural CMJ/ Rock Hall Music Fest. The three-day event (June 9-11) in Cleveland will also feature the Art of Modern Rock Poster show, a discussion with Grandmaster Flash, a guitar competition judged by Joe Satriani and additional gigs by the Digable Planets, Powerman 5000, Keoki, Mushroomhead, From First to Last and Nashville Pussy.

Posted by timothompson at 12:49 PM

April 06, 2005

EasyTree Goes Down (And Back Up)

Live music sharing suffered a serious blow with EasyTree.org being taken down today:

We got a call from our provider, they had received a few letters from a couple of lawyers. They requested EZT to be shut down immediately, otherwise we and the hosting service would be sued.

I'd like to know which parties and lawyers were involved. This site only shared live music, BTW.

Update: As you probably know by now, EasyTree has a new host and domain set up here.

Posted by timothompson at 01:53 PM

April 05, 2005

Wolf Eyes + School Project = Free Jazz Noisefest

A high school jazz band covers Wolf Eyes for a school project.

Posted by timothompson at 05:00 PM

April 03, 2005

Another View of Rubber Soul

This is what blogz are for.

Posted by timothompson at 10:00 PM

March 29, 2005

The Quotable Catchdubs

There's something to be said about the skill that Nick Catchdubs has with mixing classic rock references with street lingo. I am going to use this post as a storage place for my favorite quotes:

“David Fricke your jeans are mad tapered.”

“But on the reals, where’s the love for Rick Danko?!”

Posted by timothompson at 01:40 PM

Cat Piss Blues

The Friedbergers/Fiery Furnaces interviewed by PETA about their pets [via an ad on Stereogum]:

P2: Did either of you have any companion animals when you guys were growing up, or do you have any animals now?

FF: Oh yeah, when we were growing up. We don’t have any animals now. We’re both very dog crazy. We had a cat and a dog growing up. Our cat, Rodney, was very interesting, actually. He chose my mom to like and didn’t like Eleanor that much.

P2: For no reason at all?

FF: Oh no. There is a very good reason. Eleanor says it’s not true, but … I remember when Eleanor got her first electric guitar. I think I gave it to her for her birthday. A friend of mine had this case he wasn’t gonna use, this real nice guitar case. … So Eleanor took it home and apparently she left it open. … She fixed it up—she made it so it fit her guitar perfectly and was all funny colors—but apparently Rodney didn’t like the attention being paid to the case and he peed in it. So that’s what he thought of Eleanor’s would-be music career apparently.

P2: Uh-oh.

(It's true. Blockquoting makes blogging easy.)

Posted by timothompson at 11:56 AM

March 28, 2005

Two Letters

Letter to Tape Op Magazine (March/April 2005):

Hi. My name is Anthony and I was wondering, can I record my demo on the computer and if you can show and tell me how, email me. -Toni

Sure. No problem. It’s so simple. Wait, I need to finish editing these letters before I write that book for you

-Larry Crane, Editor

Letter to Sub Pop Records:

Dear Sub Pop Records, My name is Brian XXXX and I'm 14. I'm from Othello, WA and I play guitar. I am a self- taught guitarist. I play on my boombox in my room with Styx, Journey, Green Day, Nickelback, Metallica and music like that. I was wondering what does it take to get a record deal. I have met Styx, Mark Wills, Joe Nichols and I just love music. I just know that I can become a GREAT guitarist in a band. What does it take to get a record deal? I also have made my own song up. It has a cool guitar riff throughout the whole song.

Please Write Back Soon,

Brian

I guess you can't fault them for asking.

Posted by timothompson at 05:23 PM

March 21, 2005

Amazon Guides

Amazon has been having artists post their top 20 albums.

Posted by timothompson at 09:53 AM

March 16, 2005

Clarence Skiboots

A preview of the upcoming Malkmus album “Face The Truth” from Clarence Skiboots:

This is Malkmus' most innovative album yet.It picks you up and takes you for a ride from the very beginning of the opening track 'Pencil Riot', which has a mix of guitar and keyboards I have never heard from Malkmus before.It gets the album off to a great start.Then comes 'It Kills' which fuckin' rocks hard, better than live versions I've heard.With 'I've Hardly Been' comes another new style from Stephen, with guitars galore and vocals which also serve as another of Malkmus' instruments he handles with grace and godliness.'Freeze The Saints' showcases Malks lyrical talents and his beautiful vocals in hushed tones.'Loud Cloud Crowd' is another solid track, with a mix of jangly guitars and moonlight melodies.'No More Shoes' is the guitar jam that Mr.Malkmus has been trying to perfect for years, and he has accomplished the task here.It's an 8 minute masterpiece.'Mama' was a nice surprise as well, as I have heard live versions, and this version far succeeds those.'Post Paint Boy', known to some as Maker Of Modern, is another gem which Stephen has polished up, look for this to be one of the first singles.'Baby Come On' is the other song that could be the first single released, with Stephen rockin out.He ends the album with a 3 minute ditty called'Malediction'.It's a beautiful song, and much different than the epic 1% Of One ending we had on Pig Lib.

Overall, I give this cd a solid A.

We don't think Clarence will be putting the album on Soulseek, unfortunately.

Update: I guess it is now on Soulseek? Weird stuff on first listen.

Update: The first single, Post-Paint Boy, is on iTunes.

Update: ILM thread.

Update: Acid Casualties has an MP3 of the interview with Steve Lamacq at SXSW.

Update: Get my favorite track, "No More Shoes."

Update: FakeJazz reviews it.

Posted by timothompson at 09:19 AM

March 14, 2005

SXSW Cracking Down on Day Parties?

The SXSW organization has started revoking press passes of some publications holding day parties, according to the unofficial list. Most recently, they revoked Chunklet Magazine's pass. The SXSW day party scene has outgrown the showcases to the point where you can avoid buying overpriced wristbands and still get to see most of the bands you want to see.

David of Wisdom Teeth:

Speaking of sxsw, those assholes revoked chunklet magazine's press pass. The official reason is that they weren't going to cover the festival enough, but through the grapevine I heard it was because they were advertising their free party/day show too much. I'm thinking of making t-shirts that say "sxsw destroys music" and wearing it around all week.

If true, this is a bad trend. Though they have the right to protect their intellectual property, what the higher-ups at SXSW might not realize is that the day parties are not parasites of their festival. They actually make the festival stronger. And remember, nobody likes a buzzkill.

Posted by timothompson at 02:51 PM

March 11, 2005

SXSW Band Search

I was hoping someone would invent this—a search tool for SXSW bands. [via]

Posted by timothompson at 02:34 PM

March 10, 2005

TCB

Christopher Gray quashes SXSW rumors and gives out three pertinent morsels of info in today's Austin Chronicle column:

One rumor that definitely isn't true is the Arcade Fire as the Merge showcase's special guests; the Montreal mopers are booked in jolly olde London that day. Another eyebrow-raiser was Interpol and Spoon joining forces to play under an assumed name, but the New York kids will be en route from Missouri to Florida, leaving Britt Daniel and company with a little extra room on the guest list for their March 17 Austin City Limits taping with Ray LaMontagne.

Though people waiting for the purported Geto Boys reunion will have to keep waiting, every so often one does turn out to be true, like the original lineup of Guided by Voices as special guests at their own hoot night Thursday at Emo's. Like most SXSW shows, a (very) limited number of tickets will be available first-come first-served at the door for those lacking badges or wristbands, which once again sold out a heartbeat after becoming available.

So, no Arcade Fire at the Merge showcase, the original GBV will reunite at their hoot night and Spoon will play Austin City Limits again. And knowing that, was Ryan right about Dino Jr. playing the secret Merge showcase slot? See you there.

Update: Ryan now tells me that Merge is releasing the next Teenage Fanclub album. Could the secret slot be them?

Update Update Update: Frank Chromewaves assures us it's Spoon (and this Merge discussion thread confirms it). They rate two showcases? No fair!

Update: There are other artists with more than one showcase including Peter Rowan, Radio 4 and “the hardest working man at SXSW” Robyn Hitchcock, who now has four—yes, four—showcases (Wednesday, March 16th, at Emo's Main Room; Thursday, March 17th, at the Blender Balcony; Friday, March 18th, at the Cactus Cafe; and Friday, March 18th, at La Zona Rosa) and one day party, Saturday March 19th at Yard Dog. SXSW loves them some Robyn Hitchcock.

Posted by timothompson at 11:44 AM

February 28, 2005

Porchlight Pop Fest

Some friends of mine are holding a SXSW day event called the Porchlight Pop Fest. It was a blast last year, because there's both a dark indoor music event going on inside the Tillery St. Theater, and a nice shaded outdoor park-like enclave for when you're not sure if you like the current band that's playing and you just want to relax and look at fellow indie types nursing hangovers in the sunshine (weather permitting).

Posted by timothompson at 03:25 PM

February 25, 2005

Download SXSW MP3s

For those of you not up to speed on Podcasting, Moletie Media has compiled a page you can use to download all the current SXSW artist MP3s at once. (A SXSW rep comments: “Man, our poor little webserver is getting hammered! Enjoy the music. Buy the artists’ CDS!!”)

Posted by timothompson at 06:10 PM

Rodeo To Feature Eclectic Line-Up

Not to be outdone by its music geek cousin SXSW, the more mainstream Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo (that I mentioned before here) has announced its concert line-up. Performers slated to play include the expected country acts like The Charlie Daniels Band, Dierks Bentley, Gary Allan, Brad Paisley, Clay Walker, Kevin Fowler and Joe Nichols (and alt-country band Cross Canadian Ragweed); the Mexican band Grupo Pesado; boomer rock in 38 Special; and MTV favorites Nelly and Maroon 5.

Posted by timothompson at 01:40 PM

February 24, 2005

$110 SXSW Wristbands Sell Out On First Day

I just got back from a mad dash to Waterloo Records to purchase my SXSW wristband after seeing on the unofficial SXSW mailing list that 1,000 of the 2,000 at the $110 price were sold by lunchtime. From the list:

The guy who bought my wristband today tells me he snagged #950 and #972 at lunchtime, after waiting approximately 40 minutes. So, if anybody thought they could get a $110 band tomorrow, they're sadly mistaken.

Unlike in previous years, SXSW only put 2,000 instead of 4,000 wristbands up at the cheaper price (I will have more to write about this tomorrow).

Shortly after I got to Waterloo (through rush hour traffic) at 5:45, the last $110 wristband sold out around 6 p.m. From a girl in line with me, I learned that lines had snaked around the Waterloo building all day, with a brief lull between 3 and 4 p.m (some video from the Austin American-Statesman here).

After today, 2,000 more will be on sale for $130 (the price I got mine at). When the second 2,000 sell out (probably by tomorrow or Saturday), the cost will increase to $150 (maximum four per person, cash or credit card only).

According to someone on the list, people with a badge can buy one for the $110 price (one per badge) at the Austin Convention Center.

Update: Wristbands at Waterloo are now going for the $150 price. Anyone in Austin needing one should call Encore Music and Video (8820 Burnet Rd, Austin, 78757 - (512) 451-8111) to see if they have any more of the $130 wristbands available.

Posted by timothompson at 06:41 PM

February 23, 2005

Full SXSW Music Showcase Grids Now Available

Get those spreadsheets ready.

Posted by timothompson at 11:27 PM

Spoon Plays “Secret Show” in Austin

Spoon played an unexpected show at Trophy’s in Austin last night. My friend Charles called me at about 6 p.m. to tell me he had heard about the show from a friend. We had no idea what kind of show it was going to be. A possible “Real World Austin” event? I thought it might be a straight run-through of “Gimme Fiction” songs in the exact order of the album since they had done a couple of preview shows for “Kill the Moonlight” about two years ago that were dominated by the KTM songs.

Charles said they were going to announce it on the radio or something, and that I better get there early or get shut out. So I got there at 7:15 having no idea how many people were going to be there. I expected to see some kind of line or at least a full club. But there was at most about 15 people. It turns out that the show wasn't going to start until 11. We were due for a long wait (I considered this good preparation for upcoming must-see SXSW showcases).

Finally, after an interminably long wait, the band came on.

I think they opened with “Beast and Dragon, Adored,” which has become my favorite track on the new album. Other GF songs they played included “My Mathematical Mind," “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine,” “Sister Jack,” and “The Delicate Place.” I think “The Delicate Place" is going to become one of the highlights of their live shows this year. It just builds and builds and builds until at the end everything just goes nuts. Lots of the crazy scattershot shards of guitar action Britt Daniel likes to do when he turns to Jim Eno and they start feeding off each other's energy.

The place never totally filled up, and it was great to see them in a small club like when they played Beerland right before the last album was due to come out.

The new (to me) keyboardist is great, too. He's very good with the maracas and adds some second guitar.

Other songs played (to the best of my recollection): “30 Gallon Tank,” “The Way We Get By,” “Anything You Want,” “Everything Hits At Once,” “Jonathan Fisk,” “Small Stakes,” “Paper Tiger," “Fitted Shirt,” “Lines in the Suit” and “Car Radio.”

Posted by timothompson at 08:45 PM

February 17, 2005

Upcoming Indie Releases Leak, Angering Artists

With the upcoming Spoon album informally released to the torrenting masses, we now have a trifecta of artists who have seen their long-in-progress works leaked in the last two weeks. First, we had Sleater-Kinney politely request that the downloading stop in their journal, and One Louder posted today that Scott Herren of Prefuse 73 has even harsher words for the people who leaked his “fucking album”:

To all you wonderful people that have downloaded my fucking album. thanks!! To you fantastic people responsible for posting my fucking album = an extra thanks to you!! I should shelve this album, let the computer have it, quit Prefuse and start a hand clapping orchestra. If I could afford to give this album to everyone - i would do it, but instead i fucked up and forgot i was wearing a sign around my neck that says; "I work for free!", my bad... Alright - big up yourselves. Gracias...!

Will Spoon be the next artist to post an anti-downloading missive on its site? Which starving artist will be next to join the “hand clapping orchestra” (Spoon is admittedly experienced at it)? Stay tuned...

Update (2.19.05): Both Prefuse 73 and Sleater-Kinney (due to a site redesign) have pulled their statements about the leaks.

Posted by timothompson at 02:11 PM

Remixes of Beatles' “Rubber Soul” Classics

Stanislav at Orbis Quintus has remixed some classic Beatles' tracks to improve the production.

Posted by timothompson at 02:03 PM

February 16, 2005

Hip Hop Hits SXSW

HoustonSoReal has a list of hip hop acts he's helped to book for this year's SXSW:

Wednesday, March 16th, Backroom
Bun B & MDDL FNGZ, Port Arthur/Houston
Devin the Dude, Houston
Trae, Houston
CHOPS, Philly
Play N Skillz, Dallas
Partners N Crime, New Orleans
Basswood Lane, Austin
Abstraq, Beaumont
Dat Boy Mikee, Austin
Barely Broke Family, Austin
DJ Rapid Ric and DJ Chill in between sets, Austin/Houston

Thursday, March 17th, The Vibe (all live bands with rappers)
Scarface and the Formaldehyde Funk Band, Houston
Bavu Blakes, Garland/Austin
Money Waters, Dallas
Zin, Houston
Mojoe, San Antonio

Thursday, March 17th, Zero Degrees
Diplo, Philly
M.I.A. (maybe, hoping, trying – she’ll be at sxsw, on this show and/or something else)
DJ Lt. Dan, Delaware (with special guest?)
DJ Rapid Ric, Austin (with special guests?)
DJ Chill, Houston (with special guests?)
DJ Panko, Spain (with special guests?)
Nick Nack, Austin (with special guests?)

Friday, March 18th, Fox and Hound
Slim Thug, Houston
Swishahouse, Houston
Chingo Bling, Houston
Baby Bash, Vallejo/Houston
Grit Boys, Houston
DSR, Dallas
K-Rino and South Park Coalition, Houston
Ovadose, Gary, Indiana – formerly of Grind Family
Ghostwriters, Houston
MC Fatal, Austin
Deep, Houston
DJ Chill/Rapid Ric between sets, Houston/Austin

Friday, March 18th, Zero Degrees
Josh Martinez, Sleep, Chiccarones, Canada
Studemont P