Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Awaits You - And Your $8499

Got a spare $8499 and a dream? Then attending Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in Hollywood, California next February 16-20 is for you! That is, as long as your dream involves performing "live on stage with Roger Daltrey of The Who, the entire band Cheap Trick, & Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers at the famous House of Blues on the Sunset Strip!"

If you're asking yourself whether that's worth more like $7499, keep in mind that's the entire band Cheap Trick.

Plus, the line-up of counselors is nothing to sneeze at:

Jack Blades, Night Ranger (Camp Director)
Simon Kirke, Bad Company (Drums)
Bruce Kulick, Kiss (Guitar)
Doug Fieger, The Knack (Guitar)
Elliot Easton, The Cars, (And The New Cars) (Guitar)
Michael Lardie, Great White (Keyboards, Guitar)
Vince Melamed, Jimmy Buffet/Eagles (Keyboards)
Kip Winger, Winger (Bass)
Gary Burr, American Idol (Songwriter)
Jeff Pilson, Dokken (Bass)
Jerry Renino, The Monkees (Bass)
Kelley Keagy, Night Ranger (Drums)

Still not convinced? Do the words "welcoming cocktail party" mean anything to you? Of possible concern is that aspiring rock gods are required to "show their musical ability" to the rock counselors who "will place each camper in a band according to his or her ability." This (potentially) humbling process occurs immediately prior to the cocktail party, raising some questions. Like: is it an open bar? And how early does rock school start the next morning? Rock stars shouldn't have to wake before noon, should they?

Last year's schedule reveals that classes sometimes started as early as 9 AM, which feels too "camp" and insufficiently "rock and roll". However, I approve of this kind of activity (listed on last year's schedule):

1:30 pm - ? LOCATION TBA
HANG OUT

That's more like it. Rock!

The Monkees - Randy Scouse Git (from Headquarters, Greatest Hits, etc.)

Great White - Once Bitten Twice Shy (from ... Twice Shy, Greatest Hits, etc.)

Eagles - Desperado (from Desperado, Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975)

Cheap Trick - ELO Kiddies (from Cheap Trick, The Essential Cheap Trick)

The Knack - Good Girls Don't (from Get the Knack, The Retrospective: The Best of the Knack, etc.)

NME The Cool List 2005 CD

The current issue of NME includes NME The Cool List 2005, a CD compilation of "cool", and therefore good music. It's not quite as good as "indie" music, but it's still good.

NME The Cool List 2005 Track Listing:

1. We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
2. The Long Blondes - Lust in the Movies
3. The Cribs - We Can No Longer Cheat You
4. Mystery Jets - You Can't Fool Me Dennis
5. Test Icicles - Maintain the Focus
6. The Paddingtons - Panic Attack
7. Antony and the Johnsons - Frankenstein
8. The Go! Team - Ladyflash
9. Kano - I Don't Know Why
10. Forward, Russia! - Thirteen
11. Cut Copy - Going Nowhere (erroneously called "Future" in NME's track listing)
12. Be Your Own Pet - Bunk Trunk Skunk
13. Dangerdoom - Mince Meat
14. Dan Sartain - If I Could Have Had You
15. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Over And Over Again (Lost And Found)
16. Lupen Crook - Lucky 6

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces Inductees, Rejects Others, Raffles Tickets

The 2006 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. Passing muster with the voters: Black Sabbath (on their 8th nomination), Blondie (1st), Lynyrd Skynyrd (7th), Miles Davis (1st), and The Sex Pistols (5th). All will be inducted into "the Hall" during an induction ceremony, the details of which are shrouded in mystery but rumoured to involve each inductee lying in a coffin and reciting their sexual history in a roomful of snickering record label executives. Or possibly it will occur on March 13 in New York and be quite public and showy. And even include a Lifetime Achievement Award, in this case for Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, co-founders of A&M Records.

For the first time, tickets to the ceremony are being made available to the public. The catch is that you can only buy the chance at a ticket to the ceremony. The charity raffle will give away four pairs of tickets, along with $1,000 for each raffle winner (to offset travel expenses). Each raffle ticket is $100. Funds raised go to educational programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Fifteen artists were nominated this year. Among those not making the cut: Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash, J Geils Band, John Mellencamp, the Patti Smith Group, and the Stooges.

Songs by the inductees... except Black Sabbath... below. Eight tries? Once it takes eight nominations to get inducted, can we, the music-loving public, feel confident that the voters didn't just feel sorry for an artist? Is this a pity induction? How can we be sure?

Miles Davis - Mystery (from Doo-Bop)

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps (from Smokes, The Collection, etc.)

Blondie - Hanging on the Telephone (from Parallel Lines, Greatest Hits, etc.)

The Sex Pistols - Submission (from Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols)

NME Presents: The Essential Bands

Out tomorrow in the UK: NME presents The Essential Bands, a 2-CD compilation that offers NME a way to make dough and people not "down" with what the (British) kids are listening to a chance to check out tracks from 39 NME-approved artists. If you love mix CDs but hate making them, it also offers an easy out, albeit at a higher price than a friend is likely to charge to make you one.

The "Essential Bands" title is silly. Beck is not a band, nor is Goldfrapp. I don't find the music of Scissor Sisters or Ordinary Boys essential. Some of the artist and track selections are pretty iffy. I would have picked different songs by several of the artists, but then again, the title is "Essential Bands", not "Essential Tracks". An NME compilation now with "Feel Good Inc." on it feels weird. Great song, but it's too late for its inclusion to feel timely, too late for "Best Week Ever"-type nostalgia, too soon for any other nostalgia. Similarly, I adored The Futureheads' cover of "Hounds of Love" and listened to it a lot months ago, but I'm done with it for now. It's nice that it's getting more exposure, but hep kids already know it. Herein lies one of the oddest things about this NME compilation: it likely isn't well-suited for most people who read NME.

NME Presents: The Essential Bands Track Listing:

Disc One:

1. Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
2. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc.
3. Goldfrapp - Number 1
4. Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
5. Kasabian - Club Foot
6. The Killers - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
7. Hard-Fi - Living For The Weekend
8. Bloc Party - Two More Years
9. Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama
10. Babyshambles - Fuck Forever
11. The Automatic - Recover
12. Queens of the Stone Age - Little Sister
13. Ordinary Boys - Boys Will Be Boys
14. The Futureheads - Hounds Of Love
15. The Bravery - Unconditional
16. Razorlight - Somewhere Else
17. The Subways - Oh Yeah
18. Test Icicles - Circle Square Triangle
19. Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
20. Paul Weller - From The Floorboards Up

Disc Two:

1. Coldplay - The Speed Of Sound
2. The Magic Numbers - Forever Lost
3. Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle
4. New Order - Waiting For The Sirens' Call
5. Keane - Everybody's Changing
6. Athlete - Wires
7. Embrace - Ashes
8. Snow Patrol - Spitting Games
9. Turin Brakes - Fishing For A Dream
10. Beck - E-Pro
11. Doves - Black and White Town
12. Stereophonics - Devil
13. Kubb - Wicked Soul
14. Super Furry Animals - Lazer Beam
15. Elbow - Forget Myself
16. The Tears - Lovers
17. Bedouin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song ( included this song in a post about tastemakers' predictions of "the next big things")
18. Supergrass - St. Petersberg (also posted this one a while back)
19. Feeder - Tumble and Fall

The Earlies: Wayward Song, Lows

The Earlies might get so tired of descriptions like electronic, psychedelic, lo-fi, and progressive that for their second album, they'll decide on a hip-hop/country/gregorian chant direction. Does the album title These Were the Earlies anticipate such a change? Probably not, but in the unlikely event of such a switch I'll look very clever.

The band is currently on their first North American tour in support of their album. It was released in their native UK last year, but only released in the US late last month. They played in Denton, Texas tonight, and are next playing a couple nights in Arizona before coming to California for a show in San Diego, one in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco. While in L.A., they'll perform on Morning Becomes Eclectic, this Thursday, December 1 at 11:15 AM PST. Their tour schedule through Dec. 16 is available on their website.

The Earlies - Wayward Song (from These Were the Earlies)

The Earlies - Lows (from These Were the Earlies)

Rare INXS B Sides

A couple more nifty tracks courtesy of ScottSpy, this time from INXS. Both are B sides from the 1983 single, "To Look At You". In its own way, each sounds quite a bit different than the INXS we're used to. "The Sax Thing" is a jazzy tune (the title was a hint there); "You Never Used To Cry", a fun, straight-out doo-wop song with marching-band drums.

INXS - The Sax Thing (a "To Look at You" B side from 1983)

INXS - You Never Used To Cry (another "To Look at You" B side)

New NuINXS Songs: What You Need?

Songs from the new nuINXS album, Switch, out next week in North America and the UK. These are shared today in the spirit of a U.S. President announcing pardons timed to coincide with a holiday, when he knows far fewer people pay attention to the news. The songs are guaranteed 100% Michael Hutchence-free, so if you've been avoiding INXS all these years because of his presence, now's your chance to give them a try! I listened to most of the album. "Pretty Vegas" you likely know already, and know whether or not you like it. That aside, a couple of the songs are decent-for-what-they-are... too poppish for my tastes, but pretty good... "Like It Or Not" is one of them." It's not lyrically brilliant, but you may start to think of it that way after listening to a song like "Perfect Strangers" or (not shared today, but if anyone wants it... when I return home, I'll post it) "Hot Girls". As INXS wrote the songs before selecting a new singer, I have this mental image of new singer J.D. "Canadian" Fortune being handed each song and poked with a stick when it was time for him to sing. "Sing, boy, sing!" "Good, boy!" *Treat given*

He deserves a major treat for being compliant enough to sing songs like "Hot Girls" and "Perfect Strangers" that make him come off as a creepy, drooling horndog always looking for a "perfect stranger" to have a one-night stand with... say, groupies are perfect strangers, aren't they? Is the idea that the other men in the group could scoop up Fortune's groupie leftovers? Isn't there something distinctly unseemly about anyone in their 40s writing a song called "Hot Girls"?

It was a gutsy move to name a song "Remember, Who's Your Man" when many are likely to think "Michael Hutchence". "God's Top Ten" is apparently a tribute song for Hutchence. I'll listen to it again when I'm back home and see if I catch that. I had a quick listen and thought it sounded overblown and pretentious but it's a good thing if it's a meaningful song. "Afterglow" is a bit drippy, but relatively-good-for-what-it-is. However, its definition of afterglow (something like the glow a particular woman leaves when she walks away) may confuse impressionable youngsters when they later hear the word used correctly.

So... below one each of the songs I think is bad and good from the nuINXS and some songs from when I think they were better. I don't think their new singer is the problem with Switch. I question the decision to resurrect the group and how they went about it. That aside, I think their musical direction is way off course and confused, with some of the songs ill-fitting for a group mainly comprised of middle-aged men. Mainly, they need all-around stronger songs. The lyrics are the weakest point. Some of the music bothers me more than it might others, because I don't especially like very "poppish" music.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Among the many things I'm thankful for this year is the opportunity to write here everyday. I love writing and sharing music here, in no small part because the readers here are so cool, and often seem to get (or at least tolerate) my sense of humour. Thanks for all the comments, e-mails, MP3s, music recommendations, etc. Much appreciated. And lurkers rock too. On their own terms. Yeah! Perpetual thanks to elbo.ws and to everyone I owe an email to for forgiving my lateness. (Do people have to be forgiving on Thanksgiving or is that some other holiday?)

Peace, out!

INXS - Perfect Strangers (from Switch)

INXS - Like It Or Not (from Switch)

INXS - What You Need (from Listen Like Thieves)

INXS - Not Enough Time (from Welcome To Wherever You Are)

INXS - Need You Tonight (live) (from Live Baby Live)

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart (live) (from Live Baby Live)

On the Road Again

Yikes! Someone didn't set her alarm last night and is in panic mode this morning, as she has a flight soon. Still plan on blogging over the holiday. Meantime, a travel song and the first Christmas song I've posted this year...

Happy Thanksgiving. Have a good and safe one.

Belle & Sebastian - (I Believe In) Travellin' Light (Stevie Jackson cover, from the "Step Into My Office Baby" EP)

Johnny Cash - Silent Night (from Christmas With Johnny Cash)

Arctic Monkeys - Morning Becomes Eclectic MP3s

Arctic Monkeys performed seven songs on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic last week. Audio and video from the group's appearance, which also included an interview with frontman Alex Turner, has been archived at KCRW's website. I'm posting these MP3s of the songs Arctic Monkeys played on Morning Becomes Eclectic courtesy of a kind reader of this blog, ScottSpy. Many thanks to him.

Arctic Monkeys KCRW Morning Morning Becomes Eclectic Setlist:

1.Arctic Monkeys - View From the Afternoon
2. Arctic Monkeys - Dancing Shoes
3. Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco
4. Arctic Monkeys - You Probably Couldn't See For The Lights But You Were Looking Straight At Me (updated to retitle the song here with the "official" song title on Arctic Monkeys album track listing. MP3 still has what it sure sounded to me like Alex Turner called the song... )
5. Arctic Monkeys - Vampires Is A Bit Strong But... (this is the correct title according to NME and a few other sites...)
6. Arctic Monkeys - From the Ritz to the Rubble
7. Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance

The Cars Get a New Driver, Inspire Bad Puns

Perhaps inspired by the surviving members of INXS' determination to resurrect their group with a new lead singer, the Cars' guitarist Elliot Eastman and keyboardist Greg Hawkes have announced plans to tour and "possibly" record an album in 2006 as the New Cars without either of their original vocalists.

The new wave "old" or "classic" Cars formed in 1976, split in 1988, and did the reunion thing in 1992 with original members Ric Ocasek (lead vocals) and Ben Orr (bass/vocals). Ocasek is not participating in the New Cars, though he was working on a Cars documentary as recently as this summer. Orr died of cancer five years ago.

Todd Rundgren will take over vocal duties. Explaining his decision to join the group, he said, "So now an opportunity has arisen for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year." He claims the possibility of a reunion of his own band, Utopia, was "extremely remote".

Rundgren's bassist Kasim Sultan tells Phoenix radio station KLSX he has replaced Orr on bass and that Tubes drummer Prairie Prince is also a New Car. Sulton told KSLX, "We've already recorded some new songs and are scheduled to be touring all nexr year... We're planning to record a live CD/DVD sometime after the New Year and a possible TV appearance before Christmas... I'm really excited to be involved in this new project with a great bunch of guys... I mean come on, Todd and me playing Cars songs? It'll be like hearing them for the first time."

MP3:The Cars - Just What I Needed (from The Cars, Greatest Hits)

MP3:The Cars - Shake It Up (from Shake It Up, Greatest Hits)

MP3:The Cars - Heartbeat City (from Heartbeat City, Greatest Hits)

MP3:Utopia - Freedom Fighters (from Todd Rundgren's Utopia)

Arctic Monkeys at Spaceland

Arctic Monkeys played their first L.A. show to a packed house Friday night, and sounded about as talented, fresh, and brash as expected. Not anticipated were other factors that ultimately made the show one that mostly sounded good, but was not overall a great experience.

As the group walked on stage, cheers and applause were punctuated with cries of "You rock!" and "You're awesome!" Singer/guitarist Alex Turner, hampered by a bad cough, might have appreciated that the crowd, unsurprisingly for an Arctic Monkeys show, frequently sang along with him (but was stumped by the fairly new "You Probably Couldn't See"). He struggled to confine his coughing to the lyric breaks. Although Turner apologized for the hacking, he is soft-spoken at the best of times and much of the crowd likely didn't hear him. In between songs, fans outshouted him with pleas for their favourite tunes ("Mardy Bum" in particular). Hecklers also marred the show. Turner nonchalantly replied to one obscenity-laced, mostly incoherent taunt, "Whatever you said, that was rude." Most of what Turner said to the audience was devoted to responding to jeers. He did manage to ask, "So this is Los Angeles, is it?" and wonder aloud what they were doing there. That was before the heckling grew ugly and it might have seemed like a really good question rather than a flippant remark.

While the band is extremely confident, in particular for none of them being old enough to, as Turner noted, step off the stage in the 21+ club, the increasing levels of hostility seemed to surprise them. Guitarist Jamie Cook and drummer Matt Helders seemed to maintain better spirits than Turner, who gave his all, but seemed, well, sick and tired. Cook and Helder also seemed to have the most energy, and played their hearts out. Bassist Andy Nicholson seemed grimly determined to resist shouts to "Smile!" but eventually relented, and mostly aimed his grins at Helders.



I first noticed the worst of the crowd misbehaviour when Arctic Monkeys played their next single, "When the Sun Goes Down" (formerly called "Scummy", and to be released January 16th). That was the violent moshing (evidently, all music is suitable for moshing). After the show, one woman said she thought she was going to have to break a glass over the head of an unrelenting mosher.

The group sounded lively and fun (watching Turner suffer wasn't fun). Early on, the crowd's enthusiasm was positive and infectious. Arctic Monkeys' talent and confidence was obvious, as was much of the crowd's affection for them. The odds are quite strong that the group will play many more concerts in L.A. Hopefully future gigs will favour band and audiences alike with better circumstances to allow for truly great concert experiences.

Arctic Monkeys Setlist:

1. View From The Afternoon
2. I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
3. Still Take You Home
4. Dancing Shoes
5. Fake Tales of San Francisco
6. You Probably Couldn't See
7. From The Ritz To The Rubble
8. When The Sun Goes Down (better known as Scummy - this is the next single, which will be released on January 16th)
9. Vampires
10. Mardy Bum
11. A Certain Romance

(no encore)

Standout songs: "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" was lots of fun. Afterward, someone called out "Brilliant!" Alex Turner calmly responded, "Brilliant? That'll do." "Still Take You Home" was excellent and like "Dancefloor", is an especially catchy singalong tune. Those songs worked well for the ailing Turner. "Vampires" made a fitting soundtrack for right after the bizarre moshing incident.



Linkage: If you haven't already snagged them (or even if you have), you can grab MP3s from Arctic Monkeys' October 3rd Manchester concert.

Linkage: Prefix Magazine, an actual American magazine, has posted part one of an Arctic Monkeys interview; part two will be posted on Tuesday.

Supporting Arctic Monkeys were surf-rock group The Tyde and the Teenage Fanclub-influenced power-pop act Army Navy. They faced an uphill battle opening for such a highly anticipated band. I found Army Navy's set a bit more distinctive and varied, but both acts delivered a few especially crowd-pleasing tunes. Standout tracks from Army Navy included "Silvery Sleds" and "Snakes".

Arctic Monkeys Pictures - Nov. 18th L.A. Show

A few pictures from Arctic Monkeys' Friday night gig at Spaceland. Review to come...

Eddie Argos Interview/Art Brut's First L.A. Show

It's no secret that Eddie Argos dreams of moving to L.A.

When I get off that plane, the first thing I'm going to do is strip naked to the waist. And ride my Harley Davidson up and down sunset strip. - Art Brut, "Moving to L.A."

He had an advert for renting Harley Davidsons in his blazer pocket Thursday evening, but he hasn't gone through with it... not yet anyway. Or met Morrissey, although drummer Mikey B aka "Major Mike" once fetched his phone number for Eddie out of a "bin". He didn't call him. "We're very polite young men... and woman," he amends, allowing for the presence of bassist Freddy Feedback. The band is indeed quite polite and charming. Eddie "went white" when he said "Jesus Christ" on the air during a recent radio appearance when a bass string snapped. He didn't want to cause an FCC fine, but, he notes that apparently it's okay to say Jesus Christ.

Eddie seems to reserve any snarkiness for other bands, and only when they offend him in some way. He has a piece in the new issue of Filter Magazine called "What I Think of the U.K. Music Scene". He feels that "until recently" two movements have dominated the scene. One, started by the Libertines and continued by other bands who "seem to be obseseed with self-destruction as a fashion statement." The other one he feels started with Franz Ferdinand's "'80s-referencing." He divides the genres into the "Crackheads" and the "Gang of Fours". He was surprised they printed the article. It's an interesting read, and he also mentions several artists he does like, including Arctic Monkeys.

While the band has not looked up Morrissey while in L.A. that's not to say that they haven't been enjoying their time here. Eddie said it's "nice... very hot." However, he likes walking. He likes to get a bag and a Snapple and just go. "I tried to walk and they said, 'Get in the car.'" He has done some shopping though, even if it was car-assisted, and the band "did the Spinal Tap thing" on the roof of the Hyatt, where they're staying. "I suppose every band does that," Eddie said. He was surprised the TVs weren't bolted down, but they did not trash their rooms. Art Brut is not that kind of band.

While Morrissey remains an icon for the group, Eddie said "I'm a bit scared of Morrissey fans." He said he wasn't scared of his fans, he might have reason to be a bit wary of at least a small number of them, as he would later find out.

Eddie told NME recently that he had a clarinet and a xylophone but couldn't play either; I asked whether he's learned how to play anything on either yet. No progress on the clarinet, but he's now learned a song by the Chalets on the xylophone.

I asked whether he would point to the ground during "Moving to L.A." and he said he would. (He always points toward L.A. when performing the song in concert). He also said they had changed the lyrics to reflect being in L.A.

Art Brut, Spaceland, Nov. 17th

Opening Acts: Porterstatic, Every Move a Picture. (Review of opening acts forthcoming)

Art Brut opened their first L.A. show strong, earning those extra towels and pre-opened water bottles, with an excellent rendition of "Formed A Band". The group played like mad as Eddie gestured to them and sang "Formed a band, we formed a band, look at us, we formed a band." He had immediately abandoned his shoes by his mike stand (he always sings shoeless), and soon removed his hat and blazer as well. He sang as close to the audience as he could get without jumping into the crowd, hovering over the crowd and singing intensely, arms extended. After the first song, he greeted L.A. and asked if anyone had any questions. "Yes, young man? "My Little Brother?" They played it, hard. Eddie swung the mike stand, sending it seemingly perilously lurching back and forth.



Drummer Mikey B plays standing up, perhaps all the better for more power. Ian Catskillin and Jasper Future had a guitar-off at one point but perhaps there's no real way to settle which one plays more powerfully. Ian has lead guitar and is going for a sort of Robert Smith hairdo these days, but Jasper has a Playboy t-shirt and inititated the guitar-off which shows moxie. Freddy Feedback on bass mostly has no need for such showing-off moves. Though she'll occasionally play on the floor when the mood strikes her.





The third song, written on the plane ride to L.A., was called "as yet unfinished", but sounded album-ready. It was followed by "Rusted Guns of Milan", another song about something unfinished, as Eddie put it, in this case sex, "when you just want it to end." Another new song about sex, and then "a song about dancing", "Modern Art," which got an especially enthusiastic reaction, perhaps encouraging Eddie to jump into the crowd for a bit of a dance. An over-exuberant, and well-lubricated audience member expressed her fondness for Eddie both by hugging him rather intensely and by throwing rather a lot of water at him. After the show, when she and her boyfriend were telling Eddie how great Art Brut is, he thanked them, and said to never throw anything at anyone.



Eddie did indeed tweak the lyrics to "Moving to L.A." and pointed to the ground several times during the song. The song was as tight, punkish and rambunctious as the rest of the set. Unfortunately, at least one person in the crowd was overly rambunctious and chose this time to start throwing coins. It might have been the hugger. After the song, Eddie asked people to stop throwing things or at least to have better aim; this seemed to stop the problem. By "Emily Kane" all was well and it was all about the fun again. Eddie introduced Jasper Future, "our new guitarist" and told him about all the chord changes in the next song, and to "try to keep up." He also said he always says that.

More lyric-tweaking as Eddie promised when he returned, and saw us on Sunset, he'd remember all of our faces and would ask us all whether we were in a band. "I'll see you in the streets... or in your cars probably." "Good Weekend" closed out the set in spectactular fashion with introductions of the band midway through. A guitar was played upon a mike stand, a guitar was thrust onto the drum kit. It was that kind of song.



Art Brut play the Echo at 8:30 PM tonight. Darker My Love and The Adored open.

MP3: Art Brut - My Little Brother (from Bang Bang Rock & Roll)

Andrew Bird on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" Today

Singer-songwriter-violinist-guitarist (and occasional whistler) Andrew Bird will appear on NPR's "Talk of the "Nation" radio program today. He will play a few songs from his latest album Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs. Bird's appearance is expected to air from 2:40-2:58 PM EST, barring any breaking news, and you can listen online.

updated to note that audio will be available at NPR at approximately 6:00 PM EST

Bird is finishing up a solo tour this month before hitting the road opening for Nickel Creek, starting December 1 in Denver. Tour dates and ticket purchasing info are available at his website.

MP3: Andrew Bird - Masterfade (from Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs)

MP3: Andrew Bird - The Naming of Things (from Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production of Eggs)

A Few of the 89 Albums You Should Have

Across the pond, the Guardian brings word of a Napster survey which found that the average person owns 89 albums (after deducting the 37 that they own but have been lost or swiped). The Guardian then gets down to the business of recommending which 89 albums you should own. However, if you already own 89, and you want to both remain average and follow their recommendations to the letter, you're going to have to do some album-trading/selling/junking. Stay strong, average music listener! Better yet, join me in having no idea how many albums you own and in doubting the survey's accuracy.

The Guardian does recommend some excellent albums, though...

MP3:Leonard Cohen - Everybody Knows (from I'm Your Man)

MP3:Crowded House - World Where You Live (from Crowded House)

MP3:Bryan Ferry - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (from These Foolish Things)

MP3:Gorillaz - White Light (from Demon Days)

MP3:The Magnetic Fields - Very Funny (from 69 Love Songs)

MP3:Talking Heads - I Zimbra (from Fear of Music)

Compilations by these Artists are Recommended:

MP3:Blondie - (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear (from Blondie - Greatest Hits )

MP3:Kirsty MacColl - You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby (The Smiths cover, from Kite)

MP3:New Order - Touched by the Hand of God (from The Best of New Order)

MP3:Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin (from Discography)

A Song From Five of My 89 (Or So) Albums, Not On The Guardian's List:

MP3:Belle and Sebastian - Wrapped Up in Books (from Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Sweet, lovely, and clever Brit pop)

MP3:The Deathray Davies - Plan to Stay Awake (from The Kick and the Snare. Eccentric, fun power-pop/rock. If you like the New Pornographers' weirdness, they may be up your alley)

MP3:Rilo Kiley - Paint's Peeling (from The Execution of All Things . Rilo's most recent album, More Adventurous, did fairly well critically and on the charts. It was one of my favourite albums of last year, but I prefer their previous albums. Execution is both accessible and excellent)

MP3:Sloan - People of the Sky (from Twice Removed. Ridiculously catchy Canadian power-pop that deserves greater recognition outside of the land of hockey and maple syrup)

MP3:The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (from The Stone Roses. A beautifully constructed ode to yearning on a classic album; it's surprising this album was left off the Guardian list)

Holiday Mixtape (on CD) from Her Space Holiday

While supplies last, everyone who orders the latest Her Space Holiday album, The Past Presents The Future, from Insound.com, will get a free copy of a holiday mixtape (on CD) made by Her Space Holiday's Marc Bianchi. Already buy the album? Hahahahahahahaha! Sucker. I mean, why not buy a few copies for your friends and family?

Also at Insound, pre-orders are being taken for a limited edition 5.5" X 5.5" print of a stuffed bear designed by longtime Her Space Holiday friend and collaborator, artist Hanni El Khatib. These are printed on hahnemuhle German etching paper, and each print will be signed, numbered, and shipped in an acid-free bag. Orders must be received by December 9th to be received by Christmas. "This item will cease to exist on December 31st." No word on whether purchased prints are programmed to disintegrate sometime before the New Year dawns. Just in case, I advise sucking maximum enjoyment out of the prints until then.

MP3:Her Space Holiday - Something to Do With My Hands (from The Young Machines)

MP3:Her Space Holiday - Spectator Sport (from Manic Expressive)

MP3:Her Space Holiday - The Ringing In My Ears (from Manic Expressive)

Arctic Monkeys Release Single in North America, Will Appear on Morning Becomes Eclectic

The lads from Arctic Monkeys have released their first North American single, for the moment via itunes only. "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor", "Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts", and "Chun Li's Spinning Bird Kick" are now available at itunes, "along with the along with the Five Minutes With Arctic Monkeys single, which featured the songs 'Fake Tales Of San Francisco' and 'From The Ritz To The Rubble.'" The "official" release date for a single you can hold (although possibly do little else with, depending on your audio setup, since it looks as though it might only be released on 10" vinyl) is Nov. 29. However, it will be available at Arctic Monkeys' US gigs prior to that. It will also be available through Domino Records, Insound, and Other Music.

Arctic Monkeys will perform on this Friday's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show at 11:15 AM. Sessions with in-studio musicians are archived, and audio and video of their appearance should be available fairly soon afterward.

That night, the band plays Spaceland with opening acts The Tyde and Army Navy.

A quick glance at the Kofi's hat Band Ego Check, thanks to an interview in the Guardian, brings us this (possibly) revealing quote from bassist Andy Nicholson, "What's the point in talkin' yourself up? We know we're not the best band in the country, so why say we are? If we do fail, at least we can say, 'We told you so.' That's not us being down on ourselves. That's just being honest." Insecure artists or good PR? It's either kind of sad or kind of clever. Either way, arrogance is much more annoying. If they do steal the world from that band that has it now... it's like it was a wacky accident! They're as surprised as anyone! That feels rather more likeable and less calculated.

MP3:Arctic Monkeys - View from the Afternoon (live)

MP3:The Tyde - Go Ask Yer Dad

Tickets On Sale for Colin Meloy's Solo Tour

Tickets are now on sale for all shows on Colin Meloy's January solo tour. Laura Veirs is set to open for Meloy throughout the tour; Amy Annelle will also open for him in New York.

Going to one of his solo concerts early this year was the only "official" way to get a copy of Meloy's EP of Morrissey covers, Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey. Meloy has announced that "As a consequence of it being so much fun the last time, it is likely he will be taking time to record another 'Colin Meloy Sings...' EP that will be available exclusively on [this] tour. Coveree TBA." Predictions, anyone?

It's considerably easier to snag a copy of his autobiographical book Let It Be, about the Replacements album by the same title, and one of the 33 1/3 books. Perhaps an EP of Replacements covers would be too obvious?

Tickets to most of Meloy's January concerts are available through Ticketmaster (no, seriously). For the NYC show, Meloy recommends buying tickets at the Irving Plaza box office "to avoid Ticketmaster fees!" Check out "your" venue's website for ticket purchasing info (particularly if "your" concert is mysteriously absent from Ticketmaster). Meloy remains singer and songwriter for The Decemberists who are on tour in Europe throughout November.

Meloy's January 2006 Tour Itinerary:

18 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
19 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
20 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
21 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
23 - Chicago, IL - Park West
25 - Boston, MA - Paradise (18+)
26 - New York, NY - Town Hall
27 - Philadelphia, PA - TLA
28 - Alexandria, VA - Birchmere

The shows are all ages except as noted.

Colin Meloy - Jack the Ripper (from Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey)

Colin Meloy - Sister I'm A Poet (from Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey)

MP3:The Decemberists - Los Angeles, I'm Yours (from Her Majesty The Decemberists)

MP3:The Decemberists - We Both Go Down Together (from Picaresque)

MP3:The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect (from Castaways and Cutouts)

MP3:Laura Veirs - Black Gold Blues (from Year of Meteors)

MP3:Amy Annelle - Will Try (from School of Secret Dangers)

Death Cab for Cutie and Stars at the Wiltern

Death Cab for Cutie and Stars at the Wiltern, November 11th

"Ben has a cold," a girl reported before the show. She said he was on KROQ yesterday, talking about his cold and bad cough. That, plus some occasionally wretched audio problems during Stars' set, raised concerns about what we could expect from Ben Gibbard & co. There was no need to worry. The show was amazing. Yay, Ben. Yay... do the other guys' names matter? "We love you Ben!" was yelled a lot Friday night, which is to be expected. Still, if people are going to do that, it would be cool if they also showed some love for the other very talented musicians in the band. Maybe tonight? C'mon, guys! Jason McGerr is the drummer, Nick Harmer is the bassist, Chris Walla plays guitar and produces Death Cab's work, and he gets the second-most attention next to Ben. He was wearing some pretty nifty shoes Friday night, and, sure he deserves shout-outs too... but I'd especially like to hear that Jason and Nick got some of the attention they deserve. (Once at a Rilo Kiley concert after a deluge of shouted "We love you, Jenny!"s a guy yelled "We like you, Blake!" in pretty much an acknowledgement of the disparity between the attention and adulation received by singers -- or in this case the main singer -- and "the others". It got a laugh... but it was a little sad).

Despite the obstacles faced by Ben and... oh yeah, Jason, Nick, and Chris... the set was indeed excellent. They opened strong with "Marching Bands of Manhattan", and hit a highlight second song in with "The New Year". As Ben sang "There'd be no distance that can hold us baaack..." it was clear his singing voice at least  was great (he even sang during the KROQ interview and sounded good) and that audio problems were unlikely. Clad in a dark brown shirt and brown pants, Ben danced (and I don't mean emo-danced) to almost every song except for the handful of songs when he was seated at the keyboards, which is fair enough. The crowd clearly adored the band and him in particular. When Ben pauses and turns away from the mike, that is your cue to "Woo!" Evidently. Some interesting lyrics were also deemed opportunities for a "Woo!" I wouldn't have thought to respond to "What Sarah Said"'s "Love is watching someone die" with a loud, sustained "Woooooo!" but apparently that's a sexy line.

The crowd first cheered when a huge sort of pleated screen was lowered at the back of the stage... it was lit different colours (thanks to coloured "fancy lights", as Ben called them), during the show, sometimes giving a purple glow, sometimes just showing us the band members' shadows as they played... Banter was almost exclusively from Ben. Chris did want to know something about who was in Us magazine, said his subscription had lapsed while they'd been on tour. Ben greeted us with "Hello ladies and gentlemen", told us "We're Death Cab for Cutie from Seattle, Washington", swore once when mocking himself ("I'm still as unprofessional as ever"), and was altogether pretty charming.

Ben introduced "Different Names For the Same Thing" as "Sexy Beast" and dedicated it to "Stars, from Montreal". He played the first part of the song on the keyboard, acoustic, before moving to across the stage to take his guitar and lead the band in turning the song into an energetic, full-blown electronic, mildly-discoish extravaganza. I loved this, but I can see some people hating it. If you like it when bands jam and you're into the band and that particular song, it's awesome. If not, or if you don't like jams in general, you likely find it self-indulgent and boring. For me, it's about the band and the song and the moment. I've been listening to "Different Names For the Same Thing" today and I don't want to post it because it is so utterly unlike what I heard last night. I want to post exactly what I heard last night (or at least as close as a recording can come to capturing what I heard). I would love it if someone recorded the show, and in particular I guess that song. It's not that it was perfect, but it was great, well worth capturing, and I liked it much more than the studio version of the song. The studio version now feels less alive...

Crowd favourites other than those Ben-pauses: "The New Year", "Title and Registration" (huge response), "We Laugh Indoors", "The Sound of Settling", "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" (Ben's solo, and a crowd-sing-a-long)

During the set, Ben thanked us many times, and before the "last" song, said, "We love the audience." He also said, "This is gonna be our last song, wink wink wink" It's cool for bands to acknowledge that they're not really playing the last song...

Stars' set was troubled by the aforementioned audio problems. The vocals were way too loud, and I know they had a keyboardist only because I saw him. There was some truly craptastic audio mixing... an onslaught of guitar where there should be some sort of song, with bonus feedback at times... that ain't right. I still liked Stars' set because I like them and they did their best under the circumstances. They did not sound great, which I chalk up to the audio problems. They played "Elevator Love Letter", a song I adore, and while it didn't sound as good as it does on the CD, it was wonderful to hear it live. I wished they had played "Romantic Comedy". Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan share vocals (Millan also plays guitar). Pat McGee is their drummer, Evan Cranley plays bass, Steve Ramsey plays guitar... Great band, and the crowd responded well to them. "Good" set, fun to watch... didn't always sound so good... Campbell is a great frontman.

Death Cab Setlist:

edited; I can do that now, hooray! Setlist tweaked. I think it's good now

1. Marching Bands of Manhattan
2. The New Year
3. A Movie Script Ending
4. Title and Registration
5. Soul Meets Body
6. Summer Skin
7. For What Reason
8. Company Calls
9. Crooked Teeth
10. Different Names for the Same Thing (mixed acoustic/extended electronic jam)
11. Pictures in an Exhibition
12. What Sarah Said
13. We Laugh Indoors (from the John Byrd EP)
14. Expo '86
15. The Sound of Settling (from Transatlanticism)

Encore:

16.I Will Follow You Into the Dark (solo by Ben)
17. Tiny Vessels
18. Transatlanticism (Stars briefly joined Death Cab on stage, only to clap a bit, and encourage the crowd to do the same and to sing about this much: "I need you so much closer/So come on." Stars: great. An opening band joining the "main" group for the closing song: great. However, I'd encourage Death Cab to choose a less poignant song than "Transatlanticism" for a jaunty sing-a-long-with-Stars. Also, it might have been very cold backstage but when I saw Stars singer Amy Millan come onstage wearing a jacket my first thought was, "Wow, she can't wait to leave)

Stars to Play Free Show in Hollywood This Afternoon

Stars will play a free acoustic set at Amoeba Music in Hollywood at 4:00 P.M. today. The group will perform songs from their latest album, Set Yourself on Fire. This evening, they'll open for Death Cab for Cutie at the Wiltern.

MP3:Stars - What I'm Trying to Say (from Set Yourself on Fire)

MP3:Stars - Romantic Comedy (from Heart)

Starbucks Challenge 2.0/IBM is Monitoring this Post

According to its policy, Starbucks "sells Fair Trade Certified coffee around the world... in 21 countries, including... the United States." Then why is it so difficult to buy a cup of Fair Trade coffee in a Starbucks? In response, last month, the Starbucks Challenge encouraged people to visit as many Starbucks as possible and ask them for a cup of Fair Trade coffee... and either blog or e-mail about what happened. Less than two weeks into the challenge, Starbucks sent an e-mail to all company-owned stores. It began, "Not all store partners may be familiar with how to 'just say yes' when a customer requests a brewed coffee other than those being offered as Coffee of the Week (COW). This may be especially true for customers looking to enjoy a freshly brewed Fair Trade Certified or Organic Starbucks cofee."

Not all Starbucks corporate types who send missives from above may be familiar with how to write a non-condescending, non-patronizing e-mail that makes those who read it want to pay attention to it rather than dismiss it and feel insulted by and alienated from their company and their "superiors".

It's no wonder that charming memo didn't do the trick. November has brought Starbucks Challenge 2.0 which is much like the first one... with "new prizes and goals." Many bloggers have joined in and even non-blogging civilians are welcome to join in the coffee-ordering, muckraking fun! City Hippy and green LA girl will be "in frequent contact with Starbucks" and then tell them about the results of the challenge and seek their reaction as well as "some concrete details as to what the company plans to do, if anything, in light of them." There's also a special call to Angelenos - one of the prizes is reserved for the person who visits the most Starbucks in L.A. County.

L.A. hasn't been singled out because we're the shiniest or the smoggiest, or even because we drink the most coffee. green LA girl has bestowed this honour upon L.A. because "the Starbucks in Los Angeles have had pretty much the WORST record of all cities in which the Starbucks Challenge was taken. Out of 18 challenges taken in the city proper (sorry, Culver City, Santa Monica, and Pasadena), only 7 fair trade cups of coffees were received -- and most of those came only after much insistence, cajoling, and education done about Starbucks' policies on the CHALLENGERS' part."

I have mixed feelings about the challenge. Like all other humans, I often find myself suddenly in a Starbucks. I have bought music from them, and plenty of drinks, but not so much recently... Given my druthers (and please do give them back at your earliest convenience), I'd just as soon buy drinks elsewhere. There are a lot of convenient alternatives. Starbucks is a big corporate bad guy. They drive small, non-generic coffee shops out of business. They try to perpetuate the idea that "tall" is "small" and one day people might believe it's true. green L.A. girl acknowledges that some people have these sorts of feelings (not necessarily the "tall" thing, I can't be sure). She says "Regardless of politics, most of us agree on one thing: If a company makes a promise, it should stick to it." I'm down with that.

There is definitely value in drawing attention to Starbucks' failure to live up to its promises. At the same time, in the short-term, the challenge puts money in Starbucks' coffers and gives them some publicity (is there no such thing as bad publicity?). Might this help Starbucks prosper in the long-term as well, and if so, what are the ethical ramifications? Some of the "challengers" seem to be helping educate employees about their employer's fair trade coffee policies. They're essentially acting as unpaid Starbucks employees, providing training that Starbucks could easily provide itself.

If the challenge helps the fair trade policies at Starbucks become reality, and Starbucks is able to better exploit them for commercial gain, they could wipe out more small coffee shops. However, fair trade coffee farmers and their families would benefit. If they get enough money, they might choose to help improve their communities as well. If so, maybe that's a worthwhile enough gain to be "worth" losing independent coffee shops. Maybe the people who used to own their own coffee shops (and their employees) could go work at all the new Starbucks and would enjoy not having to worry about trying to keep a small business afloat anymore. Life has few easy answers. I'd like to join a challenge pursuing more easy answers.

Hey, despite my misgivings about Starbucks and life's lack of easy answers, I took the challenge! (I'm not in it for prizes, though I might well hit another Starbucks or two...) I took part because I'm all for corporate responsibility, and I was curious about what would happen. For the truly stubborn, I think for the challenge you should be able to ask if you could get a cup of fair trade coffee without ordering it... that should at least be an option. I'm not that cheap, though, and I don't know that I'm that hardheaded/annoying/principled, either!

I went to a Starbucks in downtown Burbank, at 300 N. San Fernando Road (very close to an Urban Outfitters, which is why I was in Burbank. I was buying Give. Listen Help. and listening to inane chatter). I asked for a tall cup of fair trade coffee and the woman told me they didn't have fair trade coffee anymore. She sought confirmation from her co-worker and got it. She repeated that they don't have fair trade coffee anymore. I told her about the challenge, and that everyone was supposed to be able to get fair trade coffee. Her eyes opened with something at least resembling a moderate concern but she again said they didn't have it anymore. She then offered to french-press me a fresh pot of the "equivalent" of Fair Trade coffee. She named a blend, and darn it, I didn't make a note of it (bad blogger!) and after perusing the blends at Starbucks' website, I'm not sure enough of a "match" to name one. I didn't know what she meant by "fair trade equivalent"; and I didn't know that any explanation she gave me would be trustworthy. I'm undereducated on the "fair trade equivalent"; thang... it might be legitimate, but I had no way of knowing on the spot whether she was just trying to say something to make me happy... Lesson: go in better-informed! I said "No, thank you", took my dolly*, and went home.

Starbucks is wrong to not live up to its promises, but smart to pay such close attention to bloggers. IBM will now help corporations keep an eye on what bloggers are saying about them -- and not just bloggers . IBM's new Public Image Monitoring Solution software "monitors and analyzes blogs, wikis, news feeds, consumer review sites, newsgroups and other community-generated content" and "assesses the tone of blogs and posts: positive, negative or neutral." But wait, there's more! It also identifies hot topics of discussion. I helped Starbucks out with some free employee relations consultation. I'll give IBM some free assistance coding this post. NEGATIVE: Starbucks, IBM, Phillip Morris. I live to give. (Aside to "real readers": I know I wrote nothing about Phillip Morris in this post. I thought I might as well add a layer of confusion to their analysis. Fight the power, guys!)

*No actual dolly was involved in the events surrounding this article. This article should be coded as NEUTRAL toward any and all doll-related corporations such as MATTEL.

Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" is just way too obvious. It would be like posting "I Want Candy" on Halloween.

David Bowie - 1984 (from the Platinum Collection. OK, last Bowie-related song for a while! Probably)

Garbage - Cup of Coffee (from Beautiful Garbage)

Sarah Harmer - Coffee Stain

Blog Post Containing Songs

Well, I don't know about you kids, but I've spent a hefty chunk of my evening fighting a computer virus. My beloved computer caught it in the course of "official" blog business, and then it kept me from blog business. That ain't right. That ain't justice. I'm scrapping the post I planned to write for tonight for time purposes and going with an assortment pack of songs. Sorry about the lack of much of a post -- I am disgruntled about it -- although these are good songs! My computer is, finally, as pure as the driven snow again (as far as viruses are concerned, it is still chock-full of Backstreet Boys tunes).

 

Until tomorrow, keep your feet on the ground, keep reaching for the sky, and hope you don't get itchy.

 

Big Country - Cracked Actor (David Bowie cover, from Starman: A Tribute To David Bowie, an Uncut magazine compilation -- not sure where else it may appear. Not wholeheartedly endorsing this cover, but it makes an interesting contrast to the original, which I posted yesterday)

 

The Divine Comedy - Life on Mars (David Bowie cover, from the same compilation. More like it).

They Might Be Giants - I Should Be Allowed to Think (from John Henry. I'm pretty sure some sort of conspiracy involving Gwyneth Paltrow, virus writers, a few well-placed people at Blogger, and various other shadowy nefarious figures aims to keep  me from continuing this here blog)

 

They Might Be Giants - Meet James Ensor (from John Henry. Um, good song.)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Too Real (from B.R.M.C. I thought about posting this song instead of "Love Burns" the other day... )

J. Xaverre - Ex Wonderboy (from Acid Stars. I quite like this song; it's a pity it wasn't released it the States)

 

The Weakerthans - A New Name for Everything (from Reconstruction Site. The Weakerthans are great, and write excellent lyrics. I'm slightly less fond of them since seeing a supremely stupid, flippant video for a [previously] seemingly-sincere song of theirs but I remain a fan...)

 

ABC - How to Be A Zillionaire (Bond Street Mix) (from ABC - The Remix Collection. I know, I just don't have time to tell you and still post this before midnight...)
 

David Bowie Announces Serious Moonlight DVD/Digital EP

Lots of David Bowie news tidbits this week. Yesterday his Platinum Collection was released in the U.K., today the Arcade Fire announced that they will hawk the version of "Wake Up" they recorded live with Bowie through itunes for one week, starting Nov. 14th , and today there was an announcement looking even farther into the future than that. All the way into Spring 2006!

 

On March 13th, 2006, EMI will release a DVD entitled  David Bowie - Serious Moonlight, which will include "the official film" of Bowie's September 1983 performance at Pacific National Exhibition Coliseum in Vancouver as well as  Ricochet, a behind-the-scenes documentary filmed during the Serious Moonlight tour. 

 

On February 13th, 2006 the digital-only Serious Moonlight Live EP will be released.

 

The Serious Moonlight Live EP Track Listing:

Space Oddity
China Girl
Breaking Glass
Young Americans

The concert segment of the Serious Moonlight Live DVD Track Listing:

Introduction
Look Back In Anger
Heroes
What In The World
Golden Years
Fashion
Let's Dance
Breaking Glass
Life On Mars?
Sorrow
Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
China Girl
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)
Rebel Rebel
White Light, White Heat
Station To Station
Cracked Actor
Ashes To Ashes
Space Oddity
Young Americans
Fame/End Credits

 

David Bowie - Cracked Actor (live)

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0TKCN08D0AHFV366UL6QBWLNSX

(from David Live [at the Tower Theatre Philadelphia], a 1974 concert)

 

David Bowie - Life on Mars (live)

http://s20.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1COHAKBUCDSG90V53JKXC1XNVB

(from Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Live)

 

David Bowie - Rebel, Rebel (live)

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3LUXAQHK7WEA507DC0ATZZKKK2

(from David Live [at the Tower Theatre Philadelphia], a 1974 concert)

 

David Bowie - Breaking Glass

http://s7.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2BYLFD2ET7P5C2IWUDWKRGCPMV

(from Platinum Collection)

 

David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

http://s9.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2DGCXTA3DYAU03M5U5PWFP1EKT

(from Platinum Collection)

 

David Bowie - Sorrow

http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=23WPZH8NZA69T2K2GLTVRNZG3T

(from Platinum Collection)

 

Filter-Urban Outfitters Hurricane Relief Double-CD Now Available

Give. Listen. Help., a Filter-Urban Outfitters double-CD compilation put together to raise funds for the American Red Cross' Hurricane Relief Fund is now on sale at Urban Outfitters stores,at their website, and at Filter's new store. The Filter Store plans on shipping the CD in mid-November. Urban Outfitters' website has it in stock now. The CD sells for $14.99 and includes 30 tracks, many of them previously unreleased. Radiohead, Gang of Four, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death Cab for Cutie, Sigur Ros, and Of Montreal are among the artists who contributed tracks to this very cool collection. There won't be a second pressing for the album, so if you want a copy don't wait too long to buy one. 100% of the profits made from the CD sales will go to the Hurricane Relief Fund (only about $1/CD is not included because it goes to the CD manufacturer. I think that's reasonable)

On a lighter note, here's as close as I can get to a transcript of a conversation I heard between the two girls behind me in line as I waited to buy my hurricane relief CD at an Urban Outfitters on Friday. For ease of transcription purposes, I'll call them Betty and Veronica. Other names have been changed to protect the people who know these people.

Betty: I'm *addicted* to shopping.
Veronica: Really?
Betty: Oh, yeah. Totally. I could shop... like, *all* the time. And clothes say so much about your personality! That's why like Josie is so... like-
Veronica: BORING? (laughs)
Betty: (laughs) Plain!! You know like how in that one picture she's just like (imitates someone just standing there), and you and me and Archie are like (imitates people grinning with their arms around each-other). We like have personality. And the sad thing is, you can't change someone like that.
Veronica: Yeah, really.

There's a lesson somewhere in there. They were purchasing a fair amount of clothing. I didn't look to see what kind of clothes they were buying but perhaps it would have answered my question: who is keeping the bolero alive? I wanted to include pictures with this post. Alas, for now, sloppy links will have to do. updated on Nov. 14 with pictures now that Blogger is back; it's going back down tonight for a
"scheduled outage; let's hope it's back in good shape soon... meanwhile, a couple of the links are killing this post, so they're gone for the moment and will be edited back in ASAP

I want the bolero, shrug, capelet... all items of this sort to just disappear altogether, but for some reason this is a losing battle. A small focus group convened at my place Saturday night and we decided these are the worst of the worst at Urban Outfitters' website, their most unappealing boleros. We implore the females of America to not purchase them. The first one is $118.

Surely there are better, and cheaper ways to hide how attractive you are, if that's the goal!





Some might say Urban Outfitters has done something lovely with this CD and I shouldn't respond with a diatribe criticizing their boleros. I say, yes, they have done something lovely, but that's no excuse for selling awful boleros.

Plus, I'm pretty sure I acknowledged not being a good person just a couple days ago. So now I can get away with all kinds of stuff! I might be partly kidding. Or not! That's just the kind of person I might or might not be! Is Blogger working again yet? edited to add, kind of! - signed, trill as she adds images of the hideous boleros, Nov. 14

Alright, conscience kicking in... the salesperson at Urban Outfitters was very nice and actually thanked me for buying the CD. And was very sweet, and not acting like a phony about it either. I still would rather people bought some Napoleon Dynamite toys or naughty books rather than their boleros. Anything other than the boleros!

Give. Listen. Help. The Filter-Urban Outfitters Hurricane Relief CD Track Listing: Disc 1:

1. Radiohead - Gagging Order *
2. TV On the Radio - Dry Drunk Emperor *
3. Gang of Four - Natural's Not In It (Ladytron remix) *
4. British Sea Power - Be Gone
5. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Mercy *
6. Grandaddy - Pull the Curtains
7. Death Cab For Cutie - Jealousy Rides With Me *
8. Tom Vek - Blessing In Disguise *
9. Blackalicious - Your Move
10. The Noisettes - Don't Give Up
11. Diamond Nights - A Kiss To Tell
12. The Double - Freaky Freedom *
13. Amusement Parks On Fire - Blackout *
14. Giant Drag - Smashing
15. Sigur Ros - Glosoli

Disc 2:

1. Beck - Broken Drum (Boards of Canada remix)*
2. Calexico - Quattro (Gotan Project remix) *
3. Blonde Redhead - Melody (French version)
4. Hail Social - Hands Are Tied
5. Of Montreal - Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games
6. Mazarin - The New American Apathy (radio edit)
7. Laura Cantrell - Hammer and Nails *
8. Calla - It Dawned On Me
9. Joggers - Empty Vessel, Half-Full
10. Favourite Sons - Things That We Do To Each Other *
11. Low - Monkey (Fog remix) *
12. Lansing-Dreiden - The First Response
13. The Album Leaf - Micro Melodies (live)
14. Devics - Salty Seas *
15. Tom Waits (with the Kronos Quartet) - What's He Building (live) *

* = previously unreleased

Some other songs from some of these folks:

Radiohead - Electioneering (from OK Computer)

Gang of Four - Damaged Goods (from Entertainment!)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Love Burns (from B.R.M.C.)

Death Cab for Cutie - The Sound of Settling (from Transatlanticism)

Death Cab for Cutie - Movie Script Ending (from The Photo Album)

(two from Death Cab because they're coming to L.A. this week and I'm looking forward to seeing them)

Blackalicious - Black Diamonds and Pearls (from The Craft)

Diamond Nights - The Girl's Attractive (from Popsicle)

Blonde Redhead - Pink Love (from Misery is a Butterfly)

Laura Cantrell - Bees (from Humming by the Flowered Vine)

Of Montreal - I Was Never Young (from the Sunlandic Twins EP)

(Heh... wrote this post on Sunday., but I think I've got the italics thing down today... as in, Blogger is still down)

Hey Hey, It's Arctic Monkeys

Running out of titles for Arctic Monkeys posts... the quality on these MP3s isn't the best, but 1) they're by Arctic Monkeys and 2) they are songs; they aren't merely MP3s of the lads coughing. Gotta draw the line somewhere.

 

Arctic Monkeys - Riot Van - http://s34.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3RPQJHECUH6J10U5HYIC5HI91W

 

Arctic Monkeys - Stickin' to the Floor (live) - http://s28.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=178XHCCUD43MW3AOATRYFIEVXE

New Tragically Hip: "No Threat"

The Tragically Hip's new box set, Hipeponymous, includes two CDs, called "Yer Favourites"; with 37 songs chosen by fans and two new songs. "The New Maybe" is a quiet, deliberately-paced love song ("maybe it's the things that we don't say... maybe love is the new maybe"). It's good, but I'm going with the weirder, more raucous new song, "No Threat" ("It's just me, tearing spiderwebs." Of course it is).

Also in the box set are two DVDs. The first is That Night in Toronto, a a Film by Pierre Franois Lamoureux of the Hip's Toronto Air Canada Centre November 2004 concert filmed in High Defenition, and the second includes all of the Hip's 23 videos, Macroscopic" a 50-minute film directed by Christopher Mills, and "11 visual vignettes set to new original scores from The Tragically Hip". A 48-page book is also included with the set.

The new Tragically Hip song and a few of the other songs on "Yer Favourites":

The Tragically Hip - No Threat

The Tragically Hip - Scared

The Tragically Hip - Fully Completely

The Tragically Hip - Locked in the Trunk of a Car

The Tragically Hip - Lake Fever

December Uncut Magazine and CD

Below is a post I posted then deleted yesterday because the formatting did not work out as intended. I've wiped out all my lovely hyperlinks and italics. The links to download the songs are there, but unfortunately a bit of copy-and-pasting is needed to snag the songs; sorry about that. I'll edit the hyperlinks back in when Blogger fixes things. Yesterday they posted an update saying "One of the Blogger databases is down that causes some blogs to be unaccessible and general slowness on the site. We are working on resolving the problem and apologize for the inconvenience." Fingers crossed.

updated, formatting improved...

The December Uncut includes a "Best of 2005" CD. Boy, I bet there were a lot of red faces around the Uncut offices when they discovered Q had already compiled *two* best of 2005 CDs! Oh, how embarrassing! And the CDs don't even seem to contain the same tracks; how do they explain that? There can only be so many "best" songs of the year! David Bowie is on the mag's cover. "Paranoia! Weird sex! Cocaine dementia!" The article focuses on the making of the film "The Man Who Fell to Earth". Bowie says, "Just being me, as I was, was perfectly adequate for the role. I wasn't of this earth at that particular time." Terry Gilliam and John Hiatt were also interviewed for this issue. In a 10-page feature, Uncut discusses the best albums and reissues of 2005. They pick The Arcade Fire's Funeral as album of the year -- sorry, make that "Uncut Album of the Year". Below -- half the top albums of the year list, and the whole reissues list.

Uncut's Top 25 Albums of 2005:

1. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
2. Sufjan Stevens' - Illinois
3. Bob Dylan - No Direction Home: The Soundtrack - The Bootleg Series Vol 7
4. Black Mountain - Black Mountain
5. The National - Alligator
6. The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang
7. LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
8. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
9. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand
10. Rufus Wainwright - Want Two
11. Ry Cooder - Chavez Ravine
12. Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft
13. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
14. Kanye West - Late Registration
15. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cold Roses
16. Annie - Anniemal
17. Neil Young - Prairie Wind
18. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
19. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Worn Copy
20. Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
21. Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain
22. Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
23. Richard Thompson - Front Parlor Ballads
24. Animal Collective - Feels
25. Gorillaz - Demon Days

Josh Rouse says his favourite album of 2005 was Rosie Thomas' If Songs Could Be Held. He says, "It's been years since a song has moved me so much as the track 'Time Goes Away'. It's simply heart-wrenching." Doves' Jimi Goodwin singles out Smog's A River Ain't Too Much to Love and names "In The Pines" and "I Feel Like The Mother Of The World" as standout tracks. Rufus Wainwright names Antony and the Johnson's I Am A Bird Now and his sister Martha's self-titled album as his favourites of the year.

Uncut's 20 Top Reissues of the Year:

1. Orange Juice - The Glasgow School
2. The Stooges - Fun House - Deluxe Edition
3. The Band - A Musical History
4. Bill Fay - Bill Fay
5. Various Artists - Hearing Is Believing: The Jack Nitzsche Story 1962-1979
6. Can - Future Days
7. Dinosaur Jr - You're Living All Over Me
8. Johnny Cash - The Legend
9. Screaming Trees - Ocean of Confusion: Songs of Screaming Trees 1989-1996
10. Scritti Politti - Early
11. Sonic Youth - Goo
12. Ray Charles - Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959)
13. The Fall - The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004
14. Judee Sill - Dreams Come True
15. Free - Chronicles
16. The 101'ers - Elgin Avenue Breakdown (Revisited)
17. Comus - Song to Comus: The Complete Collection
18. The Associates - The Affectionate Punch: 25th Anniversary Remaster
19. The Cure - Pornography: Deluxe Edition
20. Simply Saucer - Cyborgs Revisited

Reviews-wise, 3 stars out of 5 for Kate Bush's Aerial. They find it overlong and feel that "ecstasy is a difficult mood to maintain convincingly." But... "Nevertheless, it's a magnificently quixotic attempt. Aerial is a madly ambitious, darkly despondent grand folly of a record: a reminder of an eccentric recklessness and grand aspiration so much British pop has lost." 4 stars for Wilco's Kicking Television, same for Madonna's latest ("such a heady, high-octane swirl that, perversely enough, you often forget you're listening to a Madonna record." Wow, was that a compliment? I'd also like to call for more frequent use of the word "perversely" in reviews of all sorts. It amuses me.) Marah's If You Didn't Laugh, You'd Cry gets 4 stars and is called "a resounding triumph." I've quite liked a couple mag-CD-tracks from Marah. Not surprised to see their album get such a positive review.

And now on to yet another mag CD! I already uploaded songs for the CD yesterday, so I've decided to go ahead and post the CD today. Sorry about the lack of hyperlinks; Blogger says they won't go for that, no can do. I will edit this post to make them nicely-clickable when Blogger allows me to do so. For the time being, please copy and paste the links to download the songs. Sorry 'bout the inconvenience.

Uncut Best of 2005 CD Track Listing:

1. Devendra Banhart - I Feel Just Like a Child
2. MP3: Josh Rouse - Winter in the Hamptons
3. The National - Lit Up (new version)
4. John Cale - In A Flood
5. Bright Eyes - Another Travelin' Song
6. Big Star - Hung Up With Summer
7. Robert Plant & the Strange Sensation - Tin Pan Valley
8. Hal - I Sat Down
9. Ry Cooder - Chinito Chinito
10. Antony & the Johnsons - My Lady Story
11. My Morning Jacket - Anytime
12. Sufjan Stevens - The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
13. Black Mountain - Don't Run Our Hearts
14. Franz Ferdinand - Eleanor Put Your Boots On
15. The Arcade Fire - Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)

Blogger, alas is broken

Ah, this is frustrating. There are a trio of posts I intended to write today. I wrote one-and-a-half of them, but can't actually put any of them on the website.

 

Posting via a combination of e-mail and Blogger will work but not with formatting... just tried to post a long mag-with-CD post and the formatting (including the links for downloading the songs) was a no-go, so I deleted it. Normal posting to resume when Blogger starts behaving itself. They had a few hours of downtime today for network maintenance (which went swimmingly, apparently). Hopefully, they're working ever-so-hard to fix things quickly.

 

They can't keep a good woman down, and they can't keep me down either! I shall return!

The White Stripes Sell Out... for Love and Money

Jack White tells NME he has written a song specifically to be used in a Coke commercial. White said, "I certainly wouldn't want a song that I'd already written to be used on a commercial. That seems strange. But to be asked to write something particular along one theme of love in a worldwide form that I'm not really used to appealed to me. I've written a song and I wrote it really quickly and it's an interesting commercial that's been made. I was inspired by the commercial."

Mushy motivations aside, White did not claim to not receive a sizable check from the Coke folks (okay, it probably wasn't a novelty-sized check, it was probably of conventional dimensions, written for a large amount). He also did not declare that he gave the dough to a love-related nonprofit, or any other cause other than The Jack White Clothing Fund. He didn't say anything about money, actually, nor did NME ask, apparently. After writing the headline "Jack White to get coked up!" in August, now they go all soft on us? I almost feel like randomly, unfairly confronting the next musician I encounter. Somehow maybe it would help it balance things out a bit. Well, c'mon, they should have at least mentioned the money factor. Or better yet asked whether he felt artists using their talents to hawk sugared soda to the masses can really be justified by inserting a message of love into the advertisement. Doesn't that merely make the advertisement all the more insidious, seeking to tie a somewhat harmful (soda is fattening and tooth-decaying and not especially nutritious) product to notions of love? That's a powerful form of advertising when it works. The "I'd like to teach the world to sing" campaign was emotional, and successful. If a campaign touches the heart, it's more likely to make you reach into your wallet. White has every right to sell however many songs to as many massive corporations as he likes. I do wish journalists would explore with him the ethical ramifications of doing so. By partnering with Coke, he's opened himself up to the questions. He's a smart guy, isn't he? Why not have the discussion?

In other news related to The White Stripes... the group's playing a "totally unique" version of "The Denial Twist" each night of their sold out U.K. tour, and are selling downloads of each version for .99 pounds each to U.K. fans via their mobile or a credit card. Those who attend a concert are given a free blank CDR featuring artwork, different for each night's song.

As long as The White Stripes have opted to use live tracks as a moneymaking venture, I wonder why the limitation to U.K. fans. My $1.73 is just as good as a Brit's .99 pounds! Since these are downloads, shipping isn't an issue. I somehow doubt it's as simple as "We wanted to do something special for the U.K. fans." Won't somebody please think of the American children? We're so used to being thought of, we get confused and disoriented when we're neglected.

MP3: The White Stripes - The Denial Twist ("non-live", from Get Behind Me Satan)

MP3: The White Stripes - I Think I Smell a Rat (for Evie the kittycat, from White Blood Cells)

MP3: The White Stripes - Hotel Yorba (from White Blood Cells)

MP3: The White Stripes - Apple Blossom (from De Stijl)

MP3: The White Stripes - Jumble, Jumble (from De Stijl)