May 2008
“Estelle: I was in a members club in the West End once with my sister and about...”
– How does it feel to make it big in music? - Features, Music - The Independent
David Byrne’s New Band - Lyricism in Girders,... →
“Playing the Building” opens on Saturday (5/31) at noon and will continue on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from noon to 6 p.m., through Aug. 10 at the Battery Maritime Building, 10 South Street, Lower Manhattan.
“In a brawl in the early Sixties, he shot off the ring finger of his left hand -...”
– Dr John: pimp, gunman, pianist - Telegraph
South Street Seaport Music Festival: Die!Die!Die!... →
Tonight! (5/30) Free! In the great outdoors! Sure to be packed with sweaty hipsters! But dude, it’s Wire.
Bang on a Can :: Bang on a Can Marathon :: 2008... →
12 hours of music, starting Saturday (5/31) at 6pm — righteous. Highlights include Owen Pallett, Marnie Stern, and the Young People’s Chorus of New York performing Michael Gordon’s “Every Stop on the F Train.”
The National tour diary...
Bryan Devendorf keeps a tour diary to rival Peter Hughes’ (rhythm sections reprazent with words!) — who knew that The National love sushi so much? There are other people who spend their alone time listening to Power, Corruption and Lies? Rad! Never fear, success has not spoiled our National, they’re as adorably dorky as ever. [text] and [photos] See them out and about in just...
“Nick Cave Watch: spotted in a Mexican bar decorated
with skulls in Westbourne...”
– PB :: Popbitch
This Used to Be Madonna's Playground: Danceteria... →
Ok, one of the many reasons I subscribe to the Observer (despite the fact that as it comes in the mail and is routinely A WEEK LATE in arriving even though it’s merely traveling about 5 miles, max) is that the Location section shines a harsh light on the Manhattan real estate market, and almost always lets the developers it profiles bury themselves in a shitstorm of broker-speak without...
“In Re-Arrange Us, these increasingly domesticated Mates have basically made an...”
– Mates of State: Re-Arrange Us: Pitchfork Record Review You know what’s interesting? Moerder doesn’t touch the lyrical content with a ten-foot pole. Listen to the lyrics, and you’ll find that this is no domesticated album. This is about the conundrum of adult relationships —...
“… the bands in question didn’t “give away and pray,”...”
– Techdirt: ‘Give It Away And Pray’ Isn’t A Business Model… But It Doesn’t Mean That ‘Free’ Doesn’t Work My question: Has anyone checked in with Bishop Allen lately? They were one of those little bands this model was supposed to work for. Relatedly, does...
Paul Weller: Style councillor - Features, Music -... →
You guys! Paul Weller and I share a birthday!!
“EMI is certainly not highly correlated to the economy. The issues and challenges...”
– Letter from Guy Hands, the CEO of Terra Firma Best part: “Of course, the current banking environment is far from ideal for doing a major turnaround, but I am pleased to say that despite the challenges, substantial progress is being made in new music.” Well, that’s a relief —...
“Cocteau Twins – Cherry Coloured Funk
Year after year, you concentrate because...”
– Largehearted Boy: Book Notes - Lavinia Greenlaw (“The Importance of Music to Girls”) (Note to Lavinia: Artery … you know … Artery? I have lots of records I can’t recall the provenance of too, but … how could you forget Artery?!?)
“Perhaps a little unnoticed among the frenzy of new films and big stars at Cannes...”
– Chet Baker: ‘There aren’t a lot of people like Chet left’ - Telegraph I’m so glad I can finally see this at some point in the future — missed the screenings @ Anthology last year.
Sasha Frere-Jones: Summer Loving →
God bless ‘em, SFJ & readers are still trying to pin down something. Glad to get the international report — and the dancefloor report, though. Maybe that’s the point. This is some kind of bellwether moment where the last semblences of monoculture HAVE UP AND DIED, leaving us with no universal summer jam.
“Much of our economy and our value in world markets is tied into the creation of...”
– Michael Arrington on Copyright: Wrong - Silicon Alley Insider Right, well. How about — everyone is wrong. And right? Whatever. Hank Williams, author of the linked post and quote above, is right — on some points — even though the concluding paragraph is a bit Cassandra-y and all....
MoMA.org | Calendar | June 2, 2008 | "A Marriage... →
Part of the Jazz Score film series; introduced by Emily Hubley and Ed Berger.
“Kay Hanley is scurrying down the aisle in the Hartford Civic Center, 10 minutes...”
– Miley Cyrus gets tour support from an unlikely new friend: Kay Hanley - The Boston Globe (via Idolator)
WatchMates of State - Late Night with Conan O’Brien Mates of State — with strings!
Texas Barbecue: The Missing Link: gourmet.com →
How to make a girl homesick on a long holiday weekend … this is it!
Summer, for a Change, Will Be Full of New Album... →
Ben Sisaro is optimistic about this summer’s high quotient of summer jam potential … I think? It’s cute that he classifies Weezer as indie rock, though!
LUKEY DARGONS META EQUIVALENT →
If you’re in the Bklyn, and you haven’t seen Lucky Dragons before … GO GO GO on Saturday to his appearance at Silent Barn. Luke Fischbeck is doing some of the most incredible stuff coming out of Brooklyn right now, dubbed “organic glitchcore” — a lovely mix of hypersexual performance art and live bizzaro electronic music. Info from the ToddP newsletter … ...
“The serious members of Alphabeat belie their reputation for cheery pop by...”
– Shots from the hip: Scarlet Page reveals the secrets of rock’n’roll photography - The Independent Scarlett Page’s photography is a dud, but the rest of this article is full of charming descriptions of the backstage antics of the young and fake indie.
If you can find me in this week’s issue of the Austin Chronicle, YOU WIN A PRIZE! (Really!)
“He looks like John Lennon at his long-haired hippiest crossed with the...”
– Sebastien Tellier: France is furious with me - Telegraph
“And while I’m no Grammy winner, I still wanted that Steinway sound. To my...”
– For a Steinway, I Did It My Way - WSJ.com (subscripton req’d) The author eventually ends up paying $22K for a 1912 model, from an 85-year-old gentleman in Summit, New Jersey. Though you may balk at the price, that’s about half what a normally used Steinway will run ya. And well, if you...
“But to the extent that music heals, how does it heal? The physiological pathways...”
– Claudius Conrad, a Surgeon, Explores the Role of Music in Healing - New York Times
ario's digital detritus - M + 8 + 3 = awesome →
Ario, a long time internet pal who’s introduced me to lots of great music, raves over the M83 show last night is San Francisco. … Er, did I miss the M83 show in NYC? CRAP! I love this band, and I always seem to miss seeing them live. It is a curse.
“Where’s the disco?” someone in the crowd said, disappointedly, when the lights...”
– A Tribute to Arthur Russell: Singing a Songsmith’s Praises - New York Times No, I didn’t go — I know, I know. I should have. I mean — Rebecca Gates! Joel Gibb! Augh! But, after reading the review, despite the awesome performers, I might have yearned for the disco, too.
Just a little note to my followers on Tumblr: I read your posts in my rss reader; I am not a fan of the ‘following’ interface. I hope that’s not weird or anything … I just wanted you to know!
“And if Scorsese is R. Kelly, and Demme is Akon, who’s T-Pain? Don’t...”
– Jonathan Demme Vs. Martin Scorsese: Who’s The Best Music Doc Director?
Sasha Frere-Jones: Long Hot Summer →
Ok, look. Nothing by The Ting Tings can be a summer jam, they’re so annoying. And though “Teenage Love Affair” is a great song, it is not great blaring from car speakers or boomboxes. IT HAS NO HOOK. Summer jams need hooks. And see, Mr. Piorier may be on to something — summer jam = hot club track in Europe, but not here. Well, I mean, the summer jam can turn into a hot club...
La Daily Musto > The Cockettes are Coming... →
I don’t know what’s more amazing — a Cockettes reunion (back together on the east coast for the first time since 1971) — or the fact that there’s an archive of Cockettes materials at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts!!!
marathonpacks' 2008 Mid-Term Mix, Vol. I →
Everyone’s lauding this — for good reason! Eric, as ever, is pretty right-on with most of his picks for the best of the year so far.
“At the time, I was reading L. Sprague de Camp’s biography of H.P....”
– Powell’s Books - PowellsBooks.BLOG - Ed Park on Tallahassee