I have a dilemna. My best friend just told me that before today he had never heard "Kodachrome" by Paul Simon. At first, I didn't believe him, but once I got over the shock, I suddenly feel like our friendship has been shaken to its very core. It's worse than when we had a falling out over a girl we had overlapping romantic interests in. I'm honestly not sure that we can be friends anymore.
We've hung out a lot over the years, so I know he's not a hermit. I've stayed at his condo, so I know he doesn't live under a rock. He has a sizable CD collection. How can you have never heard "Kodachrome"???!!! There is just a certain level of cultural awareness I expect in my friends, and I can't think of a legitimate excuse for not having heard this song at some point in thirty plus years. Seriously, that'd be like saying you've never read Catcher In The Rye, or you've never seen Citizen Kane. It's a fucking classic!
I need a drink.
And while we're talking about "Kodachrome," I love Lindsey Buckingham, but he totally owes Simon royalties for this rip off...
With the NFL Draft being this weekend, I thought I'd celebrate by featuring the most ridiculous CD I own.* In 1998, the NFL teamed with eMusic to release NFL Country, an album of duets that paired country stars with NFL players. The results, as you might expect, are mostly terrible. The one exception? The pairing of Randy Travis and New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. Seriously. I wouldn't say that Strahan has a great voice, but stylistically he nails it. Apart from that, I'd say the biggest surprise is either that this album is actually a sequel (the first NFL Country was released two years earlier), or that it's still in print!!!
To be honest this year's draft is kind of boring, especially now that the Dolphins have already signed the first pick. But ten years ago, the draft was ripe with intrigue. Who would be the first pick, Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf? We all know how that worked out. But if it had been a battle of the bands, who would have been first? Thanks to NFL Country, you can decide for yourself.
The New Pornographers, with Okkervil River Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN Friday, April 18, 2008
The New Pornographers may have been minus a bit of their star power Friday night, but they still had plenty of shine. With Neko Case having to bail out of the tour due to a fractured ankle, keyboardist Kathryn Calder became their most valuable player. She may not have as distinctive a voice as Case, but she handled the lead vocals on Neko-centric tunes like "Challengers" and "Mass Romantic" absolutely flawlessly. It was a perfect illustration that the real star of the band is the songwriting of Carl Newman, regardless of who is singing the tunes. Between Calder's gorgeous vocals and her rosy cheeked smile, I'm probably not the only guy who walked out of that show a little bit smitten.
Apparently the band decided that their latest album Challengers had been out long enough that this tour wasn't geared specifically towards promoting it. Their 90 minute set pulled almost equally from all four of their albums, and closed with a spot on, note perfect rendition of ELO's "Don't Let Me Down." It was easily one of the best live covers I'd ever seen.
Okkervil River played a great set to start out the night. Will Sheff's voice was a bit less rangy than it can sometimes be on record, and the band was tight as hell. But as good as they were, the band was later upstaged by their own singer. Midway through their set, the Pornographers brought Sheff up to serve as a ringer for their other absent vocalist, Dan Bejar, for a take of "Myriad Harbour" that became the highlight of the night.
For those who wish Bejar had taken part in this tour, note that he'll be here in Nashville with his own band, Destroyer, on April 29 at The Mercy Lounge.
This Saturday, April 19, is Record Store Day. Why should you take this opportunity to support your local owned independent record store? Not surprisingly, Nick Hornby says it much better than I ever could...
"Yes, yes, I know. It's easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what's playing on your favourite download store when you walk into it? Nothing, that's what. Who are you going to meet in there? Nobody. Where are the notice boards offering flatshares and vacant slots in bands destined for super stardom? Who's going to tell you to stop listening to that and start listening to this? Go ahead and save yourself a couple of quid. The savings will cost you a career, a set of cool friends, musical taste, and eventually, your soul. Record stores can't save your life. But they can give you a better one."
Here in Nashville you'll have two chances to celebrate. Over on the east side, The Groove will be having with a massive sale featuring 50 cent LPs (meaning vinyl records for half a buck, not overhyped rap artists), $2 CDs, 15% of all used music, and 10% of everything else. They'll also have live music in the parking lot featuring a kickass lineup of some of Nashville's best indie bands... JEFF, The Nobility, Aaron Robinson, and Eureka Gold among them. Not to mention Panty Raid, Music City's finest purveyors the burlesque arts. For those who haven't checked it out yet, The Groove is located in 5 Points at the corner of 11th and Woodland, right across the street from 3 Crow Bar. Hit up their website for more info.
And of course Grimey's will be commemorating the occasion with one of their bi-annual Big Ass Sales and parking lot concerts. If you live in Nashville and haven't been to one of Grimey's daylong parties, you either hate music or live under a rock. If you don't already know the drill, you can find out here. It is worth noting that the band lineup is probably their most eclectic yet, ranging from bluegreass (Tim O'Brien) to funk (The Soulphonics) to the guy who wrote the ubiquitous "Closing Time" (Dan Wilson). Which ever store you choose to patronize, you can't go wrong. But if you really want to improve your karmic standing in the universe, go to both!
Sadly, I will not be visiting either of my local record stores on this particular Saturday because I'll be heading up to Lexington, KY to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Duke Spirit. I do plan on getting up there early enough to patronize their local indie store, CD Central, where both bands will be doing in-stores that afternoon. It should sound a little something like this...
Wherever you live, get out and support your local record shop this weekend. Because buying music at Wal-Mart sucks. Actually, buying anything at Wal-Mart sucks.
I'm obsessed. For the past week I've only been listening to two albums; the new R.E.M. (reviewed here), and this... the latest from Austin's The Black Angels. Directions To See A Ghost is like the soundtrack for a peyote fueled midnight drive into the desert. The guitars are a molotov cocktail of delay, distortion and tremolo. If Jim Morrison had fronted Mazzy Star, and they turned the amps up to eleven, it would sound something like this (that analogy doesn't work if all you've heard from MZ is "Fade Into You" and "Halah," but if you've heard the rest of their albums, it's quite apt). It's really not the kind of album you'd want to listen to walking around in public, because chances are you're going to get lost in it. It's a brooding, bluesy and utterly fantastic head trip.
The CD won't be in stores until May 13, but you can buy the album starting today. How's that? Visit your nearest participating indie record store (like, say, Grimey's) and purchase a pre-sale card that will allow you to instantly download the album. Then return to the same store after May 13 to pick up the CD, along with an exclusive bonus 4 song EP. For more info on this promotion, go here.
I would nominate this as possibly the greatest music video ever made. I mean, it has everything... Puffy shirts! Jumping! Two drummers! An obscenely large Walkman! More guns than a 50 Cent video, and more corsettes than a Keira Knightley movie. And really, who doesn't love period films. Seriously, this video is so awesome they did a "making of" documentary of it. That's like "Thriller" good.
Some albums are just made for this time of the year, and Hotpipes new CD ranks up there among the best spring albums I've ever heard. It's the perfect soundtrack for rolling down the windows on a sunny day and driving around with the car stereo turned up just a little bit louder than is probably healthy. Clocking in at a succinct 29 minutes, its eight songs alternate seemlessly between guitar driven power pop and keyboard fueled rave ups. I've already mentioned how much I love the album's opener, and it's followed up with this gem, making for a potent 1-2 punch to kick off the proceedings.
Hotpipes - "Future Bolt" (mp3)
Hotpipes will be playing tomorrow night (Saturday, April 12) at The Basement in Nashville, along with And The Relatives and Atlanta's The Howlies. The cover is only five bucks, and a lineup this killer would be a bargain at twice the price.
It really is that good. EverythingI'dread about this album said that it was great. A return to form. Back to being a rock band. Usually that kind of hype just sets up unrealistic expectations, but R.E.M. deliver the goods, big time. Maybe it was reuniting with Bill Berry for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year that infused them with their old spirit. Maybe it was their career-long emulation of U2 that led them to hire Jacknife Lee, the producer of How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Whatever it was, the band has rediscovered their vitality. I wouldn't go so far as to say that their last couple of albums sucked, but I don't remember the last time I listened to Up or Reveal, and I never even bought Around The Sun. But listening to Accelerate for the first time reminded me of how it felt when I first got into the band in high school. It just has that kind of energy. It's not only their best album since Berry left the band, it's their best since Document.
The other night I went to our local arthouse theater to catch Let's Get Lost, the 1988 Oscar nominated documentary on Chet Baker. Even having read Jim Ridley's review in the Scene beforehand, the film was not at all what I expected. Directed by noted fashion photographer Bruce Weber, it's more of an ultra-stylized personality profile than the typical kind of life story you'd see on PBS or the History Channel.
Although the film stars Chet himself, his story is mostly told by associates, ex-lovers, and his family. The interview portions that do feature Baker are captivating, although for dramatically different reasons from session to session. In some he's fairly lucid, and he displays a passion for music that is obvious in both his playing and singing. In others, he is so out of it that he practically nods off in front of the camera. He was in his late fifties at the time of filming, but he looks about 80, the result of a smack habit that was monumental even by jazz musician standards. But even though his matinee idol looks had been ravaged by the effects of junk and hard living, his performances are absolutely mesmerizing. There are several throughout the film, but the highlight is undoubtably his take on Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue" at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. Shot just a year before his death, his voice still has the intimacy of his golden years in the 1950s, coupled with the gravity of life experience that few have ever known. As good as the movie is, if you compare this performance with his recordings from the early stages of his career, it tells you all you need to know about the life of Chet Baker.
The movie was originally scheduled at the Belcourt for a week long engagement, but it's been held over, so you've still got a chance to see it. Check their website for showtimes, as they vary daily. It has never been released on DVD, but if you have money to burn, you can find a VHS copy.
Congratulations to Wesley L, the winner of our New Pornographers/Okkervil River ticket giveaway. He knew (or at least googled) that in addition to being a member of The New Pornographers, Kathryn Calder is also a third of the Victoria, BC trio Immaculate Machine. If you've never heard of them before, here is your chance to correct that... this song is buoyant pop gem every bit as catchy as anything she's performed with Carl Newman and company. If you can listen to this and it isn't stuck in your head for the rest of the day, you simply don't like music.
Kathryn, Carl and their fellow smut peddlers will be in Nashville two weeks from tonight, April 18th, to play The Cannery Ballroom. If you're reading this and your name isn't Wesley, you can buy your tickets here.
Back at the end of January, The Legal Limits and Sad Apartment teamed up for a joint EP release show at the 5 Spot. I reviewed Sad Apartment's EP back in February, and since the two bands are getting together for another evening of "side projectitis" tomorrow night, April 4, at Family Wash, I figured it was a good time to talk about the other CD I took home that night.
For whatever reason, I never quite connected with The Legal Limits the night of their record release. But several weeks ago, my broken car CD player suddenly started working (it's since crapped out again). Hot Pursuit was one of the CDs I happened to have left in the car, so it made it's way into the rotation, and it stayed there for the better part of a month. The band is often referred to as Ryan Ervin's country side project, but apart from the presence of slide guitar, it's really just a more subdued take on the same kind of pop music he makes with The Carter Administration. It's full of the same sly wit and big hooks that have made the Carters one of Nashville's most beloved bands, just played a little slower and with less distortion. The four originals are padded out with two covers, including an ultra lo-fi take on Guided By Voices "Smothered In Hugs" that would make Uncle Bob proud.
The Legal Limits - "Pretend You're Invisible" (mp3)
I've mentioned before that one of the things I love about All We Seabees is how they manage to combine so many different styles into a cohesive whole. Their new CD, Lady Alaska is a perfect example of that. There's a hint of psychedelia, and a healthy dose of Irish soul. It has the narrative tradition of folk music and the spirit of indie rock. There's enough twang to keep it honest, but not enough to make it country. The album has a slightly more organic feel than their debut (Anne The Snake) did. That might be a side effect of its origins; it apparently began life intended as an acoustic-y side project, but grew into a band effort. The instrumentation is a bit more ecletic, with healthy doses of banjo, fiddle, accordian, and female harmonies. But as great as the arrangements are, the real strength of the band is the songwriting. "Black Girls" is simply one of the most gorgeous songs I've heard from the local rock scene, and "Painter" gets its impact from the juxtaposition of an utterly depressing story set to a jaunty tune. The fact that they've they've gotten this good on just their second album bodes well for their next CD, which they've already started recording.
All We Seabees - "Weepy Willow Hollow" (mp3) All We Seabees - "Black Girls" (mp3)*
They'll be playing this Friday, April 4, at Wallstreet in Murfreesboro, along with Hammertorch and Cheyenne.
* This is a slightly different mix from the album version, but I didn't feel like burning another MP3. Yeah, I was feeling THAT lazy last night. Besides, alternate versions are fun, yo.
