kop'·ē·kăt'

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

2006-02-18T02:38:00.000-08:00

No No No: Couldn't get tickets for either of the Troubadour shows.

(follow link) Dudley

Preorder Show Your Bones :: Amazon :: Insound

Midlake & Grandaddy.

2006-02-11T15:37:00.000-08:00

Upon the release of their full-length, Bamnan and Silvercork, many critics likened Midlake to a cross between Radiohead and The Flaming Lips. And while the comparison was apt, personally, I thought they were closer to Grandaddy in spirit, what with thier tales of hazardous Kingfish Pie factories and sinister "Monocle Men." With Grandaddy set to call it quits following the release of Just Like The Fambly Cat, it's a perfect time to go crazy over Midlake. Especially with this song, now making it's 29, 467th appearance on a music blog this month:

Midlake - Roscoe

Are Midlake trading in their lo-fi sound for classic rock harmonies? Either is fine with me. Midlake's second album, Van Occupanther, should be released sometime this spring. "Roscoe" may or may not be on it.

Grandaddy's swan song, Just Like The Fambly Cat, will be released on May 8th. Don't be a stranger, Jason.

(follow link) Grandaddy - Campershell Dreams

:: Midlake's Official Site :: Grandaddy's Official Site

Gregor Samsa

2006-02-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

Mark Amerika's The Kafka Chronicles is a bad book, and you should avoid reading it. I didn't have a choice, unfortunately. I have a lot of problems with the book, not the least of which is, if you're going to change your last name to Amerika, and going to name your novel The Kafka Chronicles, and name a character in that novel Gregor Samsa, you better have a damn good reason for it. Amerika doesn't.

So then there's this band named Gregor Samsa, a Richmond, Virginia foursome that makes dreamy, majestic rock similar to that of Sigur Rós or Explosions In The Sky. Based on what I've heard so far, they are a good band, and you should listen to them. The Kora will release their full-length, 55:12, on March 7th. In their case, the use of the name Gregor Samsa is less offensive.

(follow link) Young & Old

:: Official Site :: Myspace :: The Kora Records

The Knife, again.

2006-02-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

I didn't sound too enthused in the previous post, but Silent Shout is something stupendous. You should listen to The Knife some more.

Heartbeats (OneMusic Session)

If the original version is Friday night, than this one is Sunday morning. Nope, still can't write.

The Knife

2006-01-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

You like The Knife. Will you like Silent Shout? I think you will.

(follow link) Marble House

Silent Shout will be released on March 8th.

:: Official site :: Rabid Records

Cagedbaby

2006-01-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

The first album from Cagedbaby, Will See You Now, is just waiting to be your new favorite. It's so good that I wonder why I hadn't heard of it before Hanka at iPop posted "16 Lovers" last week. Tom Gandey's tunes seem like the sort of thing people would have spent a lot of words on following the album's release last August. Maybe it was deservedly huge and I just wasn't paying attention.

soundgenerator says:

[T]he voices of Michael Hutchence and David Byrne and Prince and Jon Marsh of the Beloved, and all the other stars in Cagedbaby's head, blend into a single stream of consciousness that tells you "future confusion I love you oh I love you", over and over until you can't remember the last time dance music spoke to you like this.

(follow link) Amplified Heart

:: Official site :: Buy Will See You Now

Laura Barrett.

2006-01-18T23:56:00.000-08:00

Laura Barrett and her kalimba (African thumb piano) sit somewhere between Joanna Newsom and Nellie McKay. She's tour pals with Owen "Final Fantasy" Pallett. And on her Earth Sciences EP, she covers Weird Al Yankovic's "Smells Like Nirvana." Okay. Some of you may be fans of the above artists, so Ms. Barrett's music-box vibe and slightly off-kilter lyrics should be right up your alley. However, the combined force of the names above may have some of you curled up in a sweaty ball, shaking with fear and revulsion. In which case, I urge you to pull yourself together and give Laura a chance anyway.

Deception Islands Optimist Club

:: Listen to "Robot Ponies" and order Earth Sciences on Laura Barrett's Myspace page.

Nôze.

2006-01-18T22:48:00.000-08:00

Nôze are a French duo, and that should be all the information you need. Their clangy, junky, wonderfully physical debut, Craft Sounds and Voices, sounds like Matthew Herbert by way of Tom Waits.

Fuckinmido

Video treatment: By the light of a silvery moon, a tribe of rickety clockwork automatons sacrifice a helpless piano, tearing it to pieces, draping themselves with the dusty inards. Get the Brothers Quay to direct it.

:: Official site :: Buy Craft Sounds and Voices from Forced Exposure

Sing La.

2006-01-18T22:36:00.000-08:00

The Cheshire Chord Company choir (which includes the mother of a Kaiser Chief) cover one of sonny-boy's singles. Better than the original?

Cheshire Chord Company - I Predict A Riot

(via Music For Maniacs)

That stupid ache.

2006-01-18T01:39:00.000-08:00

Insane genius Zach Galifinakis appears in the video for Fiona Apple's "Not About Love."

Watch a quicktime clip or jump through some AOL hoops to watch the full version -- it's worth it. Best bit: the moment following the line "While you're spitting your cud."

(via lindsayism)

Namie Amuro

2006-01-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

Namie Amuro has been a staple of Japanese pop for over a decade. Her sixth studio album, Queen of Hip-Pop, was released last summer. I don't speak any Japanese, but the English scattered throughout "I Wanna Show You My Love" tells you everything you need to know:

She wants to show you her love.
"This" (the song, presumably) is for all her fans.
She wants to dance for you, and possibly show you her "goodies."
You are invitied to dance and sing along.

I Wanna Show You My Love

Imagine if Destiny's Child and Cibo Matto both regrouped and then teamed up. Yosh!

:: Official Site :: Buy Queen of Hip-Pop

Hang on Shooby.

2006-01-13T12:14:00.000-08:00

Watch the late, great outsider musician Shooby "The Human Horn" Taylor get booed off stage at the Apollo, 1983. (mov, 5mb)

More info and a batch of mp3s at Shooby.com.

(via Pete's Linklog)

Someday I will stop taking month long vacations from the site.

The Chap.

2005-12-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

Modernisation is what we're about
Without warning you'll suddenly run out and cry
Goodbye

Ham, by The Chap. Or, the soundtrack to a research paper on Virigina Woolf's The Waves and the theories of Henri Bergson.

Auto Where To
I Am Oozing Emotion

Excellent album, among the best of 2005. I'd say more, but I am out of words.

:: Official site :: Myspace :: Buy Ham :: Buy ham

What do the paranoid ones dream of?

2005-12-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

Dubious! Are Radiohead composing the score for A Scanner Darkly? Some Anonymous Guy feeds Twitch the following:

The movie is doing very well in test screenings, but the #1 complaint audiences have is with the score. So I can only tell you this anonymously, but the producers have approached Radiohead about doing a new score for the film and it looks like everything is going to go through. So in addition to an awesome animated Phillip K. Dick film, we will have a brand new Radiohead score to look forward to. As far as I know, this is the first time Radiohead has ever done a score for the film. While this is still a "rumor" at this time, I would give it a 99% accuracy rating at this point.

If Radiohead can take time out from working on their next album to score what has the potential to be the most faithful Philip K. Dick adaptation yet, than I'm overjoyed. Maybe they'll just let Jonny do the honors. But it all sounds too good to be true. The facts: A Scanner Darkly will use the same animation style director Richard Linklater first employed in Waking Life. The cast is a veritable who's who of the film industry's damaged goods -- Keanu Reeves, Wynona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downey, Jr. The release date is currently set for March 31, 2006.

Watch the teaser trailer.

Update, 12/14 -- From ateaseweb.com:

As reported earlier, Radiohead were asked to do the score of the animated Phillip K. Dick film 'A Scanner Darkly'. However, an official source says Radiohead were indeed approached to record the music for Richard Linklater's film, but the band are not doing it, because Radiohead are recording their new album.

Oh well.

Born a unicorn - ready to die - life after death.

2005-12-10T00:40:00.000-08:00

You must know that Islands is Nick Diamonds and J'aime Tambeur, 2/3rds of the now-defunct Canadian supergroup, The Unicorns, and you probably heard their preview tracks, "Flesh" and "Abominable Snow," earlier this year. Now the album, Return to the Sea, has leaked. The songs are tighter and more straightforward than anything on Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone; when they pick a sound or genre at the beginning, they tend to stick with it until the end. At times, it sounds like the boys are taking a few cues from their pals in Arcade Fire, some of whom make guest appearances here. But yeah, it does sound a little like The Unicorns. If you enjoy one, you'll more than likely enjoy the other.

(follow link) Rough Gem

Europe gets Return to the Sea in January, courtesy of Rough Trade. So far, no North American release date or label has been set.

For further information, visit The Secret Unicorns Forum.

Fan Service: Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette."

2005-12-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten."

How about that logo? 100% awesome. If you know me, you know I'm a fan of big, poofy ball gowns and glaring, poignant anachronisms. If the trailer is any indication, Sofia Coppola's upcoming film Marie Antoinette will have both in spades. Coppola is making some very brave (Dunst, Schwartzman), very fascinating ("Age of Consent") choices here. I just hope she can pull it off and give us a film that not only "makes it new," but makes it affecting. To my mind, everything fits beautifully. After all, this is your average story of overprivileged, hard-partying, doomed youth. It just happens to take place in the late 1700's. The stuffy conventions of your traditional costume drama are no match for our pomo shenanigans!

Watch the trailer for Marie Antoinette (qt).

Which brings us to Michael (24 Hour Party People) Winterbottom's adaptation (in the super-meta Charlie Kaufman sense) of Laurence Sterne's seminal experimental novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Which was also, unfathomably, a product of the late 1700's. A film about filmmakers making a film of an unfilmable novel about writing a novel -- there is no way that this can be bad. The trailer looks fantastic. I love the shot of the cannonballs flying across the map. And the womb is genius, of course. Bonus points for use of the office theme music from Brazil. I'd like to see this now, please.

Watch the trailer for Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (qt).

(via Twitch)

New Young Pony Club - Theirspace.

2005-12-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Most Favored Band New Young Pony Club are now on Myspace. Founding members Tahita and Andy have added Lou (keyboards), Igor (bass), and Sarah (drums) to the line-up while they work on a third single and full-length album. Both will be released in 2006, and both stand a good chance of being among the best releases of 2006. That might sound like so much wishful thinking and unrestrained hyperbole on my part, so go listen to the four songs the Ponies have released thus far and make up your own mind.

See my previous post on NYPC.

Never forget.

2005-12-07T01:49:00.000-08:00

"Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us."

Spaceland, 12/7/04: Blood and sweat (and sweat and sweat and sweat) and tears. Best concert ever.

All photos by Mark O. Barrett. See more here.

Ricky Gervais breaks the noise.

2005-12-05T15:48:00.000-08:00

Guardian Unlimited is running a weekly podcast hosted by comedian Ricky Gervais, Office/Extras co-writer and director Stephen Merchant, and their XFM producer, an odd man named Karl Pilkington. The format:

1. Karl says something idiotic.
2. Ricky and Stephen get on Karl's case and crack themselves up.

If not for the lack of commericals, Top 40 songs, and wacky sound effects, it would sound a little like your average morning zoo radio show. There's even a segment named "Monkey News." I'm not making it sound very funny, but of course it is.

Maybe you haven't heard of Seona Dancing, Gervais' pop outfit from the early 80's. Quite big in the Phillipines, apparently.

Seona Dancing - Bitter Heart

If you're curious, visit The Only Website Dedicated to Seona Dancing or this Myspace page. The photos are priceless.

Also: The new design. Simpler. Better? Worse? Your opinions, please.

Avia Gardner.

2005-12-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

“Avia Gardner was born before either of its members were. She is a persona teased out of a photograph, a story that has been given a voice.... delicate voice and subtle lyrics against a backdrop of fractured strings, guitar and other acoustic instruments giving a premonition of ethereal and beautiful things to come.”

The links on Avia Gardner’s official site suggest that composer Mitchell Akiyama and vocalist Jenna Robertson are the sort who would build a world around an antique photo and ghost voices – Found Magazine, Misprinted Type, a selection of Borges recordings, the always excellent Ubu. The music that Akiyama and Robertson make together suggests a late-night collaboration between Cocorosie, Colleen, Reigns, and Fennesz – a wash of rusty, dusty electronics, faint acoustic plucking, a girl with a wonderful voice.

Oceans of Almost Rushing

The album, More Than Tongue Can Tell, is available at the intr.version shop.

And now for the x-rated version.

2005-12-04T12:58:00.000-08:00

Technically, this is a Depeche Mode post. But I'm not going to talk about Depeche Mode.

I've seen the film Xanadu more times than could be considered responsible. To elaborate on something Travis said, if Supernature taught us anything, it's that Alison Goldfrapp was destined to take up the torch from Olivia Newton-John and play Kira in a remake of Xandau. This is inevitable; remember the 'Frapp cover of "Physical?" The remix of "Pain That I'm Used To" clinches it. Listen to those ELO-style harmonies and Mr. Blue Sky synth vox. Can't you just imagine this playing behind an inexplicable Don Bluth animated princess/fish/bird courtship sequence? And what would this contemporary do-over of a mytho-retro-spastic rollerdisco fantasy be without an appearance by Jaqcues Lu Cont? You have to believe it is magic:

Depeche Mode - Pain That I'm Used To
Goldfrapp Remix
Jacques Lu Cont Remix

A remake is bound to happen at some point. Just look at all the attention that The Warriors has been getting lately, what with the video game and the new dvd. It won't be long before we see a full-scale revival of the entire Michael Beck oeuvre. An upcoming cover of the Xanadu theme by the Other Minogue should get things moving along. Dannii's version has been described as "Goldfrapp-esque" (See? It's all happening!), but will have to be pretty stellar to have any hope of beating Menudo's version.

Menudo - Xanadu

Say it three times fast and Gene Kelly will rise from his grave! (Originally posted by Copy, Right?)

Um. Preorder the "Pain That I'm Used To" single from Amazon.

First impressions (or, headlines that write themselves).

2005-12-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't call myself a huge Strokes fan. I liked Is This It quite a bit, but Room on Fire failed to grab me right away and I didn’t give it much attention. Most of what I heard about the new tracks that trickled out during the last year was negative, so I never bothered to hunt them down. But after listening to First Impressions of Earth a few times, I have to say that I’m enjoying it immensely. Of course, the least Stroke-ish track on the album is my favorite. “Ask Me Anything” is backed with burbling mellotron and finds Julian Casablancas lending his nonchalant delivery to repetitive, neurotic lyrics. Almost like he’s channeling Stephen Merritt – a comparison I know I use way too often, but this time I really mean it.

(follow link) Ask Me Anything

Another favorite of mine, “You Only Live Once,” is a bit more what we’re used to, but won me over pretty quickly.

(follow link) You Only Live Once

Preorder First Impressions of Earth on Amazon.

I could bring my little ghetto blaster.

2005-12-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

While we're on the subject of sailors and Matthew Barney, Björk plans on realizing her dream of sailing around the world, boyfriend and daughter in tow. Contactmusic reports that Iceland's favorite dóttir is currently enrolled in a 10-week course on the ins and outs of high seas adventure. In Björk's case, I imagine this involves learning to summon the wind and communicate with whales.

"It has always been my ambition. I have homes all over the place at the moment - Iceland, England and France - but I'd love for my home to be a boat so that I can take it wherever I go.

"The course I'm taking tests whether I have the balls to do this. So I'm having to work hard and behave myself. My life's always changing - I'm constantly looking for new things. I'm never still. My theory is that life on a boat could be great."

Hopefully this endeavor yields an album more varied than Medúlla, more personal than Drawing Restraint 9, and more poppy their either. In any case, it's bound to be interesting.

The Bad Plus - Human Behavior (Live)

Fiona Apple - O Sailor.

2005-12-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

A little bit Baz Luhrmann, a little bit Matthew Barney. And the Queen Mary cleans up nice.

Watch the video for Fiona Apple's "O Sailor," directed by Floria Sigismondi. (via)

Róisín Murphy - More Sow.

2005-12-02T00:38:00.000-08:00

One? Only one remix? But you promisssssesed! Oh, Róisín, you know I love you, but you're killing me. For a third single, might I kindly suggest "Night of the Dancing Flame?" Or "Dear Diary?" Whatever you end up going with (and please go with something), I'll remix it for you, if need be. And then we'll promote the hell out of it. Help me help you, dear.

Sow Into You (Radio Edit)
Sow Into You (Bugz in the Attic Remix)

Ms. Murphy found these remixes wanting, and so they never saw a proper release. They're not awful, but neither can hold a candle to Dani Siciliano's.

If We're In Love (Ashley Beedle Remix)
If We're In Love (Laszlo's Hand on the Plow Remix)

Buy Ruby Blue.

Persephone's Bees - Nice Day.

2005-12-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

Influences: “Literature, films, smells, colors, interaction with people and my observations of the human condition.”

Persephone's Bees, or more specifically, frontwoman Angelina Moysov, is from San Francisco by way of Russia. So far, the only music of theirs that you can run out and buy is the song "City of Love" on the Bewitched soundtrack. But the real joy is in "Nice Day." You can watch the video at 'boards. The video is nice and all, but I'm really in love with the song, all catchy bounce and melody. The first line is especially fine: "Too hot for tea but I'll drink it anyway." And you've gotta love the wordless chorus. It is a nice day.

Columbia will be releasing the Bee's debut LP, The Notes From The Underworld... at some point. Can anyone find a release date?

If you'd like to hear "Nice Day" in decent quality, visit the band's official site or Myspace page.

What will today's adventure be?

2005-11-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

Information is scarce; here's what we do know:

Ponies Love: Lemon Drizzle Cake / Oats / Playing loud Bass Guitar / Film noir / Noise / More noise / Being Groomed / Good Pop Music / 40’s pin-ups / A touch of the whip / Bare Arsed cheek / Gay Disco
Ponies Hate: Tins / Lack of Passion / Bridles / Bad Pop Music / Clean stuff / Fools / Humans who don’t dance

I'm a little late to this game on this one, but I don't care. New Young Pony Club (aka Young Andy and Tahita New) released two 7'' singles this year -- Ice Cream/Tight Fit and The Get Go/Jerk Me -- which mop the floor with pretty much everything I've heard recently. "The Get Go" is hands down one of my favorite songs of the year. It's not groundbreaking in any way, but its hard not to love. The Ponies currently hold Most Favored Band Status; there are few things I want more than a NYPC album. Luckily, one should appear sometime next year.

The Get Go

Get more information at Tirk.

The sweet surprise as the moon begins to rise.

2005-11-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

Kelley Polar's online bio claims that he was expelled from Julliard after his Master's Recital sparked a riot. I find it hard to believe that Polar's music could inspire anything other than bliss. I've been listening to Polar's Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens since Matt at Fluxblog posted the lovely "My Beauty in the Moon." The first time I heard the entire album, I thought it sounded a little like a cross between Erlend Øye's Unrest and IQU's Sun Q. It's not perfect, but there's something irresistible about the sound that keeps me listening.

With "Ashamed of Myself," Polar highlights depersonalization and self-loathing, some of the biggest elements of many romantic relationships, but, oddly enough, the ones which many love songs prefer to gloss over.

Kelley Polar - Ashamed of Myself

Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens is available now.

Go play outside.

2005-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, Sony and director Nicolai Fuglsig dumped 250,000 multicolored bouncy balls down a San Francicso street for a commerical. Perhaps you saw some of the amateur footage of the event. Now you can see the finished ad (for Sony's new line of Bravia TVs), as well as several making-of featurettes, at this site. Be sure to watch the high-def extended version -- it just might be one of the beautiful commericals you ever see. Even better, it's set to José González's exquisite cover of "Heartbeats."

My favorite recent ad has to be "Teddy Bear's Picnic," for Microsoft's Xbox 360. It's a curious way to advertise the system. I guess they're trying to emphasize the notion of playing games with a vast online community, but honestly, after watching this commerical (and I watch it often), all I want to do is go hurl water balloons at people. Forever. Thanks for putting things in perspective, Microsoft! Is this what Smingus Dingus ("Wet Monday") looks like? While enjoying a frosty Orange Bang last night at The Hat, I had the idea of pelting the Xbox fans lined up around the local Best Buy with water balloons. It seems I wasn't the only one. (via Kotaku)

Microsoft also sells jump-ropes.

And I promise you won't be bored.

2005-11-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

"Duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, dah-duh-duh, dah-duh-duh, dah-duh-duh, dah-duh-duh, x2"

The Futureheads are totally better than all the other bands right now that they kinda sound like. Yes they are. "Area" has the best wordless chorus since the "Nee-nanana-na-na-na" in "Satin Chic."

(follow link) The Futureheads - Area

Watch the video (wmv).

"Area" will be released on November 28th. Preorder it now from Amazon UK.

The bare necessities.

2005-11-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

"Throbbing low-end played on a 300 foot long bass and kick drums the size of Exxon supertankers, all stretched into a triumphant war stomp that all can love."

Noise! The two men of Lightning Bolt make a substantial racket.

Lightning Bolt - 2 Morro Morro Land

The new album, Hypermagic Mountain, is available from Load Records. Give it a spin while cleaning the house, and I guarantee you'll be more inclined to throw away, smash, or burn all the crap you don't really need.

More for the real connoiseur.

2005-11-21T01:01:00.000-08:00

"I’ve been singing other people’s songs for years and being the interpreter has its limitations. Writing my own songs has felt strange at times. I feel like the magician’s assistant who suddenly stands up and starts doing some tricks."

With her new single, "The Collector," (which, as predicted, takes cues from the late John Fowles' novel of the same name) Sarah Nixey steps into the world of mainstream pop. Any fan of BBR's Passionoia should have no problem adjusting themselves to the new sound. It's everything I expected and hoped for: a dash of Portishead here, a smidge of early Goldfrapp there. And, of course, Mrs. Nixey's voice is as lovely and chilling as ever. A exciting debut and a sign of great things to come.

Visit TuneTribe to hear clips and buy "The Collector" with b-side "Love & Exile."

Rhoda - Languorous - 13 days later - 1 month later.

2005-11-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

"They know what to say if spoken to. They laugh really; they get angry really; while I have to look first and do what other people do when they have done it." - Virginia Woolf, The Waves.

If I've learned one thing during my month away, it's that few things unite the world quite like the quest to unlock Madge's dud-tastic new album. When she rhymed "New York" and "dork," I was confident that the album had reached its nadir and things could get no worse. Moments later, she went for the "mad/sad/glad" trifecta, and I had to wash my hands of situation entirely. Oh, Esther, honey. No.

When I decide whether or not to post something, I try to consider the number of blogs that have covered the same artist as well as the relative freshness of the song/artist being posted. For the sake of posting on a regular basis, I'm going to stop worrying so much. Thus: That one band you've been reading about everywhere? The one you're absolutely sick of? You'll read about it here, too.

Okay, maybe it won't be that bad. But honestly, there are only a few blogs whose toes I'm worried about stepping on and with whom I would like to remain friendly (you probably know who you are), and a little overlap here and there hasn't killed anyone yet.

I downloaded this, one of my all-time favorite songs, years ago during the heady salad days of Napster. I haven't seen it anywhere since then, and at the time, I found so little information on it that I almost started to believe that it existed solely for my benefit. (Actually, it was released in 1998 as the b-side on the "I Don't Believe You" 7-inch, but that's not important). It was my song, and mine alone. I don't think I've gone a week since then that I haven't made a point to listen to it at least once. I've even come to love the little mp3-hiccup that occurs about six seconds in. Sometimes I'm the voice of the song, the "I," sometimes I'm the one the voice is adressing, but there has never been a point where this song hasn't felt like it wasn't speaking directly to me and my life. Now more than ever. In any case, I'm feeling generous; by all means, listen and enjoy.

Magnetic Fields - When I'm Not Looking, You're Not There

Thanks for reading. Updates soon, for reals!

One more thing: I feel a little out of the loop, and I haven't been bowled over by anything in a while. What one album should I be listening to right now?

They've been working on this since January?

2005-10-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

Time Magazine critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best novels from 1923 to the present. Oh, goodie. I was prepared to hate this list, and there are reasons to do so. To begin with, they limit the list to novels originally published in English. Lame. Richard Lacayo points out the absence of Ulysses several times, as if bending over backwards to placate all those American book-buyers who were no doubt confused and alienated when The Modern Library put it at the top of their list. Don't worry, gang -- it was published in '22! Phew!

Of course, with limitations firmly in place, all the books you'd expect to be there are there, as well as a few that you and I both know shouldn't be there. But I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by a few of their choices: Ubik? Neuromancer? Snow Crash? Watchmen?!? I don't put much stock in pointless lists, but at least they're acknowledging that genre and graphic novels have a place in the arbitrary annals of literature.

(via Old Hag)

All singing, all dancing, cast of thousands.

2005-10-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

10/16: Architecture in Helsinki at the Troubdour, w/ Still Flyin' and Dr. Dog: 12 members of Still Flyin' took the Troubadour stage shortly after 8:30, and more folks trickled on as the set continued. There were 20 people up there at the end, including four members of AIH. It must be a pretty sweet deal to be in a band as "the guy who jumps up and down" or "the girl who shakes the little plastic egg with the beads inside." Not that everyone onstage was superfluous; at least one guy knew what he was doing, handling trombone, xylophone and backup vocal duties. There are a few songs available at the band's myspace page, but they don't sound quiet as vibrant there as they did in person.

Still Flyin' - Fuck the Stress

Philadelphia's Dr. Dog has five members. After the preceding spectacle, the stage looked postively empty. But the band's classic rock sound was huge and they were all clearly having fun. Their latest album, Easy Beat, doesn't break any new ground, but it's hard not to like.

Dr. Dog - Wake Up

This was my third time seeing Architecture In Helsinki. Keeping the banter and theatrics to a minimum, they jumped from one song right into the next without pause. The band and the audience didn't really warm to one another until about halfway through the show, and even then, there was a lot of downtime that seemed to squander all the built-up energy in the room. Everyone from Still Flyin' and Dr. Dog came back onstage for the encore performance of "Do the Whirlwind." What is usually a tight and triumphant cap to the evening turned into a whole bunch of people milling around the stage, SNL end credits-style; like a big party where the audience wasn't invited. It wasn't a bad show by any means, and I'd suggest you jump at any chance you get to see them, but personally I think it will be hard for them to top their June show at the Echo.

A.I.H. - Love Is Evil - The Prequel (feat. Filmmm, Kaigen, and Raceless)

Girl emerging from the wreckage.

2005-10-14T01:26:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting years for this: Black Box Recorder chanteuse Sarah Nixey now has her own site, and is apparently hard at work on her first solo album with producer James Banbury.

"The songs are modern tales of poison-pen letter writers, dysfunctional relationships, disappearances, secret love affairs and city life, providing the ideal contemporary pop backdrop for Nixey’s distinctive, Queen’s English voice. Whilst BBR songs are often about characters stranded without navigation tools, Nixey’s album occasionally offers an exit route."

While few concrete album details have yet to surface, "The Collector," the single that premiered on Tom Robinson's Evening Sequence way back in August (previously mentioned here), will be made available to download at TuneTribe.com on November 7th. After that, Nixey will be supporting Banbury's band Infantjoy during a few November shows as well as thier UK tour early next year.

But I think you do.

2005-10-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was browsing at the local Tall Mouse the other day when "Lovefool" by The Cardigans came on over the store PA. It wasn't until the penultimate refrain of "I can't care about anything but you" that I realized I had been unconsciously singing along the entire time. I wasn't belting it out, mind you, but I wasn't just mouthing the words either. Somehow the song has ascended to "Perfect Thing" status in my mind, to the point that I can apparently sing along with it at any time and place, regardless of whomever may be listening in.

None of this has anything to do with The Cardigan's new album, Super Extra Gravity. But the new songs are great. Give me a decade or so and I'll let you know if they're perfect.

(follow link) And Then You Kissed Me (Part 2)

Also, watch the video for the perfectly titled "I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer." (Quicktime, much better quality than the version on the official site.)

Super Extra Gravity will be released on October 17th. Preorder it on Amazon.

Always too late to the lighthouse.

2005-10-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

Though I'm a fan of both, Annie and Patrick Wolf are a pretty unlikely pair. I wasn't sure what to expect from this track, which was released on a limited edition vinyl pressing back in August. Oddly enough, it sounds just how you'd imagine a cross between Annie and Patrick Wolf would sound. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Annie - Helpless Fool for Love (Patrick Wolf Remix)

Annie will release her rather shrill addition to the DJ Kicks series on October 17th. And it's never too late to pick up Patrick Wolf's latest album, Wind in the Wires.

MurphyWatch: 1 brok funk.

2005-10-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, now you can watch the "Sow Into You" video (wmv) that I was talking about a few days ago. It's all buck-wild fashion and dancin' and mid-90's quality CGI, backed up by a new version of the song. Anyway, possible release dates for the single: November in Europe, January in the UK.

Meet me in the moon room with a view.

2005-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

On the left we have Graye Smith's Threadless submission, "A Room With A View." On the right we have Rafal Olbinski's cover illustration for the Ray Vukevich collection, Meet Me in the Moon Room.

For what it's worth, I like the shirt, and as a writer who has referred to his fiction as "sample-based" with a straight face, I have no right to pass judgement on those who reinterpret, copy, or steal another artist's work. Hell, the site is called kop'·ē·kăt' for a reason. But I digress.

Congratulations, Graye Smith -- you're our Copycat of the Day!

Insector gadget.

2005-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

More Róisín. Artist Simon Henwood has posted a few stills from the video for "Sow Into You," the second single from Ruby Blue. Here's what the site has to say:

"...Henwood has produced a fusion of performance and surreal fashion. Murphy styled the shoot herself bringing togeather a wildly eclectic mix of new and established designers to create her own individual looks. The video is woven togeather with elements of CGI. The crippled like mecanical machine is seen attached to her face, growing out of her, and dancing in sinc like a mad altermated metal insectorhcastra."

"Altermated?" Whatever. I still like my idea better.

There's still no release date for "Sow Into You," but I'm sure I won't be able to resist blabbing about it here when it's announced.

If you're human.

2005-10-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

The Arcade Fire's official site has been beautifully redesigned. Chock full of goofy little surprises, it further develops the band's dark and whimsical old-timey aesthetics. Each member of the band has their own scrapbook for posting photos, journal entries, or, in Win's case, creepy videos.

Unless they decide to extend the tour and schedule a million more dates (which wouldn't surprise me, frankly) the gang is heading up to Quebec soon to buckle down and work on their sophomore album. In an interview with MTV, Win drops some hints about the new material: "We've only put out one record, so I think people have a pretty narrow view of what we sound like.... [Expect] a lot of different textures, and we're just kind of starting to get excited about new sounds."

An animated video for "Neighborhood # 1 (Tunnels)," known 'round these parts as "like, the single greatest love song of all time," should be materializing any day now.

Five Years (David Bowie cover -- live at ACL, 9/25/05)

What's so impressive about a diamond except the mining?

2005-10-01T02:07:00.000-07:00

Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine, 2005's best album of 2003, will finally be released on Tuesday. Fans may debate the merits of Jon Brion and Mike Elizondo's respective production jobs, but I can see myself giving equal time to both versions in the years to come. While the edges have been smoothed a bit, and a layer of theatrical bombast has been sanded away, these remain the songs we've come to know and love. The track that has undergone the most drastic transformation is "Red Red Red." The wolf howls and muddy, gut-shaking beat are gone, replaced with gentle organ and strings; the lyrics have the same bite, but this time the overall tone is one of resignation rather than retribution.

(follow link) Red Red Red

Preorder Extraordinary Machine from Amazon.

I'm awfully fond of you (Woh woh, bee doh).

2005-10-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Few bands realize the musical potential of the rubber duckie; Psapp (Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant) is one of those bands. Probably the band. Their debut album, Tiger, My Friend, has been available for almost a year now, and I've been listening to them since the domestic release in January, but seeing as how their song "Calm Down" is currently featured in a Volkswagen commercial (the one where the driver uses his fancy headlights to help a biker find his way), they're primed to reach a wide U.S. audience. I've seen Psapp described as "Fisher-Price Electronica." I'll buy that. The kitty-cat and rubber duckie samples definitely lend the songs a playful, childlike quality. But Durant's mellow, breathy vocals prevent things from ever becoming downright infantile. It's a little like Frou Frou, but quirkier and without the overexposure. So far. Plus (and I cannot stress this enough): rubber duckie.

Rear Moth
Leaving In Coffins

Watch the "About Fun" video, for which Galia Durant provided the artwork.

Buy Tiger, My Friend at Insound.

Victory gin.

2005-09-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

If you've spent more than thirty seconds on this site, you may have noticed that my writing is at best bland and pedestrian. Never more so than when I'm trying to talk about music. To hide the fact that all I usually have to say about anything is either "That's cool," or "That's not cool," I pad my reviews (if you can call them that) by paraphrasing the comments of someone more competent and throwing in a bunch of ridiculous hyperbole.

The Bad Plus - Anthem for the Earnest

I love The Bad Plus. But struggling for the right words to describe my feelings for "Anthem for the Earnest," from their just-released album Suspicious Activity, reminds me of just how bad at all this I am. Drummer David King calls his composition "an overt nod to 80's pop music." But it's more than that. It's a fantastic song, heroic even. Joyous with just the right amount of realistic, grit-your-teeth melancholy, it's exactly what its title claims. Part of my mind keeps wanting to put lyrics to it, but the music is already saying everything that needs to be said.

The Bad Plus are touring the world during the next few months. Suspicious Activity is available everywhere. The original compositions are typically great (especially the lyrical and moving "Lost of Love"), and the trio add Vangelis' "Chariots of Fire Theme" to their list of dynamic covers. The disc is copy-protected out the yang, but there are always ways of getting around that nonsense.

Not to be missed: Hanka's Autumn mix is like a warm scarf and a slice of pie.

Howl under the moon.

2005-09-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

The video for Goldfrapp's next single, "Number 1," premieres tomorrow. Popjustice had the scoop on the video concept way back in August:

"In a beautiful canine clinic lots of dogs are sitting around all dressed in robes and slippers - they are in fact humans with dog heads on them. There are all different types of dogs, poodles, fat bulldogs, terriers etc... depending on the physique of the person.
A dog goes into surgery and lies down, surrounded by a team of Dogtors. A huge syringe goes into [the] forehead....... [They] come out of surgery ... glamorous ... in fact [they] and all the dogters have also been transformed into beautiful performance clothes.

The film ends with a choreographed dream sequence, as it ends [the main character] comes around and is a dog again. The other dogs look on sympathetically."

This is remarkably similar to my idea for "U Never Know" video. Huh. More info and pictures here.

UPDATE: You can now download the video at Goldfrapp.free.fr. "Number 1" will be released on Halloween. B-Sides include an Alan Braxe & Fred Falke remix (woo!) and "Beautiful," which was previously available on the Japanese edition of Supernature.

In the snow with Rosebud.

2005-09-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Kate Bush breaks her 12-year silence:

(follow link) King of the Mountain

This was ripped from the BBC2 premiere, I think. I apologize for the less-than-stellar quality. Something better will doubtless turn up in the next five minutes or so.

The new album, Aerial, will be released stateside on November 8th. Preorder it now at Amazon.

Honey honey.

2005-09-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

DJ Earworm has posted a new mash-up: Pussycat Dolls, "Don't Cha" vs. Newcleus, "Cyborg Dance" vs. Marvin Gaye, "Heard It Through The Grapevine."

DJ Earworm - Don't Cha (Wish Your Cyborg Could Dance Like Me)

If you're not familiar with Earworm, there's plenty more to download at his site. "No One Takes Your Freedom" remains my personal favorite.

Five damn days, five long days.

2005-09-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Real life has been getting in the way this week. That and Proust. Dense dense dense. The postcard came from 815, a great Lost fansite.

I first heard about Reigns through the curiously defunct Baskerville's Syndrome (gone so soon?). Brothers Tim and Roo Farthing refer to themselves as purveyors of "pastoral electronica," and their album, We Lowered A Microphone Into The Ground, could certainly be classified as such. The really amazing thing about this album is the extensive backstory that the two brothers have concocted, an odd cross between Donnie Darko and the haunting prologue/epilogue of Matthew Derby's story collection, Super Flat Times:

"Upon the fringes of the Somerset Downs, in the paddock of a retired arable farmer, between a collapsed outhouse and a chickenless coop still encrusted with droppings, under a sheet of corrugated iron, there is, in the ground, a hole. An unremarkable hole, perhaps; shapeless, ragged, about the size of a tractor wheel. It is, however, one of four so-called 'bottomless' holes worldwide. Its depth and dimensions are literally unmeasurable. Although nothing can be seen within, either with the naked eye or with specialist equipment (all photographic experiments have recorded nothing other than a suffocating gloom), locals claim to have heard strange disturbances emanating from the opening. Some say they have heard unearthly melodies, some the mutterings of an unknown language, one even claimed to have heard his own voice as a child.

On hearing these rumours former PJ Harvey guitarist Tim Farthing and his sibling Roo came to the Downs in an effort to capture these phenomena. Equipped with a mile of flex, a microphone and a recorder the brothers made their tape on a cold November morning in 2003. Each track was made at ever increasing depths until they ran out of cable. Using a new process of noise reduction technology, designed by the brothers themselves, they were able to strip away the layers of static and interference on the raw recordings to reveal the versions that appear on their debut album We Lowered A Microphone Into The Ground. The results astonished and unnerved them to such a great extent that the brothers tried to destroy the tapes in a frenzy of drunken superstition. Despite considerable fire damage, the treated recordings were salvaged and restored by a local entrepreneur to something approaching their former glory. The original tapes and their unpatented noise filtration apparatus were, however, completely incinerated.

Although this recording is perfectly safe, we do not advise playing the tracks out of sequence. For reasons yet to be ascertained, this practice has lead to equipment failure and, in some instances, physical side effects in the listener including disorientation, mild nausea and prolonged auditory hallucination."

Tup's Fold, the tiny hamlet with the bottomless hole, holds further mysteries. The Farthing brothers have also translated a series of manuscripts found in a burnt out house that appear to be a traveler's guide to an extensive series of wormholes that crisscross the space and time of the village. These translations are posted on the official site. The reader is warned that attempts to muck about with the timestream will be frowned upon by the tour organizers. Significant amounts of training are required before setting out on this journey, as one must be prepared to administer a rabies vaccine to their own future self.

What do these portals have to do with the voices emanating from the bottomless pit? It's probably best not to think about it. If the brothers know, they aren't telling. Anyway. How's the music? Often quite beautiful. I wish that the bizarre ins and outs of the backstory seeped into the music more often, as they do on "Translating."

Translating (375 meters)
The Fattest Goose Shall Be Soonest To The Spit (1460 meters)

Buy We Lowered A Microphone Into The Ground at Jonson Family Records.

I'm gonna build this city again.

2005-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I spent some time tinkering with one of Thur Broeders' ready-made blog templates, and kop'·ē·kăt' has a (slightly) new layout. I've tried to make the site play nice with as many different browsers as possible, but if you notice any weird bugs or glitches, let me know and I'll do everything my limited skills will allow to rectify the problem.

The box over on the right, labeled "Noted," is for all the links that I used to arbitrarily throw in at the bottom of my posts.

You spoony bard!

2005-09-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

The Awesomology site is rather sparse at the moment, but it does have a video for Final Fantasy's "This is the Dream of Win and Regine." The video is oddly paced; there's a slowness to it that saps away all the song's energy. Ho hum. In any case, the video features a completely new version of the song, so it's worth checking out.

If Mr. Owen Pallett is to be believed, Tomlab will be releasing Final Fantasy's sophomore album, He Poos Clouds, sometime next spring. The wonderful debut, Has A Good Home, is available from Tomlab or BlocksBlocksBlocks.

The New American Gothic.

2005-09-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

In case you had any doubts, let me assure you that Aimee Bender is just as cool in person as her stories would lead you to believe.

While we're on the subject of funny/sad/crazy short story writers, here's another interview with George Saunders. This one features pictures of the author's dog and word that The Red Bow, Saunders' next collection of short stories, will be released in May. (via)

Bring me a change in the weather.

2005-09-14T15:58:00.000-07:00

"If We're In Love," the first single from Róisín Murphy's brilliant solo debut, Ruby Blue, was released on July 12th and promptly fell off the face of the planet -- my Amazon order was delayed multiple times and finally cancelled. The release also yielded little in terms of remixes, with only two seeing the light of day: Matthew Herbert's own "Lover's Remix," essentially a slower, instrumental version of the original, and Dani Siciliano's glitchy and propulsive "What Will Be Will Be Remix," which I'm quite fond of:

~~If We're In Love (Dani Siciliano's "What Will Be Will Be" Remix)~~

Laszlo and Ashley Beadle each did a remix, but as they apparently weren't Ms. Murphy's cup of tea, they were never offically released. They're floating around somewhere, but I have yet to find either one. There's still no release date set for the next single, "Sow Into You," but Róisín promissssses remixes aplenty, including one from Bugz in the Attic.

Dani Siciliano, self-taught producer and the voice of Matthew Herbert Big Band, released her own album, Likes, last year. Fans of Ruby Blue or the remix posted above shouldn't miss it.

~~Walk The Line~~
~~Extra Ordinary~~

Winter for a year.

2005-09-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Today marks the anniversary of the first time I heard Funeral. Yes, it is a big deal.

Just in case you missed these elsewhere:

The Arcade Fire cover The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

And perform with David Bowie.

(via Between Thought and Expression, Brooklyn Vegan, others. Photo credit: the Us Kids Know forum.)

Something illicit and temporary.

2005-09-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

Grr. Rough week. Listen to a remix of one of this year's best songs as you peruse a random assortment of links.

(Follow Link) Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch (Tom Neville Remix)

Timeless advice. Thanks, Ladytron!

Splendid value for sixpence.

2005-09-08T23:57:00.000-07:00

"Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are."

I think Penguin's new "Great Ideas" line just might be the most beautifully designed series of mainstream books since the Modern Library Paperback Classics came on the scene. Mass market size; a simple red, white, and black color scheme; embossed, period-appropriate cover design and typography; a notable quote from the work itself. I especially like the Orwell cover, which harks back to the classic Penguin design of the 1930's. Collect 'em all:

Huge geek. Right here.

kop'·ē·kăt'·ĭ·kĭz'·ŭm: Black Box Recorder.

2005-09-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

I heard that BBR broke up. What gives?
kop'·ē·kăt' favorite Black Box Recorder has not broken up. According to former Jesus & Mary Chain drummer and absinthe importer John Moore, the band is just "resting," and will officially break up only when band members start dying.

Wait. Didn't Luke Haines die in a car crash a few years ago?
Well, no.

Huh. But he's definitely dead now, right?
While the new 3-disc Autuers retrospective is titled Luke Haines Is Dead, the charmingly misanthropic songwriter is very much alive.

Fine. Other than "resting," what are these scoundrels doing with their time?
Luke Haines is touring in the wake of his massive best-of. John Moore released a solo album, Half Awake, earlier this year. Contrary to bizarre divorce rumors, the divine Sarah Nixey remains John Moore's wife. Late last year, John said that Sarah was tinkering with an album of her own. The first song from this solo work, "The Collector," premiered last month on Tom Robinson's Evening Sequence on BB6.

Solo Sarah Nixey? Hot-cha! Do you have an mp3 of "The Collector" for us?
Sorry, no.

Have you even heard "The Collector?"
Er. No. But the title makes me think of the John Fowles novel of the same name. Very BBR-friendly subject matter. Plus, Luke Haines has said in interviews that Sarah's own taste in music skews a bit more poppy than BBR's early material. So maybe it'll sound like Passionoia. In any case, this is all good news.

That's all you have? Delirious speculation and conjecture? No fair!
Life is unfair.

What if I've never heard of Black Box Recorder?
Allow me to introduce you:

England Made Me (from England Made Me)
The Art of Driving (from The Facts of Life)
Sex Life (from The Facts of Life)
The School Song (from Passionoia)

s-c-h-m-a-l-t-z

2005-09-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

The trailer for Bee Season is up. I had high hopes for this. I think little Flora Cross looks great as Eliza, and I like the floaty-letter visualizations of her thought processes, but other than that... BARF.

The warm golden light that saturates every frame? And the feel-good hugs? And the music, oh god, the music? The book deserves better than this.

At least there's still hope for Everything Is Illuminated.

Cover coincidence.

2005-09-05T01:44:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a banjo, and have begun the arduous process of teaching myself how to play it. Sometime last week I decided that when I became skilled enough, the first order of business would be to figure out how to play "Heartbeats" by The Knife. It would be my lowly contribution to the world of acoustic covers. Why that specific song and not, say, any other? Couldn't tell you. I just love it. But then this Pitchfork review informed me that I'd been beaten to the punch:

José González - Heartbeats

What are the odds? José goes with a guitar rather than a banjo (typical!), but otherwise possesses certain traits (singing voice, talent, Swedish upbringing) which ensure that his version of the song is countless times better than mine ever could be. Oh well.

Import copies of José González's album, Veneer, are available on Amazon. But you can just go out and buy it when it's released in the US on September 6th.

Also: Tori Amos covers "Karma Police." No surprises (ha!) here, but still worth a listen.

The ties that bind, they are barbed and spined.

2005-09-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

The meteorite is a source of the light
And the meteor's just what we see
And the meteoroid is a stone that's devoid
Of the fire that propelled it to thee

And the meteorite's just what causes the light
And the meteor's how it's perceived
And the meteoroid's a bone thrown from the void
That lies quiet in offering to thee

Joanna Newsom - Emily (Live at the Green Man Festival, 8/21/05)

Earlier this week, it was important to me that I post this song today. But that's now a matter on which I must forever hold my peace.

"Emily" is undoubtedly my favorite of The News' new songs (with "Sawdust and Diamonds" coming in a close second). What other songwriter in America today could pen lyrics full of words like "hydrocephalitic" and "asterisms, " and not only make them work, but make them resonant and beautiful?

To hear more of what Ms. Newsom's been up to since the release of The Milk-Eyed Mender, check out Milky Moon, a fansite packed with downloads and annotated lyrics.

NO.

2005-09-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late on addressing all this. Like many people, I'm dumbfounded, frightened, and furious. There's nothing I can add to these photographs.

Or this.

Go Fug Yourself has the largest and most comprehensive list of links to charities and relief foundations that I've seen yet.

The only imaginable reason why we haven't seen a 9/11-scale outpouring of aid for NOLA is that it looks like another country. It's almost impossible to watch what's happening in this city and say to yourself, "That is the United States."

Homeland Security is a hoax. This is a massive national embarrasment on the world stage, and an unforgivable betrayal of the people of New Orleans. It is imperative that you pay attention and care, because it is appallingly clear that the current administration will do neither.

Soul shakin', love makin', body manipulatin'.

2005-08-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

There's a whole mess of bands you could say the four women of San Francisco's Von Iva "sound like," but such comparisons do a disservice to the soulful pipes of Jillian Iva and the considerable racket that Kelly Von Guthier (drums), Elizabeth Davis-Simpson (bass), and Bex Kupersmith (keyboards) stir up. Trust me, you'll like them.

Von Iva - Not Hot To Trot

See the video here.

And you really should buy the Von Iva EP.

Something about a "revolution," I reckon.

2005-08-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't buy the deluxe edition of Guero way back when, so I'd never heard this before Nic Harcourt played it yesterday morning.

Beck - Still Missing (Röyksopp Remix)

Röyksopp strip away the bossa nova guitars of the original and mold it into... well, a Röyksopp song.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In his introduction to the upcoming McSweeney's collection, Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren't as Scary, Lemony Snicket (i.e. Daniel Handler) brilliantly skewers pretty much every trite convention of young adult literature.

Here we go again, we're going round and round.

2005-08-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

Of course you love Supernature. Now you can buy it. (The Amazon page has the release date set for August 30th, but still.) If for some reason you haven't already obtained it, here's "Beautiful," a track exclusive to the Japanese copy of the album.

Goldfrapp - Beautiful

The siren that will finally lead me home.

2005-08-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

Rehearsing My Choir has leaked. Yeah, it's weird. MTV, despite being the last place you'd associate with The Fiery Furnaces and their music, has the scoop:

Rehearsing My Choir... is a quasi-concept album inspired by the life and stories of the duo's octogenarian grandmother Olga Sarantos. The album's conceit finds Eleanor playing a young Sarantos while the grandmother plays herself in the present day, reflecting on her life and interacting with her younger self.... Known for their unpredictable approach — the band's past releases include 10-minute song collages and freewheeling epics that twist and turn like different films running simultaneously — the group describes its latest opus as a melange of Randy Newman, the Small Faces, '60s girl groups and a few disco beats, all set to the Dylan-esque talk-singing of their grandmother.

Grandma Olga's rich, deep storytelling voice gels nicely with the Furnaces' everything-plus-kitchen-sink approach to songwriting, making for an album that is less taxing than Blueberry Boat, but just as strange and surprising.

(Follow Link) The Fiery Furnaces - A Candymaker's Knife

Rough Trade will release Rehearsing My Choir on October 26th.

Everybody says come with me I'm easy.

2005-08-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Almost as long as Funeral has been out, we've heard that Wolf Parade are more or less destined to become the next Arcade Fire. A bold statement, and not one that I'm sure I agree with just yet. Which isn't to say that I don't like Wolf Parade. I do. A lot. I've enjoyed all their eps, and their full length debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, makes good on the promise of those eps and will likely find a place on many best-of-the-year lists. But the next Arcade Fire? That's just... I dunno. Is it simply because they're from Montreal, too? Because the two bands are buddies? The comparison just seems so arbitrary. Regardless, Wolf Parade are well on their way to proving themselves a fantastic band in their own right.

(Follow Link) Wolf Parade - I'll Believe In Anything

Subpop will release Apologies to the Queen Mary on September 27th. Preorder it now from Amazon.

Pure terror.

2005-08-19T01:37:00.000-07:00

Ex-Unicorn Nick Diamonds and New York Times journalist Adam Gollner have formed NAHPI, or North American Hallowe'en Prevention, Inc. As its name implies, the group's aim is to wipe out the terrifying holiday of Hallowe'en forever. How, you ask? By raising awareness with a benefit song! "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is, of course, a satire of "Do They Know It's Christmas."

From the Vice Records press release:

This songs' inspiration stems from a frustration with other benefit songs’ misguided, some what patronizing attitude, and Western-centric worldview. (See the July 15^th New York Times editorial calling Live 8 an “insult both to Africans and to common sense”) Hallowe’en is primarily a North American holiday, and this song asks the rest of the world to help us end this night of fear and terror.

While the song itself is tongue-in-cheek, the real goal of this endeavor is not.

All profits are donated to UNICEF. This project is also intended to raise awareness of UNICEF’s annual tradition of Trick-or-Treat For Halloween, wherein Kids Help Kids by going door-to-door collecting funds in boxes.

Vice will release the single on October 11.

NAHPI Roll Call: Beck, Sum 41, The Arcade Fire, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sloan, Peaches, Feist, Devendra Banhart, Wolf Parade, Postal Service, Buck 65, Comedian David Cross, Sex Pistols’ founder Malcolm McLaren, Elvira (Mistress of the Dark), 60s soul legend Gino Washington, Psychedelic singer Roky Erickson, Los Angeles 70s group Sparks, Tagaq (Inuit throat singer and frequent collaborator with Björk).

(Via Product Shop NYC)

Underwater Heliotypographer

2005-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Number of Lost cast members spotted: 2.

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"i want to walk on dry land get out of this fucking room
no
a ir"

Thom has a bhlog! (via)

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Bell Orchestre's Rough Trade debut, Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light, is a little bit jazzy, a little bit airy. And since the Montreal quintet includes Richard Reed Parry and Sarah Neufield, it should come as no surprise that its music occasionally sounds a little bit like The Arcade Fire minus Win and Regine's impassioned cries:

(Follow Link) Bell Orchestre - The Upwards March

Recording a Tape... will be released on August 22. Enjoy a track from the group's demo:

Bell Orchestre - Piazzolla

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Read "Off," from Aimee Bender's new collection, Willful Creatures. (via)

You can't judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a book cover. Foreward, a blog dedicated to book design. (via)

Nothing ever works out for Terry Gilliam. (via)

"They are weaving love." Guarantee: You will want to own a Denyse Schmit quilt. (Thanks Minna)

He kani 'ano 'e loa kela.

2005-08-08T20:46:00.000-07:00

Since my Summer of Exile-eration!™ will be winding down soon, I'm going to maroon myself on an island for a while. This trip promises to have much less matrimony and much more standing in line. Semi-regular updates should resume in about a week.

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Now, I know I said a while back that there wouldn't be any more YSI-links. That statement, as it turns out, was less than 50% true. But hey, new Grandaddy. Fair trade, no?

(Follow Link) Grandaddy - Cinderland

Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla will be released on September 27th.

Personal B&N events calendar.

2005-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

There are some pretty special book releases in the next few months:

8/16: Willful Creatures - Aimee Bender
8/30: Looking for Jake - China Miéville
9/1: Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman
9/6: The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil - George Saunders
9/13: On Beauty - Zadie Smith
9/20: Don't Get Too Comfortable... - David Rakoff
9/20: Wickett's Remedy - Myla Goldberg
10/1: Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs... - McSweeney's Regulars
10/4: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - Bill Watterson
10/24: Spook - Mary Roach
11/5: ACME Novelty Library # 16 - Chris Ware

Anything else coming soon that I should know about?

A handful of rust.

2005-08-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

And now a lovely pair of albums that feature gentle acoustic melodies and vocals over eerie electronic burbles. Tuung's Mother's Daughter and Other Songs, released in the UK in January, throws in some programmed vocal samples, echoing some of The Books' more recent work. Clanking junkyard percussion makes Half Cousin's The Function Room, which was released last year and quickly fell through the cracks, sound like a bizarre marriage of Tom Waits and The Beta Band. These are albums that call to mind to smell of rainsoaked wood or tarnished pennies (in a good way). It's easy to imagine them being recorded in empty fields late at night, with haunted instuments that by turns defy and compliment the music played upon them.

Tuung - Beautiful and Light
Tuung - Kinky Vans

Mother's Daughter and Other Songs is available on Amazon.co.uk, but I'd like to find someplace stateside that carries it. Any ideas?

Half Cousin - Billy Redglove
Half Cousin - The Diary Fire

The Function Room is available on Amazon.

Also, Takk... is wonderful.

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The goosebump-inducing song from the Everything Is Illuminated trailer (see below) is Devotchka's "How It Ends," from their extraordinary album of the same name.

Devotchka - How It Ends

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Watch Joanna Newsom perform "The Book of Right-On" on Later With Jools Holland.

Watch Joanna Newsom perform a whole bunch of stuff. (via)

Paul Frank presents Common Sense, in T-shirt form. (via)

The most special record of them all.

2005-08-07T02:07:00.000-07:00

The Upper Cuts is a great compilation. Although he definitely has his ups and downs, I'm generally of the opinion that Alan Braxe (here with frequent collaborator Fred Falke) can do no wrong in the remix department.

Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Mix)

Benjamin Diamond - Let's Get High (Alan Braxe Mix)

The D.F.A. remix will be appearing on Annie's upcoming DJ Kicks disc.

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Here's the trailer for Everything Is Illuminated.

Trippy cheese.

2005-08-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

My post on the Harry Potter release party is now the single most-read thing I've ever written. If you're visiting from ColbyCosh.com, welcome! Stay a while. Enjoy yourself.

Watch the short documentary "Little Bits of Goldfrapp" (scroll down the page to "Reportages"), or download it directly (Real, 22MB). Alison and Will discuss the inspriation behind Supernature, horseback riding, and the art of making an album with a microwave. Plus, there are longer clips of the new songs than those available on the official site. "Satin Chic," my favorite new song, based on what I've heard so far (that bangy detuned piano just kills me), gets some special attention. Alison calls it one of her favorite tracks on the album. The album that just refuses to leak. Infuritating, really. (Credit goes to allthatglitters and Unison on the Goldfrapp Message Board)

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Fresh from his production work with Róisín Murphy, Matthew Herbert brings us Plat Du Jour. Conceptually and sonically, the album most reminds me of Matmos' A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure. On the album's official site, Herbert explains the ideas behind the music:

We have handed over control of what goes in to our bodies to faceless transnational companies, operating in a geographical no-man's land. It is no surprise then that world health is in crisis, with over-eating in the west becoming more of a problem than under-eating. In America, children have a lower life expectancy than their parents. And yet, the American template for modern food has long been at the front line of its empirical ambitions: McDonalds went to russia long before the tourists did; Starbucks has been successful in many countries previously thought impervious to its homogenised view of coffee; the hamburger, designed in part by a man who thought vegetables were to be avoided, is now a staple part of so many global menus.

Wherever such huge physical and spiritual distances are involved between what we eat and where we eat it, there are bound to be so many difficult and equally depressing stories in between: from the early new england salt cod production feeding sugar plantation slaves in the west indies, to the hundreds of Tesco lorries sat in traffic jams up and down europe; from the british farmers paid to grub orchards, to the coffee farmers of vietnam and colombia, struggling to get by with such a devalued commodity....

I am tired of having to tolerate the international language of cheap convenience food - convenient mainly to those that make and serve it. The bright pinky orange of farmed salmon in aeroplane trays, the branded waters 1000 times more expensive than tap water, the dismal spread of the hotel breakfast buffet, with its pre-formed meat slices, pasteurised juices, mechanically produced bread and nestle yoghurts full of sugar and potassium sorbate…

This record then, aims to tell some of the hidden stories behind the overly-elaborate and wasteful packets. It looks at what's on the menu and asks you to makes decisions based on criteria other than taste. The album will include tracks made from a grain of sugar, 30,000 chickens, a salmon farm, the sewers below London and water.

The site also has an extensive track-by-track "making of" section, listing the ingredients that went into each song. It's not required reading as far as enjoyment of the album is concerned, but it's pretty interesting nonetheless, especially when you learn that a certain song moves along at 122 bpm because there are 122 million people in India without a toilet, or that another is 85 bpm because 85% of British girls have tried dieting by the age of 13. Here's what went into the song "White Bread, Brown Bread:"

bpm 97- 97% of uk bread made using the chorleywood bread process: cbp was adopted by the uk baking industry in the early sixties. cbp significantly reduced the time required to produce loaves within automated bread production. combining chemical improvers and low protein flours in mechanical high speed mixers the bread dough develops in a few minutes without the need for fermentation. fermentation is essential for the development of bread flavour and texture. furthermore, in order to bind the dough together, large quantities of vegetable fat are used. sliced, wrapped bread is the ultimate product of the cbp method.

can't find the ingredients for the organic white sliced loaf i used, but below are the details for the brown loaf:

stay fresh wholemeal sliced: wholemeal flour, water, yeast, salt, vegetable fat, emuslifiers (mono-and di-glycerides of fatty acids, mono- and di-acetyltartaric acid esters of mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids), soya flour, preservatives (calcium propionate, potassium sorbate), vinegar, flour treatment agent (ascorbic acid)

emulsifiers are binding agents to make oils and water mix.

calcium propionate is an anti-moulding agent

ascorbic acid is vitamin c

the ultimate modern compromise: brown bread is nutritionally better for you but contains 5 times more pesticide residues (due to the milling process) than white bread.

modern industrialised loaf takes 1 1/2 hours to bake make from start to packaged finish compared to: between 5 and 24 hours for a traditionally fermented, non-mechanically made loaf

all melodies and chords are samples of a bellini bet 200 toaster (made in china) and played by phil parnell, dave o'higgins, pete wraight and matthew Herbert live percussion is made from white toast, brown toast and a Russell hobbs and bellini toaster. the kick drum is a petrol can. they are all played by leo taylor

Matthew Herbert - White Bread, Brown Bread.

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Read George Saunders' new story, CommComm.

Angela Adams tiles your house. (via)

SuicideGirls interviews Barry Yourgrau.

Short Answer? Yes. (via)

He's simple, he's dumb, he's the pilot.

2005-07-31T01:10:00.000-07:00

Here we see the world famous Flying Ace, once again prowling the skies in search of the dastardly Red Baron.

The Amazing Pilots - I Don't Know Where You Are (buy)

Cloud Cult - What Comes At The End (buy)

My guess: Regulus A. Black.

2005-07-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

While I was fond of Susumu Yokota's Sakura and Grinning Cat, neither quite compares to Symbol, an album that Yokota himself reportedly refers to as his "masterpiece." Sifting through the work of composers like Beethoven, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Ravel, among others, Yokota samples and recontextualizes well-worn classical themes while combining them with his own minimalist compositions. Audacious, yes, but the results are often staggeringly beautiful. Throughout its length, Symbol runs the risk of becoming immoderately lush and overwrought. The fact that it never does is a testament to Yokota's singular skill.

Susumu Yokota - Traveler in the Wonderland.

I was on the toll road with my mother the other day when a cloud of smallish black shapes suddenly appeared in front of our car. My immediate thought was that they were pebbles that had fallen from the back of a track, which didn't make any sense because there weren't any cars ahead of us for several hundred feet. Regardless, I had less than a second to react and by the time it had registered that something was directly in front of us, we had driven through it. There were dozens of small pops against the front of the car, with a sound like heavy rain. A swarm of bees, as it turned out. We ended up with a hundred or so insectile smears across the windshield and hood. My mother and I were dumbstruck. And less than a minute later, this song came on the radio. Rather appropriate after what was the most visceral animal-vehicle fracas I've ever been party to.

Louden Wainwright III - Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.

Yesterday, Fluxblog had new music from Annie and The Broadcast. And if you haven't already, head over to Said The Gramophone and download David Byrne's "In The Future". It's quickly become one of my all-time favorite Byrne tracks.

ChurchFight: Charlotte vs. Catholic.
ChurchOwners: The Arcade Fire.
Ratbag: Grandpa Joe.
FischerFun: Chess960.
Winner of the peripheral Beauty and Talent portions: Optimus Keyboard.
Yay: Maggie. Boo: Name puns, now matter how appropriate they may be.

Most of these came from other places, but I forgot to keep track. Sample the link bar, perhaps?

Update, 12:49 am: Saw The Go! Team at the Troubadour tonight. Rumbustious is the word. Vocalist Ninja is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic people on Earth; the list of those who could actually get me to wave my hands in the air like I just don't care is short. Even shorter than the group's set. I could have listened and bounced and shouted "Ah-woo!" for another dozen songs, probably longer. See them already.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Lake Tahoe and imminent doom via engineless glider. Should I survive, updates will resume sometime next week.

HP6, by the numbers.

2005-07-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

Number of copies our store received on Thursday afternoon (Not counting deluxe or audio editions): 2200. If you don't work in a bookstore, I'm not sure you can appreciate how colossal this is. For large, bestselling releases, we'll receive maybe three or four hundred copies over the space of several months.
Approximate number of copies sold during the 90-minute length of last night's "Midnight Magic" party (Again, not counting deluxe or audio editions): 700.
For the sake of comparison, approximate number of copies of The Da Vinci Code, the bestselling book of the last few years, sold by our store during the last 52 weeks: 870.
Our store's official Maximum Occupancy: 300.
Number of warnings our store received for breaking Fire Safety laws: 1.
Number of customers who asked me, "Is it always this busy on Friday nights?": 2.
Number of customers who asked me, "Doesn't it make you happy to see so many people excited about reading?": 3.
Number of times I responded with, "Sure.": 1.
Number of times I responded with, "Yeah, I guess so.": 1.
Number of times I responded with, "It's probably wrong to mistake excitement for one book with excitement for reading in general.": 1.
Number of customers I overheard saying that this was their first time in a bookstore since the release of Book Five: 3.
Number of customers I overheard talking about the characters in their Hogwarts Fan Fiction: 2.
Number of customers I overheard talking about their broadsword training: 1.
Number of Darth Vader masks: 4.
Number of customers to whom I shouted, "In your face!": 1.

I needed to believe in something.

2005-07-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a rip of the Benny Benassi remix of "Ooh La La" that you can listen to over on the official site:

Goldfrapp - Ooh La La (Benny Benassi Radio Edit).

No, I'm not too keen on it, either. It doesn't hold a candle to the original version or the Tiefschwarz remix. But with the release of Supernature still over a month away, I'll take what I can get.

Sort of a "best case" version of that one Chemical Brothers video. (via)
Jim White explores the South's Christ-haunted landscape. (via)
Holy Schnike! They missed the 10th Anniversary by a few months, but you won't hear me complaining.

Casting colored fractal light patterns.

2005-07-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Git, the new album from Skeletons and the Girl-Faced Boys, is all over the map; treble-heavy jangly/queasy/dreamy noise-pop, simultaneously sunny and creepy, relaxing and disconcerting.

See The Way.

Sometimes you can dance to it. Sometimes you just have to stare into space to it. Or find the proper visual accompaniment: Maximilian's Shell, currently appearing on Silver Lake Blvd. An apartment-sized black hole made from panes of tinted Mylar. (via)

Glowing or Trembling

2005-07-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Attended this Hammer Conversation last week. George Saunders came across much as he does in all of his writing and interviews: warm, genuine, effortlessly funny and brilliant. Most of the 'big sunglasses and severe haircuts' crowd was there to see Miranda July; the few people I spoke with in line had no idea who Saunders was. While I was familiar with July and her work, I hadn't yet seen Me And You And Everyone We Know, and was somewhat worried that I lacked a proper frame of reference for most of the conversation. However, the talk tended towards art and life in general ("Did you have to coach the girls on how to... well, on how to go down on somebody?"), and I was quickly won over by July's charm, sense of humor, and clear appreciation of Saunders' writing. Highlight of the evening, maybe even the year: The moment that Mr. Saunders shook my hand and said, "Now, you look like a writer."

I saw Me And You... yesterday. I enjoyed it immensely. Judging by the comments I heard from the many, many senior citizens exiting the theater around me ("Yuck! Just... yuck!"), I was in the minority. But don't worry about what Beatrice thinks. By all means, go see this movie. And then buy the soundtrack by Michael Andrews, the man who brought us the equally spare and lovely score to Donnie Darko.

))<>((

Torngat occasionally sound like a looser, grittier Album Leaf.

Torngat - Alberta Song.

Most of the band's material is more straightforward (if that's possible) improvisational jazz. Pietro Amato, who handles Torngat's French Horn duties, also plays in Belle Orchestre with The Arcade Fire's Richard and Sarah.

* * *

Pixar artists make comic books. (Especially interested in Rose and Isabel.) (via)
Put your money in a Jimi. (via)
Forever. (via)

From these, new heights will emerge.

2005-07-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

The Tiny Hawks create music that is, in their words, "quick, to the point, and irresistibly catchy, with a level of sincerity and energy that has not been surpassed since Rites of Spring." Hm. Quick and to the point is right, especially in the case of "You Got the Right," a thunderous rock anthem with a slighter-than-slight length of nineteen seconds.

The Things You Belong To and Those That Belong To You.
You Got The Right.

The duo are busy working on a new album. Their debut, Fingers Become Bridges, is available from Corleone.

"Jane Eyre is the greatest book in English." -- Long Sunday interviews China Miéville. (via)
Watch Róisín Murphy's performance at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, 7/1.

kə-myū'nĭ-tē spĭr'ĭt.

2005-07-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

From here on out, no more YouSendIt links. Many, many thanks to Chris at Uncritical for his assistance with my MP3 hosting issues. Here's some music from a few recent posts that you may have missed:

Be Your Own Pet - Damn Damn Leash.
Róisín Murphy - Ruby Blue.

Enjoy. More on the way.

Slept, woke, slept, woke, miserable life.

2005-07-01T16:44:00.000-07:00

The diaries of Franz Kafka, presented in blog form, are wonderful for a number of reasons. Paul Kerschen, the responsible party, sums it up better than I can:

So I have decided to do something very presumptuous, and have reached into the recent literary past in order to turn one of its pillars into my ideal blogger. He doesn't link to things. He doesn't tell you about his dayÂor if he does, it's not an account of his day that would be recognizable to anyone else who was around. He's not trying to impress anyone. He has no interest in convincing you through argument. Often his entries completely lose any diaristic quality and become a rehearsal space; we get to see him testing out scenes and sentences, sometimes for possible inclusion in longer work, sometimes for their own sake. Its final sentence, which will not appear online for a long time, is Auch du hast Waffen - you too have weapons. That is the overall dramatic arc: the author's sustained attempt to master a frightening world by rendering it into language. It is white-hot.

For a better idea of what Kerschen is talking about, read the three most recent entries. (via)

Go buy Kelly Link's new collection of short stories, Magic for Beginners. Additionally, Link's first collection, Stranger Things Happen, is now available as a free download. (via)
The Complete Penguin Classics Library is great, I suppose. Now bundle together all of the Modern Library Paperback Classics and we'll talk.
Video of Jóhann Jóhannsson and a chamber group performing "Eg Sleppi Ther Aldrei," one of my favorite tracks from Englabörn.

R.I.P. Julio: May 22, 2005 - June 28, 2005.

2005-06-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

6/28 -- Architecture In Helsinki @ The Echo with Army Navy and Scrabbel. Some reasons why my second time seeing AIH was better than the first: With Isobel Knowles no longer trapped in Cannes, the band had its full compliment of eight souls. Along with the Brian Ferry standard, there were a few more covers (Randy Newman, The Go-Betweens) thrown into the mix, and the set felt more concert-length. Some girl behind me kept screaming "You make me want to have sex!" at Cameron between songs, and at one point called the band "The epitome of perfect." And while they were far from being a bunch of sourpusses the first time, everyone seemed to be having a lot more fun. Taking the stage for the encore, the band finally set upon Julio, the piñata tour mascot that they had purchased on the day of the Spaceland show, with drumsticks, plastic cleavers, and fake rubber hands, showering the crowd with his sparkling confetti innards.

I think Gus is my favorite... Architect. He's unassuming, but fills a lot of roles. And I like the way he turns his feet inwards when he's dancing. But really, they're all great. Looking forward to their return in September.

Low Points: Army Navy and Scrabbel weren't shabby, but they're no Macromantics. My attention wavered. Also, it looks like my evening just opened up; the Ditty Bops show in San Diego tonight was cancelled. :(

Monster.

2005-06-28T01:49:00.000-07:00

KCRW started playing "Bang Theory" in January or February. I had the piano line stuck in my head for weeks, and was relieved when I finally got my hands on the Rabble-Rousing Misspent Bouts EP some time later and could just listen to the damn song again.

Download "Bang Theory."

World Leader Pretend are going to be Huge. The New Orleans quintet's major label debut, Punches, is available today. Well-meaning critics will fall all over themselves making weak comparisons to other Huge bands. Will the inevitable Entertainment Weekly profile go all the way and call them the next Coldplay? We'll just have to wait and see. The thing is, WLP differ from Coldplay enough that they just might be the next Coldplay. (Actually, they're better.)

Download "The Masses."

Does the album merit Huge success? Definitely. It's rollicking and epic and genuine in all the right ways. Chill-inducing BIG songs. Sure, a few tracks are a tad cloying and eager to please ("Lovey Dovey," "Appassionato"), but nevertheless hold an undeniable charm. Overall, Punches is a fantastic, occasionally awe-inspiring, debut. Maybe one of the best albums of the year. However, it may not be life-changing enough to survive the overexposure it will undoubtedly receive. In a few month's time, you're going to be hearing these songs everywhere. So get on board early. Listen and love them now, in case they become unbearable.

When I say "Use your," you say "Logic."

2005-06-26T15:34:00.000-07:00

"Macromantics, fresh baked girl beats / Trying to convert hurt and hatred into world peace / Für Elise meets Ramones meets Tom Waits / Kathleen Hanna and Dylan Thomas at God's gates."

I saw Macromantics (aka Romy Hoffman of Sydney, Australia) open for Architecture in Helsinki at Spaceland last month. Her regular dj hadn't been able to make the trip with her, so beats were provided by a little portable cd player. After a few false starts (her jumping around was making the cd skip), she was off and running, more than making up for the lack of accompaniment. There's some great stuff on her ep, Hyperbolic Logic. Weighty and politically charged, but never taking itself too seriously. At times, she reminds me a bit of Saul Williams, crossing the line from hip-hop to straight poetry with ease.

Buy Hyperbolic Logic at Aquarius Records.

See how it fits my body.

2005-06-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to artiste diva Róisín Murphy's solo debut, Ruby Blue, pretty regularly for almost two months now, and it has quickly become one of my favorite albums of the year. When trying to describe it to people, I originally said, "It sounds like the album that Goldfrapp might have made between Felt Mountain and Black Cherry." But no, that's not really accurate at all. Ruby Blue is more sassy big band and less cool noir lounge. Honestly, if it weren't for Murphy's vocals tying them all together, most of the songs would sound like they were culled from different albums. Maybe it's Matthew Herbert's production, but some of the songs have a downright Björk-esque propulsion to them. "Ramalama (Bang Bang)," for instance, stomps through the same odd, haunted woodlands as "Human Behavior." "Through Time" and "The Closing of the Door" are mellow jazz ballads, while "Sow Into You" and "If We're In Love" bounce around the dancefloor. I had trouble deciding which song to post here. I'm going with the title track, which I like to imagine takes place at a particularly raucous Jet Age cocktail party.

Import copies of the album are available on Amazon.

All together now: I'm a slut for high seas adventure.

2005-06-19T01:57:00.000-07:00

Lead your Dinghy of Destruction into battle against the Magenta Menace! The latest shooter from ABA Games, Gunroar, adds a nautical theme to the standard mix of candy-colored geometric shapes and bouncy electronic music.

Speaking of which, BigStereo has a radio rip of the first single from Goldfrapp's upcoming album Supernature, "Ooh La La."

Hard enough to be my damn self.

2005-06-18T02:41:00.000-07:00

6/17 -- Electrelane @ The Troubadour, with The Slow Signal Fade and Be Your Own Pet. Electrelane puts on a great show, and I'm sorry that I missed them during their previous trips to LA. Most of the set-list was drawn from Axes (which meant no "On Parade" or "Oh Sombra!" for me), and I was impressed at how smoothly some of their more esoteric material translated from album to stage. While my affection for her is no secret, I'm now even more in love with Mia Clarke. I don't think I've ever seen anyone recover from a broken string so ably and creatively.

Be Your Own Pet are the coolest kids at their high school. Maybe in all of Nashville. Frontwoman Jemina Pearl shouts and swaggers like Karen O's bottle-blonde little sis. And while I'm a sucker for jump-off-the-drum-kit-and-roll-on-the-floor theatrics, the band is the real thing, with attitude and confidence to spare. A remarkable feat, given that they all look about 15. Anyway, look at what I'm doing! Giving you music! I'll be using YouSendIt until I find something better, but for now, just click on the link below.

MP3: Be Your Own Pet - Damn Damn Leash.

Order their EP from Infinity Cat.

Gün?

2005-06-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

"There's nothing that can't be had in Turkey!" - Fish.

Both of 'em!

2005-06-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's a Ditty Bops video! Directed by Adria Petty, who also did some of the recent Regina Spektor clips, the video makes a nice thematic fit with the Bops' music in that it seems very sweet and homemade but still has room for decapitations and stabbings. So cute! (via)

If I was hosting MP3s here, I would have posted something from Colleen's new album, The Golden Morning Breaks, a few months ago and said something like, "While Everyone Alive Wants Answers suggested a Miyazaki-directed version of Amélie (sample titles: 'Long Live Mice in the Metro,' 'A Swimming Pool Down the Railway Track'), the songs on The Golden Morning Breaks have a distinctly rural, though no less dark and mysterious, old-world folktale quality." Then I would have linked to a song like "I'll Read You a Story," or "Mining in the Rain." But I'm not hosting MP3s here yet, so I didn't. But here's a very pretty video for "The Happy Sea." (via)

1:114 - Yesterday the best girl in the class missed in spelling.

2005-06-06T10:42:00.000-07:00

Original Chris Ware art at Chicago's Carl Hammer gallery, some of which may be featured in the upcoming issue of Acme Novelty Library.

1:150 - Already the grass shoots forth.

2005-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

"On April 16, Russia announced that it would henceforth launch military satellites at the Pletsnesk cosmodrome in northern Russia, ending the practice of launching satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This shift will deprive Kazakh children of the chance to watch some satellites take off, though Baikonur will remain the launchpad for commercial 'birds' and manned missions."

The countryside near the Baikonur Cosmodrome is littered with the gas tanks and booster stages that fall to earth during a space launch. Eurasianet.org has a small photo gallery of this surreal, toxic, crater-pocked landscape and the people who eke out a living within it.

A gargantuan, world-devastating ditch-digger and siege engine. Here, too.

1:34 - All the flags were fluttering gaily.

2005-06-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Meet the world. Or, failing that, face the nation(s).

Simple, haunting, and occasionally humorous, this ad campaign for the Brazilian newsweekly Grande Reportagem was the brainchild of 25 year-old Icaro Doria.

Font delirium and thankless product placement.

2005-06-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Last night, as I was waiting for my mayo-free chicken sandwich at Burger King, my eyes were drawn to all of the Episode III: Revenge of the Sith posters and standees that were up for the scratch-and-win "Choose Your Destiny" promotional game. The element that really caught my eye was the font they were using on these posters, seen here in the "Choose Your Destiny" logo (Figure 1.1, below).

Figure 1.1

This font, I thought, looked remarkably similar to the font on Taco Bell signs from the 80's (Figure 2.1, below). This made sense, momentarily, until I realized that Pizza Hut and KFC are Taco Bell's partners in PepsiCo.'s "Tricon Global" (which has since become Yum! Brands Inc. with the addition of Long John Silver's and A&W), not Burger King (which is, I'm pretty sure, a subsidiary of Pillsbury). You may remember that Tricon Global's moment in the sun came in 1999 with the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. There was a weird "Trilogy" promotional game that involved all three restaurants, advertised through a series of TV spots (which were, in many ways, more satisfying than the actual movie they were parodying) showing a Pizza Hut delivery girl, the Taco Bell chihuahua, and a lightsaber-wielding Colonel Sanders battling the droid army. Also, Taco Bell had the fast food tie-in duties during the 1997 release of the classic trilogy Special Editions.

Figure 2.1

Somehow, Burger King had managed to lure the interests of 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm away from PepsiCo. and Tricon Global. Which made me wonder why the font was so similar to the old Taco Bell font. The first thing I did when I got home was look for examples of Taco Bell signs from the 80's. And while it isn't the exact same font, they are still quite similar. The Burger King font is a little blockier and bolder, and the serifs on some letters are more subtle, and on other, more pronounced. It's difficult to make comparisons with these two examples, since the only letters they have in common are C, E, and O.

Yes, I spent the rest of the night, and some of this morning, thinking about it. But I won some free hash browns.

Jabber and Godspit.

2005-05-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

"Tolkien is the wen on the arse of fantasy literature. His oeuvre is massive and contagious - you can't ignore it, so don't even try. The best you can do is consciously try to lance the boil. And there's a lot to dislike - his cod-Wagnerian pomposity, his boys-own-adventure glorying in war, his small-minded and reactionary love for hierarchical status-quos, his belief in absolute morality that blurs moral and political complexity. Tolkien's clichés - elves 'n' dwarfs 'n' magic rings - have spread like viruses. He wrote that the function of fantasy was 'consolation', thereby making it an article of policy that a fantasy writer should mollycoddle the reader.... Of course I'm not saying that any fan of Tolkien is no friend of mine - that would cut my social circle considerably. Nor would I claim that it's impossible to write a good fantasy book with elves and dwarfs in it.... But given that the pleasure of fantasy is supposed to be in its limitless creativity, why not try to come up with some different themes, as well as unconventional monsters? Why not use fantasy to challenge social and aesthetic lies?"

China Miéville's The Scar shames every fantasy novel I've ever read. If you know me, then you know that I tend to champion all sorts of PoMo shenanigans, but it's always the big, dense, plot-heavy novels that really excite and inspire me. I haven't felt this way about a book since Crimson Petal and the White. Perdido Street Station is next on the list, as soon as my copy arrives.

Some of us want to go back to our families.

2005-05-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

SeaWorld, Friday May 27th.

"This is obviously fake." -- A little girl, regarding the large plaster sculpture of a starfish grappling with a mussel.

Dream Job #73: Chase Studio, Inc. produces dioramas for natural history and environmental science museums. (via)

Meditation. Tin to media. Do it in meat. A timid tone.

2005-05-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

An enjoyable weekend. Deny baleen a new joke. Keenly need a jawbone. Knew a jade eel by neon.

5/20 -- The Books, with Mia Doi Todd: Talked to the band. Had my obscure book signed and new project blessed. May be the only concert I ever attend where the words "This is a song we wrote about Buddhist metaphysics" are spoken. Felt mortified for poor Mia. Want to move in with The Books (even more).

5/22 -- Architecture in Helsinki, with Jeffrey Lewis and Macromantics: First time flying solo. Yes, Spaceland is always that warm. Australia rocks the tuba. And if that wasn't Kele, I'll eat my shoes.

Professor publishing. Polish be surfing pros. Feb rips up groin slosh.

An announcement: "Time and Love Poem 1990" was one of my first experiments in destroying and reclaiming another writer's work. When it's not making me queasy, I'm quite proud of it. Now, the esteemed Dr. Martin Nakell has published this poem in a small folio (on high quality paper, no less) and mailed it to a considerable number of his friends and acquaintances in the literary community. I'll try and get some more copies in case anyone's interested in having one of their own, but I can't make any guarantees.

I'm beginning to doubt your commitment to Snorkel Motion.

2005-05-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Colin and Shayla are married! Congratulations, guys!

Some lessons from Hawaii:

Don't forget your towel. And if you're renting a car, don't forget the CDs.
Braddock's wife and son are alive and living in Communist Vietnam.
Beer Floats: When you're drinking the beer, it's like drinking beer. When you're eating the ice cream, it's like eating ice cream. Isn't that enough? Also, I will, apparently, eat anything once. Our waitress said that in all her time at the Kona Brewing Company (basically a Hawaiian BJ's), she had never sold a single Beer Float. And if that's not a dare, I don't know what is.
Kava is a blast for the first four or five cups; any more and you're asking for trouble.
A wedding's worth having outside if it's worth having at all.
Get that stain out with tonic water and Cascade.
Traffic is bad everywhere.
Sharks sleep(?) in caves(?)

Some of my photos from the trip, with appropriate commentary, can be found here.

My first trip to one of the "Offer-Exempt-In" Two!

2005-05-11T21:58:00.000-07:00

The native language is soft and liquid and flexible and in every way efficient and satisfactory--till you get mad; then there you are; there isn't anything in it to swear with. Good judges all say it is the best Sunday language there is. But then all the other six days in the week it just hangs idle on your hands; it isn't any good for business and you can't work a telephone with it. Many a time the attention of the mssionaries has been called to this defect, and they are always promising they are going to fix it; but no, they go fooling along and fooling along and nothing is done.

- Mark Twain's Speeches, 1923 ed.

Steppin' out in really big boots.

2005-05-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

Tri-Party on wheels! The bachelor/birthday boy and bachelorette in question:

Too few middle fingers among the lot of us to properly handle the Hummer-zine, so thumbs will have to do:

View from the back:

The Ritz, puttin' on/going in:

This photo belies just how unnaturally huge these strawberries really were:

Colin contracts Mono: