crap for genius

stfu mdna

2012-02-04T22:08:00.003-05:00

That's the tracklist for the iTunes version of the new Madonna album, the questionably (at best, for many reasons) titled 'MDNA'.

Even beyond the terrible titles amongst the first fifteen tracks, you'll notice that track sixteen is a remix featuring - and I can't even believe I'm typing this - LMFAO.

Aaaaand, done.

smart phone

2012-01-26T15:53:00.004-05:00

I was listening to my radio channel on Last.fm while driving around today and it started out promising with Kaiser Chiefs' "Modern Way" and then a track off the Gotye record. All of a sudden something from 'Biophilia' started - how'd that get there? - but before I could get to the fast forward and/or ban button, the stream froze and started to re-buffer. Instead of going back to the monstrosity already in progress, Roxy Music's "Remake/Remodel" started.

That's what I call a smart phone.

(Yes, the image and bitching is childish and petty but it makes me smile. So there.)

slight return

2012-01-15T18:23:00.002-05:00

The Bluetones' 'Expecting To Fly' - from 1996 - on the left, Ani DiFranco's 'Which Side Are You On' - due out on Tuesday - on the right.

This is the same peacock, right?

love me or die, bitch

2012-01-14T18:45:00.006-05:00

I realized recently that I chose the 'Notorious' and 'Big Thing' reissues as two of the best reissues of 2011, an honor I also gave them in 2010, the year they actually came out. Whoops.

So, in their place I nominate The Frogs - and, let's be honest, had I known about this before the end of 2011 they certainly would have been on the list in the first place. Five of their home made tapes have been released on iTunes - welcome back to print, 'Made-Up Cassette (A)' and 'Made-Up Cassette (B)', along with 'Made-Up Reels 1,6' 'Made-Up Reels 6,8' and 'Death Songs'. (I previously only had the last one so this is pretty exciting.)

I remember back around 2000 or 2001 they made a whole slew of these things available on CD through their website and at shows. I bought 'Death Songs' and 'CBGayB' from them at a show and always meant to get more - OK, the rest - but never got around to it, and then all of a sudden they were gone. Here's a start to fixing that, let's hope we get more.

In even more exciting Frogs news, their MySpace (!!) has been updated to note that there are not one, but TWO new albums coming out on Valentine's Day. 'Count Yer Blessingsz' and 'Squirrel Bunny Jupiter Deluxe' are less than a month away! They appear to be iTunes only for now, but maybe more later.

(In a bit of unintentional humor, the band are tagged as "Singer/Songwriter" on iTunes - which isn't wrong, I suppose - so when you buy one of these from the site you may get a Ping recommendation of, say, 'The Best of Simon & Garfunkel'. [See above.] Hilarity ensues.)

2011 according to last.fm

2012-01-03T15:17:00.001-05:00

Thank you, reissues.

things I liked about 2011

2011-12-16T07:53:00.004-05:00

2011 was kind of a shit year, yes? From albums that just weren't as good as they should be - Elbow, I'm looking at you - to complete musical abominations from artists who you thought should know better until you really thought about it and realized you should know better for thinking that they should know better - right? right. And I don't think I have to say who I'm thinking of here, I've bitched enough - 2011 was just a big ol' suck fest.

But. BUT.

There were clearly high points. Here are twelve of them, in alphabetical order:

Active Child - You Are All I See

(Gorgeous, though a little more of a pulse would be nicer next time.)

Battles - Gloss Drop

(More even than 'Mirrored', though without the insane highs of "Atlas" or "Tonto". Fair enough trade off I'd say.)

Big Black Delta - BBDLP1

(A glorious cacophony that knows not to overstay it's welcome. IFUCKINGLOVEIT.)

The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still

(A little more of a subdued affair from our Boxer boys but a worthy follow-up to the surprise brilliance of 'Union'.)

Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

(Yes, it was #4 last year. However, those Duran boys sure know how to drag out a release and keep it exciting, so here we are again with additional tracks - or what would have been the b-sides in the old days. The 9-track version packs more of a punch but this is still a solid album that has no right being as good as it is.)

Florrie - Experiments EP

(Xenomania's in-house drummer spreads her pop-sensible wings.)

Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo

(A very welcome return from Gruff after 2009's heartbreakingly awful 'Dark Days/Light Years' mess of an album.)

Nicola Roberts - Cinderella's Eyes

(Who knew?)

Soft Metals - Soft Metals

(It pretty much sounds like the sleeve.)

The Whip - Wired Together

(Sometimes you just want more of the same, and The Whip delivered in spades. Not as crunchy as I was hoping for based on the Jagz Kooner production but once you get past that, there's plenty to enjoy here.)

Ultrasound - Welfare State / Sovereign

(A single that clobbered most full-lengths this year. The most welcome return in ages.)

Will Young - Echoes

(This year's Richard-X produced, adult pop surprise.)

Then there are these three, all of which could qualify as my favorite album of the year:

The Sound of Arrows - Voyage

(Even after a 2 year wait, this one managed to exceed insanely high expectations.)

The Joy Formidable - The Big Roar

(If 'Chrome' and 'Spooky' had a baby - or if 'King' had been slightly more successful at what it set out to do - it might sound something like this.)

Mirrors - Lights and Offerings

(Forced to pick, this is #1.)

Did somebody say reissues?

Duran Duran - Notorious & Big Thing 2xCD/DVD

(They still sound like shit but the wealth of bonus material on each set make them worth it. And, really, who ever thought 'Big Thing' would get the deluxe treatment?)

The Monkees - Instant Replay 3xCD

(The most unnecessary box in a year of unnecessary boxes? Possibly, but there's fan demand and Rhino is listening AND delivering.)

Smashing Pumpkins - Gish & Siamese Dream 2xCD/DVD

(Billy Corgan gets something mostly right! [Almost] everything about these is completely gorgeous.)

Suede - Catalogue 2xCD/DVD

(They could have easily done the first three and called it done, but Brett decided to go warts and all and give us the full bang. It was a blast re-exploring the first two LPs through these set and then also reaffirming my love for 'Head Music' through its set. Plus, "Music Like Sex". Thank you.)

This Mortal Coil - Box 4xCD

(The box alone is a work of art and the albums sound incredible. Whoever was in charge of this gets a gigantic gold star.)

Here's to a better 2012.

it's so salty, Jesus!

2011-12-13T14:10:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, after a long day that seemingly would. not. end., all you need is Kim Deal screaming at you about giving Jesus head:

Glorious.

The thing about 'Pod' is that it's SUCH a - pardon the term - vagina album. It's so girly and all pink and purply and there are images of fucking clippings of the band member's hair on the inner sleeve. At the same time, there are songs about giving Jesus a blow job and walking abortions and enjoying incestual molestation and the best fucking Beatles cover ever - and that's just on the first side of the record - giving it bigger balls than most male-dominated indie albums of the time. It may be my least favorite Breeders album - solely due to the presence of "Oh!", which is jut not up to par - but it's still a swift kick in the gut and incredibly unique for it's relatively standard guitar/bass/drum structure.

Speaking of, isn't it about time for a new Breeders album/EP/single/tour/SOMETHING? Please?

let England suck

2011-11-30T15:22:00.003-05:00

So.

Those year-end lists have started to appear - is it me or is it early this year? - and, depressingly unexpectedly, PJ Harvey's 'Let England Shake' is appearing all over them. More often than not, it's hovering in or around the Top 5 if not occupying the top spot itself.

"It's brave!" "It's thought-provoking!" "It's topical!" "It's !"

You know what it's not, though? One thing that's KIND of important for a record to be, it being a primarily audio-based art form?

Listenable.

Opinions and all, blah blah blah, but fuck it. This is a terrible record and any "best of" list that has it anywhere nearby is automatically invalidated.

moments

2011-11-15T20:53:00.002-05:00

2:40, "Into The Clouds". Everything stops for a second as the final verse starts, then everything and then some kicks back in and the song literally takes off, matching the lyric.

3:13, "Wonders". The drum machine trips over itself, as if it can hardly wait to begin one final, glorious bridge.

1:25, "Magic". After some teasing, *that* chorus finally begins.

0:50, "Ruins of Rome". The pan-flute intro totally cuts out, silence, then gorgeousness.

4:25, "Ruins of Rome". Again. The word "home" is stretched over a few extra beats with a couple of ascending notes added on for good measure, sending the track into the heavens.

4:29-4:31, "Ruins of Rome". Yet again. The synths stutter underneath the chorus before unleashing a majestic rain of descending melody that has only been hinted at in the previous 4 minutes and 28 seconds. (These are 2011's greatest 3 seconds of music, by the way.)

And we keep going.

0:02, "Longest Ever Dream". The most Richard X of Richard X beats roll in.

3:15, "Nova". It's only a few "ahhs" but they ascend what could be a generic club banger into, well, something better.

All of these and more are what make the Sound of Arrows' 'Voyage' so fucking spectacular.

list making

2011-11-15T20:03:00.003-05:00

I'm working on my list of my favorite albums of 2011.

There was a new Elbow album in 2011.

It's nowhere near the top 10.

This makes me sad.

coming out of the woodwork

2011-11-12T08:21:00.003-05:00

Keeping with the "long overdue return" theme, Imperial Teen posted the first single from their forthcoming fifth long player yesterday.

It's called "Runaway" and the album - that's the FANTASTIC artwork over there - is out in January on Merge. (Vinyl release this time? Please? Did 'The Hair, The TV, The Baby & The Band' ever end up getting an LP release? I'll have to investigate.)

Anyways, good ol' Soundcloud says the song sounds like this:

Imperial Teen - Runaway by MergeRecords

Just as the last great album of 2011 shows it's head, the first great album of 2012 peeks out from behind the curtain. I *WILL* catch the tour for this one. (Will it really have been 10 years from the Imperial Teen Summer of 2002? Goodness!)

everybody shake

2011-11-11T16:29:00.001-05:00

Apparently it is a week for things we weren't sure were ever going to happen.

First, the delicious Sound of Arrows album.

Now, the shock return of one Little Boots.

That's hew new logo. It's lovely.

This is her new song. It's called "Shake" and it is house-tastic:

Little Boots - SHAKE by LittleBoots

Worth the wait? Oh, yes.

counterpoint (or, IFUCKINGLOVEYOU pt. 2)

2011-11-08T15:40:00.004-05:00

My thoughts, as they happen, as I give 'Voyage' my first listen.

*ahem*

November 8, 2011.

"'Into the Clouds' is a re-recording, which we knew. Somehow it's even more magical."

"So far - 5 songs in - every song is a could-be-a-closer mini-epic. That's a compliment."

"'Ruins of Rome' is ASTOUNDING."

"Holy shit. 4 & 1/2 minutes in 'Ruins of Rome' becomes a cut-up/fuck-up monster for a hot 30 seconds that completely makes the rest of the album barely matter."

"'Longest Ever Dream' doesn't appear to be related to 'Magic' - outside of the shared line - or 'Longer Ever Dream'. It does, however, sound like he's singing: 'Yesterday, I have the longest ever dream.' I'm going to pretend that's the actual lyric.
It's the most Richard X sounding song on the album so far with it's relentlessly driving synth undercurrent. It's the sixth time I've thought: 'This is my favorite track on the album'.
It's track six."

"Vocoders and marching band snares over an ambient background - 'Hurting All The Way' is a nice mid-album palette cleanser.

"'Conquest' is - ready for this one? - C+C Music Factory pulled through a Sound of Arrows filter. On first impression, anyways. It's blatantly early-90's dance pop in any case." (In retrospect, C+C Music Factory is completely off-base but early-90's dance pop is spot on.)

"'Nova' we know, and it fades into 'There Is Still Hope', a 7+ minute slow-burner of a track. The epic of the epics, if you will."

"We end the album proper with 'Lost Cities', all breathy 'ooh's and 'ahh's and astronaut speech samples. ('...Brothers who are truly brothers', etc., as also sampled in Geneva's 'A Place In The Sun'.) Perfect."

"'Disappear' is super upbeat - for them - and great to have but it would not have fit on the album. At all. I imagine it would KILL live."

"Worth the wait? And then some. We'll be discovering things about this one for years to come."

Multiple listens later and it's chasing 'Lights and Offerings' for album of the year. If you don't completely melt at this:

I have very little time for you at the moment.

Well done, boys.

into the clouds

2011-11-06T15:11:00.004-05:00

Your order #202-0268508-xxxxxxx (received November 03, 2011)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qty Item Price Delivery Subtotal

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

Amazon.co.uk items (Sold by Amazon EU S.a.r.L.):

1 Voyage £6.66 1 £6.66

Dispatched via Royal Mail (estimated arrival date: November 28, 2011).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: £6.66
Delivery and handling: £1.68
Pre-order Guarantee: £0.00

Total: £8.34

Payment Total: USD 13.84**

I honestly thought the day would never come.

Also: 2 discs for under $14 shipped? Hello.

fucking gorgeous

2011-10-31T17:26:00.003-04:00

I'm going to need some time alone with this one.

a Siamese Dream dream

2011-10-07T19:42:00.003-04:00

This image - apparently the track list, or track list in progress, for the second discs of the forthcoming Smashing Pumpkins 'Gish' and 'Siamese Dream' reissues - leaked yesterday. In easier-to-read terms, it looks like this:

Gish:
01 Starla (2011 Mix)
02 Siva (Peel Session)
03 Honeyspider (Reel Time Demo / 2011 Mix)
04 Hippy Trippy (Crush Music Box Demo)
05 Snail (Live Radio Performance)
06 Plume (2011 Mix)
07 Bury Me (Reel Time Demo / 2011 Mix)
08 Daydream (Old House Demo)
09 Tristessa (Sub Pop Single / 2011 Mix)
10 Girl Named Sandoz (Peel Session)
11 Jesus Is The Sun (Basement Demo)
12 Blue (Gish Sessions Demo)
13 Smiley (Gish Sessions Demo)
14 I Am One (Reel Time Demo / 2011 Mix)
15 (Something that looks like Suffer / Apartment Demo)
16 La Dolly Vita (2011 Mix)
17 Pulseczar (Gish Sessions Demo)
18 Drown (Alternate Guitar Solo)

Siamese Dream:
01 Pissant (Siamese Sessions Rough Mix)
02 Siamese Dream (Broadway Rehearsals Demo)
03 STP (Rehearsal Demo)
04 Frail and Bedazzled (Soundworks Demo)
05 Luna (Apartment Demo)
06 Quiet (BBC Session / BC Mix)
07 Moleasskiss (Soundworks Demo)
08 Hello Kitty Kat (Soundworks Demo)
09 Today (Broadway Rehearsal Demo)
10 Never Let Me Down Again (BBC Session)
11 Apathy's Last Kiss (Siamese Sessions Rough Mix)
12 Ache (Silverfuck / Rehearsal Demo)
13 U.S.A. (Soundworks Demo)
14 U.S.S.R. (Soundworks Demo)
15 Spaceboy (Acoustic Mix)
16 Rocket (Rehearsal Demo)
17 Disarm (Acoustic Mix)
18 Soma (Instrumental Mix)

If these are in fact real, this is officially Very Exciting. It would have been *SO* easy to just throw a bunch of b-sides and previously bootlegged demos out there and called it done, but a lot of this looks like it hasn't previously escaped out. By my count, there are only three tracks amongst the 36 that have been available in this form before - the two Peel Sessions on the 'Gish' disc and 'Never Let Me Down Again' on 'Siamese Dream' - but that leaves very little room to complain.

I wonder if the first disc will have bonus tracks as well. And we're apparently getting DVDs as well! Huzzah! November is shaping up very, very nicely.

(Sorry, Suede, but your re-issues MIGHT have just been outclassed.)

the cold world tours

2011-10-06T09:52:00.004-04:00

Soft Metals are putting together a North American tour for December.

Toronto is one of those dates.

I want to go.

The end.

...

How about a video?

"The Cold World Melts":

Lovely.

IFUCKINGLOVEYOU

2011-09-26T15:46:00.005-04:00

Last week, Joe and Dingo introduced me to Big Black Delta - conveniently just in time to travel to LA to visit Dingo and happen to catch their show at the Satellite as part of an every-Monday-night-in-September residency. (The show was amazeballs, by the way, and I totally wish I was there tonight for the final, erm, night.) So now I pass the favor along and possibly introduce you to Big Black Delta.

This is the most recent single/video/whatever you call it in this day and age, "Capsize":

Said track is taken from the just released - as in, today - debut album proper, appropriately entitled 'BBDLP1'. You can order it from the site on any number of formats - including a lovely slab of vinyl in your choice of mauve or speckled blue - and, as should be standard these days, any physical format comes with an immediate digital download, again in any format you could possibly want. (I went FLAC to get the best of all worlds.)

If you act now - for this week only!, etc., etc. - you can download the album in mp3 for free from the site and give it a test drive. Or you could take my word for it and buy the ultimate fan package. Your choice.

Dingo and Joe, I am once again in your musical debt.

hate mail

2011-09-22T19:18:00.006-04:00

My thoughts, as they happen, as I give 'Biophilia' a courtesy listen.

*ahem*

"6:24 PM: Approaching the leak of 'Biophilia' with an open a mind as possible - I told myself I'd give it one listen through when it leaked to see if, perhaps, there was something to salvage or it turned out to be not so bad after all. 1 minute in and I have a feeling this is an exercise in futility. (Wait, open mind. Dammit, this is going to be hard.)"

"6:30 PM: I can't do this. This is shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
S-H-I-T!

Now it's a test to see how long I can last."

"6:36 PM: All I want to do is scream at the top of my lungs for all the world to hear:

'FUCK YOU YOU STUPID CUNT!'

Good thing we're moving tomorrow. This house has now been tainted with the sounds of this album and no amount of exorcism will get it clean. Good luck to the young chap who bought it."

"6:44 PM: "Dark Matter" - halfway there, I can do this! - is like..."Ancestors" or something dreadful like that off of 'Medúlla' with a droning organ behind it. The organ, of course, is playing in a different key than the chorus of wailing Björks because, you know, it's art.

Fuck.

Her."

"6:49 PM: Now there's something like...circus breakbeat? Why am I doing this to myself again?"

"6:51 PM: "Like a mushroom on a tree trunk when the proteins starts to transmutate, I knock on your skin and I am in."

You couldn't make this up."

"7:00 PM: I honestly cannot believe what I'm hearing - or that I've lasted this long. This is a new level of terrible."

"7:04 PM: OK, here's something. The loud-y parts of "Mutual Core" aren't bad. Trite, absolutely, but somewhat enjoyable in the context of things.

Or, perhaps ,this is some sort of Stockholm Syndrome. Awww, you're trying, I'll give you some sort of credit. Like a teacher with a pupil who clearly doesn't get it but is at least making an effort."

"7:12 PM: That was one of the most painful album listening experience I have ever had. I feel like I need to get into a scalding shower and cleanse myself.

I can never unhear that, but hopefully I can save others from the same fate."

They say every experience makes you stronger. I have no idea what I've taken away from this, outside of: she's always been like this, hasn't she? That is the hardest part of all of this.

Björk, I will see you in hell. You've already provided the soundtrack.

a love letter

2011-09-07T19:00:00.003-04:00

Dear 'Rings Around The World':

Hard to believe we've been together for ten years already, isn't it?

At the same time, it's even harder to believe it has only been ten years. As I sit here now and listen to you - you still sound good, don't worry - I'm not entirely sure I need to. Wait, come back. What I mean by that is I feel like you're already ingrained in my psyche - I don't need to have you on to know what you sound like, to remind me how great you are. That sounds a bit silly - obviously any record you've heard more than a few times is going to work its way into your brain - but this goes beyond that. I feel like I know each and every note, every pause, every transition so well that you're over before you've begun.

Does that make sense? It's meant to be a compliment so I hope you take it that way.

I have many fond memories of you. Before we even get to your songs, let's talk about the milestones in my life you represent. Your tour is the most I've ever seen a band on a single tour - four times between the two North American legs, including a three night in a row stretch between Cleveland, Toronto and then back to Buffalo - and it remains one of my favorite tours I've seen. Your (initially UK-only) DVD release caused me to go out and buy an all-region DVD player that could convert the PAL signal for my NTSC television set so that I could enjoy your videos, bonus tracks and remixes. (If I remember correctly, I bought your DVD before the player to make sure I had you to test it out.) On that note, you were the first album I listened to once I got a proper 5.1 set up - and I must say you set the bar incredibly high for albums that followed. Well done. You were the first SFA LP I bought on vinyl on release day - and a good thing I did because you prove to be tricky to track down these days and then a bit on the pricey side once you do - even though I had to wait a few weeks for you because of pressing difficulties with the bonus 7". I think. Something like that.

Anyways, that's a lot of musical memories for one album...and we haven't gotten to the music yet! You get picked on a lot. Some felt you weren't the massive step forward from 'Guerrilla' that it had been from 'Radiator' and 'Radiator' had been from 'Fuzzy Logic' - that you were a consolidation of strengths rather than exploration of new ground - and you have to admit that's fair. "No Sympathy" is basically "Mountain People" with more extremes on either side, for example. That doesn't make you any less of an album, not at all! So yes, while I see that argument, I don't see it as a negative.

Others say you aren't as focused as you could be, which is a load of garbage. Yes, you are the textbook example of a "kitchen sink" album, a let's throw everything at the wall and see what sticks type of record. But, you do it right! This is exactly where the consolidation of strengths turns into, well, a strength. We knew SFA had a techno side and a soft acoustic side and a punky Britpop side, so it didn't sound forced when they threw all their eggs into one basket and tried to do everything at once. It works, don't listen to them. Are you sprawling? Absolutely. Are you a bit on the messy side? Sure. Overlong and lacking focus, though? I don't think so. In fact, I've always thought the five bonus tracks from the DVD could be mixed into the album proper for one massive 18-track behemoth ready to crush the world.

Potential overstatement one: You are my era's 'Sign "O" The Times'. You are everything going on around you, your influences from the past and your vision of the future all thrown into a blender and poured out over a four-side feast. You are what's going on in your world without preaching about it. You are not your creator's best album - sorry - but you are the truest, most complete picture of them.

Potential overstatement two: You know how people say: "I remember exactly what I was doing the first time I heard 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' and it changed the way I listened to music"? Well, if they can say that, then I can say: "I remember exactly what I was doing the first time I heard 'Rings Around The World' and it changed the way I listened to music". Because, well, I do and you kind of did. (For the record, I was sitting at my computer in the apartment I shared with my best friend from high school early one morning as over the evening you had, erm, appeared on my hard drive a bit before release. The internet is magic.)

This is how I feel about you and I know many disagree. They can do that all they want. They can choke on my hyperbole because, let's be honest, I can't help but lay it on thick when I talk about you - it's part of what you do to me. But they can't change my mind or tell me I'm wrong. They can say that 'Phantom Power' is the best SFA album and we can hang out in the corner pointing and laughing at them. They can buy their fucking Grandaddy records and force your creators to open for them on a US tour and we can knock their fucking trucker hats to the floor. They can do all this and more, but they don't have the joy you give me when I put you on.

So fuck em.

Love,
Me.

PS: If I had to use a picture to describe how I feel about you, it would be this screen grab from your very own DVD:

just sayin'

2011-08-21T19:54:00.003-04:00

Not to mention a video that's partially Tori Amos' 'Boys for Pele' cover shoot brought to life with a backing track that's essentially a souped-up version of Dragonette's "Gone Too Far", I ask:

When to we stop celebrating such mediocrity?

(Not to add more words to the pile that is the dead digital forest of Gaga clippings, but enough is seriously enough. And did we really need to hear it TWICE in a 90 minute span at the same bar the other night?)

all you need is night

2011-08-10T09:42:00.004-04:00

According to the band themselves, today is Duran Duran Appreciation Day. I have no idea what that means but I do know that I will be spending a chunk of the day with the New Fab Five blasting from the speakers.

In honor of this momentous occasion - or something - they have made a proper Night Version of album track 'All You Need Is Now' album track "Other People's Lives" available for download from their website, free of charge. My first thought upon hearing the album back in December was: "Girl Panic!" needs a full-on Night Version; while this isn't exactly it, it's pretty damn close.

Even better, the mp3 comes tagged with "All You Need Is Now - Night Versions" in the album tag. More to come?

(You are almost forgiven for the insanity of the formatting of this album. Almost. "Girl Panic!" and/or "Runway Runaway" might do it.)

then and now

2011-08-07T11:35:00.001-04:00

Then:

Now:

Bitches are dead to me.

cool as Kim Deal

2011-07-27T19:00:00.006-04:00

We were talking.

Kim Deal is a musical National Treasure - notice the caps? - and deserves to be treated as such. I'm only going to see the Pixies 'Doolittle' show - a reunion which probably shouldn't have happened seven years ago and certainly shouldn't still be going - because She will be there. (Secretly hoping - completely in vain - for a break out Breeders set. The worst Breeders record is better than the best Pixies record - FACT. Not. Open. For. Debate.)

Had I to pick my favorite Breeders record, it probably wouldn't be 'Pod' - solely for the fact that it contains the one Breeders song I could do without, "Oh!". It's just...not great. But. But. BUT! It contains eleven other AMAZEBALLS tracks the richest band would KILL for. "Limehouse". "Hellbound". "Glorious". "Metal Man"! (They did it in 2009 - with Josephine! - and it was ridiculous. Like, you never walk into a show thinking: "gee, I hope I hear "Metal Man" tonight", but you're still beyond glad you got to experience it, because, really, it's "Metal Man".) Motherfucking "Doe". When these make up your "weakest" - and I use the term loosely, and only in the sense that SOMETHING has to be your weakest - album, you're doing pretty damn good.

The "Safari" EP is brilliant even though it includes a Who cover. Yes, it survives that.

Had I to pick my favorite Breeders record, it might be 'Last Splash'. Here's the thing. "Cannonball" is overexposed, overdone and THAT song that they have to play at every show. But - a-ha! - it's still fucking. brilliant. If you're pulse doesn't get racing, your heart doesn't get beating, you don't start sweating with anticipation the second you hear that opening "AWOOO!!", you're dead. I don't care. I have never been to a Breeders show and, when it starts, think: well, I'd rather hear something else. Because I wouldn't. It's. That. Good. Are there Breeders songs I like better? Absolutely. Is it their finest moment? No way. But it has survived 18 years of overexposure and remains one of the most oddball songs to "make it big", if you will, one of the most endearing and consistently AMAZING tracks of the 90's.

And that's one song out of fifteen - ok, fourteen. Every single track here is dripping with genius. Every single one, you get it? Yes, even - and, perhaps, especially - "Mad Lucas". Genius. It's a fact. Don't argue. Gen.ius. "I am the new year." "I don't like dirt." "He's the invisible man." "I just wanna get along." "I like sticky everywhere." Anyone who says it's unfinished/unfocused/too many wasted instrumentals/too many half-songs/whatever-else-they-say-about-it is missing the point. It is genius incarnate. It's possibly the best album ever. (It's not, but it makes a good argument for it.) I'm not usually like this, but if you don't like 'Last Splash' you don't enjoy life either, do you? You're no fun. If I ever get to experience "Roi" live and in the flesh, I might have lived out everything I ever needed to live out. Yes, it's that good, and if you don't think so you're probably wrong, so get over it.

The "Head To Toe" EP is also totally brilliant. The title track is, well, obviously amazeballs, and "Shocker In Gloomtown"! Christ. They did it as the second song on the first show of the 'Mountain Battles' tour and it KILLED. Seriously. Completely unexpected and totally floored the crowd. It's not their song but they made it their. song. "Freed Pig" is pretty good, too.

Had I to pick my favorite Breeders record, it might be 'Pacer'. "But!", you say, "It's not a Breeders record!" In name, perhaps, but in spirit it is totally the proper follow-up to 'Last Splash'. In fact, it's better than 'Last Splash'. (Yeah, I said it.) It's perfect in a way records aren't supposed to be perfect. Pop broken in half and stitched back together again. "Hoverin" makes its argument for the "Best Song In The World", exactly because it is clearly not the best song in the world. Every time I've seen the Breeders they've done at least two songs off this record and they are invariably the highlight of the evening. ("Hoverin" live in 2009 was quite possibly the most amazing thing I've ever witnessed. You probably weren't there so you don't know - if a concert you go to DOESN'T include Kim Deal doing "Hoverin", it's almost not worth going. Jesus. Christ.)

Had I to pick my favorite Breeders record, it probably would be 'Title TK'. Surprised after that crazed rant on 'Last Splash'? Don't be. Knowing full well this could put a price on my head, 'Title TK' is - without doubt - the finest record both Kim Deal AND Steve Albini have ever been involved in. Fact. Don't argue it because you'll lose. It. Is. It's life changing in a way records aren't supposed to be life changing. It's half-baked and the songs probably don't work in the way that Kim herself thinks they do, and that's why it works. Even moreso than 'Last Splash', it is genius incarnate. If this isn't your favorite record in the whole world you're doing it wrong. Listen to the way Kelley "ooohs" and "aahhhs" and basically grunts in the background of "Too Alive". Life. Changing. Genius. Don't argue, I'm right. This is the stuff dreams are made of. 'Title TK' is what we've been waiting for. It's the Rapture. Everything is downhill from here.

I'll repeat: 'Title TK' is the finest record either Kim Deal or Steve Albini have ever been involved in. Come and get me, motherfuckers.

Had I to pick my favorite Breeders record, it might be 'Mountain Battles'. After perfecting sound - which, let's be frank, 'Title TK' did - where do you go? You break it all over again. This bitch here makes 'Title TK' sound like the most-ready-for-Top-40-collection-of-pop-songs ever record. This is some seriously fucked up pop shit. Songs don't do what you think they should, "Bang On" is a TOTAL hot mess - and that's the second song! - there's a song in German and a song in Spanish - neither of which the girls know very well - etc., etc., etc. This is the true sound of pop revolution. There's more underground records - clearly, they have more major label backing - there's harder to wrap your head around records, there are obviously more immediately catchy records, there's records that are clearly better, but at the same time, almost nothing is better than this. It. Is. Sound. It's only fault - ONLY FAULT - is that it's not 'Title TK'.

"Fate To Fatal" - the song - is ridiculous. So good. 'Fate To Fatal' - the EP - is the only non-essential Breeders purchase. The other three tracks on the EP, quite frankly, just aren't that great. Also, I wasn't able to get a handscreened sleeve because Record Store Day is a crock of shit - and I literally got physically shoved out of the way of a rack of records (if it was even in there) so I'm a little bitter - but really, it's the weak link. It makes me a bit sad that it's the last Breeders release we have for now because it's not totally amazing.

Kim. Seriously. Fuck the Pixies. You don't need them. We need more Breeders material ASAP. (Judging from the track record we'll have to wait until 2015 for another LP, but I can be patient. I know it will be worth it.)

(I should write after margaritas more often, but I've been waiting YEARS to get that off my chest.)

a pleasant surprise: 'A New Morning', 9 years on

2011-07-20T07:56:00.005-04:00

First of all, there's no saving that artwork, so sorry about that.

But let's get to the heart of the matter - 'A New Morning' isn't terrible. It's not great, don't get me wrong, and very good would even be stretching things a bit. The track selection is all sorts of wrong and sequencing it with the three worst songs they'd ever written kicking things of probably was not the best idea, but somewhere inside all of the mess is the core of what could be a completely solid "back-to-basics" - or, perhaps, attempt at the basics since they'd never really been there - no frills Suede album.

"Positivity" is complete garbage, "Obsessions" reeks of trying-too-hard and "Lonely Girls" is a weak "Young Men" re-hash - not exactly a song screaming out for a sequel to begin with. It's easy to see why, when faced with that opening trio, you might run screaming from the album. (And, truthfully, I did for years. I'm not entirely sure I'd ever given it a complete listen outside of the first time back in 2002.) I'm certainly not claiming that once you make it past those you've found some lost masterpiece. I wouldn't even say that there's any top-shelf material to be found anywhere in the sessions - at best, you get a solid effort or a somewhat lovely number every once in a while.

What I wanted was the last Suede album to not be a complete bust, and with lowered expectations and a little creative editing you can assemble a collection that's not a total embarrassment. Everyone is going to have a different opinion as to what that solution is - personally, I've found "Simon"/"One Love"/"Lost In TV"/"Untitled"/"...Morning"/"Streetlife"/"Astrogirl"/"Instant Sunshine"/"One Hit To The Body"/"Oceans" to be relatively effective.

Backhanded praise if ever there was, but 'A New Morning' doesn't totally suck. Whew.

Now, the real sob story - they got SO much better the following year. Whatever it was, when it came time to assemble some new songs for the 'Singles' collection, they really got their shit together and delivered a few 100% Suede classics. "Attitude" is an amazing single that can proudly sit with their best and the stomping "Love The Way You Love" is even better - it's a shame they had run out of steam by the time the collection had come out as it never got its chance to shine, I've always imagined it a great double a-side with "Music Like Sex". If you take the songs that started to appear at the end of the line, you'd have a really strong core for LP6.

But it was not to be. They had tested their fan base's patience a little too much and it was time to retreat into the shadows. I'm not entirely sure how The Tears and the solo albums got so effed up when the final Suede songs were so strong, but that's another discussion altogether.

I was totally on the fence about getting this collection, as I'm sure many are. Truthfully, the only reason I got it was for the "Golden Gun" and "Love The Way You Love" demos - well, that and the ever-present specter of "completion". In the end, it was probably the most eye-opening and worthwhile of the reissues for me as it totally changed my mind about the album. (Yes, I had revelations about the first two LPs as well but I always at least kind of liked them.) So well played, boys. Well played.

This was a blast. Who wants to go through their catalog next so we can do it all again. (Blur? Catherine Wheel? Please?)

I thought you stopped smoking crack, Brett

2011-07-07T16:17:00.002-04:00

Surprise! The 'A New Morning'-era has a solid chunk of pretty decent material...it's just buried amongst a ton of garbage. This has been my favorite surprise of the Suede reissue campaign - I thought for sure I had been right all these years to completely dismiss it all as trash - not "Trash", of course - but it appears I was wrong.

It does, however, contain some truly "what the fuck?" lyrics. Take the opening two lines of "Cool Thing", for instance:

"You are the loaded gun sticking in your face
like a stupid child on her roller skates"

OK, sure.

I need some time to process this. I'll be back.

swoon

2011-07-06T16:32:00.001-04:00

August 23 can't come fast enough.

(Kudos, by the way, for Adult Swim finally getting something right again.)

an unsolvable puzzle: 'Head Music'

2011-07-06T15:14:00.005-04:00

Excerpts from an e-mail discussion about 'Head Music':

"I've given 'Head Music' two re-listens now ... with another pass at the b-sides for good measure. I'm still not entirely sure I get the disappointment - but, of course, I don't have the intense love to be massively let down either. There's plenty to pick on the album for - it's overlong, not sure what it wants to be, paced strangely, the peaks aren't as high and there aren't as many, etc. - but the constant bitching from people about how it's lazy - especially the lyrics - are just annoying. How are the lyrics to "Elephant Man" or the old standby dog to kick while they're down "Savoir Faire" any more banal than "Trash" or "Beautiful Ones", and no one picks on them ... people wanted them to fail so they did."

"The temptation to make it a better album through editing and sequencing - though I'm still convinced they got the first five tracks right if you're assembling a 10-track album out of the material - is still there, but after spending more time with it as a whole era, part of the point is that it is too long for its own good and kind of falls apart at the end. Dare I say it - I feel about it how I perceive others to feel about 'Dog Man Star'. There, I said it. I feel better. Love the flaws...although even I don't think I could bring myself to call it anything close to a "masterpiece" as fans claim about the sophomore album ... Even with re-sequencing and perhaps exchanging some album tracks for b-sides, I don't think they stuck to one style enough to make even a consistently amazing 10-track album that doesn't feel jumbled together. A riddle to be cracked, but like an inept mystery writer - or, perhaps, one too out of his mind on crack to know what's going on - we weren't given all the pieces."

"They got the singles right, I'll give them that. I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to pick a fifth single out of the remainders, though "Savoir Faire" would have been a ballsy - and hilarious - "fuck you", especially at the end of the campaign when everyone was seemingly sick of them ... Actually, I take that back - "Asbestos" would have sounded AMAZING on the radio in the middle of a hot summer as a bit of a counter to what everyone else (including the band at the time with "She's In Fashion") would be releasing at the time. Of course, it would have sunk the album even faster as a second single, but in an alternate universe where that doesn't matter it would have been incredible. "

"The whole era has a certain feel to it that I can't put my finger on, but there's something about each and every song that very clearly and immediately attaches it to the project. I have no idea what it is - or even if it's a good or bad thing - but the album puts me in a completely different head space while it's on ... I suppose it's good since I love it so much, but I have to admit it does make me a bit uncomfortable as well. A good discomfort?"

"I saw the connection between "She" and "Killer" (for the first time) last night. I'm not sure how I missed it, but it made me appreciate the band a bit more, that they had been able to sneak that one past me for so long."

""Crackhead", "Leaving" and "Let Go" are Brett's pick for best b-sides from the era, and "Dolly" and "Painted People" are apparently his examples to explain that the b-sides weren't always all amazing prior to formatting. Good man."

""Electricity" is still fucking. thrilling. and remains my favorite thing they ever did."

A write up as disjointed, confused and unsure of itself as the album itself. Perfect.

wallet full of holes

2011-06-29T18:48:00.006-04:00

Somehow, there's a new Fountains of Wayne album on the way.

I must admit, after the embarrassment of 'Traffic and Weather' I was initially not terribly excited. However, they appear to have learned from their mistakes and the material that they're previewing the album with shows our power pop heroes back on track.

That's the fantastic album art over there, and you can pre-order the album direct from the label in the now standard myriad of value-added packages. (I went with the LP/poster/t-shirt bundle, of course. If I'm not mistaken, this makes only the second Fountains album available on vinyl.) All pre-orders come with two preview tracks - opener "The Summer Place" and current "single" "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" - as well as a (for now) exclusive bonus track, a cover of The Moody Blues' "The Story In Your Eyes". Both of the album tracks are great - a callback to the more folky/laid-back moments from 'Utopia Parkway' or 'Welcome Interstate Managers'. Obviously a full-on return to the insanely hooky power pop of the debut would be preferred, but I'll take what I can get. (I must have known I'd stumble across this - I listened to the self-titled album today for the first time in years. It has aged very, very well.)

If you don't want a physical copy - you're apparently out there, even if I don't understand it - you can head over to iTunes for two "singles" - "Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart" and "Richie and Ruben", the latter being the best of the bunch so far. Both comes with exclusive artwork if that's your thing - both of which would look excellent as 7" single sleeves, but I'm not holding my breath.

I am suddenly very excited for the back half of 2011.

[UPDATE: The official site states a 7" for "Richie And Ruben" backed with "The Story In Your Eyes" will be out on July 18th. That was unexpected.]

boys, you're spoiling us

2011-06-26T19:34:00.003-04:00

Two Sound of Arrows singles in one year?

Relax! To compromise for this wealth of material released within a 12-month period, they've decided to re-release pre-Geffen single "M.A.G.I.C." - now just called "Magic" - on August 1st or August 14th, depending on where you look. It'll be a 12"-only deal again and come backed with a now-standard pair of remixes; this time from Tom Staar and Chad Valley, whoever they are. (It's gotta be better than fucking Tiësto, right? Right.)

I will admit I was too afraid to listen to the original "M.A.G.I.C." in the post-"Into The Clouds" excitement, being scared off by the too-twee-for-its-own-good "Danger!". So I can't say how it sounds in its (presumably) new version, but the video looks something like this:

Sadly, it doesn't continue the 'Never Ending Story 2011' theme that "Into The Clouds" and "Nova" had - unless you look at this as the non-book part of said Story, but even that is a bit of a stretch - and the song itself is a bit precious with its children's chorus, but I also wasn't sold on "Into The Clouds" initially. I'm still optimistic for the album.

bears hugs are my radar

2011-06-22T20:25:00.001-04:00

This:

is essentially this:

That's OK, though, because it's still pretty fantastic and a good time. I'm curious to hear more.

pop perfection: 'Coming Up'

2011-06-22T07:46:00.004-04:00

'Coming Up' is perfect. It's where Brett realizes that, at heart, Suede are really just a big dumb pop band and sets out to make their big dumb pop album. It's ten tracks long, which is the perfect length for a pop album, fact. As Mat Osman is quoted as saying in the new liner notes, it is their "album to do your hair to", and that's really about as high a compliment I can think for it.

The album has a certain sound to it, which I will admit took me a bit to come around to. It's produced within an inch of it's life - a bit treble-y, perhaps - and Brett's vocals in particular have so many effects on them that it hardly sounds like him at all. In the grand scheme of things, though, it all works - if you're going for pop perfection, all the flaws have to go. It's a bit like the porn star image version of Suede, if you will, all tarted up and ready to go.

Song-wise, this is the only time that they got the track list exactly right; every song is where it needs to be for maximum impact. There are some amazing songs hidden away on the b-sides, to be sure, but none of them would add to the overall effectiveness of the album if included. Lyrically things get a bit - ahem - lazy, but that also avoids the over-reach that marred the first two albums. This is POP people, we want to hear about filmstars propping up the bar and being the litter on the breeze and shaking our meat to the beat and all that. At the risk of repeating myself - too late - BIG and DUMB and POP are the words of the day and 'Coming Up' delivers in spades...even the "heartfelt" moments compare true love to drug classes and watching car crashes while eating sandwiches.

This is, ultimately, the essence of Suede in 10 easy to digest song-lets. Brett states in the 'Dog Man Star' booklet that if he could only be remembered for one musical document it would be that, but he's a fool - 'Coming Up' is surely the one to be proudest of.

Bonus material time! Seven demos follow the album, and as far as demos go they're an interesting listen. The "Saturday Night" demo is the same as on the original single and I'm fairly certain the "Filmstar" demo is the one from the 7" but I'd have to dig that out to double check, but the others are getting their first release here as far as I can tell. (Actually, "Lazy" and/or "She" may have been released on the flips of some of the cassette singles of the era, but not having them I can't compare. Anyone? Also: CASSETTE singles. Big. dumb. pop.)

Following them are the three left-over b-sides from the 'Dog Man Star' campaign. They're all fantastic - "Asda Town" is a hidden gem as it was left off of 'Sci-Fi Lullabies' and was impossible to track down for a very long time - but they don't belong here. We've gone over that, though... (Side note: "Asda Town" is one of the tracks that was edited down for space constraints and features a very early fade out compared to the original.)

Disc two collects sixteen of the seventeen(!) new studio tracks that were released on the CDs for the five singles from the album - Neil's solo track "Digging A Hole" is missing, but you're not really missing much there. Most of these you probably already have on 'Sci-Fi Lullabies' so you know that many of them are as good as what made the album. (They just don't fit on the album, right? Right.) "Europe Is Our Playground" is the original b-side version not the re-recording from the compilation - I've never really been able to tell the difference but I've also never compared them side by side - and both "W.S.D." and "Feel" get edits for space. "W.S.D." is a real shame as it's a decidedly non-Suede song, a really great groove-based track - that gets a bit lost with the last two minutes of instrumental freak-out getting chopped off, not to mention you miss out on Brett literally going barking mad - while "Feel" is still too long at almost half of its original length.

My vote for best b-side - and, possibly, best overall track - of the era? "Money", no question. Yesterday I commented to a friend how it sounds like 'Too Fast For Love' if the Sunset Strip was located in London, and even though I'm not entirely sure I can tell you what I mean by that, it's meant as a compliment. (UK hair metal maybe? I don't know.) Anyways, that it wasn't chosen as one of the encore b-sides on the recent album gigs is a crime as it would go down a total storm live. (Have they ever done it?)

We only get one extra track this time, a rehearsal room recording of an unreleased song called "Motown". It's a total racket and not much of a song - not that that really stopped them at this point, "Young Men" or "These Are The Sad Songs" anyone? - but it's refreshing to listen to as an un-produced demo after the complete overproduction of the album and b-sides, and it's a nice reminder that this was a band that was re-discovering the joy of playing together again. Like the disc one demos, probably not something you'll listen to repeatedly but it's nice to have.

The DVD gives us the five promo videos and they're all perfect for the album if a bit boring to actually sit down and watch. The best bit is watching Neil in the "Beautiful Ones" video stare at the camera with an "I don't give a fuck" look while holding down one key for an extended period of time. Perfection. There are also extra videos for "Europe Is Our Playground" and "Shipbuilding" - neither are terribly exciting - plus the now standard bonus concerts: the professionally shot gig that the live tracks from the "Filmstar" single came from featuring Neil Tennant, and yet another bootleg quality show, this time from the 'Dog Man Star' tour featuring the live debut of Richard Oakes. Again, it doesn't belong here and the quality on this one is the worst of the shows so far, so that's a bit of a miss even if it does have historical significance.

'Coming Up' is the only perfect Suede album and even though much of the material on this set was already available, this has been my favorite of the remasters so far.

wired for light

2011-06-20T16:23:00.005-04:00

The Whip have finally come forward with information on their long-in-the-works second LP - which, if you were keeping track, we should have already. Anyways, 'Wired Together' - fantastic name - will be with us on September 19th. Over there, you can see the fabulous artwork - part peacock, part tribal mask, part wave form, right?

As part of the deal, you can pre-order the album on CD or digital from the band and get immediate access to five tracks, which are also available for streaming from Southern Fried's Soundcloud. If we've learned anything over the years, it's a bit dangerous to commit to a format before you know all your available options and there is plenty of time between now and September 19th for all kinds of crazy special editions to be announced. While I certainly want to support the band, I refuse to buy this album a million times like I did the first - and, more recently, the Mirrors album - so we're going to hold off on that pre-order option until we have more information.

Have a listen, will you?

The Whip: Wired Together (Sampler) by Southern Fried Records

Hm. First, it's kind of weird that rumored first single "Keep Or Delete" isn't included, but whatever. Also, I'm a bit disappointed that I don't love it more. Granted, my expectations are a bit impossibly high - and the delay hasn't really helped things any - but I did expect a bit of love-at-first-listen rather than the cautiously-optimistic-like that I'm feeling. As Joe puts it: "They feel so polished.", and I couldn't agree more. Especially considering the Jagz Kooner production and the gritty-as-hell demo version of "Secret Weapon" we got last Fall, everything sounds a bit slick. However, there's plenty to enjoy and we shall wait to reserve judgment until we have more time with it...and the rest of the album, obviously.

Happy Monday.

oveerreach: 'Dog Man Star'

2011-06-15T10:44:00.004-04:00

After years of not being able to articulate what exactly it is that bothers me about 'Dog Man Star', it hit me this morning: it takes too long to say what it has to say and, in the process, dilutes its effectiveness.

"But that's the point!", you cry. "It's not the relatively simple pop album the debut was, it's supposed to be big and epic and long and full and all those generally-accepted signs of a 'masterpiece'." Fair enough - but the band, while very talented and full of potentially good ideas, aren't able to pull it off.

The problems start right at the beginning. At its core, "Introducing The Band" is a complete non-song, and dressing it up as a Middle Eastern-inspired tone poem does it no favors, especially since the band clearly as little-to-no experience with or adeptness at said style. Instead of making the listener perk up from the get-go and say: "here is the start of something different and great", it causes me to perk up and say: "good lord, this is ridiculous in all the wrong ways." Remember, Suede are at their best when they're ridiculous - it's what makes their best songs so great, right? - but there's a good and a bad ridiculous and this nonsense is firmly in the bad camp.

It starts the proceedings off on the totally wrong foot and it takes the album a bit to recover. I used to think I did not like "We Are The Pigs" - empty chest-puffing and fake hardness! - but it's actually that I don't like "We Are The Pigs" in context. It's like a sponge, I guess, absorbing everything around it. On it's own, it's actually a pretty snappy little single - a bit of a rougher "So Young", if you will. So, score one for the re-examination.

Finally, things get truly started with the one/two/three punch of "Heroine", "The Wild Ones and "Daddy's Speeding". The latter is the only moment on the entire album where I feel the band steps outside of their comfort zone and is able to pull it off. It sounds like the aftermath of a car crash, daring you to keep listening even though you know something awful has happened. I have no idea how they pulled it off when they screwed everything else up so badly, but well played.

"The Power" is a nice palette-cleanser but is a bit fluffy and very out of place on the album. Seeing that it's the only one that wasn't totally completed with Bernard, I have no problem nixing it. It would have made a lovely non-album single, bridging the gap a bit between Suedes MK1 and MK2, but it wasn't to be.

"New Generation" and "This Hollywood Life" are fantastic stormers that I've always liked, so yay. Then they fuck it all up again with the brick wall of the album, the point I was almost never able to make it past before. First you've got "The 2 Of Us", which could be beautiful except it goes on for way. too. long. Bernard may be a whiz with the guitar but he's - at best - a passable keyboardist so we don't need him banging out basic chords while Brett repeats the same three lines over and over for five minutes. There's a nice break in the song about 2/3 of the way through that would have made a fine stopping point, but again they pushed it too far and ruined it. Way to go. If you can make it through that, you've got "Black Or Blue" to contend with, which is just awful. Again, Brett is a fine vocalist but it's not like he has the greatest voice in the world, so we don't need him pretending he's auditioning for the lead it some opera, singing in a clearly uncomfortable falsetto and trying to hit every note ever discovered all at once. Ugh.

Finally, you're rewarded with something listenable. "The Asphalt World" was hidden from me for years because I could never make it to it. My listening method with these reissues so far has been to tackle the bonus disc first, to give me a little insight behind the albums before I approach them again, and this one on its own was a revelation. While I think "The Wild Ones" is my favorite on the album, I can actually agree with people for once and say that this is the cornerstone.

Of course, they then botch the ending with "Still Life", itself a fantastic song once you strip away the zillion piece orchestra auditioning to score the next blockbuster. On the bonus disc there's an instrumental/orchestral version that works fine as a piece of incidental music - or, perhaps, soundtracking man's exploration into space or something - but as the overblown finale at a patchy attempt at greatness it's just another miss.

Clearly I still don't find this album to be the masterpiece everyone says it is. I don't understand how you can look past all of its glaring faults and find greatness. The band had it in them - there are flashes here just as there were flashes in the first album material - but their reach far exceeds their grasp and they fall flat on their face just as much as they succeed, if not more often.

As far as bonus material, the set delivers a lot but not nearly as much of interest as the first set. (I imagine my view of the album clouds my judgment on that, but there you have it.) There are 5 demos on the main disc, all of which are worth a listen but I doubt you'll find yourself returning to. (Fun fact: some of the original lyrics to "Introducing The Band" were recycled for "WSD".) Disc two - which is actually full this time, so that's nice - collects "Stay Together" and its b-sides as well as five additional b-sides from the album's singles. A few gripes - "Stay Together" is advertised as being the "long version" but is inexplicably has the last minute totally chopped off. (The true full length version would have fit.) Also, did "Eno's Introducing The Band" really need to be included? Yes, it's part of the story and a track that was released, but surely it falls under the "not a full band recording" line that was used to explain the omissions of "Digging A Hole" and "Weight Of The World" on the 'Coming Up' and 'Head Music' sets. That's 16 minutes of bonus disc that could have been put to better use. Finally, the moving of "Asda Town" and the two "New Generation" b-sides to the 'Coming Up' disc to preserve the original band line-up on the set is just nonsense - it's totally rewriting history and does not give the full overview of the album these sets are attempting to give. It was explained as an imperfect solution but that's a total cop-out - they belong here, not with 'Coming Up'.

Following those we've got six additional bonus tracks, ranging from slight - the barely one-minute long French version of "The Power" and the aforementioned orchestral version of "Still Life" - to genuinely interesting - a true outtake in "We Believe In Showbiz" - to the two pieces that have hardcores salivating: original unedited versions of "The Wild Ones" and "The Asphalt World". (Except Brett has said that "The Asphalt World" was edited down from 18 minutes of rehearsal tapes, so the naming is a bit deceptive.)

On the DVD, we've got the much maligned "Stay Together" video (I don't get the big deal, it's clearly better than some of the first album videos), the 'Dog Man Star' tour films (they claimed they were previously unreleased on DVD but weren't they an extra on the 'Introducing The Band' DVD?), plus a pair of fan-shot bootleg videos. The first comes from a show at the end of the first-album tour and features early versions of "This Hollywood Life", "We Are The Pigs", "New Generation" and set-closer "Stay Together". Like the video on the first set, there are cuts between songs and the audio is not great, and in this one you can tell that songs are clearly cut as you get the last 10 seconds or so of "She's Not Dead" before they begin "So Young". Perhaps the footage was unusable? A little clarification would have been nice. The other set is a four-song acoustic in store from earlier the same day - the highlight of which is Brett getting visibly pissed off and screaming at the crowd to "FUCK OFF!" to constant requests for "I Want Your Sex". Fantastic.

It's often wondered what could have been if the band had been able to hold it together and the Anderson/Butler partnership had expanded past these two albums, but I've never once cared: if they had, it's very doubtful we would have ever gotten their true masterpiece, which is coming up next. (HA!)

better late than never, I suppose

2011-06-14T13:55:00.002-04:00

If 'Coming Up' was available right now, I have a gift card that would have its name on it to get me through the wait.

Also, weak not giving us the bonus demo of "New Generation" that UK iTunes got, but what else is new with the US getting digitally screwed?

Where are 'Head Music' and 'A New Morning'?

I think I get it: 'Suede'

2011-06-08T10:14:00.003-04:00

One of the features on the DVD portion of the 'Suede' Deluxe Edition is a live performance from the week after "Animal Nitrate" was released as a single and, therefore, about a month before the album itself was unveiled. The recording itself is a bit of a disaster - captured from presumably the back of the club by a hand-held video camera, it continually zooms in and out on the stage. Sometimes it focuses in on one individual band member - usually Brett, prancing around the stage initially in a lacy white woman's blouse until the audience rips all but a sleeve off, which he finally removes himself and throws to the screaming throng, itself unintentionally hilarious and worth the price of admission alone - and sometimes capturing the heads of the crowd frantically bobbing up and down excitedly to the band giving it their all. Despite not being what you'd expect from a professionally produced product - the audio is quite muffled and clearly not even remotely touched up in the studio, there are sharp cuts between songs presumably to save battery and/or tape space, the video itself ends halfway through "To The Birds" leaving the band in a permanently unfinished performance - for me it is the best part of the package. Watching the video, the excitement of the band at the time finally sunk it, I finally understood why they mattered. Even watching on a television screen while sitting on a couch 18 years after the fact, the energy of the band was captivating and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Even more important than that, the promise of the band was there - they had, at the time, released three incredible singles backed with six impossibly strong b-sides, and almost all of the "new" material played during the set suggested they were going to carry it through to the full length.

Except, of course, they didn't. Another feature on the DVD is a modern interview with Brett and Bernard about the album and its creation, and one thing they mention is the important of the singles and particularly b-sides at the time and how that tied their hands a bit when it came to assembling the album. While it certainly wouldn't have been unheard of to re-use one or two of the b-sides from the first two singles on the album, they wanted the singles to stand on their own and were now faced with writing songs as good as "My Insatiable One", "To The Birds" (both called out as songs Brett wishes he could have put on the album) and "He's Dead". Everyone involved seems to think they were able to, but the continual mention of "I wish such-and-such had been put on in place of this or that instead of relegated to b-side status" suggests that they weren't quite as successful as they'd like to think.

Here's the thing, though: I now also understand that the imperfection of the album is part of what people love about it. You're not supposed to get everything right the first time out - even a band wish the promise, talent and vision they clearly had at the time are bound to fuck something up.

This package gives you the whole picture. The admission that they had painted themselves into a corner and this was how they chose to get out opened my eyes a bit to the album, and I can see it how they and others have seen it for years. It's a bit like Smashing Pumpkins' 'Gish' in a way - far from perfect with obviously lower quality material being put on in place of stronger, previously released material, but an incredibly honest picture of a young and talented band. It's never going to be my favorite Suede album and I still don't understand the strong emotional connection people seem to have with it - it's a series of over-the-top glammed-up pop songs about sex and drugs when you boil it down - but I can appreciate it in a whole new way after spending more time with the era.

Bring on 'Dog Man Star'.

dance to the beat of my drum

2011-06-04T08:12:00.005-04:00

Girl pop and I have been on the outs for a few years - after the not-so-good last (final?) Girls Aloud record, the embarrassment of the Sugababes' 'Sweet 7' and the Saturdays not being able to follow up fab debut 'Chasing Lights' with anything resembling even the lows of that record, I checked out.

Well, check back in because we have a winner. Nicola of Girls Aloud has finally premiered her debut solo single, the Diplo-produced "Beat Of My Drum". I never thought much of her in the group - though, truthfully, I also never got involved enough to be able to tell them apart - but the pre-release buzz on this has been perfect. Here we go:

If I'm going to be honest, when people go on about "M.I.A. is SO this" or "Robyn is SO that", this is what I expected to hear each and every time but never did. It's also where I had hoped Girls Aloud would have gone after 'Sound of the Underground' instead of the cartoonish-mega-pop they eventually became the masters of. (Not that this isn't cartoonish in its own way, I suppose.) Visually, the clip has the one thing that every "good" Girls Aloud video has - terrible choreography awkwardly danced by girls who look like they are using their brand new legs for the first time - so two thumbs up for that. All around, a fantastic first time out for Ms. Roberts.

Beyond this, there's a Dragonette co-write on the album which we're obviously all about, so yay.

(Of course, the new Saturdays single sounds like a Fergie outtake, so girl pop isn't entirely in the clear.)

and just like that, there's a new Kaiser Chiefs album

2011-06-03T04:22:00.002-04:00

The other day, seemingly out of nowhere - though apparently they had been talking about it for weeks and I just wasn't paying attention - a new Kaiser Chiefs single was out there. Entitled "Little Shocks", it is the perfect single to come back with after a few years rest - it sounds exactly like the Kaiser Chiefs while still bringing something new to the table, in this case a throbbing atonal keyboard-led beat. (No, really, it works.) The video, as music friend Dean pointed out, is Suede's "Electricity" part 2, which is certainly not a bad thing. So, all around, a win.

This morning, also out of nowhere, there's a new Kaiser Chiefs album. Entitled "The Future Is Medieval", it's not just any album. Instead of the "name your own price" model others have tried in the past few years, this is "name your own album": you can preview the twenty songs the boys have put together for the project, pick your ten favorite and plug them into the album in any order you want - literally plug them in, the Flash animation is quite cute - design the album cover from a given palette, pay £7.50 through a Paypal account and bam, there's your version of the fourth Kaiser Chiefs album. Not only that, but if someone doesn't want to go through all that hassle and chooses to simply purchase the edition of the album you put together - also for £7.50 - you get £1 of that deposited into your Paypal account.

My initial reaction is: "neat!", and also: "what if you suffer from complete-ism and need all 20 tracks? That's at best 2 copies of the album you have to put together and there goes £15." I do think it's a neat concept and the band says on the FAQ that they were interested in seeing what the fans did with the material, strongly suggesting that there will be a "proper" version of the album forthcoming.

I'm curious to see how this develops. I wish I didn't have to work all day so I could play Kaiser Chiefs album creator.

love the way you love

2011-05-31T15:33:00.006-04:00

A question has been on my mind lately: why am I so excited for these Suede reissues? Since we don't have any of them to listen to yet, shall we examine this?

I have a complicated history with Suede. Initially I was not a fan. At all. Somewhere around 1993/1994, I was casually introduced to them by hearing "Animal Nitrate" and "The Wild Ones" on the radio - obviously the latter in 1994 as it hadn't been released in 1993, but I imagine I must have heard "Animal Nitrate" before then when I moved and was introduced to the wonderful world of alternative radio - and I was not impressed. I totally get it - they were all high drama and sweeping epics and theatrics and I, in my American guitar band interests, wanted none of it.

(Side note: you'd never know it now, but I was not a fan of the whole British guitar band/BritPop scene until long after the ship has sailed. Through friends and a better-than-average local radio station I was aware of it, but most of it passed by my radar with little interest. Those that I did latch on to - Radiohead with "Creep" and Catherine Wheel with "Crank" and, later, "Waydown" come to mind - were basically trying to be American bands anyways, so there you have it. It wasn't until the late 90's when everything had collapsed in on itself and bands were doing all they could to NOT sound like their previous selves that I went backwards into their discographies after becoming a fan of the album that lost them all their fans. Or something like that. Anyways, I didn't want some tart prancing around wailing about gay sex on poppers or whatever in 1993.)

Anyways.

I don't think I ever heard a note of 'Coming Up' while it was current. Probably for the best at the time, for what it's worth.

Then, somehow, I heard "Electricity" and, for whatever reason, it clicked. Hard. To this day, I still get a thrill when the song starts - on a recent trip to a Long Beach, California lesbian bar (I suppose the trip wasn't specifically to go to this bar but in our travels we ended up there), I got more excited than probably necessary when I was able to put $1 in the jukebox and blast "Electricity" louder than I had ever heard it before. It was a-mazing.

Again, sidetracked. I guess I heard it because I had recently become reacquainted with a primary school friend who had grown into a massive Suede fan and she made me listen to it. Anyways, the - ahem - power of the song overtook me and I fell in love with it. 'Head Music' followed and while it was - and is still - a bit of a mess, I liked it well enough and it was time to investigate the back catalog.

(Another side note: I first started talking to my friend Jason in Toronto on a mailing list as we discussed the merits - or lack thereof - of 'Head Music'. I was invited to his wedding last year. So say what you will about the album, it brings people together in its own way.)

Right, so the back catalog. As I went through it - the albums and plethora of singles, of course, if you're going to do it do it right - I was quickly able to see why I wouldn't have been into it the first time around and also how it would appeal to me then. However, I was still missing something - it didn't feel important enough, I suppose. All these people were telling me how 'Suede' changed their lives or how 'Dog Man Star' was the most amazing epic piece of music evar, but I just didn't get it. Sure, there were some brilliant songs scattered throughout the three previous albums and its singles, but I didn't feel the love. I chalked it up to "not being there at the time", but that doesn't sit well with me today - you can still find stories of a teenager today hearing 'Dog Man Star' for the first time plenty of years after its initial release and being blown away. I put it on and hear, mostly, a band trying too hard, but we'll get to that.

Anyways, so why are we here? This is why, I think: when Suede are at their best, they are pretty much the best. For me, their best is when they embrace what they truly are - a big, dumb pop band writing songs about gay sex on poppers (yes, I know) and rhyming "car" with "star" and "house" with "mouse" and "leotard" with "retard" (my personal favorite) and wanting to be lazy and all that. When they try to be more - THE. MOST. IMPORTANT. BAND. EVER! or, later, the most boring band ever - it sounds so forced to me and I can't take it seriously. I have good friends who can go on for hours about the majesty of the final four-song sequence of 'Dog Man Star' - oh, and we have, possibly with a little help from our friend vodka - but when it's on I can't help but hear how ridiculous and pompously overblown the whole thing is and I can't even deal.

So, here's the summary: as far as I'm concerned, Suede made one perfect album, a solid-if-too-long-for-its-own-good attempt at a rebirth album, a decent album that could have been a killer album with a different sequencing, an overblown mess that I have little to no time for (though it still has a few stunning moments), and one of the most boring albums ever. Perhaps, as has been shown can happen, the reevaluation these reissues will bring will further develop my opinion - I'm really curious if there's anything in 'A New Morning' to save it and will approach with as open a mind I can.

I will say that I have gained a new respect for Brett Anderson through all of this - he has emerged as Suede's biggest fan and, more importantly, is not looking at everything through rose-colored glasses. There was the risk of getting to the messier end of the discography and being force-fed the "well, this is what we were trying to do and obviously people just didn't get it" crap, but instead we got "we probably shouldn't have made this record but I can see why we did at the time". Well played, sir. The business end of things is forcing you to cater to overwhelming fan want at times - dedicating concerts to only the first three albums, for example - and compromise had to be struck to get the 'Dog Man Star' set together - "Asda Town" and the two "New Generation" b-sides being relegated to the 'Coming Up' set where they do. not. belong. at. all. I. don't. care. what. you. say. - but, as a whole, this reissue series and Suede rebirth has been pretty respectful.

For, you know, a band that I kind of don't care about. That's the power of Suede, I suppose - you love them even when you hate them.

and we're off!

2011-05-28T15:14:00.006-04:00

Dear Customer,

Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,

We are writing to let you know that the following item has been sent to:

James C Freeman

using Royal Mail.

For more information about delivery estimates and any open orders, please visit:
xxx

Your order #xxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx (received March 09, 2011)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Qty Item Price Delivery Subtotal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.co.uk items (Sold by Amazon EU S.a.r.L.):

1 Suede: +DVD £8.28 1 £8.28

Dispatched via Royal Mail (estimated arrival date: June 21, 2011).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Item Subtotal: £8.28
Delivery and handling: £3.08
Pre-order Guarantee: £0.00

Total: £11.36

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

First of all, that works out to about $18.75 a set - they could have easily charged double that and we still would have lined up.

Second of all, I'm already watching the mailbox.

Third of all, I realize the font in the logo isn't the proper Suede font for the first four albums but I couldn't find it. So I cheated and went with the "Attitude" and 'Singles' font - which, in a way, conceptually brings together Suede old and new. Or something like that.

funny how time flies

2011-05-26T06:13:00.008-04:00

These albums are all ten years old this summer:

I remember my first listen to all of them like it was yesterday. Where does the time go?

This also turns ten this year:

For me, it was one of the last times a mainstream US pop album was in on the joke: the right mix of globe crushing success, killer pop songs and a wink to let you know that they knew what was going on. (Christina Aguilera's 'Stripped' the following year upped the ante even further, but since then?) They've been chasing it ever since with little to no success.

Happy birthday.

2011, I hate you and you're bringing me down

2011-05-25T13:47:00.006-04:00

So, here we are: a few days left of the fifth month of 2011. Generally one would do a half-year round up after the year was half-over, but there's something special planned for June and nothing on the release calendar we haven't already heard so we might as well get this over.

The new music brought to us so far this year has been - to be polite - less than spectacular. With one notable exception - I bet you can guess what it is - every album I've bought this year has at best left me with a feeling of "is that all?", at worst the realization that it's time to check out of a long-followed career.

So where to begin?

Fuck you, Polly Jean Harvey. As discussed with a friend, we already have one Joanna Newsom and she's fucking awful, we didn't need another. That's over simplifying, obviously, but what the hell? I was willing to give you one album of dressing in a Victorian-style wedding dress singing like a child while playing an instrument you hardly knew what to do with, a second album of similar nonsense is just testing patience now. (That's what those unlistenable John Parish collaboration albums are for, right?) That 'Let England Shake' is earning the best reviews of a career full of (admittedly at times) blind admiration is just more infuriating, and I can't even talk about the crushing disappointment of the live show yet. (How, I ask, does one make "The Sky Lit Up" so. fucking. dull?) We're officially broken up.

Elbow, you're also on my shit list, but we've talked about that before. Don't play it so safe next time and everything will be alright. (Unless, of course, it's not.) We're not over - not by a long shot, I hope - but we've certainly had our first big fight.

The Kills - THE KILLS! - what happened? Thanks for nothing, Jack White. 'Midnight Boom' was obviously was going to be a tough act to follow, but applying what you learned from your time in the Dead Weather was not the right way to go, Allison. A couple of great moments shine through: "Future Starts Slow" starts things off on a promising note and the one/two punch of "Heart Is A Beating Drum" and "Nail In My Coffin" pick things back up after the snorefest of "Satellite" - wrong lead single alert! - but after that it's a slow slide into mediocrity. Shame. (Apparently the live show is still shit hot so I'll have to see about that.)

The Gruff Rhys record has grown on me for what it is - a mid-tempo rehash of ideas explored throughout the SFA records - and it is still perfectly listenable in its own right. More a gentle reminder from Gruff that "yes, I can still do this" after the disaster of 'Dark Days/Light Years' than a classic in its own right, I'll take it for now. (That said, I really wish the - er - phantom of 'Phantom Power' would stop hanging over every single SFA/Gruff Rhys release.)

Hunx, Hunx...the novelty was cute at first but the schtick is starting to wear. (Remember what happened to Gravy Train!!!!? Change it up a bit before it happens again.) To be fair, I've only given 'Too Young To Be In Love' a curiosity once-over but I also haven't felt terribly compelled to return to it.

R.E.M. - really? Really. Oh well.

Dear Sound of Arrows: don't fall apart yet. You'd better have more tricks up your sleeve than a fucking Tiesto remix after making us wait this long.

Which leaves us with:

Duran Duran! Yes, we've talked about this before and, yes, 'All You Need Is Now' is technically a 2010 album, but it's still a blast. So thank you for that, but enough with the £350 special editions and making us go to a zillion different retailers to buy the album multiple times to get everything. (I give the early iTunes release a pass because they were upfront about it and, frankly, it's the best version of the album as far as a listening experience goes. However, you shouldn't need a chart to keep track of what physical format has what.) Also, "Leave A Light On" is a poor, poor choice for the third single.

Boxer Rebellion! A slight step back from the masterpiece of 'Union' but still a solid effort. You're another one that needs to watch your formatting, though - hopefully you learned something from the iTunes fuck up.

There's a 3-track Kenna EP that kind of came out of nowhere and it was a welcome surprise. I'll reserve judgment until I hear more but it's looking good.

And, the winner so far...

Duh. As far as I'm concerned, this is the only album that has landed this year without a whiff of disappointment, a fully-formed debut that delivers on the promise of early material and then some. Thank you also for the lovely 7" singles with complimentary artwork with album-quality b-sides and for generally getting it right.

That said, you also really need to quit it with the formats - it seems every month since its February release there has been another version of the album with some new bonus track and/or disc - and, more importantly, STOP SHOVING THAT FUCKING LAURA CANTRELL VERSION OF "LOOK AT ME" DOWN OUR THROATS! It was terrible the first time we bought it, you can understand why we'd be bitter the third time. In fact, once you've put a track or mix out on something, please try your best to not make us buy it four more times. (How many copies of the Belbury Poly Remix of "Lights and Offerings" does one really need?) I still love you but it's starting to get a bit annoying. Please and thank you.

Also, US tour?

Advance alert: the Battles record is a grower but ultimately pretty great.

poor 'Reproduction'

2011-05-18T18:14:00.004-04:00

Let's talk for a minute about the current remastering craze. We've talked in the past about good remasters - last year's sprucing up of a-ha's 'Hunting High And Low' by Rhino - and inexcusably bad remasters - EMI's massacring of the Duran Duran catalog, also over the course of 2010. Today, though, I'd like to address a remastering of a different kind - one that is done well and a sonic improvement over any previous version, but one that is still a bit of a detriment to the overall album.

From the image, you can obviously tell that a discussion of The Human League's debut 'Reproduction' is forthcoming. So here we go:

A few years ago - I don't remember exactly when - the Virgin-held Human League catalog was given a digital once-over with a series of very nice CDs. ('Hysteria' might not have been part of it, I'm not sure.) Anyways, the remasters are one of those increasingly rare cases of a "job well done" - levels were boosted to modern times without sending everything pounding into the red, each album had a nice selection of period-bonus tracks - many previously unavailable on CD - and they all look nice on the shelf together. However, I argue - particularly in the case of 'Reproduction' - the remaster harms the total effect of the record. It's too cleaned up.

I much prefer a vinyl pressing of the album, especially the kind of poor US edition. When listening to the LP, there's a faint buzz of background noise through the whole thing, kind of like you're listening to it on an AM radio station...and it works. The album itself is dark and moody on old, out of date equipment and has a bit of a science-fiction feel running through the lyrics. Or, at times, they're totally deconstructing the idea of a pop song at the time by stretching out "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" to a 9+ minute slow-as-molasses dirge - which, by the way, is one of the greatest cover versions of all time - and it all benefits from a nice hum. Especially with all of the muffled discussion samples doing on between tracks, it just works. Similar to Kraftwerk's 'Radioactivity', the more layers you have to peel away with your ears before you get to the music, the better. (Side note: 'News' is one of the most terrifying pieces of music ever. I still can't listen to it in the dark without getting the feeling I'm being watched.)

Does that make sense? It did to me when I sat down but I'm not sure I got the point across. I'm certainly not suggesting you run out right away and get the remaster if you don't already have it, because you absolutely should. It's not necessarily better or worse, just a different way to hear the album.

That said, you haven't really experienced the album until you've put the needle on the record, so to speak.

a pain that I'm used to

2011-05-17T15:29:00.005-04:00

Where to begin?

The whole project reeks of: "we need something to put out with minimal work".

The single alone is an exercise in pointlessness. Not only was exactly no one shouting out for yet more remixes of 'Personal Jesus', the best you can do is Eric fucking Prydz? (I had hope for the Alex Metric remix - because he's pretty fantastic - but even he sounds like he phoned it in.)

Don't even get me started on the remix album itself and it's insane number and configurations of digital only bonus tracks. Wasn't the internet supposed to make record collecting easier?

If this is all you've got left in you, it's time to pack it in, boys.

beat deluxe

2011-05-02T16:19:00.004-04:00

And just like that, 'Beauty and the Beat' is 30 years old. To celebrate, we are getting a 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on May 17th, featuring the original album - remastered for the first time since its 1986 debut! we're told - on disc one and a 17-song live set recorded in Boston in 1981 on disc two. While I'm no great Go-Go's historian, I imagine there has to be some kind of previously unreleased material or period rarities lying around to boost that first disc a bit. But whatever - it looks like a lovely set and I'm more than happy to have it.

Even better - we're also getting a pink vinyl reissue. Yes, pink. Lovely.

If "We Got The Beat" doesn't make you smile, check your pulse because you're probably dead:

(Like I needed to include a video of that one. Side note: why does pretty much every cover version of that song totally suck?)

My pick for best track, though, is non-single "How Much More":

See? There's more stuff they could add. Oh well.

For whatever reason, nothing any of these five ladies did after this album - together or on their own - even came close. Except, of course, Jane Wiedlin's appearance in the greatest movie of all time:

false alarm

2011-04-27T16:27:00.003-04:00

"You chose complete shipping for the delivery of your order by Standard Mail, this now completes your order.

Shipped Items:

1 x 2751065
The Sound Of Arrows - Nova
5.99 GBP per unit

Items Total:	5.99 GBP
Postage and packing:	4.25 GBP
Total:	8.70 GBP"

Whew.

(And, really, I just wanted an excuse to use that image again. Gorgeous.)

the sound of delays

2011-04-24T21:11:00.007-04:00

"Dear James,

Update on your order number: xxxxxxx

Unfortunately there has been a delay in obtaining one or more of the items you have ordered and this is holding up your order.

The item(s) we have not yet been able to obtain are shown below:

The Sound Of Arrows, Nova, 5.99, 1

If you would like us to send you the items that we have in stock,
please send us an email with 'release available items' and your
order number in the subject line and we will cancel the items
that are holding up your order.

Unfortunately, we are not able to split orders and send the available
items now and the rest later. If you still wish to receive the items we
have not been able to obtain, please place a new order for these.

If you would prefer to wait and recieve all of the items you have
ordered together, you do not need to reply to this email. Please
check again in 14 days

Thank you "

Pull it together, boys. I had faith in this actually happening.

we're in the same band

2011-04-03T18:35:00.006-04:00

Music-friend Dean alerted us to this recently: Ultrasound have reformed. And not just reformed - fully reformed, all original at-one-point-not-speaking-to-each-other band members and all.

You remember Ultrasound, right? Gave us one overblown, totally beautiful album and then splintered into oblivion? Gave us some of the most OTT pop singles of the late '90's, such as this:

And this:

And their best, for my money, THIS:

Yes, we'll they're back and working on album number 2 - as perfect as it was that they only ever gave us one album, it's even more perfect that we're threatened with a second one 12 years later.

This isn't really new news as apparently they played a bunch of shows last September/October in the UK, but it's just getting to our ears now. Even though we never dared hope for it, somehow our wildest dream has come true.

Welcome back.

(With Suede on the reunion cycle and now Ultrasound, is it too much to hope for a Geneva reunion? Please please please?)

it's all too much

2011-03-24T19:33:00.003-04:00

As (long) promised, this week brought us the physical release (and digital re-release) of last December's shockingly amazing 'All You Need Is Now' from Duran Duran - also known as the band who refused to die. ("Planet Earth" came out 30 years ago - THIRTY YEARS - and they're still here. Whod'a thought?)

The good: it's still incredible and "Girl Panic!" will go down as one of the greatest songs of the decade, mark my words.

That out of the way, they've totally made a mess of the entire thing. First off, as feared, they've made the album too long by mixing in five new songs with the original nine. (9 tracks is the perfect length for a Duran Duran album as the first three LPs - and 'Notorious'-minus-"Winter Marches On" - will attest to.) That's not to say the new songs aren't quality. We've had "Medeterranea" as part of an EU-only iTunes EP since the album came out and it's still great in it's second-side-of-the-first-LP kind of way. Even better is the fantastically titled "Too Bad You're So Beautiful", which is essentially "Girl Panic!"'s twin sister - one wonders if I would be raving about it as much as "Girl Panic!" if it had appeared in the original track list. My guess is yes. There's also "Other People's Lives" which is yet another track that would have sounded very comfortable on 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger', so a win. The last two are orchestral interludes based on the title track arranged by Owen Pallett, which are fine but a bit pointless - this is a Duran Duran BIG pop album not some epic concept album that needs pallet-cleansers (see what I did there?), so they do drag things down a bit.

The big culprit, though, is the formatting. What a fucking disaster. For years, fans have been "rewarded" with different bonus tracks being available through different distributors or distribution methods but this has to be the worst case of fucking the fans over by far. Depending on where you buy the album in the UK, you get either the 14-track expanded album, one bonus track and a bonus remix, a different bonus track, yet a different bonus track, or the first two bonus tracks plus a bonus disc with two additional remixes. In the US we're slightly luckier with only four options: the straight-up 14 track album, a 15-tracker with one of the UK bonus tracks, a 16-track CD with the same bonus track and one of the remixes from the UK bonus disc (but NOT the one from the bonus track/remix pairing in the UK - got that?), or a 17-track disc with all three studio bonus tracks but no remixes only available at Best Buy. (This is, as far as I can tell, the only way to get two of those tracks on CD as they're digital only in the UK.) The other two remixes are MIA as of now in the US, as is the mentioned-by-name-by-Nick-Rhodes-in-an-interview fourth bonus track entitled "This Lost Weekend" which is on none of the myriad of options presented above for either country. (Fitting, I suppose.) There's a DVD with some of those different configurations up there with your typical EPK type crap plus a band commentary on the main 12 tracks of the album, but that gets kind of lost in the bonus track mania.

*deep breath*

Not done yet. Best Buy has the best option, so off I go to do some shopping. Well, someone somewhere fucked something up and there are multiple SKUs for the album in their system - as best I can tell, for the 14-track version, the 15-track version and the exclusive 17-track version. The 17-tracker + DVD is being advertised in their ad for $11.99, which isn't terrible in this day and age, and when I show up in the store at 10:05 on Tuesday morning there's only one version on the shelf - 17 tracks but no mention of the DVD, though the packaging looks like it could be holding one. I don't care too much about the DVD - right? - so I'll take my chances. When I get to the cash register it rings up at $13.99. I feel a bit silly arguing over $2, but at this point I have already bought the album once back in December and am feeling a bit put out by this bonus track nonsense so I bring it to the cashier's attention. We have to go back to the shelf to look at the shelf-tag and the SKUs don't match - ugh. I point out this is clearly the version being advertised in the circular - hoping she won't notice that the DVD isn't explicitly mentioned on the packaging, which she doesn't - but she has to call her supervisor over to ask. Fine, I work in retail I get it - but then she gives me the run around for a good five minutes about how it's a different version (it's not), that it's not the one being advertised in the ad (which is the same argument, and it is) and we putz around on the computer for a while trying to figure it out. She eventually begrudgingly gives it to me for $11.99 - along with a side dish of attitude - and pulls every other copy off the shelf to "try and figure out what's going on". I've read and heard similar stories so way to stay on top of things, Best Buy. (Granted, I'm sure the new Duran Duran album is not their top priority, but if you're going to be the exclusive retailer of something you really should get your shit together.) There also is apparently a pressing issue with some batches of the Best Buy version where the last half of the album is riddled with digital noise but I thankfully didn't experience that. There's commentary on the decline of the music industry somewhere in there but I can't even be bothered at this point.

So now we get the three bonus tracks and how are they? Bonus track-y. "Too Close To The Sun" is pure 'Astronaut' - fine by me, I still maintain it is a fine album - sounding a bit like one of the dubbier mixes of "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise". That said, it is a bit out of place with the rest of the album. "Early Summer Nerves" sounds to me like what I wanted 'Red Carpet Massacre' to be - a modern update of 'Notorious' - so I love it, even if it is a bit short and also out of place. "Networker Nation" - the bonus track that appears on the most versions of the album if you're trying to keep score at home - is the one true mis-fire, with it's mention of "Facebook friends" and terrible modern club beat. Ugh. If I recall, none of the three were part of the sessions with Mark Ronson that produced the main album, being completed with different producers after the fact and it really shows. (It also doesn't bode well for the future, but we'll worry about that when we get to it.)

End result? Still one of my favorite albums of the past few years and one that I have a feeling I'll be coming back to for a long time to come. Your best bet is to keep at least a playlist with the original 9 track running order and then play around with the extra tracks to make a solid companion EP. And, while I don't generally condone this kind of thing, steal the fuck out of whatever bonus track(s) your edition doesn't have because this is bull. shit.

Duran Duran have no right to be this good in this day and age, but that's what makes the whole thing so fun. I really, really wish I had been able to get tickets to the show at the Phoenix in Toronto next month - it's going to be a total blast.

build a disappointment boys!

2011-03-17T18:45:00.003-04:00

The new Elbow album leaves me underwhelmed, and that makes me sad.

Now, let's be fair - it's been out for only a few weeks so this is first impressions and all. That said, this is the first time in five albums that I feel like something is missing. What's that something? I don't know, but it was something of which the other four have plenty to spare.

It brings me back to my first listen to 'Cast of Thousands'. It was possibly my most anticipated album of 2003, following the note-perfect 'Asleep In The Back' as it did, but I was also a little nervous, as it was following the note-perfect 'Asleep In The Back'. The digital release of "Ribcage" ahead of the album was the first time I paid for a download and I remember being incredibly impressed, a bit confused and sort of disappointed in it all at the same time. Certainly not an easy track for a comeback single, but after a few listens it sunk in and revealed itself to be the stunner it is. Then came the album and I had a similar response - not as good as 'Asleep In The Back'! But, it wasn't trying to be. It's a completely different beast and that confused me. Repeated listens over the next few days brought me around to it but, right or wrong, that initial impression still shapes my feelings about the album. Forced to pick, I rank it as my least favorite Elbow full length. (Or, rather, did.)

That initial insane expectation shattered and somewhat met, 'Leaders of the Free World' and I had an easier time on our first meeting. Then came 'The Seldom Seen Kid' and it was quickly apparent that this was the album they had been trying to make for the past two but hadn't quite been able to reach. They'd arrived and created their second masterpiece.

Which, of course, gives us new troubles for 'build a rocket boys!', following the (almost) note-perfect 'The Seldom Seen Kid' as it does. (Its flaws - tiny as they are - are part of its charm.) It's hard to pinpoint what it is about the album that doesn't sit well with me, especially because every time I think: "this isn't working", I realize that it was a brave move on their part and I appreciate them more for it. (Right? Right.)

There's one thing that I know for sure does not work for me and it was painfully obvious on my first listen to the track: "Neat Little Rows" is not very good. Here's why: it is little more than an attempt - conscious or not - at a "Grounds For Divorce" retread, itself not their finest single. It starts out well enough with its driving bass line and treated vocals, but the chorus brings it to a grinding - or should I say - pounding halt. It's all "bang bang bang bang" while the descending piano line really drags the song down with it - a bit like driving a car at top speed during the verse and then slamming into the brick wall of the chorus. All of this isn't helped by the immediate recall of the perfection of "The Bones Of You" with the lyrical imagery - not the same sentiment by any means but I instantly go there when I hear it and/or see the single sleeve. I hate to say it, but it's the first not good Elbow single. *tear*

As for the rest, here's where it gets tricky. It's all a bit flat, but that probably wasn't the worst idea after the bombast of "The Seldom Seen Kid". This, of course, is going to make the album more of a grower than a shower, but continued attempts to pull more out of it reveal little to nothing. It starts out promising enough - epic opener "The Birds" takes the swamp-rock "Grounds For Divorce" admirably attempted but came up a tiny bit short and runs with it for 8 minutes without overstaying its welcome by a second. Even though it could only come first, it doesn't really play nice as an opener and sets up the very strange flow of the rest of the LP. "Lippy Kids",while lovely, is too much of a whisper to follow such a shout and feels a bit wasted as the second track, and the jarring transition into the more upbeat "With Love" lessens the impact of both. (Also: poor use of the choir in "With Love" - it sounds cheap rather than uplifting.)

"Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl" sits uncomfortably in the middle, being even more subdued than "Lippy Kids", and no amount of Guy Garvey's way with a turn of phrase can hide that there's no tune here. "The Night Will Always Win" stretches a good idea out for too long, repeating an amazing sentiment - "I miss your stupid face" indeed - to the point where it ruins the impact. "High Ideals" does similar, except even after a dozen listens I can't recall a single line, just a slightly out of place mariachi band and orchestra arrangement.

Following that, though, is the stunner for me. "The River" is a bit like a fleshed out "Our Little Boat" and is totally gorgeous. It is as long as it needs to be at under 3 minutes just as "The Birds" needs all 8 of its minutes and there's not an extra note or voice to be heard. It's the "Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)", "Crawling With Idiot" and "Some Riot" of this album and, as of now, the only thing I truly love on it.

Up next is "Open Arms", such blatant attempt to re-write "One Day Like This" that it is very little surprise that it has been earmarked for second single. I don't think I'd go as far as saying I hate it, but - like "One Day Like This" and "Grace Under Pressure" before that - it is an Elbow song that is not meant for me. This fades to a bit of a pointless reprise of "The Birds", sung by an older man to suggest the passing of time that the album is (apparently) obsessed with - or something like that - but it comes off a bit hokey. The album closes with "Dear Friends", which is pleasant enough but certainly not strong enough to end the album.

It's heartbreaking, really, that this album does very little for me. Much like the mess of a PJ Harvey album, if the name wasn't attached to it I'm not even entirely sure I'd have made it through an entire listen. I realize I'm being incredibly nit-picky and am, perhaps, expecting a bit much from it, but they've shown in the past they are more than capable.

I see it (but I'm not sure I believe it)

2011-02-10T16:09:00.004-05:00

The Sound of Arrows just posted this picture to their Twitter. While it in no way guarantees that we will actually be getting an album during the 2011 calendar year, it does show that one exists and increases the possibility of it coming some time in the near future. If it all goes tits up - which is still has the possibility of doing, lets be honest - there's something to search for.

(Of course, we also know a third JJ72 album exists and they've somehow managed to keep that one under wraps for all these years.)

Color me (incredibly) cautiously optimistic. And to think all of this excitement stems from a 2-year old 3:45 single that I didn't even like that much at first:

You've got a lot to live up to, boys.

let England stream

2011-02-10T12:01:00.005-05:00

NPR is streaming the new PJ Harvey album this week ahead of its release. Despite what the glowing reviews are saying it's not terribly good, however a mediocre new PJ Harvey is better than no new PJ Harvey I suppose. ("In The Dark Places" has a bit of an "It's You" vibe going for it and the title track thankfully does not have that stupid "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" sample in it, but that's about all the good I can pull from it for now.)

Far more interesting is 'Hotel Shampoo', the new LP from SFA's Gruff Rhys which is also streaming this week courtesy of his website. I haven't been able to drum up much excitement for this one for some reason - still a bit burned from 'Dark Days/Light Years' I guess - but the album continues in the breezy pop vein of 2007's 'Candylion' and is pretty solid from start to finish. (I'm personally waiting for the lo-fi follow up to 'Yr Atal Genhedlaeth' but I might be alone on that one.) It's definitely the better bet of the two, but truthfully both are probably just force of habit at this point.

in for the overkill

2011-01-27T19:59:00.004-05:00

The machine has kicked into overdrive and there is yet another version of the La Roux album is coming our way.

I suppose that's not entirely fair as the album itself hasn't been re-packaged and re-sold to us numerous times, just the singles. (How many "In For The Kill" and/or "Bulletproof" remix packages are there?) According to the official site, February 8th will bring is the digital-only release of the Gold Edition - to tie in (a bit late) to the Gold Tour, I imagine. While they get points for not making us buy the album again for the bonus material, they lose points for attempting to re-sell us a number of tracks we've bought numerous times before. The track list will be:

01 In For The Kill (featuring Kanye West) [I really hoped this was one going to disappear...]
02 Finally My Saviour [aka "Saviour", which we had to re-buy the album on iTunes to get, grumble grumble]
03 Under My Thumb [which we bought the 'Sidetracked' compilation for, and it's not even that great in the first place]
04 I'm Not Your Toy (Jack Beats Remix) [possibly not released in the US before, I forget, but we've still got it a few times over]
05 In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix) [STOP! IT! WITH! THIS! REMIX!]
06 Quicksand (Boy 8-Bit Remix) [also possibly not released in the US before, but it was the only reason we bought the re-release of the single]
07 Bulletproof (Zinc Remix) [while not as bad as the Skream "In For The Kill", we've bought this one many times over already]
08 Tigerlily (Demo) [THANK YOU! Something genuinely new.]
09 Bulletproof (Intimate Session at Abbey Road, Acoustic) [this could be nice - it works surprisingly well acoustic]
10 In For The Kill (Vevo Lounge Version) [this is really nice as well]

I understand that there is a limited amount of material to work with AND I would also much rather see them flogging the same old same old in an attempt to get a bigger market share than to completely disappear into oblivion, however it really is kind of insane how many times they've re-packaged some of these mixes. I'm not really sure who this is aimed at either - those who obsessed over each and every single as they were coming out (raises hand) are going to be pissed they have to buy this all again for a few new treats, those who came later to the game and want to go obsessive can still very easily track down most of these on their original homes, and those who thought the Kanye West version was a good idea don't care about the rest of this.

Ahh, well. As long as there's the option to pick what you want rather than having to download the whole thing, I guess it would be worse. They really need to go away and start working on LP2, though.

That Vevo Lounge Version of "In For The Kill":

Surprisingly lovely, yes?

mirrorsmirrorsmirrors

2011-01-20T09:20:00.004-05:00

Mirrors have finally announced details of their debut album...sort of. You can piece together all the information from various places.

Anyways, it's called 'Lights And Offerings' - which was kind of an open secret, the band had never really confirmed it yet there were samplers with the title and tiny versions of the artwork on various promo mix CDrs that were out and about - and Recordstore is reporting it is 10 tracks long. 10 tracks is the perfect album length - 5 songs on each side - so that's very exciting. Also, "Lights And Offerings" itself is not amongst the 10 tracks - I love when title tracks appear as b-sides so I'm a fan. These songs are in the line-up:

01 Fear Of Drowning
02 Look At Me
03 Into The Heart
04 Write Through The Night
05 Ways To An End
06 Hide And Seek
07 Somewhere Strange
08 Something On Your Mind
09 Searching In The Wilderness
10 Secrets

If you're crafty you already have 8 of the 10 tracks up there in some version or another so you know this has the potential to be an album of the year. Recordstore is offering signed copies with a free mixdisc but the band mentioned a fancy deluxe edition on their Facebook so I'd hold off on the pre-order for a bit. (There also HAS to be an LP release. There just has to.)

The video for "Into The Heart":

Fantastic. I'm so excited for this one I can hardly stand it.

2011 Q1 shopping list

2011-01-20T08:42:00.006-05:00

2010 saw me spending a lot of money. Paired with that, while going through album purchases at the end of the year to make a year-end list, I came across many things that I had bought but listened to maybe once or twice - not necessarily because I didn't like it, more because there was so much to take in - and, in a few cases, things I had totally forgotten I purchased. So I decided to take the month of January off from purchasing new music - partially to pay the bills, partially to further explore some forgotten 2010 releases, partially to go through those massive fan-made Blur deluxe editions. (I cheated a little. I have some credit at the iTunes store so I bought the Anna Calvi single after reading about it - the blatant PJ Harvey-isms are a bit distracting, but at the same time she apparently isn't interested in making an album like that any more so it's good someone is - and then there's the use-it-or-lose-it credit on eMusic, but no new money has been spent so far.) Anyways, it wasn't that difficult as not much has come out this month that was really all that interesting - there was the Klaxons deluxe edition this week but there's only two tracks on it I don't already have so waiting isn't that difficult, next week is the Fujiya & Miyagi album but I'd like to wait to hear some more of it before I commit, and the Anna Calvi album came out but I really can't decide - so it appears to have been a good month to do that. However, the calendar is quickly filling up for February and March with lots and lots of really, really good stuff. Let's take a look.

02/02:
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo - Japanese CD with 2 bonus tracks (from the UK 12"/DL singles that aren't available in the US - grrr)

02/07:
PJ Harvey - The Words That Maketh Murder - 7" (Already available as a download in the UK sans b-side - the US got "Written On The Forehead" for some reason, despite it already being available as a free download from Polly herself. Fuckers.)
The Boxer Rebellion - Step Out Of The Car - 7" (Exclusive b-side not on any of the myriad of formats of the album.)
The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still - UK CD release (Recordstore is offering signed copies to the first 100 orders while HMV has an exclusive 4-track bonus CD.)
02/08:
The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still - US iTunes download with 3 bonus tracks, none of which overlap with the HMV bonus disc, which is both nice and obnoxious. (Is there a physical version planned for the US? I can't seem to find one.)
Gruff Rhys - Hotel Shampoo - US CD for those who don't want to go the Japanese route.

02/14:
Mirrors - Into The Heart - 7" (No word on b-side yet, but Richard X produced single version!)
02/15:
Mirrors - Into The Heart - US download (I'm assuming, though no one actually has it listed yet.)
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake - CD/LP (Second US vinyl release in a row for PJ - hooray! Also, the iTunes pre-order bonus track is the b-side from the 7" so no need to go that route.)

02/21:
nothing of interest
02/22:
Designer Drugs - Hardcore/Softcore - CD (Good remixers don't always equal good album artists, but this is worth investigating.)

02/28:
Elbow - Neat Little Rows - 7" (Finally, new Elbow!)
03/01:
nah

03/07:
Elbow - Build A Rocket Boys! - CD (And, I'm assuming, LP. No word on a US release yet.)
03/08:
R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now - CD (Could be iffy but worth checking out.)

Also somewhere in there will be the physical release of Duran Duran's 'All You Need Is Now' with extra tracks - please don't fuck it up, it's pretty perfect as it is - and the single release of the title track from last year's Manic Street Preachers album. Also possible is the first single from The Whip's second LP due in the Spring, long-awaited new material from Battles, a dub version of Steve Mason's 'Boys Outside' LP called 'Ghosts Outside' and a single from the Kills record that is out on April 4/5. Active Child is in the studio working on new material though no release has been set, Hunx & His Punx have a proper full-length in the works, Florrie as a second EP and Annie collab in the works (which may or may not be the same thing) and Björk may or may not deliever LP7 in the first half of the year - and which point I may or may not care, she's burned through A LOT of good will over the past five years or so. Also, in the "I'll believe it when I see it" category, that stupid Sound of Arrows album is supposed to be out in the Spring but it may have been delayed - again - the Fall. So I'll see you in 2015 to discuss that one.

All in all, 2011 is shaping up quite nicely. Anything I missed?

five re-issues from 2010 that tickled my fancy

2011-01-11T18:58:00.003-05:00

It is becoming increasingly more common for album re-issues to be as exciting - if not more so - than new album releases. 2010 was no exception and delivered a number of highly anticipated, long-overdue album remasters (sometimes for the worse) and expansions (always for the better). Here are the five I enjoyed the most in 2010, listed alphabetically by artist:

a-ha - Hunting High And Low (Remastered and Expanded)

First off, Rhino takes the remaster crown of 2010 for delivering three of the five packages on this list - and a number of others I had interest in but not the cash to support. (Rhino Handmade ain't cheap, folks.) First up is a gorgeous sounding 2-disc expansion of a-ha's fantastic debut. Disc one contains a lush-sounding subtle remaster of the album proper followed by a period remix of each of the 4 singles, some making their CD debut. (The ones that aren't were previously available on tricky to track down Japanese EPs, so essentially they're all making their easy-to-obtain CD debut.) The second disc starts out with a demo version of each of the album's tracks in the original running order, followed by the period b-sides and a selection of never further-developed demo tracks. (Most of the b-sides were from that batch so it all goes together well.) It's understandable why the band is viewed as a one hit wonder in the US, but this really is a spectacular debut - "Take On Me" really is one of the weakest tracks on it - and should be in the collection of anyone that is a fan of the period. Thanks to Rhino, you now have the definitive version of the album as a one-stop go-to. (Follow-up 'Scoundrel Days' got a similarly structured expansion, but I've never been as big a fan of that one outside of "Cry Wolf". It didn't stop me from purchasing it, of course...)

The Cure - Disintegration (Deluxe Edition)

Rhino contribution #2. To be honest, 'Disintegration' is far from my favorite Cure album - I can rarely make it through the entire thing in one listen, it's just. so. heavy. - and the bonus material on these Cure reissues hasn't exactly been anything you need to listen to more than once. That said, this thing is jam-packed with pretty much all the 'Disintegration' you are ever going to need. The set itself contains a disc for the album, a bonus disc with the now-standard home and studio demos with a few obligatory never-fleshed-out demo ideas and a third disc with the 'Entreat' live album expanded to cover all of the album's tracks. Thanks to the wonder of the internet, we also got another pair of virtual bonus discs in an alternate set of demos and rarities that streamed from the official site and another live run through of the album captured in Dallas on the album's tour. A lot of overlap - and, perhaps, more than a touch of overkill - but you can't say they skimped on extras for this one. Now give us 'Mixed Up' and I can stop buying these stupid things. ;)

Duran Duran - 'Duran Duran', 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger', 'Notorious' and 'Big Thing' Deluxe Editions

We've talked about these before, but I think it's safe to say that 2010 was the year of the return of Duran Duran. (Well, I suppose it started in late 2009 with the 'Rio' reissue.) Anyways, these were obviously going to be here so we'll move on.

The Monkees - The Birds, The Bees and The Monkees (Rhino Handmade Edition)

Rhino delivers again with another long-awaited expansion. (Technically this came out before the a-ha reissues, but as far as this list is concerned they fall after.) Anyways, Rhino did 2-disc deluxe editions of the first four Monkees albums - containing even more newly unearthed rarities as well as the mono mixes of the LPs - a few years back, but the campaign totally died leading up to the important one. Long the holy grail of Monkees collectors, the mono mix of their fifth LP was the last to be produced - and in very small numbers - so not many had heard it. It also featured some pretty substantial differences from the stereo mix that were in danger of being lost to time. Apparently the hold up was a mix of soft sales for the first four - it was far from the first time they had been reissued and they weren't exactly cheap, to be fair - and the missing master tapes for the mono mix. In swoops the Handmade division with a minty copy of the LP to do a vinyl transfer of the missing tracks, more period rarities than you can shake a stick at and a lavish lenticular box to throw 3-discs worth of late-1967/early 1968 period Monkees in. Probably not as overkill as the Cure set but you also will never need another version of "Lady's Baby" as long as you live. (Later in the year, Rhino Handmade delivered a 3-disc expansion of 'Head' - which sounded and looked great at the time. However, stretching six songs worth of alternate material over the course of 3-discs proved to be a better idea in theory that execution - and that is even after filling the third disc with a period radio interview. They did a bang-up job on the box, though, replicating the reflective mylar cover for the first time since the original Colgems LP. They definitely get an "A" for effort.)

R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (Deluxe Edition)

The R.E.M. remaster campaign continues with a fresh look at their third LP. I'm no R.E.M. expert by any means so I'll leave the commentary to others, but this set is both an improvement, a no-change and a step back from the first two. Improvement: the second disc contains a demo run-through of the album plus three - two songs that eventually found homes on later albums and one genuinely unreleased song. No-change: the mastering still kind of sucks and this doesn't sound very good. Step back: the packaging! Yes, it's nice, but it doesn't match the previous two and that's annoying.

And that, as they say, is that. I'm finally ready to fully embrace 2011 - and only eleven days late!

the 12 releases that make up my 2010 top 10

2011-01-06T10:21:00.007-05:00

Nothing's ever simple, right? Anyways, the following are the twelve releases that make up my 10 favorite albums of 2010:

Honorable Mention: Ash - The A-Z Series
Key tracks: "Arcadia", "Space Shot", "Instinct", "Binary", "There Is Hope Again"
Ash has always been a singles band at heart, so for them to attempt 26 singles over 52 weeks made sense. Obviously it didn't turn out as perfect as it sounded - the quality expectedly dropped off a bit in the back half of the project and not every track was really single-worthy - but that they could carry it through to the conclusion AND get such a relatively high success rate made the entire thing worthwhile. Plus, it was super fun getting a new Ash "single" every other Sunday.

Honorable Mention: Alphabeat - The Beat Is...
Key tracks: "The Beat Is", "DJ", "The Spell"
Released at the end of 2009 as 'The Spell' in native Denmark, Alphabeat's dance-pop-tastic second album saw a delayed release in the UK in March with a name change, slight track order re-jig and obligatory bonus track. If the self-titled album was a throwback to 80's Europop then "The Beat Is..." has both feet firmly planted on the early 90's dance floor, taking inspiration from Snap!, C+C Music Factory, Technotronic and the like - "Always Up With You" even features the cheesy house piano at the intro. The revolution didn't quite take off as the album was a bit of a dud everywhere except its home country - and my iPod, obviously - but it was a worthy effort.

10: Prince - 20Ten
Key Tracks: "Laydown", "Compassion", "Lavaux"
Yes, really, a Prince album and - despite the terrible album art, stupid distribution and Prince's paranoid/insane ramblings that "the internet is over" - a really good one at that. His best album since...well, that's kind of pointless, but it is worth noting that it's his most solid album effort as a whole since he decided to stop fucking around with free jazz and instrumental improv and get back to business with 2003's 'Musicology'. The re-introduction of the Linn drum machine didn't hurt either - "Compassion" comes out of the gate sounding like a '1999' out-take and the album never lets up from there. It is hurt a bit without a "Black Sweat"-sized JAM - though "Lavaux" is essentially a "Mountains" rewrite for a mid-album high - but we've got his most thoroughly enjoyable album in quite some time.

09: James - The Night Before
Key tracks: "Mother's A Clown", "Crazy", "It's Hot"
The James revival carries on with a fantastic mini-album. Part of a two mini-album set - the second, "The Morning After", didn't quite reach the heights of this one - it is helped by its brevity as it doesn't run out of steam by going on too long like the otherwise excellent 'Hey Ma!' did. It's a bit annoying that the album's best track was only available as a low bit-rate download to purchasers of the album - I'm all for bonus tracks as downloads, but 128kpbs mp3s? Really? - and then didn't reappear on the US compilation of the two albums later in the year. (To be fair, the other bonus track only appeared on the iTunes version - as an album-only download, of course.) Formatting frustrations aside, another excellent addition to the James discography.

(The US totally got the better artwork:

Mirrorball Kitty Attack!)

08: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today
Key tracks: "Round And Round", "Menopause Man", "Can't Hear My Eyes"
I wasn't familiar with Ariel Pink before a demo version of "Menopause Man" appeared on the 4AD Record Store Day 12", but I was instantly enthralled with the odd mix of hi-fi pop and lo-fi bedroom recording the track presented. Proper lead single "Round And Round" was another instant love, even with it's odd song structure and sound a little too close to 70's soft rock, and the album is a fascinating hodgepodge of genres thrown together that somehow manages to hold together as a cohesive whole.

07: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
Key tracks: "Chicago Train", "And This Is What We Call Progress", "Albatross"
Shoegazing is alive and it lives in Montréal. OK, not really - the shoegazing tag gets thrown around so much these days that it's essentially useless - but this is one captivatingly beautiful record of woozy guitar noise and boy/girl vocals. I don't even remember how I was introduced to it - I saw the album sleeve image somewhere on line and was taken in by an absolutely glowing review - but I am very glad it has cast its spell on me. (On a side note - and nothing against the previous records on the list - but its a bit ridiculous that a record this great can only sit at the 7th spot on the list. 2010 was a gooooood year.)

06: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part Two (The Return Of The Ankh)
Key tracks: "Window Seat", "Turn Me Away (Get MuNNY)", "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long"
It didn't arrive on time - obviously - but it was well worth the wait. She couldn't make a record more extreme than '4th World War' so what was one to do? Go back to the past and make her warmest record since 'Baduizm', that's what, but mixed with the immediacy and at times uncomfortably personal feel of the first volume. A bit like her 'Lovesexy' to '4th World War''s 'Black Album' - oh, yes. (It even gets away with a Wings sample - WINGS!) Next time, please don't stay away so long.

05: Steve Mason - Boys Outside
Key tracks: "Understand My Heart", "Am I Just A Man", "Boys Outside"
I was never really a fan of The Beta Band and therefore certainly wasn't familiar with the following solo material under any number of monikers, but throw in a Richard X production credit and I am all ears. (Also, Joe knows what I like all too well.) The definition of a grower, Steve Mason's solo debut under his own name is one gorgeous, soul bearing singer/songwriter/downtempo-electro record. (Kind of. Right?) It's a bit front loaded with the more uptempo numbers - "Am I Just A Man" is straight-up Tears For Fears, or maybe that's just me - which makes the back half seem to sag a bit, but once it sinks in it's there for good. I am very excited for the dub record in the coming year. (Also, I know finances and everything were involved but I was massively disappointed that the North American acoustic tour was canceled. And don't get me started on how the singles were released/formatted/distributed - although big points for 4 singles off a record. The perfect example of how digital distribution has made collecting harder rather than more convenient, and for seemingly no reason at all.)

04: Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
Key tracks: "Girl Panic!", "Being Followed", "Blame The Machines"
Yeah, it's been out for less than a month at this point so maybe this is excitement talking, but Duran Duran are back in a big way with this one. And not just any Duran Duran - because, let's be honest, they've been a number of different bands over the years. This is, as promised in the almost year-long lead up hype, a classic Duran Duran record to sit alongside the first three LPs, the alternate follow-up to 'Rio' that Mark Ronson promised. (Even if it does sound more like the alternate follow-up to 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' to these ears, but I've always been partial to that one.) There's no doubt they're borrowing from the past here - closer "Before The Rain" does more than borrow from "The Chauffeur", "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" is a fleshed-out "Tel Aviv", "Being Followed" borrows the melody from the chorus of "Last Chance On The Stairway" and I wouldn't believe that "Girl Panic!" wasn't a lost 1981 Night Version if I didn't know any better. And so on and so on. The important thing, though - and what makes the record an absolute blast - is that the band sound like they're having fun. They know this is the record their fans wanted - and bless Ronson for getting that message through to them - and they sound more than happy to deliver. I can't wait for the tour.

03: These New Puritans - Hidden
Key tracks: "We Want War", "Attack Music", "White Chords"
This was unexpected. I was a big fan of 'Beat Pyramid' when it came out - and think it has gotten better over the years - but that album was in no way a preparation for this. While I won't say that this sounds like nothing else out there today as others have - because I'm sure that's not true - I will say that TNPS conviction to turning a pop record on its ear is the strongest I heard from any band this year. Because let's be honest, this is a pop record at heart - albeit it one orchestrated by children's choirs, full orchestras, brass ensembles and melons being crushed with sledgehammers to sound like heads being crushed, all anchored by a 7-minute lead single with a mind-warping video. Pretentious? Yes. But as a means to an end to creating an amazing album, there was - ahem - nothing else quite like it this year.
(Side note one: While the lead-up to the album was perfect - the single! the album mega-mix! they even chose the right second single! - they totally shot the campaign to hell afterward by making the absolute worst decision whenever possible. The "Attack Music" video looked like a Placebo single sleeve come to life - not pretty - and no physical single was weak. Then a bunch of shit MC remixes. Then an era-wrapping remix 10" - inappropriate format, really - that contained said shit MC remixes and a pair of remixes we already bought at least once while there were some decent ones waiting for a proper release. Who's in charge, here?
Side note two: Records 3, 2 and 1 are all pretty much tied and were pretty much the sound track to my 2010. You need them all.)

02: School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire
Key tracks: "Heart Is Strange", "Dust Devil", "Camarilla"
Ahh, yes. The record that turned me into a 12-year-old in my anticipation. I can safely say that I haven't looked forward to a record as much in a very, very long time and it did not disappoint at all. It's really hard to talk about this record without gushing - why stop now? - but I think it's safe to say that this is as close to the pure School of Seven Bells vision as we're ever going to get, especially with Claudia leaving the band under mysterious circumstances earlier this year. Even a completely heart-breaking tour couldn't ruin it - though every time I listen to it, I can hear how it should have sounded live and it re-opens the wounds a little bit. If this is the end of the road then we ended with perfection.

01: Active Child - Curtis Lane EP
Key tracks: "I'm In Your Church At Night", "When Your Love Is Safe", "Wilderness"
Kind of cheating being a 6-track EP and all, but nothing got me as excited this year as discovering Active Child. (Thanks again, Joe.) The songs here all sound like they've been a part of me for years - they feel lived in and comforting, like climbing under a blanket to drift to sleep on a cold winter's day...and if that sounds like a bunch of overdramatic bullshit, then so be it, but that's how it is. I absolutely cannot wait to see what comes next.

So there it is - 2010 in record form. 2011, you have some mighty big shoes to fill.

ten(ish) records I enjoyed in 2010

2011-01-03T15:23:00.006-05:00

End-of-year-list-making-a-few-days-too-late - hooray! The first - of probably many - is of 10 records that I highly enjoyed in 2010, however for some reason didn't feel compelled to include them in my 10 favorite records of the year. There could be many reasons - perhaps I didn't spend enough time with it as I was busy with something else on repeat, perhaps the rest of the record didn't shine as brightly as *that* single, or perhaps it was all around enjoyable but just not as enjoyable as 10 other records during the year. Whatever the case, I'd highly recommend checking out any and/or all of the following releases, which are presented in alphabetical order:

The Chemical Brothers - Further

The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth

Florrie - Introduction EP

Grinderman - Grinderman 2

The Hundred In The Hands - The Hundred In The Hands

Klaxons - Surfing The Void

Liars - Sisterworld

Manic Street Preachers - Postcards From A Young Man

Maximum Balloon - Maximum Balloon

Team Ghost - You Never Did Anything Wrong To Me & Celebrate What You Can't See EPs

More year-end madness to come.

2010 according to last.fm

2011-01-01T09:01:00.006-05:00

That looks about right - kind of surprised Prince managed to overtake School of Seven Bells at the end, and once again I thought Ash would finish higher.

Here's to 2011 and new LPs from Elbow, The Whip, Boxer Rebellion, PJ Harvey, Dragonette...

missing comma, not missing excitement

2010-12-22T15:37:00.005-05:00

Elbow delivered an early Christmas present today by sharing on their Facebook that their fifth album will be titled 'build a rocket boys!' - LOVE the exclamation point! - and will be released in the UK on March 7th. (A bit earlier than I thought it would be, so bonus surprise!) The artwork is over there and the tracklist, thanks to play.com, follows:

01: Lippy Kids
02: The Birds
03: With Love
04: Neat Little Rows
05: Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl
06: The Night Will Always Win
07: High Ideals
08: The River
09: Open Arms
10: The Birds (Reprise)
11: Dear Friends

No word on a vinyl release or first single yet, but I'm sure we'll know soon. They mention a surprise to come on Boxing Day - perhaps we'll have a new Elbow track to ring in the new year with?

2011 Q1 is shaping up quite nicely.

girl panic

2010-12-14T20:07:00.008-05:00

The new Duran Duran is "out there", a good week before its official iTunes release on December 21.

Having spent the past day with it on pretty constant repeat, I can say that it truly is the return to the sound of the first three LPs it was rumored to be.

In fact, I'd say a few of the songs were recently unearthed out-takes from the 1981-1983 period if I didn't know any better. Album closer "Before The Rain" could have been rejected for 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' for sounding too close to "The Chauffeur", "Being Followed" is a dead ringer for a follow up to that albums' "Shadows On Your Side" and "The Man Who Stole A Leopard" takes the creepy synths from "Tel Aviv" and develops them over a sprawling 6 1/4 minute suite. While it doesn't have a direct reference like others, "Blame The Machines" is such a mid-80's concept and even comes complete with a robotic female vocal breakdown at the end.

Best of all is "Girl Panic", a total throwback to those early Night Versions:

A. Maze. Ing.

Now, I'm a fan of 'Astronaut' - which I didn't realize was so unpopular with the Duran Duran fanbase until reading the anticipation for this album - which I thought was a good representation of what the core Duran Duran sound would be updated for the 2000's. 'All You Need Is Now' tops it by being an aural time machine back to the early-80's and would not have sounded out of place as the follow-up to 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' had the band not splintered as it did. (We then, of course, wouldn't have gotten 'Notorious' and 'Big Thing' - both of which I love - so this way we've ended up getting the best of both worlds.) I only hope that the 12-track physical version doesn't spoil it by being too long, which was 'Astronaut''s downfall. I suppose we shall see in February. One runs the risk of early excitement leading to hyperbole - me? never! - but I think it's safe to say that this is (backhanded compliment alert!) the best album they've made in 20 years and is truly worthy of the Duran Duran name.

Bring on the tour.

i get excited (you get excited too)

2010-12-14T09:23:00.003-05:00

OMG, y'all - new music from the Boxer Rebellion!

Previewed on their US tour last fall, "Step Out Of The Car" is the first full taste we have of their third full-length, 'The Cold Still', which is due in February. It's a nice mix of the indie-scrappery of debut 'Exits' plus the majestic sweep of 2009's 'Union' and bodes very well for the album. (Not that there were really any doubts, but still.)

As of now, only Juno appears to have the track for sale and even then it's region blocked so we in the US are out of luck for the time being. The video is up on their YouTube channel, so that will have to suffice for now:

Lovely. Bring on February.

who didn't see this coming?

2010-12-12T08:49:00.005-05:00

Together we'll go all the way...

...to #58. Certainly it deserved better, but I suppose one would have to actually promote a single - and release it at a logical time, not weeks after it first becomes available - to achieve chart success.

Wonder what happens next.

surrender with us

2010-11-09T11:42:00.009-05:00

Dean and I were talking: there's an album hidden in 'Surrender' and 'Come With Us' to equal the first two Chemical Brothers LP. Find it.

Challenge accepted!

This is my tracklist, show me yours:

4:54 [a1] Come With Us
7:18 [a2] Out Of Control
8:35 [b1] It Began In Afrika (Electronic Battle Weapon Version)
4:49 [b2] Hey Boy Hey Girl
4:46 [b3] Galaxy Bounce (Tomb Raider Version)
5:20 [c1] Music: Response
4:16 [c2] Under The Influence
6:23 [c3] Star Guitar
6:32 [d1] Hoops
8:39 [d2] The Sunshine Underground

Most importantly, this allows "The Sunshine Underground" to shine as the epic,"Private Psychedelic Reel"-esque album-ender it truly is rather than stifling it in the middle of an awkwardly sequenced LP. Also: it puts the full version of "Galaxy Bounce" - surely the best track from the 'Come With Us' period - on an album rather than a too short, anti-climactic edit. Win/win.

(Sadly, despite a handful of amazing tracks, there's not a full LP to salvage from the messes that are 'Push The Button' and 'We Are The Night'...or is there?)

(There isn't.)

Duran Duran Duran Duran Duranduran

2010-10-28T19:00:00.005-04:00

Going on thirty years ago, if someone had told you that not only would Duran Duran still be around but that EMI would be issuing lavishly packaged (and fittingly period-appropriate) deluxe editions of their first five albums - first five! they survive past the first? - there's no way you'd believe them.

However, here we are in October 2010 and that's exactly what has happened. Rolled out in waves over the course of the past year, we have now been treated to multi-disc and -format editions of the five albums that Duran Duran - and, later, Duranduran - put out during the 1980's. In a very pleasant surprise, they were - for the most part - put together by someone who clearly did their research and offer plenty of bang for your buck...especially when you take the digitally available supplementary material. That's right - 2 CDs and a DVD a piece can't hold all the Duran-ness. Nerd alert!

The first to show its face was a 2-disc set of 'Rio' last Fall, which I've been over before. Pretty much everything about the set was perfect and gave high hopes for the rest.

Unfortunately, it was a bit of two steps forward, one step back from then on out. The first self-titled LP and 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' joined us in the Spring and the cracks were already starting to show. First, the bad: the sound quality on these things is pretty wretched. Now, I'm no hardcore audiophile, though I am less than pleased with the so-called "loudness wars" and these things suffer big time. Forget taking it to 11 - this is taking it to about 15. And on top of that, there's the small matter of an audio glitch at the beginning of "Girls on Film" that causes a very noticeable stutter and false start to the track - something that would've taken about 15 seconds for QC to trim off with an audio editor. (Hell, I did it myself.) Even worse is EMI's knowledge of the error and refusal to fix it as it isn't part of the music or something like that. I beg to differ.

Anyways, if you're looking solely for an audio upgrade of these two, save your money. If you're looking for bonus material, boy are you in luck...for the first album, anyways. Disc one collects the period b-sides - all excellent, all readily available on the 'Singles 81-85' box and/or 3CD set, but all nice to have in one place. CD2 collections two sets of pre-album demos - no previously unreleased songs, but the demo of "Tel Aviv" is very, very different from the moody instrumental that we know and love - a BBC Radio Session with an early version of "Like An Angel" as a highlight, and a pair of extended mixes a piece for the album's two biggest singles. If you spring for the 3-disc edition, you also get a DVD with - *deepbreath* - the album's videos (including DVD debuts for "Careless Memories" - SO DATED - and "Night Boat"), a fluff day in the life featurette, and - best of all - a whole slew of period TV performances. Seriously, the Top of the Pops performance of "Planet Earth" makes the whole set worth it. The hair! The miming! Did I mention the hair! I mean, really, Simon has one little strand of his bangs crimped - amazing. It has to be seen to be believed. (I can say with all honesty that despite the pretty terrible sound and completely unforgivable audio glitch, that one performance made the whole purchase worth it.) On top of all of that, the whole thing comes packaged with five 5x5 postcards - one for each band member, obviously - and a replica of the poster that apparently came with the original Japanese LP, all packaged in a nice lift top box.

I really, really wish I could lavish similar praise upon 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger', my favorite Duran Duran album. (Yeah, what of it?) While there are no obvious audio glitches on the main album, it still suffers from insane brickwalling so an audio upgrade is out. It doesn't, however, have the bonus material to make it a must-have. There's a second disc, of course, but it is made up almost entirely of tracks available in the previously mentioned singles box - the only new to CD material are a pair of live tracks from the US "Reflex" 12". No demos, no newly unearthed alternate mixes, nothing previously unreleased at all. Rumors of a set of demos for this album have floated around for years and this would have been the perfect time to roll some of those out. Boo!

The DVD is also not nearly as exciting. Similar to the first DVD, it contains the album's videos (all of which were on 'Greatest') and a pair of Top of the Pops performances for "Is There Something I Should Know" and "The Reflex". By this point, though, the fame machine has obviously taken its toll on the boys and these performances are nowhere nearly as fun to watch - you can very clearly see they're just going through the motion because they've made the charts yet again. Rounding out the DVD is the digital debut of 'As The Lights Go Down', the concert-only version of the "Arena" movie. I'm personally not a big fan of watching concert films so my enjoyment of this one was limited - I watched it for a bit before ripping the audio and adding it as a third disc to the playlist on my iPod. It does come in a similarly nice box to the first album, so that's a plus, but I can't really recommend this one.

Both of the sets are supplemented in the digital world with a period concert. Sadly, the 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger'-era choice was merely an audio version of 'As The Lights Go Down'. However, I would highly recommend the BBC concert chosen to represent the debut - "Late Bar" and "Khanada" both get airings, as well as an early version of "Last Chance On The Stairway". Well worth the $10 for the download.

If 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' is my favorite Duran Duran album, 'Notorious' is a close second and it received the deluxe treatment a few weeks ago. It was rumored a few years back for its 20th anniversary, so we've - or, I've - been waiting for this one for a while. Similar to the 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' set, the audio portion of the release offers nothing in the way of previously unavailable material. It does, however, provide the CD release of the main mixes from the "Mastermixes" 12", which is nice to have. (The dubs are available digitally - more on that later.) DVD-wise, there's the period videos (DVD debut for "Meet El Presidente"), a TOTP performance of the title track (which is more fun than the 'Seven'-era performances but still not up to those around the debut) and the 'Working For The Skin Trade' concert film. A pair of group shots replace the departed Taylors on the postcards in the box - thank you for some level of consistency, even if everything doesn't match up - and you've got a very nice package for an underrated album.

There is a bit of a bright spot - and I mean a bit. The sound quality has been fixed...kind of. They're still brickwalled, but the kind folks at EMI have very nicely dropped the maximum level a few dBs so they're not as loud. Well, it's a start, though still not a worthwhile audio upgrade.

Finally, 'Big Thing' joined the group along with 'Notorious'. I can't lie - I love this record as well. It's a total mess and doesn't really accomplish what the band set out to do - to be taken more seriously, I suppose - but it's all the better for it. Also, they've restored the original version of "Drug" to the running order, however it was apparently always available as a bonus track on most previous CD editions as the Marshall Jefferson Mix. I think. The wording on exactly what they did here - included in a personal note from John Taylor on one of the sets post cards - is a bit confusing and I'm not entirely sure I got that right.

The bonus material is a bit hit and miss. The good: a new-to-us 7" and 12" mix of "Big Thing" (which, it seems, was going to be a single at one point) and a 6+ minute version of the sole original b-side for the period, the lovely "I Believe / All I Need To Know". The not so good: the tracks that aren't extended mixes of the singles are just edits of album tracks and/or terrible spoken word pieces used in the tour, and they were all in the second singles box. Not a 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger'-esque failure and, to be fair, they were merely collecting what was released at the time, but it is kind of disappointing to be reminded of these things.

The DVD once again collects the videos (DVD debut for "Do you believe in shame?", which was the wrong third single choice if ever there was one) and a new to home video live concert filmed in Milan.

On the digital side, there are once again period concerts available - fortunately, neither of them duplicate what's on the DVD this time. Even better, each contains at least one song from at least one of the side projects done Duran-style - the 'Notorious'-era show features Arcadia's "Election Day" and Power Station's "Some Like It Hot" and 'Big Thing' rolls out the latter's cover of "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". Also available this time are remix EPs to collect the mixes that didn't fit on the physical sets. The 'Notorious' EP gets an alternate mix or dub for each of the three singles as well as "American Science" and "Vertigo (Do The Demolition)", while the 'Big Thing' EP collects the dub of "I Don't Want Your Love' (why, why, WHY wasn't this called "I Don't Want Your Dub"?) and a trio of "All She Wants Is" dubs. They're both borderline overkill - OK, three dub mixes of "All She Wants Is" is totally overkill - but they're nice to have available if you want them.

(It's worth noting that Arcadia's "So Red The Rose" received a similar 2CD/1DVD reissue after the first three but before the last two - chronological correctness! - but it was packaged in a standard fat-boy case rather than a lavish box. Regardless, it collects pretty much everything you could want related to the Arcadia project - I'm not entirely sure there's anything not included but I'm sure someone could prove me wrong - and is worth tracking down as well.)

So overall, a far nicer treatment of the Duran Duran back catalog than could have been reasonably expected and - despite a few issues - a very lovingly and well-put-together set of reissues. I highly recommend all but 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger' - if you're even thinking you want them, you probably do - though can you really have that gap in the middle where it should be? (They're starting to pop up second hand, so that might be your best bet for that one.)

I don't normally say this, but please stop the campaign now. I really don't want to feel pressured into buying a 3-disc set for 'Liberty'.

why stop now?

2010-10-21T19:37:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned earlier, These New Puritans have a campaign-summarizing EP coming out in November entitled 'Hidden Remixes'. They announced the track list today and it looks something like this:

A1. Introduction
A2. We Want War (SBTRKT Remix)
A3. Main Attrakionz 3000
B1. Hologram (Salem Remix)
B2. We Want War (Ghost Hunter Remix)

Suckfest. We already bought the - admittedly excellent - SBTRKT Remix on the 'Hidden' bonus EP, though it will be nice to have a physical release of the also pretty good Ghost Hunter remix. That Salem remix appeared on RCRDLBL a few months back and is a total pile, which leaves that Main Attrakionz 3000 thing the only unknown.

Except it's not, as you can listen to it thanks you the wonders of YouTube. I warn you, it's not for the feint of heart:

Garbage. So much for saving the singles campaign at the end with an excellent catch all release. Thanks for nothing.

On a related note, two mixes of "White Chords" have shown up kind of randomly. There's the Forest Swords Remix on RCRDLBL and FACT has a Mordant Music Remix. Neither are amazing but both are perfectly listenable - and loads better than either of the non-"We Want War" mixes we're getting on the proper release.

Better luck next time.

hott new Robyn album art alert

2010-10-20T15:22:00.004-04:00

I really wish the music was as good as the art because that's fucking hott. (See also: Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'It's Blitz'.)

Can someone explain the formatting for this project to me, though? It doesn't make any sense.

hott new Pet Shop Boys single art alert

2010-10-18T16:13:00.003-04:00

Delicious.

mpfree - Gruff Rhys & A Sunny Day In Glasgow

2010-10-18T14:51:00.004-04:00

(Not together, but how amazing would that be.)

Some free music to start the week off right. First, kind of out of nowhere Gruff Rhys made a new single available for the cost of an e-mail from his website. Entitled "Shark Ridden Waters", it sounds a bit like 'Candylion' visiting the set of a 60's beach party movie and is a vast improvement over SFA's 'Dark Days/Light Years' but still a bit underwhelming. There's supposedly an album coming early next year, but until then you can also pre-order the 12" directly from him - though no mention of a track list yet. I'm curious to see how this surprise develops.

Also seemingly out of nowhere, A Sunny Day In Glasgow have made their third full-length album, entitled 'Autumn, Again', available for a free download. You can also donate money towards the cause via a Paypal link and/or order an LP version.

And that, as they say, is that. Have at it.

dirty birthday

2010-10-09T15:08:00.004-04:00

It was thirty years ago yesterday - THIRTY years.

He made many a masterpiece, but for my money he never topped this one.

Give it a celebratory spin.

you need this

2010-10-06T22:02:00.005-04:00

School of Seven Bells broke my heart this weekend.

I'll go into this in more details later - once I can stop crying every time I think about it - but let's just say what was supposed to be the tour of the year/decade/lifetime has turned into FAR less. Boo.

However, there's still the matter of that split 7" with Active Child to contend with, and in that regard they pass with flying colors. If you haven't been paying attention, they're each taking a stab at the one of the others' singles - they're remixing his "I'm In Your Church At Night" and he's going all choral over "Heart Is Strange". Both remixes have now appeared in the internet-ether, and they are both as incredible as you might imagine. Each has basically transplanted their single onto the others - "I'm In Your Church At Night" is now a "Heart Is Strange"-esque club banger, and "Heart Is Strange" is now a gorgeous "I'm In Your Church At Night" chill-fest. (Watch for that coda - A-mazing.) You can grab an mp3 of the Active Child remix of "Heart Is Strange" at the Lefse Records site - where you can also pre-order the 7" for a very reasonable $7 - and the Walrus Music Blog (among others, I'm sure) as the School of Seven Bells remix of "I'm In Your Church At Night".

This almost makes up for the tour. Almost. (No offense to Active Child - you were amazing. Or SVIIB, for that matter. Part circumstance - get well soon, Claudia - and part poor decision making - lose the live drummer and find a new sound guy, and quick.)

redemption?

2010-09-19T15:39:00.004-04:00

After pretty much completely botching what should have been the most satisfying album singles campaign in years, These New Puritans and the Angular Recording Company are attempting to redeem themselves with a final, catchall release. Entitled 'Hidden Remixes' - that's the pretty gorgeous sleeve over there - this 10" will "hit the shelves" (as they used to say) on October 25th. No word yet on a track list, but an e-mail sent out by ARC declared it will contain "previous remixes from the like of SBTRKT and SALEM, as well as some exciting new remixes". So that's one a piece of "We Want War" and "Hologram" at least - but the "Hologram" one was a steaming pile and we've already got the SBTRKT one on the bonus EP, so hopefully the new ones will be worthwhile. You can watch the label's site for more info because I'll probably forget about it until it's gone out of print and I have to pay a fortune to get one. *sigh*

i wanted to tell her

2010-09-14T19:27:00.003-04:00

I gained new appreciation for Ministry's 'With Sympathy' after hearing this in a bar in Seattle this past weekend:

However, this still remains my favorite Ministry track:

I heard that at a different bar on Friday night, where the DJ played it just for me. Heart, Aaron.

How come I can't find this at home?

this has the potential to be the best thing ever

2010-09-02T15:29:00.003-04:00

Going back and forth on Facebook posts with Mr. Active Child himself, it has come to light that there is indeed a split 7" single in the works with himself and tour mates School of Seven Bells.

(Side note: best tour pairing ever.)

It will feature each artist remixing a track from the other. SVIIB are tackling 'Curtis Lane' highlight "I'm In Your Church At Night" - for which there is a new video in the works, I imagine using the original EP version - while forthcoming single and 'Disconnect From Desire' highlight "Heart Is Strange" is getting an Active Child overhaul.

I cannot think of a way this could be any better.

please don't buy my single, part 2

2010-09-01T16:55:00.004-04:00

In a related note to the Annie issue of last post, Underworld released a (pretty well-loaded) digital single for "Always Loved A Film" yesterday. (In a nice change of pace, eMusic has 2 mixes that iTunes doesn't. Score.)

Did they want to tell someone? Thanks.

please don't buy my single

2010-08-29T15:37:00.005-04:00

Apparently, Annie's "Songs Remind Me Of You" got an iTunes remix single release back in July - a full year on from the one-track digital single that came out back in 2009 - but they decided to not tell anyone. I don't claim to be the most thorough of readers and/or researchers, but I am generally tuned in to what is going on in the world of artists that I follow, and this is something I have been waiting for for a very long time - since we first got the song back in 2008 - so I'd like to think that if it was announced anywhere, I would have read about it. Thanks for the heads up, Team Annie - though given the release history for this entire campaign, I suppose it's not surprising. In a perfect world, this song has been #1 for years and years, but it's never going to get there if the people who want it don't even know about it. Boo.

The whole she-bang can be had for $1.99, however if iTunes isn't your friend - and I can't really blame you on that one - you can head over to the fantastic RCRDLBL for a free grab of the Swiss remix.

It's probably too much to ask for a 12", yes? I thought so. Anyways, I'm fairly certain we can put the 'Don't Stop'-era to rest now.

five albums from 2010

2010-07-07T09:19:00.003-04:00

So, here we are - halfway through 2010. Time to look back and see what its given us in music so far.

Truthfully, I was expecting to be a bit underwhelmed looking back. In all the excitement over These New Puritans' 'Hidden', Active Child and School of Seven Bells' 'Disconnect From Desire' - which doesn't really count as it technically didn't come out in the first half of the year - I remembered the year giving us little else. Turns out I was wrong as there were about 10 other albums I quite enjoyed plus an ever growing queue of albums to dedicate more listening time to. Good thing I'm disappearing into the mountains of Vermont next week with lots of quality listening time to fill.

Anyways, here are my five favorites so far:

05: Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two [Return of the Ankh]

04: The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

03: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today

02: Active Child - Curtis Lane EP

01: These New Puritans - Hidden

With an honorable mention, as always, to:

Ash - The A-Z Series

It has, predictably, gotten a bit less exciting as the weeks have gone on, but it's still a fantastic project and I'm very excited to see that they're going to carry it through to the end. [It totally had "abandon half-way through" written all over it - hooray for being wrong.] The five-star songs have gotten fewer and further between, but every other week we still get a solid track with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. [Who expected single "Q" to be one of the best?]

It's also been a great year for reissues, with the long-awaited 'Disintegration' set finally making an appearance, the first and third Duran Duran albums getting the box treatment with 'Notorious' and 'Big Thing' imminent, and a nicer-than-it-needed-to-be Rhino Handmade edition of 'The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees' leading the back. Of course, we've also got the deluxe 'Fables of the Reconstruction' and first two a-ha albums to come in the very near future.

Oh, and did I mention Jagz Kooner is producing the new Whip album? Incredible.

'Hidden', you have some competition

2010-07-01T13:48:00.004-04:00

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, School of Seven Bells are streaming the whole of forthcoming album 'Disconnect From Desire' from their website.

Now, this may be the overexcited thirteen year old this album has turned me into talking, but holy shit amazing. My first impression is that it is as 'Alpinisms' but in its own way. The drum machines really stick out on this one - they sound so crisp and harsh [in a good way] and are wonderfully offset/complimented by the Deheza's harmonies, which are in top form throughout.

'Alpinisms' flaw was its flow - the run of "For Kalaja Mari" through "Sempiternal/Amaranth" [so the middle third] sound like they belong to another album. 'Disconnect From Desire' suffers no such issue - each song ebbs and flows into each other, creating a very cohesive whole. You could argue that the LP is a bit front-loaded with the "up" moments and the second half showcasing a more subdued side of the band, but it totally works. And Christ, the studio version of "Heart Is Strange"? Ri-dic-u-lous.

I see no reason why this won't be competing with These New Puritans' 'Hidden' for my LP of the year - and I certainly don't see anything on the horizon that has the potential to come close, especially with The Whip's LP not coming out until 2011. [Boo!]

it's a mess

2010-06-17T15:23:00.003-04:00

With distance, is 'Sweet 7' as bad as we remember it being?

In a word: worse.

Oh well.

i could be dancing

2010-06-15T15:53:00.003-04:00

I realize this is way old news at this point, but I don't think it can be overstated how amazing the video for Alphabeat's "DJ" is:

Ridiculous. They may be screwing up the single formatting left and right lately, but they can still make a fantastic video.

omg

2010-06-10T20:20:00.003-04:00

So, like, Jagz Kooner is producing the new Whip album.

Repeat:

Jagz Kooner. Producing. New Whip album.

*dies*

'1999', the short version

2010-06-01T12:58:00.004-04:00

There is little doubt of the genius of Prince's output between the years of 1980 and 198? - the end point is where it gets fuzzy, but I tend to be of the belief that his last thoroughly great and classic album was 1988's 'Lovesexy', though I suppose you could argue one in either direction. There are, of course, varying degrees of genius within genius and 1982's '1999' LP is a perfect example of this.

The 11 songs that make up the album, for the most part, are incredible. The album is frontloaded with a trio of killer pop singles, followed by a set of dirty extended funk jams. The second half is a bit weird - I understand that "Lady Cab Driver" was shocking at the time but I find it a bit silly now, and "Free" is a bit sappy for my likings. My biggest complaint with the album, though, is that the songs go on for far too long and just don't know when to quit. [Which is odd because as a rule I love Prince's 12" mixes and think even some of the longer ones could use a few extra minutes or so.] However, he hasn't quite figured out how to do that yet, and they tend to repeat the same idea over and over again for minutes on end, not really doing anything. [Example: it's a fantastic song, but does "Automatic" need to be 9 minutes? No. And a full minute-long introduction of a simple drum pattern for "Let's Pretend We're Married" is a bit much.]

So Joe and I were talking about the need for an edit of "D.M.S.R." in particular, and I knew I had read about one somewhere. Sure enough, it was on the soundtrack to "Risky Business" of all places, and investigating that led me to a fantastic bootleg from a few years ago called '7 Inch In The Computer'. It collects, as you might guess, a good chunk of Prince's 7" mixes from his first LP through to the 'Parade'-era. It misses some - the 7"s for the 'Around the World In A Day' singles were the same as the album versions so they're not there, but their b-sides are - and stops short of finishing the 'Parade'-era, leaving off "Girls and Boys". [Which might have been the same as the album version, I'm not sure.] Anyways, the intriguing part of the set for me is that it contains official edits of 9 of the 11 '1999' album tracks - no "Something In The Water [Does Not Compute]" or "International Lover", but the former is only 4 minutes to begin with and it makes sense to end the album with an extended number.

With this set - which you can find without too much work on the internet - you can create a lean, mean, 45-minute funk machine, leaving the [sometimes needlessly] overlong versions for the 12"s, where they belong. Huzzah. [I just wish the scream was at the end of "D.M.S.R." instead of a fade out, but I guess you can't have it all.]

side a:
01 1999 [edit] [3:38]
02 Little Red Corvette [edit] [3:09]
03 Delirious [edit] [2:39]
04 Let's Pretend We're Married [edit] [3:39]
05 D.M.S.R. [edit] [5:06]
06 Automatic [edit] [3:38]

side b:
01 Something In The Water [Does Not Compute] [LP version] [4:03]
02 Free [edit] [4:30]
03 Lady Cab Driver [edit] [4:59]
04 All The Critics Love U In New York [edit] [3:12]
05 International Lover [LP Version] [6:38]

Fantastic.

begin the windstorm

2010-06-01T09:20:00.004-04:00

First of all, holy crap it's June.

Secondly, this first day of June finds two highly anticipated releases for your listening pleasure.

Alphabetically leading the way is the debut EP proper from Active Child, available in the US on iTunes or as a limited colored 12". [It comes out via other digital retailers on July 1, but you really shouldn't wait.] I first posted about him a few months back when my friend Joe shared his track "I'm In Your Church At Night" with me and I fell in love. Since then, he's been slowly leaking out tracks to the internet and depending on how much you've been paying attention, there might only be one or two "new" tracks here for you. That said, it's nice to have the tracks properly released all in one place - and there's more going on in the background of this version of "I'm In Your Church At Night", be it because it's a new version or a much higher fidelity file I'm not sure but I'm guessing the latter - and there are worse ways to spend $4, yes? Despite only having heard most of these songs a few months ago at most, the EP already feels fantastically lived-in, like it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. It's probably greedy to say this since it was just released this morning, but I want more.

Also out today is the first single from School of Seven Bells' second LP. Entitled "Windstorm", it was previewed at Pitchfork a few weeks ago but is now available for your scrobbling pleasure at all good digital retailers. It comes backed with a lovely new track "Crescent Gold" and a not-as-noisy-as-I-was-expecting-it remix of the a-side by A Place To Bury Strangers. [Can we expect SVIIB to return the favor? Hmm...] While this helps with the wait for the album, July 13 can't come fast enough.

May/June/July shopping list

2010-05-09T17:20:00.005-04:00

05/17 & 05/18:
LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening - CD
The Depreciation Guild - Spirit Youth - LP

05/24 & 05/25:
[week off] - whew!

05/31 & 06/01:
Boo Radleys - Giant Steps & Wake Up [Deluxe Editions] - 3xCD x2
The Bluetones - A New Athens - CD
To My Boy - The Habitable Zone - CD
Active Child - Curtis Lane EP - CDS/10"/12" &/or digital [take your pick]

06/07 & 06/08:
Mansun - Attack of the Grey Lantern [Deluxe Edition] 3xCD
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Before Today - LP
The Chemical Brothers - Further - CD
Christina Aguilera - Bionic - CD
The Cure - Disintegration - 2xCD/DVD [maybe?]

06/15:
The Golden Filter - Voluspa - 2xLP [US release - vinyl is Insound exclusive, and also contains "The Hardest Button To Button" as a bonus track]

06/21 & 06/22:
Delays - Star Tiger Star Ariel - CD
Helmet - Seeing Eye Dog - CD

06/28 & 06/29:
[week off]

07/05 & 07/06:
Duran Duran - Notorious & Big Thing [Deluxe Editions] - 2xCD/DVD x 2

07/12 & 07/13:
School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire - LP

unknown:
!!! - LP4
Battles - LP2
Duran Duran - new LP
Atari Teenage Riot - reunion LP & "Activate" single

Whew! It ain't getting any cheaper, that's for sure.

mpfree - To My Boy

2010-05-09T17:10:00.003-04:00

On May 31, To My Boy have a new album coming out. It is called 'The Habitable Zone' and you can see the [very busy] artwork to the left and - for the price of an e-mail address - can get a free mp3 of album track "Antarctica" at their website - which is not, as I initially mis-read it - tommyboy.co.uk, though that would be a completely different type of interesting. While there, you can also pre-order the album for a very reasonable price range of £8 - £10, depending on your delivery zone. [See what I did there?] They're apparently doing it on their own this time and their debut was a favorite around here, so I'd highly encourage supporting them if you like the freebie. Which you will because it's fantastic.

If you need more convincing, here's the video for "Hello Horizon", which is the first "single" [whatever that means these days]:

Fantastic.

mpfree - Atari Teenage Riot

2010-04-21T08:59:00.004-04:00

Wait...Atari Teenage Riot are back?

Oh yes. In fact, RCRD LBL has their comeback single - or what qualifies as a comeback single in this day and age, I suppose - as a free download. Excellent. You can grab it here.

[If you're not subscribed to the RCRD LBL daily mail out, you really should be. You never know what you're going to find in your inbox - case in point.]

'Burn, Berlin, Burn!' was a cornerstone album for me back in the day - yes, I realize it's a compilation album, but it was our introduction to ATR and, quite frankly, still works as their strongest full-length - and seeing them as part of a Digital Hardcore revue the day before Thanksgiving in 1997 remains one of the most surreal and amazing shows I've ever seen. It's good to hear they've lost none of their edge in this track. Hooray!

mpfree - Ash live

2010-04-18T19:23:00.003-04:00

This is a busy weekend for free downloads, apparently.

Ash is smack-dab in the middle of their 'A-Z' single series, and to celebrate they're releasing a CD compilation, appropriately titled 'A-Z Vol. 1'. It contains the first thirteen singles plus four bonus tracks.

There are also a pair of digital EPs to go with the release. The first - which is not free - is a 7-track acoustic EP featuring songs from the first half of the project. The second - which is free - is a pair of live tracks, project highlights 'Arcadia' and 'Space Shot'. Those can be grabbed here for the cost of an e-mail address, and while you're there check out the other bonus material they've got on the site - some free, some for a nominal fee, all fantastic and well worth your time.

For those keeping track, a Japanese edition of the CD was released a few weeks back and features two additional bonus tracks - so far only available on that set though bound to appear on something else eventually - along with a bonus disc that contains selections from the three digital EPs released in support of the project so far as well as an exclusive remix of "Neon".

I initially thought this project would be easy to keep track of and relatively inexpensive to complete. I apparently thought wrong, though I can't deny that I'm having a bunch of fun trying.

mpfree - Blur's "Fool's Day"

2010-04-18T15:19:00.003-04:00

In a wise and very welcome move, Blur have made their new single "Fool's Day" available for download from their website for the cost of an e-mail address.

Whew.

Truth be told, the song is more memorable for being the first new Blur material in seven years than for being a great Blur song, but it's nice to have a high quality version available - though who uses wav format anymore?

Now, if the Pet Shop Boys would take note and do something similar for their Record Store Day single, we'd be all set.

prepare to disconnect

2010-04-15T15:00:00.005-04:00

After what has felt like a million years but, in actuality, has probably been barely six months, the wheels are starting to turn on the new School of Seven Bells album. To the left, you can see the album artwork as posted on the official site recently - accompanied only by a cryptic "Coming Soon". No track list, no solid release date, no mention of first single, just: "Coming Soon". Well, it's a start.

The band has also lined up two shows in NYC on June 9th and 10th - I leave town from a 5 day visit on the 8th, of course. Perhaps these will act as a release celebration? At the very least, expect to hear lots from the forthcoming/recently released/whatever status it has at the time LP on those two nights.

A live version of "Heart Is Strange" from last fall:

I'd say expect to see that one on the album, but after waiting 7+ fruitless years for the Hidden Cameras to release live staple "No Gay Goth Scene", I've come to learn there are no track list guarantees.

AHHHH!

2010-04-14T11:51:00.001-04:00

Today.

In the mail.

"Judy Staring At The Sun" with "Capacity to Change".

*SQUEAL*

time [to go]

2010-04-13T08:09:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, the news broke that Supergrass are calling it quits after a run of summer shows. In typical Supergrass fashion, it was barely a blip on most news sites, crammed between mentions of a new Arcade Fire video and Adam Green EP on NME and barely making headline status on Pitchfork, though oddly I first read about it on PopJustice's Facebook feed.

In any case, this is pretty sad news. Even though they never quite reached the heights of the classic one-two punch of 'I Should Coco' and 'In It For The Money' - both unquestionably five-star, must have albums - they were always reliable for a solid album with a few incredible singles. The word was they were working on LP7 to be released later this year, but now it is unknown if it will ever see the light of day.

I saw the boys back in 2000 in support of the self-titled record and it was a highly enjoyable show. I always wanted to catch them again, but my only real opportunity came when they were opening for the Foo Fighters in a gigantic arena around the time of 'Diamond Hoo Ha'. I passed, not thinking their show would translate well in such a venue, and now I kind of wish I hadn't. Oh well.

Boo for disabled embedding on YouTube, but dig out your copy of 'Supergrass is 10' and remember how incredible their singles run was.

You will be missed.

formatting fail: Attack Music

2010-03-29T21:26:00.004-04:00

That's the artwork for the "Attack Music" single, thanks to the Angular website...

...wait, what's this? According to the same site, the format for "Attack Music" is download and...nope, just download.

Fuckers.

It upsets me that - outside of the initial single announcement - every thing about this single is turning out all sorts of wrong.

[Maybe they forgot to list it and there will be a 10" as well, but I'm not holding my breath.]

the "Attack Music" video is terrible

2010-03-27T09:38:00.003-04:00

The first mis-step in an otherwise fantastically executed campaign. *sigh*

new obsession alert: Active Child

2010-03-22T21:16:00.002-04:00

Good music friend Joe passed along a video for the new Active Child single "I'm In Your Church At Night".

Simply put: stunning. Gorgeous and haunting and four minutes of music to totally lose yourself in. It hasn't got a "proper" release yet - whatever that constitutes in this day and age - however you can find it and two other tracks on his/their page at the excellent RCRD LBL site. Alternately, you can purchase the "She Was A Vision" / "Voice Of An Old Friend" digital single at Amazon/iTunes/whatever your digital retailer of choice may be.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled. I've got a feeling this is going to develop nicely.

"I'm In Your Church At Night":

Lovely.

good omens

2010-03-19T20:57:00.003-04:00

There's an album cover. The official site has a countdown - timing to the millisecond, even - and is streaming part of a new track. A couple of other new songs were "leaked" to radio a week or so ago.

We might actually be getting this on March 30th. Fingers crossed.

we're repeating it again, again, and again

2010-03-19T16:02:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Dean for reminding me - and Seattle - of Pay TV's amazing "Refrain Refrain":

There's a free download of later single "Fashion Report" on last.fm if that's your thing, and you can find various singles from various digital retailers.

And that's that.

newtones

2010-03-17T09:09:00.004-04:00

The Bluetones' official site is reporting that their sixth album is ready to roll this summer. Entitled 'A New Athens', the artwork is to the left and the track list is as follows:

01 The Notes Between The Notes Between The Notes
02 Firefly
03 A New Athens
04 Culling Song
05 Into The Red
06 Golden Soul
07 The Day That Never Was
08 Carry Me Home
09 Half The Size Of Nothing
10 Haunted By You
11 Pranchestonelle

I imagine 10 is not a Gene cover, but you never know...

No single or confirmed release date yet but this is certainly something to look forward to. I was wondering just the other day when we'd get a new album from them...

And I'll just take this opportunity to say that I still don't understand all the hatred - well, perhaps that's a bit strong of a word...intense dislike, perhaps - that gets directed at the band and their last few albums. 'Science & Nature' was clearly their high point, but 'Luxembourg' is a snappy and enjoyable little record and the self-titled definitely has its moments. No, neither are 'Expecting To Fly II' but both are better for it. [Personally I prefer LPs 4 & 5 to 1 & 2 but I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one.]

In any case, add another one to the list of albums to look forward to in 2010.

mpfree - The Whip mixtape

2010-03-12T14:35:00.002-05:00

In anticipation of their forthcoming second LP - which can't get here fast enough as far as I'm concerned - The Whip have set up a fancy new web site. At said web site, you can stream and/or exchange your e-mail address for an mp3 download of a DJ Mixtape by members Bruce and Fee.

A nice way to start the spring as far as I'm concerned, though it is a bit sad they didn't sneak in a preview of new material in the set. Oh well.

random seven-inch saturday

2010-03-06T14:11:00.011-05:00

"I Want To Touch You" is probably my favorite single off of Catherine Wheel's 'Ferment'. Not only is the a-side fantastic but it also featured a slew of incredibly strong b-sides across the formats - two of which would be re-recorded for the following year's 'Chrome' and it had the best of a string of amazing sleeves featuring Alastair Thain's photography. The 7" features an exclusive edit of the single remix on the a-side and the omnipresent "Ursa Major Space Station" on the flip. Even though it lacks the "let's take a rocket ship to Mars" tag, I think this version trumps the more familiar 'Chrome' recording.

I do not understand the appeal of the Manic Street Preachers. That said, I've always found myself strangely drawn to 'Know Your Enemy', their 2001 album generally regarded as their low point. [I generally don't believe in music as a guilty pleasure but had I to pick something, it would be this album.] There's no doubt it's a total mess and at least half of the many styles they try on over the course of its 16 tracks totally blow up in their face, yet I find myself returning to it again and again, completely mesmerized by the whole thing. Its best moment is its lead track, "Found That Soul", also chosen as one of two lead singles - another completely ridiculous and half-assed marketing ploy in a career full of them. The 7" - their first in years, I believe - featured a live recording of previous "return to their roots" single "The Masses Against The Classes", which was also the UK millennium #1 if I remember correctly. Nonsense. A total musical car crash.

properly picked singles: These New Puritans

2010-03-03T20:46:00.003-05:00

On Sunday, the preceding image was posted on the These New Puritans website and Facebook page with the comment: "shooting the attack music video..."

A date of April 12th has been thrown around, though not from any official sources.

BRING IT.

[Glad to see someone get their single choices right. ]