I usually star the Guardian’s “Band of the Day” picks in my Google Reader and go back and listen when I have time. The best one I’ve run across lately is Paul Lester’s pick of I Blame Coco, who just happens to be the daughter of Sting. Now, regardless of what you may think of Master Gordon Sumner or his myriad musical incarnations, his youngest daughter Coco, née Eliot Pauline Styler-Sumner, has an outstanding set of pipes. Like her father in his early days with the Police, she’s obsessed with reggae-inflected pop, but she sells it without a whiff of privilege because, well, of said outstanding pipes. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say she has one of the most intriguing voices I’ve heard in years. As evidence, I submit this rough super 8 video of her performing her best song “The Constant”:

The studio demo of “The Constant” probably showcases her voice better than the video, but I prefer the rawness captured in the video.

At the ripe age of 19, she has already assembled a rough and tumble image, pissing off Dad by associating with bottom feeders like Pete Doherty. I Blame Coco has signed a six-album deal with Island Records, which, I mean, yeah, it’s easy to assume this is merely because of who she is, but the few demos I’ve come across all sound like this girl knows what she’s doing.

Despite Paul Banks’ active promotion of his impressive solo debut, Julian Plenti is…Skyscraper, the fourth Interpol album is still on track for release in early 2010. Drummer Sam Fogarino has even alluded to its close relationship to Interpol’s darkly expansive 2002 debut, Turn on the Bright Lights, telling Paste Magazine, “In trying to move forward, there was an unspoken realization that you can’t let go of your sonic-defining tag.” An intriguing sentiment. While The Strokes argue over whether their new songs veer too far from the band’s core sound, Interpol is retreating back to familiar ground, which can get tricky. It’s difficult for a band to move forward while maintaining one foot in the past. At least calculatedly so. In some respects it’s only natural to maintain consistency, but it’s another story to try to recreate the zeitgeist of a career-defining sound. The cynical take is that this is purely to please fans and critics, who may have fallen off the band’s successive efforts, but as a fan of all three Interpol records, I’m willing to allow for the requisite benefit of the doubt.

Julian Plenti Tour Dates:

11/24 – Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
11/25 – Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn, NY
12/02 – Academy Manchester, UK
12/03 – Scala London, UK
12/06 – Melkweg, Amsterdam, NH
12/08 – Cologne, DE Kulturkirche
12/09 - Berlin, DE Festaal
12/11 - Vienna, AT Arena Vienna
12/12 - Milan, IT Magazzini
12/13 – Paris, FR Alhambra Theatre Music Hall

My favorite piece of news in the past week is Beck’s musical response to that clueless buffoon from The Fiery Furnaces, who tried to insult Radiohead, blog-style, but missed the point completely. And in attempting to cover his ass retroactively, took a swipe at Beck. Well, Radiohead, in their lofty chairs of utter superiority, ignored the noise from the male half of a middling indie rock duo, but Beck took a measured swing  and, of course, won handily.

As you may well be aware, Radiohead wrote and recorded a song a few months back as a tribute to Harry Patch, the last surviving UK veteran of World War I, who died at the age of 111. Well, dingus extraordinaire, Matthew Friedberger from the unlistenable duo The Fiery Furnaces, decided out of the clear blue to mock Radiohead for their tribute song. Except, he lambastes them for all the wrong reasons. See, Friedberger somehow mistakenly thought that Radiohead had paid tribute to Harry Partch, an American composer famous for his microtonal scales. He proceeded to trash Radiohead for their pretentiousness and calculated cultivation of cool. Except, whoops, wrong dude. Friedberger then released a confusing, self-mocking statement wherein he tried to make the whole thing sound like a deliberate joke. Never mind that it was awkward and, well, wrong. The last line of said statement is where it gets good: “Matt would have much preferred to insult Beck but he is too afraid of Scientologists.” So, ok, who doesn’t like a good Scientology joke? But the context of his snark just sounds like a desperate attempt to change the subject.

So, Beck quietly takes this all in and releases a tribute to Harry Partch, both defending Radiohead and dogging Friedberger in one fell swoop. Well played, sir.

It’s turning in to a Bat For Lashes kinda day. Must be the fog and dreary weather outside.

It is both fitting and alarming that Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and solo fame will be making a cameo appearance in the third Twilight installment, Eclipse. If Stephenie Meyer co-opts Bauhaus as an influence and millions of tweens are introduced to the likes of “Stigmata Martyr” and “Bela Lugosi’s Dead”, thus creating a Hot Topic frenzy, it will be like a beam of pure sunlight flashed directly into the eyes of goths the world over. I imagine the members of Bauhaus themselves probably would not argue with the chunk of change that might accompany such publicity, but disaffected teens will have to find a new bag of tricks to show the establishment just how much it doesn’t care, as eyeliner and fishnets will invariably become the uniform of the masses.

Bella’s Twilight Father, Billy Burke, explains the cameo’s context to MTV News:

спални

In an interview set in Warp Records’ New York City offices, Battles multi-instrumentalist Tyondai Braxton discusses his debut solo record, Central Market, in depth with a track by track analysis. Reference points veer from Brian Eno to Ghostbusters. [via Spinner]

To celebrate Sub Pop’s 20th anniversary re-issue of Nirvana’s Bleach, bassist Krist Novaselic has interviewed two key players in that album’s creation, drummers Dale Crover and Chad Channing. Crover is, perhaps, better known as the drummer for the Melvins, one of the bands that inspired Kurt Cobain to start Nirvana. Chad Channing’s tenure ended with Nirvana shortly after a 1990 demo session with Nevermind producer Butch Vig, wherein his drumming frustrated both Cobain and Novaselic to the point of seeking a replacement in Dave Grohl. The interviews are both upbeat and fondly recalled. No bitterness from Channing despite his slightly insulting departure. The Bleach reissue hits stores tomorrow in CD and double LP formats. [via Punknews]

Turns out the buzz about a Jawbox reunion begins and ends with the bands appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on November 23rd. The seminal DC post-hardcore quartet will celebrate the re-release of its major label debut, For Your Own Special Sweetheart, with a one-off appearance on Fallon’s chat show, bizarrely enough. But there will be no further shows, as Jawbox frontman J. Robbins told Buzzgrinder recently:

It seems like if we were ever going to do it — now would be the time. We all put our heads together, and it just seemed like — with all of us in different cities and leading complicated and over-committed lives as we do — that it would be very, very difficult for us to to dedicate the time it would take for us to live up to the standards that we want to live up to.

If we were going to do shows, we would not want it to be half-assed. There were good and bad things about Jawbox, but we always held ourselves to a pretty high standard as far as playing shows. We would want to make sure we did it right, and we felt like we couldn’t take the time to do that. So that was pretty much the beginning and the end of the reunion discussion.

It’s definitely an interesting way to go about a reunion. All eggs in one basket. No bullshit. I like it. [via Punknews]

My appreciation for the Weezer catalog ends with Pinkerton. Everything since has been pretty consistently terrible, particularly the “Beverly Hills”-era, though I do have a soft spot for that “Hash Pipe” single off the Green record. But beyond that, bad news all around. So, Weezer songs in 2009 seem beyond crazy to me, not to mention inexplicable collaborations with Lil Wayne, Adam Lambert, Kenny G, and Katy Perry. I just couldn’t avoid watching this duet with Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester on “(If You’re Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To”, though. The song sounds irretrievably bad, but my love/hate for all things Gossip Girl override such trifling details. [via Pitchfork]

Now that the Pixies have extended their reunion into a never-ending trip down memory lane, it’s getting harder to feel genuinely supportive. When the band first announced it would be reuniting 6 years ago, the excitement far outweighed all of the cliched cons that go hand-in-hand with any band trying to recapture its legend post-prime. But now that the mystery has subsided and we can clearly see that the band has no intention of writing or recording new music, the “20th Anniversary Doolittle” concerts seem more than slightly gratuitous. I was lucky enough to have seen the band the first time around, and, I have to admit, they were just as good post-reunion. So, is it enough to be a circus sideshow of nostalgia?

depeche mode 7.märz 1988 Werner-Seelenbinder-Halle

Praxis Dr. McCoy | MySpace Video
A line from the film, The Posters Came From the Walls which was recently screened in London.

(sarcasm intended)

So, The Sonic Youths were on Gossip Girl last night. It was so weird and uncomfortable. Worlds colliding and all that. And Kim Gordon officiated Rufus and Lily’s wedding? It made me cringe in places I don’t even understand. And an acoustic version of “Star Power” is not what the doctor ordered. I know Kim Gordon isn’t the best singer in the world but Jesus Lord. Videogum has an in-depth recap. I laughed out loud too many times to count. Don’t forget to read the comments. Oh, and if you don’t watch Gossip Girl, then the recap might look to you something like this: 01011000111010000011110101010110010101.

On the next episode of Gossip Girl…Sonic Youth (?!?) will play an acoustic version of the EVOL classic “Star Power.” To cash in on celebrate the occasion, Sonic Youth will be offering the acoustic track as a digital download the following day over at Sonic Youth dot com. If commemorating the band’s first appearance on the ought’s answer to Cruel Intentions with a measly digital single isn’t enough for you, then you can grab the “Star Power” pack, which includes the single,  a limited edition, handmade poster (pictured above), as well as a “Star Power” t-shirt. Rumor has it Chuck and Nate were all “yeah yeah yeah, Sonic Youth, blah blah blah…but do you know Kings of Leon?”

The fact that Mission of Burma’s second post-reunion record, The Obliterati, was so good that it ranked amongst the band’s best work was a feat few bands could pull off. Typically, when bands reunite the “new” stuff pales in comparison to the “old” stuff, but somehow Mission of Burma beat that cliche to a pulp. Now the band is faced with topping its own standard-bearer, The Obliterati, which, even as an ardent fan, I would be crazy to expect. This past Tuesday Matador released The Sound The Speed The Light, Mission of Burma’s third post-reunion LP. I’ve only given a perfunctory listen to a handful of its songs, so it’d be premature of me to claim defeat on its behalf. But I’m quite certain the first single, “1,2,3, Partyy!”, is not quite on the same level as anything on The Obliterati. Oh, it sounds exactly like Mission of Burma; it just lacks the fiery tension that catapulted The Obliterati to the top of so many “best of” lists in 2006. And on an unrelated note, Pitchfork makes you sit through ads before viewing videos? Ugh.

K’s Nouvelle Vague post sent me off to listen to the original Echo & the Bunnymen version of “All My Colours”, which then prompted me to Google what the band’s been up to lately. Turns out it just performed its new single “I Think I Need It Too” on Later with Jools Holland two nights ago. Despite a slightly worse for the wear appearance, the two remaining Bunnymen can still emulate the sound that made them famous. It’s just kind of weird when reunited bands play with guys half their age to flesh out the spots left by members past. The original Echo & the Bunnymen produced a few of my favorite records of all time, so it’s still hard to wrap my head around this ghost of a once great band’s new stuff, even five reunited records and 12 years back in. Still, the music sounds legitimate so long as you close your eyes, which you may want to do anyway because the audio in this clip isn’t synched very well. Ian McCulloch still has that snarling, cocksure voice and guitarist Will Sergeant hasn’t lost his touch for instantly memorable guitar runs. And it’s tight and rocking enough that I’d still go see it live.