Must be getting close to album release day, since another free track has leaked from Paul Banks’ debut solo record, Julian Plenti is… Skyscraper (out August 4th on Matador). This one veers well into Interpol’s spiky, post-punk lane- so much so that it almost seems odd that Banks didn’t offer this one up to the band. At least “Fun That We Have” attempted a direction change with its electronic backbone. This one calls into question the point of a solo album at all, if it’s going to mimic the mothership so closely. But I’m all about this guy’s voice, so I can only complain so much. Plus, the picture that adorns this post is astounding.  You can do no wrong, sir.

Julian Plenti – Games for Days.mp3

Official video for the new, slightly polarizing Arctic Monkeys single, “Crying Lightning.” The Josh Homme influence from behind the boards is readily apparent but hardly overwhelming. The stoner-rock look is more jarring than the musical departure. This video is clearly a piss-take joke played straight, except for the rising out of the seat bit. The song’s a bit of a grower, as it has many Arctic Monkeys fans drawing a line in the sand between old and new. These guys are smart enough to know they couldn’t repeat themselves at this point; they know how the game is played, and I’m on board. Alex Turner is the best lyricist working today. The band’s third LP, Humbug, is out August 25th on Domino.

Discovering a record like Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies was one of those quasi-religious experiences, wherein I felt the need to preach its gospel to anyone who would listen. It’s one of those used record store finds that sounds better the more worn-in your copy is. The songs are a contradictory amalgamation of jitters and pop. It’s dark music played fast and nervously with an acute sense of melody. And the production is earphone heaven. It’s the sort of album that every record store clerk worth talking to owns multiple copies of, yet it never made much of an impact commercially. But its influence on early 1980’s college rock is unmistakable. The Feelies took six years to follow it up with The Good Earth, which is barely recognizable as coming from the same band (which, technically, after multiple line-up changes, wasn’t the same). Bar None records is reissuing these first two Feelies albums in looooong-overdue deluxe editions, complete with heavy graham vinyl editions. Strangely, the bonus tracks will only be available digitally, so the discs themselves will feature just the remastered albums. Supposedly, the band did not want to alter the original artwork. If you have never sat down with a pair of headphones and Crazy Rhythms on the turntable, I am jealous of that feeling you are about to experience for the first time. [via Pitchfork]

Crazy Rhythms:

01 The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness
02 Fa cé-La
03 Loveless Love
04 Forces at Work
05 Original Love
06 Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (Except Me and My Monkey)
07 Moscow Nights
08 Raised Eyebrows
09 Crazy Rhythms

Crazy Rhythms bonus tracks:

01 Fa cé-La (single version)
02 The Boy With the Perpetual Nervousness (Carla Bley demo version)
03 Moscow Nights (Carla Bley demo version)
04 Crazy Rhythms (live)
05 I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms (live) (Modern Lovers cover)

The Good Earth:

01 On the Roof
02 The High Road
03 The Last Roundup
04 Slipping (Into Something)
05 When Company Comes
06 Let’s Go
07 Two Rooms
08 The Good Earth
09 Tomorrow Today
10 Slow Down

The Good Earth bonus tracks:

01 She Said, She Said (Beatles cover)
02 Sedan Delivery (Neil Young cover)
03 Slipping (Into Something) (live)

Though it could easily be another one of Alex James’ coy, pot-stirring sound bites, the legendary louche/bassist of Blur has announced that the band has no plans whatsoever to continue, following its triumphant return to the summer festival circuit. Blur stormed back from self-exile with a string of high profile concerts to celebrate its reunion with estranged guitarist Graham Coxon and seemingly to show the imitators how it’s done. Now that the band has ended its run with showers of praise and a completely rejuvenated fanbase, James has nonchalantly dismissed any further activity, squashing hopes for American fans that the band would continue the parade stateside.

“I’ve spent the last week staring at a bonfire muttering to myself,” bassist Alex James told BBC News. “I haven’t been able to contain the joy that [the reunion concerts] brought to all of us. It was very, very emotional. Everything we hoped it would be and more.”

James is notorious for toying with reporters. So, anything he says has to be taked with the requisite amount of salt. He did call Glastonbury Blur’s “best gig ever”, which would admittedly be hard to top.  But I wouldn’t close the book just yet.

Love and Rockets were another one of my gateway bands in high school that opened up a whole new world of music to me. The band’s fluke Top 40 hit, “So Alive”, represents very little in terms of the breadth of its myriad musical styles. Despite being 3/4’s of the legendary art-punk pioneers, Bauhaus, Love and Rockets successfully threw off that heavy gothic shadow to explore a slightly more optimistic worldview. Introducing bizarre humor by way of its alter-ego, The Bubblemen, Love and Rockets certainly elevated its strange, albeit, mysterious appeal. Over the course of its first four records, Love and Rockets traversed disparate terrain from psychedelia to fuzz to garage to folk to pop and back again. After 1989’s eponymous self-titled smash, which saw the band playing stadiums opening for The Cure, the trio retreated into various solo and side projects. It would be five years before Love and Rockets would return, unrecognizably, in 1994 with a heavy dance and electronic bent. With a few exceptions, it’s the music on these first four albums that comprise the forthcoming tribute record New Tales To Tell. The contributors vary wildly. Some makes sense (Black Francis), while others do not (Better Than Ezra). But the diverse list of artists and interpretations is a testament to the band’s impact on the underground and that which bubbled over. New Tales To Tell is out digitally on July 28th, while the physical release is not until August 18th via Arsenal RocknRoll/Justice Records. The artwork was designed by Shepard Fairey of Obama poster fame.

Tracklist:

1. All In My Mind – Black Francis
2. Holiday On The Moon – Puscifer (MJ Keenan) (Tool & A Perfect Circle)
3. Love Me – War Tapes
4. No New Tale To Tell – Blaqk Audio (Davey & Jade of AFI)
5. I Feel Speed – Dubfire
6. Inside The Outside – The Dandy Warhols
7. Life In Laralay – Sweethead
8. An American Dream – Film School
9. The Light – A Place To Bury Strangers
10. Mirror People – Monster Magnet vs Adrian Young (No Doubt)
11. Fever – The Stone Foxes
12. No Big Deal – Frankenstein 3000
13. It Could Be Sunshine – VEX
14. So Alive – Better Than Ezra
15. Haunted When The Minutes Drag – James Hall
16. Lazy – Chantal Claret (Morningwood) vs Adrian Young (No Doubt)
17. Sweet F.A. – Lossy Coils with Ian Moore
18. No Words No More – Snowden
19. Sweet Lover Hangover – Charlie & The Valentine Killers
20. Yin And Yang & The Flowerpot Man – Halloween Jack (Stephen Perkins & Gilby Clarke)
21. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven – The Manichean
22. Bound For Hell – Johnny Dowd & Billy Cote
23. Saudade – Halls Of The Machine

Bonus
24. Kundalini Express – The Flaming Lips
25. Mirror People – The Invisible Humans
26. No New Tale To Tell – Astra Heights

Black Francis – All in My Mind.mp3

[Read more →]

It’s no secret that Courtney Love is a conniving opportunistic freak. So, it’s good to see little things like the law preventing her from reneging on a contract. Back in 2002 when Hole officially disbanded, Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson signed an agreement stating that Hole could not exist unless both persons were involved. Well, either Love signed that piece of paper in a blitzed-out cloud of prescription drugs (likely) or she just flagrantly disregarded its existence (also likely) because she recently announced her intention to resurrect the Hole moniker as the sole original member to save her fledgling solo album. À la one Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins brand. No doubt, Love took a page from her former fluid-swapping partner’s book of sleazy corporate tactics.

I really don’t understand bands that take years and years in between albums. The more time that passes, the higher the expectations. Plus, you’ve got crazy short attention spans to deal with, thanks to the shuffling of iPods and whatnot. The kids that bought Is This It are practically moms and dads now. And do we really need side-projects from every single band member? I’ve always kind of been against solo albums if your band is still functional. Does the market really need to be saturated with your every whim? The Strokes’ last record came out over three years ago- an absolute eternity in today’s culture. And instead of news of new Strokes material, the blogs are bogged down today with word that frontman Julian Casablancas has a solo record ready to go. Of course he does. So we have to sit through that promotional machine’s life-cycle before a new Strokes record will see the light of day.

So, Casablancas’ debut is called Phrazes for the Young and was recorded in L.A., Nebraska, and New York with Jason Lader and Bright Eyes mainstay Mike Mogis. This video at juliancasablancas.com hints at the record’s tone:

While I’ve been keeping It’s Not Me, It’s You in consistent rotation, I have to admit it doesn’t have the same impact on me as her debut. The dour disco vibe of this new record pales slightly as compared to the juxtaposition of her acerbic wit and sprightly post-ska pop from Alright, Still. Even so, the girl still manages to sound charming on her new single, “22″, despite moaning about obvious topics like societal misogyny.

When you think of Playboy’s target demographic, do Dinosaur Jr. fans come to mind? Well, maybe. Anyway, the reunited trio sat down for a performance and chat piece for a new feature on Playboy.com. The guys discuss their unanimous love and respect for The Cure, which was already evident in their monstrous cover of The Cure’s classic “Just Like Heaven” two decades ago. J, Lou, and Murph talk up Robert Smith’s weird wardrobe and mad ping pong skills before launching into an acoustic version of the aforementioned tune. This interpretation differs wildly from both the original and Dinosaur Jr.’s own cover, as J sort of free-style solos over the intro while Lou holds the fort down with standard chord changes. Murph just seems to shake some rattles, but it all makes for a delightfully weird clip. Playboy hasn’t figured out embedding yet, so you can view it here.

Supposed to be a return to the sound of the early days, which is good for fans who haven’t really dug the last couple records as much as, say, Suburban Light. Hard to believe it has been a decade since that record was released.

Stereogum has an mp3 teaser.

AC4 is a new hardcore band that features Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström of Refused. That news right there puts my ears at full attention, as Refused’s The Shape of Punk to Come is easily one of the best punk rock records I’ve ever heard. Seriously, if you don’t own, quit reading this and go get it. Needless to say, this band has some mighty shoes to fill. I’d be hard-pressed to dabble anywhere near Refused territory if I were these guys, but Dennis Lyxzén is hardly one to shy away from a challenge. The Swedish quartet has a full-length in the can on Ny Våg Records. There are no less than 15 videos of the band playing live on YouTube linked on their MySpace page, if you want a bigger taste. From what I’ve watched so far, it’s straight-up old school hardcore. Far less refined than latter day Refused but promising nonetheless. Getting excited. [via Punknews]

AC4 LP/CD tracklist:

Detonate
Where Are The Kids
I Wanna Go
The Same Fight
Assassination
Fuck The Pigs
I Can Do It

Won’t Bow Down
It Catches Up
My Condition
Pigs Lose
Over In A Second
Let’s Go To War
Coptown
This Is It

I saw this a few weeks ago and forgot about it until K sent me a link via Quarterlife Party. Good Mogwai song (“Autorock” from the underrated Mr. Beast album). Odd juxtaposition with Lance Armstrong and Nike, though. Don’t get me wrong- the music certainly fits the visuals; it’s just strange to think of Mogwai and Lance Armstrong and Nike and bed together, so to speak. I guess the money makes the pain go away.

Dinosaur Jr. has recalled part of the European pressing of its latest record, Farm, because it is too loud. What? Is there such a thing as “too loud” in the world of Dinosaur Jr.? Apparently, it was a mastering issue, which raised the volume of the sound 3db’s. I just can’t get over the fact that one of the loudest bands I’ve ever seen has a problem with its record being too loud.

Hearing that a band is from Brooklyn may predetermine your attitude towards it, but good music rises above petty biases, good or bad. Soren Well is a quintet from the aforementioned trendy borough that plays a frighteningly accurate amalgamation of Loveless-era shoegaze with showers of guitars and dreamscape vocals. The tonal similarities to My Bloody Valentine’s career-defining album are almost overwhelming. Upon first listening to “After”, I just harped on all the noises and bended tremolos I could pick out that sounded like they were sampled straight from Loveless. But the more I listened, the less that bothered me because the music overtakes you with its monolithic hypnosis. The new songs the band has recently posted to its MySpace page will immediately trigger a reflexive comparison to MBV’s layered, moody architecture. It’s unavoidable. But there’s enough going on under the surface to avoid a knee-jerk dismissal. Soren Well is really good at reproducing these moods and sounds that you’re already very familiar with. So, even with docking for originality points, the band still comes out in the black just based on sheer talent and sonic mass. It’s quite a racket, but one that you will cling to as your ears bleed.

I have no idea why this happens, but sometimes I can hear songs dozens of times without really noticing them. Then one day I’m gobsmacked out of nowhere. This White Rabbits tune had this exact effect on me. It’s been out for a few months, and I’ve heard it plenty of times on Sirius XMU. But one day last week I just suddenly realized how awesome it is. It captures that tense, brooding atmosphere that The Walkmen inhabit so effortlessly, and I can’t stop singing it in my head.

The Guardian’s John Robb questions whether punk legends Crass – or a band with similarly extreme ideals – could exist in today’s musical and social climate. Are kids today too cynical to buy into such ideals? Was Crass’ success outside the mainstream merely a product of extraordinary times? The band played its last show 25 years ago, having released some of the most challenging and experimental punk records in history over the course of its seven year existence, or as Robb further explains:

“The band released a series of records that spliced art-school (in the best possible way), avant-garde collage with white-heat, punk-rock anger. When Crass got mad, they got really mad, and they were ranting and raving at the UK during a mean and miserable time, when Labour buckled and Thatcher took over.

The music of Crass can only properly be understood in this context – the decaying nation, state brutality, the miners’ strike, the Falklands war, and the death of 60s idealism.

Sadly, we’re living through similar times now. Are we too cynical to create an answer like Crass did?”

There will always be niche freaks, who embrace codes that flagrantly reject societal norms, so I think it’s entirely possible for a band to capture some nebulous sense of idealism and turn it into a movement, despite attention spans being so seemingly short these days. But Crass’ appeal stretched beyond those that actually bought into what they were selling.

(via Tug/Twitter)

“We wanted to do something special for Doolittle’s 20th anniversary,” Pixies singer/guitarist Black Francis explained in a press release, “and we thought this was a good opportunity to play all of the songs from that album, something we don’t normally do at a regular gig.” Guess I’ll be flying to London or Paris for their European Tour.

p.s. 20 years?!