Are you aware that Nada Surf has an excellent new album of covers? If I Had A Hi-Fi came out a few months ago, after being first available only on tour at their merch booth, and is now consumable by the general intelligent public. That includes you, dear reader.
I love covers because they show the diverse range of influences on a band, and it is fascinating to hear your favorite musicians interpret another’s work. Nada Surf has chosen old and new songs from folks as varied as Kate Bush, The Go-Betweens, Depeche Mode, and The Muslims (now The Soft Pack). Matthew Caws told me about this idea back in November of 2008, and I’ve been waiting with bated breath ever since.
This Spoon cover is absolutely ace. Ira Elliot of Nada Surf is one of my favorite drummers in all of rock and roll – so feisty and precise. Here, he just makes me smile. This is a great song, and sounds marvelous filtered through Nada Surf’s harmony and clatter.
There are handwritten notes from the band behind the disc tray in the CD case about each song and why they picked it. Matthew writes, “The same ‘Sylvia’ dropped us from Elektra right after we made The Proximity Effect.” Ouch.
This new track from Missouri+Brooklyn’s White Rabbits pounded its way out into the world a few weeks ago, and it is a flipping fantastic song.
From their sophomore album produced by Spoon’s Britt Daniel, it is all chaotic and visceral, all laughing and yelling and drums that shake my insides. And these are the best kind of drums, the primal and unrelenting ones that make me want to run off into the jungle with Brendan Fraser, and not the drum-circle kind that makes you want to punt a hacky sack at a hippie.
You feel the minimalistic space and echo in this song and throughout their sophomore album, with all the best things I love about Spoon leaching into Britt’s production here. I saw White Rabbits at Monolith in 2007, and at the time I wrote that “the band had a disproportionately high number of short guys wearing dapper suits in it, and I thought that it was fronted by Fred Savage at first, which was awesome. This song boasts a ferocious thrumming piano line that I miss each time it stops.” There’s the same ragged edge and ferocity on this release as well that latches onto me.
The story of the album goes like this:
After enlisting tourmate, friend and songwriter Britt Daniel (Spoon) as producer, the pair began the process of exchanging demos between Brooklyn and Portland. The sessions were recorded over four weeks by visionary engineer Nicholas Vernhes (Animal Collective, Deerhunter) at Rare Book Room in Brooklyn, NY. Taking special care to recreate the unhinged nature of the original demos, the band utilized the wide range of tools in the analog-friendly studio to shape the personal spirit infused in the new tracks. Upon the completion of tracking, White Rabbits traveled to Austin, TX to mix the record with studio wizard Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail Of Dead)….
It’s Frightening is out May 19th on TBD Records (the U.S. label home of Radiohead, and Other Lives, who I just saw Friday night with the jaw-dropping Elvis Perkins).
And just off a few tour dates with Spoon, the White Rabbits are all over the place this summer:
WHITE RABBITS TOUR DATES
5/21 – Bowery Ballroom – New York NY
5/30 – Grog Shop – Cleveland OH
5/31 – Do Division Fest – Chicago IL
6/01 – Summit – Columbus OH
6/02 – Rock N Roll Hotel – Washington DC
6/04 – Middle East – Boston MA
6/05 – Johnny Brendas – Philadelphia PA
6/06 – Brillobox – Pittsburgh PA
6/09 – Mojos – Columbia SC
6/10 – Firebird – St Louis MO
6/11 – Bonnaroo – Manchester TN
6/14 – Emo’s – Austin TX
6/16 – Club Congress – Tuscon AZ
6/17 – Casbah – San Diego CA
6/18 – Troubadour – Los Angeles CA
6/20 – Independent – San Francisco CA
6/22 – Crocodile Cafe – Seattle WA
6/23 – Doug Fir – Portland OR
6/24 – Neurolux – Boise ID
6/25 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake UT
6/26 – Bluebird – Denver CO
6/27 – Slowdown JR – Omaha NE
6/29 – 400 Bar – Minneapolis MN
6/30 – High Noon – Madison WI
7/1 – Empty Bottle Chicago IL
7/02 – Pike Room – Pontiac WI
8/1 – All Points West Festival – Liberty State Park NJ
Britt Daniel (of Spoon) played a solo set at MusicFest Northwest this weekend in Portland, and by the accounts of those who were there, he absolutely stole the weekend with his vibrant performance. Daniel debuted three new songs, playing with Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney on drums.
SlyOyster, who shot the video, reports that Daniel peppered the set with new tunes. In addition to the one above, he played “Writing To You In Reverse” (which has been making the internet rounds after being played at the Pitchfork Fest), and a new one described as “an aggressive uptempo number in the vein of their Telephono days — you could almost here the Pixies influence in the tune’s rawness.” Check out SlyOyster for more video and audio from the set.
The inaugural Mile High Music Festival brought massive-scale concert enjoyment to Colorado this weekend. An estimated 80,000 festival attendees from all over the nation and beyond (Canada?) descended on the endlessly stretching, sun-baked green of the fields at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on the eastern outskirts of Denver.
My hundred-degree Saturday started a bit belatedly (pitchers of cider called to me on a shady patio and I missed a few early day bands) with my favorite performance. The astoundingly rich Josh Ritter exploded through the more “rocking” of his folk songs (this meant no Thin Blue Flame, no Temptation of Adam sadly) and wowed the crowd with his incisive lyricism and ebullient joy in performance.
Oh, I heart you Josh Ritter.
Andrew Bird was next up, with his elegant orchestral pop songs that swirl around the otherworldly sound of his trademark whistling. My friend perceptively noted that this “instrument” of Bird’s whistle actually sounds a lot like a theremin, something I’d not previously realized but is absolutely true. Under the shade of the Bison Tent stage, Bird kicked off his blue shoes and strutted his tiny wiry frame around in multicolored striped socks. The silver double-head phonograph spun, dizzily. The crowd shouted their approval.
And finally Tom Pettyswooped in with his embroidered jacket and dozens of songs you forgot you knew every word to by heart. He finished off night one in grand style.
Festivalgoers shuffled exhausted out to our cars to get ready for day two . . .
Porca miseria! (That means pig misery. That’s also exemplary of the reasons why Italian profanity is one of my interests). Italy lost to Spain yesterday in the Euro 2008 quarterfinals, despite the loudest cheers of my small viewing contingent. It’s always agonizing and ultimately a bit unfulfilling to see big games come to penalty kicks, but Spain played exceptionally well and I can’t begrudge them. Much.
And if you care not for soccer, you can walk away from that last paragraph with (at minimum) a great new Italian curse, suitable for work and use around your grandma. Pig misery!
Music this week –
Perfect Games Broken West Last time we heard from addictively delicious Los Angeles foursome The Broken West, they were topping all kinds of best-of lists in 2007 (including mine) with their album I Can’t Go On, I’ll Go On. The good news this week for fans of intelligent, robust, catchy-as-hell pop is that they are at it again. I absolutely love this song already, from the opening notes about spilling our ice cubes on the lawn, and the underlying sadness that subtly gnaws through the layers of memorable melody that I’ve been humming all day. Now or Heaven is due in September on Merge Records. [image from their recording sessions]
The Ground That We Stand On Hawksley Workman I got an important-looking courier package from Luxembourg this weekend, with Cartier listed as the sender. Diamonds? An exquisite watch? Nay — instead of fancy jewelry, Cartier has lavished an eclectic sampler CD of music upon me. Heck, why not. They have a new campaign/website/charity thing called “How Far Would You Go For Love?” (second base?). Other contributing artists with original tunes include folks like Lou Reed, Grand National, Phoenix, Marion Cotillard (who won an Oscar for her role as Edith Piaf), and this Canadian artist Hawksley Workman. I’d never heard of him before but this was surprisingly my immediate favorite track on the comp, with a warm voice like Sea-Change Beck and wistful autumnal lyrics. Listen to this tune, like it, and then go download the other songs (for free!!) at Cartier’s site.
Peace Like A River (Paul Simon cover) Spoon The folks over at Daytrotter recently posted a top-notch session with Spoon, and as those Daytrotter guys are so good at doing, they enticed Britt Daniel and Co to play a little gem of a rarity for us — this time in the form of a sandpapered Paul Simon cover. Spoon often has such a cinematic, evocative quality to everything they lay hands upon. Here they take a tune which originally ebbs with Paul Simon’s smoothness wafting in the air tonight, and push it a bit more ragged and on-the-edge, making the song simmer with a touch of pounding mania. As for an album link, how about the new reissue of Spoon’s 1998 album A Series of Sneaks on 180-gram vinyl? Yeah.
Divine Hammer (Breeders cover) The Modifiers Kim Deal is the bass player for The Pixies, and co-founder of The Breeders with her twin sister Kelley Deal and Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly. Deal is a formidable musical force whose creativity and innovative songwriting spirit is celebrated on a new tribute album from the excellent little American Laundromat Records. Songs of Deal’s from her time with The Breeders and The Amps are covered by a wide variety of backyard indie bands of all stripes (The Modifiers are from Boston, but the rest of the featured bands are from all over). The liner notes are by Donelly, and the whole thing was mastered by Sean Glonek (who’s worked with her ex, Frank Black). Gigantic is available now for your rocking out this summer, and if you order it from the label, they promise to ply you with “buttons, stickers, and other goodies with each order.” I can vouch for their largesse.
Play Your Part (Pt. 1) Girl Talk An ambush addition to this week’s roundup, Gregg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) popped in out of nowhere last week with a brand new album of schizophrenic, mile-a-minute sampling. Feed The Animals is out on his Illegal Art imprint and is another pay-what-you-want deal (but if you pay $0.00 you have to explai yourself, apparently). So come on – this song samples Temple of the Dog, Sinead O’Connor AND UGK’s “International Player’s Anthem”?! It’s akin to the way my brain plays music snippets all right on top of one another when I flip through a really eclectic jukebox in a bar after drinking a few. It feels like that; disorienting but so nice. Girl Talk hits Colorado July 11th at the Fox Theatre in Boulder (for what is sure to be an insane show), and the album will see a physical release on 9/23.
I took something of a long weekend; one of my good friends from high school was in Colorado and it was wonderful to see someone who is familiar with a good chunk of me from age thirteen forward, in all my dorkiness and unwieldiness during those years. He was my old neighbor two blocks over; if I stood in my front yard and yelled really loudly, he could hear me and vice versa. We tested this theory several times over the years.
After I picked him and his friend up from the airport we wound up on the slightly janky, late-night special stretch of Colfax that I love, eating amidst dive bars at Pete’s (Greek) Diner [pictured right]. I got the best gyro I’ve ever eaten; I’ve been told that I am too enthusiastic in talking about it. They say it’s just a sandwich. They are so wrong. Just thinking about it now makes my week more bearable.
Music I am listening to this week:
San Bernadino The Mountain Goats I am excited about the range of songs I’ve heard off the new Mountain Goats album, Heretic Pride, out this week on 4ad. My heart stopped beating the moment that I heard the opening notes on this gorgeous song from the pen of John Darnielle [1, 2]. If you haven’t heard them before, the incisively stinging vocals remind me a bit of The Decemberists, with some of the most hyperliterate lyrics you’ve ever heard. This song begins with the vista of “we got in your car and we hit the highway, eastern sun was rising over the mountains. Yellow and blood-red bits, like a kaleidoscope.” Somewhere along the journey he utters the reassurance that “it was hard, but you are brave, you are splendid, and we will never be alone in this world.” Sigh. What more could someone really ask for? This is a hotly anticipated album for me as I just start to grow more familiar with John Darnielle’s work. The Mountain Goats are playing three shows at the upcoming NoisePop fest in San Francisco.
Paper Tiger (live in Sydney 2005) Spoon Oddly enough, Spoon seemed to be following me everywhere I went on Saturday. This was disconcerting and cool — first on the speakers of my new thrift store addiction, then a few hours later at the brewery where we found ourselves on Saturday night. On Friday I had just downloaded this live track for free from the bonus section of Spoon’s pop-artsy website. Originally on the 2002 album Kill The Moonlight, the spare arrangement of the original grows slowly bigger and a bit more eerie sounding here. BONUS: Connor and Nathaniel are offering you Britt Daniel’s remix of songstress Feist. [pic from my Monolith 2007 post]
It’s My Fault For Being Famous White Stripes + Beck New these days in Best Buy stores, you can get the matadoriffic White StripesConquest EP bundled with 2007′s Icky Thump album. Cool because they added tiny Beck as a producer and a performer for these living-room session songs, on this tune you can clearly pick up Beck’s voice (and piano) in a twangy back-porch stormer all about the perils of fame.
Digital Love (Daft Punk cover) Mobius Band Brooklyn electro-indie dudes Mobius Band gave away a nice six-song EP of covers to show their heart for you on Valentine’s Day. This Daft Punk cover is my favorite of the bunch — their version is quirky and perfect for my next mixtape, as it reveals the memorable melody with less robot voice. But the EP also has songs originally by Neil Young, The National, Daniel Johnston (who is on tour?! did I read that right?), Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, and Bob Dylan. Quite the selection for you to choose from, and what better way to say I love you than free music? Exactly.
Second Chance Liam Finn And yes trusty readers, after some heart-stoppage yesterday morning I scored fanclub tickets to see Vedder in Berkeley in April (!!!) which means I will be seeing this chap — son of Crowded House/Split Enz New-Zealander Neil Finn, and impressively catchy solo artist in his own right. Liam Finn released an album on Yep Roc a few weeks ago called I’ll Be Lightning. Rolling Stone wants to make it simple for you and break it down into easily-illustrated formulas, so here’s what they’ve got on Liam:
In addition to the independent acts I profiled on Monday and the big names from Friday at the Monolith Festival this past weekend, I enjoyed an absolutely packed lineup on Saturday and some gorgeous weather. I was wishing all afternoon that I had worn shorts instead of jeans, and in September in Colorado, that’s a good day when it’s that warm and delicious.
BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE Okay, so even though I’ve had the DiG documentary (about the BJM, eccentric frontman Anton Newcombe, and their love/hate relationship with the Dandy Warhols) sitting in its pert little red Netflix envelope staring at me from the kitchen counter for about a week before Monolith, I didn’t get the chance to watch it until Monday. I sooo would have appreciated this performance more if I had.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre was more influential and buzzworthy in the mid-90s than I previously knew, mixing psychedelica guitar rock, Britpop, and shoegaze into a unique San Francisco-grown blend. This concert represented at least a partial reunion of original members of a band that dissolved several times, actually, as Anton Newcombe is surly, egotistical and notoriously hard to work with (verbally destroying and punching out members of his own band on stage, kicking audience members in the head, and basically thinking he’s some kind of son of God). We were marvelling a bit about his diatribes even during the Monolith set (“How about you give me a F*CKING D?“) and now, oh now it’s all clear. If you were at all wondering during the set who this guy thought he was, rent the documentary and it will all make sense exactly who he thinks he is.
There he is, looking like Neil Young off to the left, with original tambourine man Joel Gion front and center again. Joel says he’s quit the band dozens of times, and he retains that same odd panache of years past, that blase smirk on his face as he jangles his stuff – not bad, just kind of looks like a monkey. Or a Gallagher brother.
Not to let the personalities obscure the music – I thought they were really good and I seriously need to check out a few of their back catalog albums. They have a retrospective called Tepid Peppermint Wonderland out now, and also have a new album called We Are The Radioavailable on TeePee Records.
ART BRUT London’s Art Brut played as the sun was starting to set, and they put on a fun show with lead singer Eddie Argos’s spoken/sung lyrics in the Streets-meets-Sex Pistols vein, and general frolickery, all running out into the crowd. They were another one that I thought I might have appreciated more in a smaller venue where the energy would have been more concentrated and refracted.
EARL GREYHOUND I was anticipating this set, andEarl Greyhound from NYC didn’t disappoint. We saw this threesome walking around during the day and man alive they just carry themselves like rockstars. I mean seriously – those are some pink velvet pants. We had it stuck in our minds that Earl Greyhound had said about themselves that they were “as heavy as Led Zeppelin, but way less obnoxious,” but in reality, SPIN wrote that, so now I feel relieved that I can like them without secretly holding that statement against them. They were blistering, just oozing confidence and rock ‘n’ roll strut with a lush heavy sound. I also loved what Kamara Thomas brought to the band with her intense basslines and vocals that perfectly complemented Matt Whyte. I didn’t get any pictures of drummer Ricc Sheridan, but he was unrelenting. S.O.S. – Earl Greyhound
SPOON
VIDEO: THE WAY WE GET BY (LIVE AT MONOLITH)
Spoon was fantastic, absolutely one of my favorite acts that I saw all weekend. I love their varied and soulful rhythms, the howling lyrics, the general cleverness of their music. You can see how they rocked “The Way We Get By,” as well as my favorite song on the new album “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” (when was the last time you heard a modern day lyric reference a dressing gown? Here, that’s where), and “I Turn My Camera On.” I love you Britt Daniel.
THE FESTIVAL “SCENE” Merry Swankster has also written some commentary on the fest and, although the overall review from those shores is positive, the writer said, “However excellent the lineup was, nothing about Monolith conveyed the feeling of a real ‘festival’. If the long term goal of Monolith includes efforts in making it a destination festival which attracts audiences located outside immediate driving areas, organizers will need to seriously think how something unique can added to the experience. . . I don’t know if kettle corn, funnel cakes, and hippie knick knacks (none available at Monolith) change things, but slapping the word festival on all day music concerts doesn’t either.”
My personal opinion of Monolith would be completely different — I thought it was top notch, and I got what I came for. What else should be added? It had a fantastic, formidable lineup of artists to both rival other fests last weekend like Austin City Limits and Treasure Island Music Festival (in fact, there were a lot of overlapping appearances). As a Colorado festival, it also set itself apart with roughly fifteen acts hailing from our own great state. I loved the blending of the hot indie buzz bands along with a very solid sampling of our own finest. There were some cool diversions — local artists . . .
An interactive music exhibit in the Visitor’s Center (congas and keyboards; we saw all of Earl Greyhound playing around on it before their set) . . .
Frankly, I kinda think adding more festivally “fun things” (whatever those may be) would just distract me even further from my goal of seeing as much great music as possible. I am looking forward to seeing how the festival will grow in future years as word gets out about this little gem. I think this guy (Matt Fecher) did a top notch job in bringing a classy festival experience to one of the most stunning venues in the U.S.
I’d like to thank the folks who decided to give me a photo pass for the Monolith Festival. I have a secret desire to be a rock photographer (now I just need a better camera for low light) and so I had a ton of fun taking some halfway decent shots this past weekend, having time to compose what I wanted, and passing the joy on to you.
The rhythmic & fabulous Austin band Spoon released their 6th album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (count how many Gas to put here) on Merge last week, and just because they’re nice they also included a full EP of bonus material called Get Nice!. Before I dash out the door tonight, I wanted to put up three tunes off that bonus collection which have been rocking my earbuds nonstop lately — especially this first one, can’t get enough of it:
The Noise Pop peeps have done it again. In conjunction with Another Planet Entertainment, they’ve just announced an outdoor fall music festival on Treasure Island, the other mysterious land mass in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. It’s been so long since I’ve been out there, it’s just this exit on the Bay Bridge that I always used to speed past. But come September 15 . . .
…and others to be announced. In addition to the above acts, there will also be a second stage featuring up and coming local bands. According to the press release, “It is the first music-based event of this scale and scope to take place on the man-made island that was originally built to house the 1939 World’s Fair.”
(I also just found out that parts of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed on Treasure Island, which just ratchets up its rad factor in my book)
There’s some stiff competition that weekend on the festival scene: I’ll be at the Monolith Festival, and it’s also the weekend of Austin City Limits (and somehow Spoon is playing at all three). But how cool is that for all you fans of good music back in my old stomping grounds? Good job on this one, festival organizers.
TREASURE ISLAND FESTIVAL SAMPLER The acts they’ve lined up are a refreshing blend of indie rock, international beats, and electronica/hip-hop.
Dear lord, this site is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a loooong time.
I was laughing out loud (like, rest-your-head-on-the-desk, hope-no-one-hears-your-stifled-guffaws laughing). It was a thing of beauty. ThingsMyBoyfriendSays.com was new to me, and exactly what it sounds like, a gal documenting random funny things that her boyfriend says — no more, no less. Choice cuts:
“I think I’ll ask the dentist to install tusks in my face so I can fully embrace my orcish heritage.”
or
(When I finally made him shave his damn beard:) “See, this is why I won’t let you have nice things. Because you won’t let me grow majestic facial hair.”
It’s voyeurism perfected in hilarious fashion. Now for your recommended weekly musical allowance:
Big Chair Travis Here’s a radio rip from the BBC of the new one from Scottish rockers Travis– a driving bass line combines with some chattery electronic effects and the smooth vocal delivery of Fran Healy. This’ll be on their fifth studio album, Open, due in the Spring. Ben Stiller is rumored to have laid down some cowbell for one of the tracks; if I ever got to do that for a band, I think I’d die happy. Travis is also headed for the scenic Indio desert of Coachella in April, if you’re lucky enough to catch that fantastic line-up.
Rhythm & Soul (live) Spoon I’ve been listening a lot to uber-talented Austin indie/punk/rock/etc band Spoon lately, digging the eclectic combo of often-acoustic guitar, thumping beats, and funky confident vocals. I think this new track (performed live this past August at the lovely Greek Theatre in Berkeley) will sound divine with the full studio treatment. Hooray! [thx Matt]
All My Loving (Beatles cover) The Smithereens I am still a little unsure as to why this album was actually necessary; it’s a complete cover of the seminal Beatles’ album Meet The Beatles (1964) by New Jersey rock band The Smithereens. Overall it is interesting to listen to, as the band walks through a series of covers that are largely faithful to the arrangments of the originals but with an edge of their own; The NY Times says, “The album manages to scream Beatles 1964 and Smithereens 2007 all at once.” See what you think of this tune — for all the hype, I don’t exactly know why anyone would listen to this when the original is available.
Rocking Chair (The Band cover) Death Cab For Cutie DCFC covers familiar ground lyrically (“Oh, to be home again . . .”) in their reinterpretation of The Band‘s grizzled soulful ballad, from the diverse new album of covers Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band (out mañana) which has some good stuff on it. Jakob Dylan’s contribution is interesting to me because The Band first came to prominence in ’65-’66 as the backing band for his pops, donchaknow.
Chasing Heather Crazy Guided by Voices I make myself a mix CD for the car every month. This is the first song on the next one. Just to entertain myself.
Name: Heather Browne Location: Colorado, originally by way of California Giving context to the torrent since 2005.
"I love the relationship that anyone has with music: because there's something in us that is beyond the reach of words, something that eludes and defies our best attempts to spit it out. It's the best part of us, probably, the richest and strangest part..."
—Nick Hornby, Songbook
"Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel." —Hunter S. Thompson
Mp3s are for sampling purposes, kinda like when they give you the cheese cube at Costco, knowing that you'll often go home with having bought the whole 7 lb. spiced Brie log. They are left up for a limited time. If you LIKE the music, go and support these artists, buy their schwag, go to their concerts, purchase their CDs/records and tell all your friends. Rock on.
The Agony of Lafitte (Spoon) – Nada Surf
Okay, so even though I’ve had 
There he is, looking like Neil Young off to the left, with original tambourine man Joel Gion front and center again. Joel says he’s quit the band dozens of times, and he retains that same odd panache of years past, that blase smirk on his face as he jangles his stuff – not bad, just kind of looks like a monkey. Or a Gallagher brother.
Not to let the personalities obscure the music – I thought they were really good and I seriously need to check out a few of their back catalog albums. They have a retrospective called 
An interactive music exhibit in the Visitor’s Center (congas and keyboards; we saw all of Earl Greyhound playing around on it before their set) . . .
Frankly, I kinda think adding more festivally “fun things” (whatever those may be) would just distract me even further from my goal of seeing as much great music as possible. I am looking forward to seeing how the festival will grow in future years as word gets out about this little gem. I think this guy (Matt Fecher) did a top notch job in bringing a classy festival experience to one of the most stunning venues in the U.S.
THE FIRST 
(2001).
Name: Heather Browne
