Maya Arulpragasam, otherwise known as the Sri Lankan rap-pop dynamo M.I.A., is an artist that’s hard to miss and even harder to ignore.She’s spent the past few years plastered all over music blogs, feminist magazines, and Late Night with David Letterman (which led to beef when the show censored her gunshot sound effects during her performance of “Paper Planes”)despite edgy lyrics about crime and poverty and a slightly grimy sound inspired by international genres that most of her fans probably haven’t heard of.Her secret weapon is her distinctive delivery, which is half-rapping, half-singing, and all charisma.
M.I.A.’s 2005 debut Arular was rap-heavy, but 2007’s Kala found her experimenting with pop to great effect.For example, Kala‘s Bollywood cover “Jimmy” is a far more successful attempt at sugary fun than Arular‘s awkward “Uraqt” and “Paper Planes” could be a Rihanna song if it weren’t about robbing and killing people.Kala also features catchier and more danceable beats than Arular, so don’t forget to bring your favorite grinding partner to her Spring Weekend show.If that’s not your bag, her astute lyrics about being disenfranchised and out of options are just as compelling as her ability to make you shake your Ivy League thang.It’s a delicate combination, but M.I.A. combines socially conscious lyrics and catchy rhythms far better than most.You won’t feel guilty for dancing and you still won’t try to tune out her message.
If you’re not acquainted with M.I.A. beyond her great singles like “Galang” and “Boyz,” checking out the rest of her small catalogue before Spring Weekend hits is definitely recommended.While it’s rewarding in its own right, her more abrasive work can be a lot to take booming from the stage if you don’t know what to expect.M.I.A. shows are generally loud, fun, and visually stimulating—she did go to art school, after all.Overall, M.I.A.’s a safe bet whether you’re a fan or not, but it’s certainly worth becoming one.
If you enjoy popular music, chances are you’ve grooved to tunes like the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Juicy,” Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” and even Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up”—but have you ever heard these songs engage in a bout of intercourse so wildly energetic that the neighbors are sure to complain? If not, then get ready for an orgy of pop, alt rock, and hip-hop during Girl Talk’s upcoming performance at Spring Weekend. Using minimal computer technology former biomedical engineer Gregg Gillis combines catchy beats and loops to create a deliciously danceable gumbo of recognizable tracks that span decades. His most recent album, “Night Ripper,” samples artists as varied as James Taylor, the Pixies, and Beyonce. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “One guy and his laptop on stage? Boooring.”Never fear, because Girl Talk’s high octane music guarantees that you will shake your ass or your money back.You should also anticipate that Gillis will probably remove most or all of his clothing on stage. Ultimately, Girl Talk is fun, pure, and simple. His upbeat blend of unlikely samples and effects provides a fun opportunity to play “name that tune.” Plus, if you listen carefully to the tracks “Once Again” and “Summer Smoke” from “Night Ripper” you’ll get a taste of another Spring Weekend performer: M.I.A.
A decade after Phish realized that their concerts still sold out even if they added the same 15 minutes of lazy funk to every song, jam bands are less a vital force than a cottage industry or, even worse, a 90's holdover.But if one band is fighting that perception, it is Indiana's Umphrey's Mcgee.Abandoning the Grateful Dead worship and southern rock clichés of their contemporaries, they instead opt for thrillingly perverse instrumental interplay-a la Frank Zappa without the sex jokes. Most of their press concentrates on their on the fly mid-jam chord changes, but they also have the songwriting chops to make albums like Anchor Drops and Safety in Numbers more than bong hit soundtracks.With a busy tour schedule (their run up to Spring Weekend contains 9 shows in eleven days) and their first live album in the rear view mirror, expect this six piece musical juggernaut to please even the least drugged out of the Spring Weekend throngs.
They sure don't make 'em like Nick Lowe anymore. After years as the frontman of struggling pub rockers Brinsley Schwarz came to nothing, Lowe joined fledgling Stiff Records and became a sort of big brother to the punk movement-producing debuts by The Damned, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and the Rumour, among others. Amidst all this activity, Lowe recorded his first solo album, a delicious piece of disposable pop junk food entitled Jesus of Cool that has been difficult to find before Yep Roc's deluxe reissue.
The "dinosaur bands" dominating the charts were recording albums had tried to achieve lasting significance with smooth, timeless production, while the punk movement abandoned any idea of lasting significance in favor of pinpointing time and place to achieve significance for the here and now. With Jesus of Cool, however, Lowe eschewed any attempts at constructs like "significance" or "originality," surprisingly resulting in an album every bit as fun and satisfying now as it was in '78. Unamused by the cheeky title, his American record label shuffled the track listing and changed the album's name, British Invasion style. Usually termed as power-pop by default, Lowe's music is much more than that. In fact, the American title Pure Pop For Now People is actually a fairly accurate depiction of how it sounds, a gleeful mix of old time rock, a few lush ballads, punk pisstakes, and a hint of disco. The new reissue contains every track from the multiple versions of the LP, plus a hearty helping of outtakes and contemporary singles that could easily have made the cut. Lowe's singing and lyrics convey the enthusiasm of a musician within months of his 30th birthday finally getting his due. The rough "So It Goes" travels from tales of willfully violent gigs ("you better keep your backstage passes / as your promoter has the muscle") to comments on Soviet-U.S. relations in the giddy blur of its 3 minutes while "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass" is Lowe's psychological exploration into the hotel destroying motives of rock stars, with a great four on the floor beat and nimble piano commenting on the proceedings. "Marie Provost" is another highlight, a rollicking tune about "a winner / who became a doggie's dinner" (if you want to know more, look up the song's subject, silent film actress Marie Prevost). Much like the cover, in which he dresses as different rock star archetypes, Lowe is comfortable and tuneful in his many guises. He would score a U.S. hit a few years later and become a millionaire when a cover of one of his songs appeared in a 17 million selling soundtrack-but Jesus of Cool is his finest hour, and with a fine new edition there's no better time to hear it.
The most promising Smashing Pumpkins reunion track didn’t exactly enter the world with a bang.Instead, “Rose March” recently whimpered its way into our lives as part of the American Gothic EP, an unheralded iTunes exclusive in the United States.While Zeitgeist was heavy on Billy Corgan’s I-just-chugged-four-Red-Bulls-and-also-hate-my-life output (see also: DESPITE ALL MY RAY-AGE I AM STILL JUST A RAT IN A CAY-AGE) with mixed results, “Rose March” more strongly resembles the lush ballads the Pumpkins perfected on their last great album Adore.“Rose March” is unmistakably a love song, with enough “la-da-da”s and sappy lyrics like “I’ll lay roses at your feet” to make a kitten weep, but it’s impeccably crafted and achieves exactly what it sets out to.Sure, twelve-year-olds can slow dance to it, but is that always a bad thing?Corgan used to write some of the prettiest pop songs of his time, and while “Rose March” is no “1979” it proves that he hasn’t forgotten everything.If you’ve ever swooned to the Pumpkins’ softer side, “Rose March” is definitely worth your 99 cents.
I'm just here checking in to talk about a great new artist out of Seattle named James Hill (myspace.com/jameshill). Sounding like a less morose Elliot Smith or maybe Thom Yorke at his most accesible trying to play folk music, James Hill is certainly worth a listen.
Check out the songs "That's Love" and "It's My Day" both available for free download.
These New Puritans, an English quartet with an EP to their name, were given a week by designer Hedi Slimane to write and record a 15 minute soundtrack for the opening of the '07 Dior Homme collection. Strike 1: English 19 year olds. Strike 2: Only took a week? Strike 3: For a fashion show?! Wait, don't call up the next batter yet. Hedi Slimane never immersed himself in the Eurotrash that masquerades as high fashion on the continent and in choosing These New Puritans he has once again demonstrated his impeccable taste. After an introduction of loops and feedbacks, the band crashes in, sounding like a garage rock band trying their damnedest to faithfully cover some big beat classic. It's obvious why "Navigate, Navigate" was released on 12'' vinyl: it doesn't matter where you drop the needle, the surreal song cycle can be enjoyed by dipping in and out of it like the Book of Psalms. Psalms that have chanted vocals and gloriously choppy guitar, that is. Tim Goldsworthy provides the b-side remix under his The Loving Hand moniker. I have one question left: where do I find a club that plays this?
With eight well-received albums under their belt, the Welsh guys in Super Furry Animals could easily be called masters of pop.In that case, their most recent album Hey Venus! might be their Ph.D. dissertation.Drawing inspiration from the 20th century and beyond, Hey Venus! is a primer on creating enjoyable pop-rock that could kick Good Charlotte’s butt eight days a week.
After the 45-second Sgt. Pepper’s style “Gateway Song,” the Super Furries launch into the tremendously enjoyable girl-group-inspired “Run-Away.”The retro trend continues with the Beach Boys twee of “Show Your Hand” and “The Gift That Keeps On Giving”’s sexy soul.These are all unabashed pop songs with catchy melodies, clear vocals, and not-too-deep lyrics, but it’s still a satisfying listening experience.
Hey Venus! apparently began life as a concept album, but few signs remain—this isn’t a band that deals in pretension.For example, Of Montreal-flavored “Baby Ate My Eightball” includes lyrics like “Frothing at the mouth / Descending to heaven” but juxtaposes this by relying on the ridiculous title for its chorus.Frontman Gruff Rhys’s “Suckers!” is the standout ballad, with its simply sweet melody and disdain for “Suckers in the mainstream / Suckers in their slipstream / Suckers in the underground.”While many great bands make self-seriousness work for them, the Super Furry Animals strip it away and uncover instant-gratification genius.
Despite its variety of styles and influences, Hey Venus! is exceptionally cohesive and consistent.The practically inevitable dud track is the languid “Carbon Dating,” but even that’s merely dismissible and not offensively bad.The album is frantic, silly, reserved, and pensive in turns, but the overall feeling is one of warm familiarity even if you’ve never heard a Super Furries album before.Hey Venus! won’t challenge you, but it promises to satisfy you.
Vocal powerhouse Neko Case paid a recent visit to Providence on the first of the month, delivering a solid yet unorthodox show at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel. Case’s name might ring some bells because of her membership in strummy Canadian indie-rock band The New Pornographers. Her solo sound is one of the most progressive being categorized as “country,” and her distinct vocal work and songwriting drew an unusually large crowd to Lupo’s. The size of this crowd could have seemed somewhat inflated, however, since the entire floor in front of the stage was filled with folding chairs. This surprising move on the venue’s part induced a mellow, laid-back feeling to the whole evening, and Case fit the mood perfectly. Her voice stole the show: she belted out her set with a powerful, pure, yet edgy twang that was reminiscent of Loretta Lynn and Grace Slick at the same time. Her seemingly traditional-country inflected tunes included guitars, pedal-steel, and banjo, but also featured many key changes and crooked song structures which helped her sound seem particularly fresh. Neko performed with an energy that was fun and engaging without being oppressive. Her band, on the other hand, appeared somewhat lackluster, with the exception of the banjo/pedal-steel player with whom Case often shared a witty repartee. Case’s personality as well as her warm melodies and stunningly beautiful voice made the show feel homey—she even had her little dog sleeping on stage while the band performed. By the third or fourth song of her lengthy encore, folks who weren’t fortunate enough to snag chairs in front of the stage began to dance their way to the front of the hall anyways. When the band struck up her rollicking hit from 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, “Hold On, Hold On,” most everybody seemed to be singing along, and the concert began to feel a lot more like a regular Lupo’s rock n’ roll show.
Support for the show was provided by Eric Bachmann, lead singer of Seattle-based indie-rock band Crooked Fingers. Bachmann did a solo set of pretty yet slightly monotonous tunes where he sang over rolling, finger-picked guitar. Unfortunately, the Lupo’s crowd was a bit too large and noisy to be rapt with Bachmann’s brand of quiet folk, but a rendition of a Mexican folk song drew in the crowd’s attention for a while. Bachmann’s latest solo release, To the Races, came out on the hip Omaha, NE label Saddle Creek in 2006.
After a great fall concert schedule, things aren't looking too good for the spring. Oh well, here are some events to fill up your schedule while you wait for Lupe Fiasco and the rest of the (so-far secret) Spring Weekend lineup.
2/15/08 Six bands for six bucks at 6pm? Only at AS220, and only for the Post Valentine's Day Punk RockProm. Put on your finest semi-formal attire (seriously) and enjoy a night of up and coming local punk.
3/8/08 Local alt-rock with fiddle favorites Zox were big at my high school. At the time I didn't get it, but here's the secret to their appeal: they are the most accessible local band to form in Providence in a long while. By balancing their edgy textures with competent songcraft, they have maintained a broad fanbase which will undoubtedly snatch their upcoming third album off the shelves of Newbury Comics. Check out what you're missing when they visit Lupo's. The Fleshtones are the only band from the mid-70s CBGB's scene to keep on playing shows and releasing albums without any mention of hiatus or retirement, and they’re still in the running for the best live band in the world. Jake's Bar and Grill is not the friendliest of venues, but The Fleshtones sound like a band half their age and will be worth the trek.
3/26/08 After releasing two albums in 2007, the gold selling Strength and Loyalty and the outtakes collection T.H.U.G.S., Bone Thugs N Harmony bring their unique melodic rapping style to Lupo's. Their five year silence had seen a sea change in everything from Hip Hop aesthetics to sales, but the Cleveland trio acted like they didn't miss a day. The quality of their singing made the Akon and Mariah Carey hooks on their last album besides the point, and the varied rhythms of their verses make up for even the most tired beats.
4/6/08 When Texan post-rockers Explosions in the Sky aren't writing evocative soundtracks to football movies and bringing instrumental rock back to the Billboard Charts, they tour. A lot. People describing their music often act like they returned from a funeral to find that their high rise has been leveled by a giant swan. Soaring!, they say. Emotional! Poignant! Sprawling! Cathartic! They have a point, though- see them when they pass through Lupo's.
4/18/08 Before there were Limp Bizkit and Eminem to listen to while you got drunk wearing a backwards baseball hat and scratched at your new tattoo, there was Sublime. Brad Nowell deserves acclaim for successfully figuring out how to dumb down dub enough so it wouldn’t scare the shit out of stoned kids, but he died before he could get rich off it. Enter Badfish. If you ever wished you could've seen Sublime live, you don't need to practice Santeria-you just need to show up to Lupo's to watch the only tribute band ever to get a write-up in Spin.
Ahh, a night at the thayater.Shakespeare, nonetheless!The frilly collars, the unnecessary British accents, the—holy crap, is that “My Body is a Cage?” Roughly speaking, that was my thought process during the first moments of Trinity Rep’s production of “Richard III,” which prominently featured the music of Arcade Fire.While I don’t think most of the audience recognized the music, relying heavily on a popular band in a play’s soundtrack can be risky.The lyrical, sonic, and thematic pieces have to fall exactly into place to make the intrusion beneficial instead of distracting.“Richard III” and director Kevin Moriarty used particularly effective snippets of songs instead of entire songs, which helped with this.
Also, by drawing primarily from the war-obsessed Neon Bible, the music aligns well with the play’s themes of battle, murder, and power.Sometimes it’s even a little too literal, such as when King Edward IV (Johnny Lee Davenport), Richard’s brother, is crowned while “The king’s takin’ back the throne” from “Intervention” plays.Plus, it’s not like Edward is taking it back in the first place.However, the triumphant organ music adds both solemnity and modernity to the scene, which is what this production is all about.By using power suits and fatigues for costumes and modern execution methods like lethal injection, “Richard III” is made both relevant and serious, and music that reflects our wartime culture definitely enhances this.“Black Mirror”’s creepy paranoia and “Windowsill”’s resigned sadness are also used to great effect in this production.“Richard III” truly has something for everyone with its stunning language, insidiously charismatic protagonist, and truly awesome fight scenes.Its appeal is only further enhanced by judicious use of solid music that both geriatric Shakespeare fans and punk-ass teens like me looking for some blood and gore can appreciate.
Providence’s Trinity Repertory Company is performing “Richard III” through March 2nd.
I enjoy conscious rap. Correction: I enjoy the idea of conscious rap. It's all fine to try to keep the bitches, blunts, and keys out of the equation, but many, including Spring Weekend alums Common and The Roots' Black Thought are too comfortable being defined by what they aren't to construct a lasting body of work. Lupe Fiasco is not one of those rappers.
When his debut, Food and Liquor, dropped in 2006 it seemed like deja-vu. The technicolor radio ready beats, the Rolling Stone features on backpacker fashion, the personality balancing between ambition and virtue...it was the second coming of Kanye West. But not only that, the skateboarding tale "Kick Push" was such an instant classic it was hard to believe that it hadn't been on the radio for years. His sophomore disc, an inscrutable concept album, The Cool, shares his first album's penchant for thought provoking lyrics, nimble rhyming, and consistently great songs. Rap fans everywhere should be concerned about his recent comments about retirement-as hip hop struggles through its adolescent years, anyone putting consistent, mature albums at this pace is a man among boys.
As the Brown Concert Agency continues to kill us with the suspense, we can bask in the knowledge that Lupe, as confirmed by representitives from Atlantic Records, will be at Spring Weekend. Here is a primer on the world of Lupe Fiasco to listen to while you apply vaseline to your windburns and fantisize about outdoor concerts in April.
Kick Push
Two years after it burnt up the blogs, this track still sounds great.
I Gotcha
Whereas lesser rappers settle for asserting how fly they look, Lupe Fiasco tries to get you to smell him through the speakers. Rhyming "musty" with "musky" sure helps.
American Terrorist
The inflammatory potential of an Islamic rapper naming a song "American Terrorist is leavened by the lyrics themselves, which passionately preach forgiveness and understanding. The Return to Forever sample still makes the song though.
Dumb it Down
What Lil Wayne's "I Feel Like Dying" would sound like if Wayne got high on books instead of codeine. The most minimalistic track of Lupe's career is also one of his best. The video is starkly modern-uncluttered, simple, and devestatingly effective.
Superstar
On this track Lupe dissects what is quickly becoming a hallmark of the 21st Century condition: obsession with recognition and fame. What once were diaries locked in drawers are now blogs on the world wide web. What once was a private guilt culture is quickly becoming a public shame culture. Press conference apologies are de rigeur, you aren't cutting yourself unless someone notices it. And as the body count increases in Iraq, Pakistan, Kenya, and elsewhere, the media focuses on Britney Spears' hospital release. If hip-hop is the definitive musical genre of our generation, this may be the definitive song.
The life of a music junkie can be a lonely one.I spent the early afternoon of my 21st birthday lying on my stomach in my parent’s living room with a trio of Let’s Active LPs spread on the rug, scrawling notes in a composition book as I stared intently at the speakers.If you turn the volume all the way down you can hear a small and tinny facsimile of the beat coming from the needle.When you hit “stop” the frequency distorts like you’re listening to a chopped n screwed mix.Listening to vinyl makes me feel like a tourist; I enjoy the huge artwork, I love the smell of the record, but I wouldn’t want to deal with these platters every time I listen to music.
My mind wandered to the day I bought them.I was in the vinyl section of Tom’s Tracks, the last record store standing on Providence’s East Side. Walking aimlessly from aisle to aisle with my hands in my coat pockets, I flipped through the REM section, where I found those three records.I was impressed.They didn’t say “File under REM” on the back, they didn’t even say “Mitch Easter (Producer of REM’s Murmer and Reckoning)’s band.”Just some godawful covers and pictures of androgynous early 80s indie kids.Someone behind the counter had known that Let’s Active was Mitch Easter’s band and made the connection.I snapped them up, and walked to the counter with the self satisfied grin of a true snob.A needle wouldn’t touch those platters for over a year, but if the man behind the counter was as cool as I thought he was, I was earning major points.
You see, Tom’s Tracks was a place where you care what they think about you.I’ve made some pretty shameless buys at Newbury Comics in my day; picking up two copies of a Gym Class Heroes album in one trip, stuff like that.I know I wouldn’t ever try a stunt like that at Tom’s.Tom Farnsworth is/was a thin man with graying hair, intense eyes, and a scowl that had the capacity to intimidate.I had seen him snap like a turtle at the poor people who didn’t know that buying concert tickets was a cash only transaction.Still, I made visits a weekly ritual.Three weeks straight in October 2005, I left with a Todd Rundgren album; each time Tom would copy down the serial number, assess the sales tax on a tiny calculator, handwrite the receipt, and swipe my debit card thru the most ancient credit card device I’ve ever seen.He didn’t say a word until the third week, when he narrowed his eyes to slits.“You the kid whose been buying all my Rundgren?”It wasn’t a question, it was an accusation.“Umm, yup,” I gulped.He gave an appreciative nod and with what seemed like a benediction said quietly, “his stuff’s great.No one listens to it anymore but the guy’s a genius.”I didn’t say anything else but walked out feeling vindicated.In the coming months I had many more conversations and arguments with Tom and his customers who would stick around to shoot the breeze; whether The Kink Kronikles have the best ever liner notes ever, whether The Rolling Stones psychedelic period was a horrible mistake, why Bruce Springsteen is trying way too hard.I felt like I was part of a community with the people who came there.It was the kind of record store that existed only in Pitchfork Media’s guest lists, Spin’s city guides, and my own imagination.The first time I listened to the New Pornographer’s “MyriadHarbor” I thought of Tom when Dan Bejar sang the line “I walked into the local record store / and asked for an American music anthology.”Bought an album for its cover?Hell yes I have.For the liner notes?Yup.Did I walk in to browse and say hi with no cash in my pocket and no intention of spending a cent?Better believe it.
My freshman year of college ended and with no explicit reason to be on the East Side and my dismissal from a high paying job. My visits to Tom’s would become few and far between.I dropped by in the dog days of August to bark at the financial aid office and visit the store.But when I walked to the counter with a deluxe reissue of The Who’s My Generation Tom looked distressed and didn’t seem to recognize me.I was disappointed but didn’t want to push the issue, and I walked the four blocks to my car.
Over my sophomore year, there was someone new behind the counter.He was slightly heavier, he was nicer, hell sometimes he was outwardly friendly.One time I left my calculator on the counter when I visited after class and didn’t return for several months (cash squeeze, high gas prices).When I came in again though, he recognized me and gave me my calculator back.I could hear him talk to Tom sometimes on the phone.I heard rumors that Tom was sick.I heard rumors that Tom had a stroke.I entered a mostly fallow period in my music buying.For every album I bought that was great (I discovered a love for Guided by Voices and rediscovered my love for They Might Be Giants during this period) I seemed to buy two ones that collected dust in piles on my desk.I spent ten bucks on a cd-r compilation of the Beatles’ fanclub Christmas singles.NEVER EVER SPEND A CENT ON FANCLUB RELEASES.THERE’S A REASON WHY THEY ONLY DUMP THIS KIND OF SHIT ON THEIR CLUELESS HARDCORE FANS.I also got a similar semi-legal release of Paul McCartney b-sides that sounds like it was dubbed from a tape having some dire speed problems.I imagined Johnny Rotten taking the form of Tom, rushing through a crappy Stooges cover and laughing as he asked “ever feel like you’ve been cheated?”
One day I wrote a letter on looseleaf and gave it to the 20-something clerk with the glasses to give to Tom.It said something to the effect of, “Hey how are you/Hope you’re okay/I’m Bob/You know the Rundgren kid/Get well soon/If you ever need help around the store/I have cash handling experience.”Confession: Tom’s Tracks was my dream job.
This fall I bought TV on the Radio’s acclaimed Return to Cookie Mountain and handed it to some girl I never saw before and haven’t seen since.“Oh what do they sound like?” she asked.I was slightly embarrassed. Here I was, a big, bad music writer and I didn’t want to admit that I had been flipping through 8 month old Spin issues and noticed it was album of the year in 2006.“Umm…I dunno.Low-era Bowie” (Complete guess).I’m just glad they didn’t make me explain dropping 50 bucks on The Pet Sounds Sessions.Or grabbing five Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci EPs.Or two Urge Overkill albums.
I saw Tom a couple months ago.I was just running in to flip through the new vinyl before my two hour parking ran out.Tom was there.He didn’t look that well, his eyes seemed glassy and he wasn’t really focusing on the people that he looked at.He is blind now.
When I visited in early December, there was a 25% sale.At first I was thrilled, but then I noted the malaise in Rick’s voice as he chatted with some college parents flipping through the Dead section.“Are you going out of business?”I asked with a rising panic.Rick looked sad and just nodded.“Yeah, Tom’s health is just getting real bad and you know most of you kids aren’t buying music anymore.”I gave a weak smile and said in my saddest deadpan “I’ve been buying as much as I can, I guess I just wasn’t pulling the slack hard enough, eh?”Looking at his face as I added to my Dylan collection suddenly made me depressed.Why the fuck should I care?This place tried charging 10.99 for a promo copy of a Love as Laughter cd with no booklet and a “not for resale” sticker.(For the record I didn’t buy it until they marked it down to 3.99).Why should I lament the dying phenomenon of the record store?I had my own way of grieving though: I must’ve bought half that store at 1.99 a pop over the course of that month.It felt like I was throwing dice for Christ’s clothes.I wanted to be there when they closed, but I missed it.I jogged to the door and found only an overflowing mailbox and a stark sign reading "FOR RENT".
Tom’s Tracks opened the same year my girlfriend was born.It makes sense; there are days when I’m glad I’ll never see that punkass clerk with the glasses again.But most of the time I recognize that I would never feel this way about another record store.
Eva Kurtz-Nelson: With their massive webs of references, allusions, and incongruous images, Destroyer lyrics beg to be deconstructed.As an English concentrator, that’s part of why I’m so excited about Trouble in Dreams, the Destroyer (aka New Pornographers collaborator Dan Bejar) album coming out March 18.Destroyer isn’t all about the lyrics, however, as the album’s first single “Foam Hands” shows.It’s not as verbose as most Destroyer tracks, but it’s gorgeous, catchy, and heartfelt, and like the best Destroyer songs it reveals a compelling new detail every time you hear it.Whether it’s term-paper dense or something totally different, I don’t think Trouble in Dreams will disappoint.
Alex Spoto:Akron, OH’s The Black Keys recently announced a tour and an April 1st release date for their fifth full-length, Attack & Release, due out on Nonesuch. The album was originally intended to be a collaboration between the Keys, Ike Turner, and Gnarls Barkley’s Danger Mouse, but with Turner’s death this past December the duo went ahead with Danger Mouse at the production helm. Surely this combination will mean a more modern-sounding take on the Keys’s robust brand of rootsy blues-rock. The Keys’ tour includes an overdue visit to the Northeast in May, with support from Buffalo Killers, the excellent vintage-rockers from Cincinnati.
Ben Bernstein: Louisville, Kentucky exports two things worth my attention: baseball bats and My Morning Jacket. Two albums ago, this five piece put out "It Still Moves", an album of soulful southern rock that encompassed jam band soloing, a laidback country sound, and a soulful fury that hasn't been seen since the Allman Brothers.Their follow up, 2005's critically acclaimed Z, sounded like Lynyrd Skynyrd mixed with the Flaming Lips. Lead singer Jim James wowed listeners with his vocals, which could be soaring or gritty but always felt pure, and their lyrics and sound took on an extraterrestrial quality. On their next album, Evil Urges, James promises more gospel influences and listeners should look for even more experimentation and variety.
Bob Short: After decades of falling in and out of print, late Beach Boy Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue will receive the super-deluxe reissue treatment from Legacy this spring.Bored with The Beach Boy's devolution into an oldies act, the youngest Wilson brother recorded this coke rock classic, filled with lush arrangements and his gruff vocals.Reportedly, the bonus material will include scraps of the oft-bootlegged Bambu sessions, an album never completed at the time of his drowning at 39.
Monica Carvalho: After four years of replayed songs and no news, the boys are back in town.The boys that would “do anything” for you.The boys that are “addicted” to you.The boys that are sorry they are not “perfect.”That’s right, I’m talking about Simple Plan.With the release of their new single, “When I’m Gone,” these Canadian rockers have put themselves back on our radio airwaves and iPod playlists.It’s been a few years, but have no fear—Simple Plan still knows how to write a good song.In “When I’m Gone,” off their self-titled album to be released on February 12th, the boys hang onto their catchy pop rock sound and display the high energy that has made them so popular.
To watch the blogosphere hype factory running at full tilt is truly an amazing thing.In August, Pitchfork Media was blandly reporting some new bunch of New York guitar rock minimalists called Vampire Weekend.By January the internet was abuzz with terms like "prep rock" and wondering whether Ivy Leaguers (the quartet formed at Columbia) were nothing more than indie hobbyists.When the album was released, there was an immediate accolades arms race and a contest to see which reviewers could best bluff knowledge of West African pop.So does the album deserve the attention?Well, yes and no.Running slightly over a half hour, this breezy eleven song set is a blur of mostly uptempo tracks about seducing underclassmen led by Ezra Koenig’s impressive falsetto and fragile guitar work.After a few years of doom-laden chamber rock and chirpy retro-pop dominating the underground, the first few listens are nothing less than the shock of the new- timelessly cheap keyboards, bouncy rhythms- but further listening reveals Vampire Weekend as vanilla flavored world music.The grit and texture is nowhere to be found, it seems as if Koenig and co. only heard of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Youssou N’dour from their Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel cameos.Highlights are the propulsive “A-Punk” and the opening “Mansard Roof”, which reveal the group’s virtues with a loose structure and great vocal outro.The overwhelmingly samey songs and mild pastel tones of the sounds coming out of your speakers will soon relegate this album to sonic wallpaper, and after five or six listens you will probably be wishing you picked up So and Graceland instead.
After earning his wings as a protege for the acclaim bait that is Greg Gillis of Girl Talk, Joe Williams spent two years recording his debut album, Smoke. Released under the White Williams moniker in November, the album is an addictively brittle electro pop album. The bleeps and blips of the arrangements slowly part to reveal glammy mid-tempo pop songs with a keen ear for melody. Last week, Williams spoke to the Post- about how to construct your own laptop pop opus…and never call him White.
Joe Williams: Hey, so you're from Providence right?
Bob: Yeah, you played a show here a couple weeks ago at the Living Room, how'd that go?
Joe Williams: Really, really strange.Were you there?No you probably weren't at back on campus yet..
Bob: I live in the area, but I had to work and I couldn't make it.
Joe Williams: It was a really strange show…weird turnout, the weather was horrible, it was some kind of punk bar, there was nowhere to hang out, so there was nothing to do except drink.Now I'm in Texas and I have forgotten all about that miserable cold until you just mentioned it.Plus they played metal between all the sets.
Bob: That actually segues pretty well into my first question.Now, people who have heard your backstory as a kind of noise rock vet and a friend of the Girl Talk people, were probably surprised to hear this sort of futuristic pop album out of you.
Joe Williams: Well you gotta remember that the time period you are talking about is really a long period.Like that goes from the bands I played with in high school all the way to 2007.I'm 24 now, my tastes have changed, since high school I've listened to a lot of music went to a lot of different kind of shows.
Bob: So, White Williams music isn't what you have always thought a solo project would be for you?
Joe Williams: Not really, I mean it’s just a snap shot of where I was in 2007.If I made this album at any other time in my life I think it would have sounded very different.
Bob: A lot of reviewers are dropping names of these glam heroes- people like Bryan Ferry, Marc Bolan, Brian Eno-when they talk about you.How impressive is that for you, are you a fan of that sort of music?
Joe Williams: Not really, I mean I listen to their music what I really respect about them is how they use the studio as an instrument, because that's what I am trying to do.
Bob: It's interesting that you say that because you kind of went the lo-fi route with your album, recording it on a laptop in various apartments and hotel rooms.
Joe Williams: Well, yeah if you compare their studio to mine, I mean mine is hardly a studio.It's basically a pre amp, a microphone, and some software.But it is a decent virtual studio.I've been collecting more gear lately.The way I do stuff is basically just seeing what I can come up with toying around and then turning that into something, so I love having new tools.
Bob: Did you have these songs ready, or did they grow out of that type of fooling around in the studio?
Joe Williams: The songs definitely weren't the result of any songwriting in a normal sense.I was capturing what was happening around me and around the song grew out of that.It wasn't like an exercise in GABCD or anything.
Bob: So at an early stage did the material all sound like that surreal instrumental at the end, "Lice in the Rainbow"?
Joe Williams: Yeah that's a good observation, yeah at some point in the songs' evolutions they all sort of sounded like that.
Bob: Was it ever tempting to leave the stuff like that, or maybe do a beat and synths dominated album at some point, especially since you have stuff like the mid-section of crazy synthesizers in "New Violence"?
Joe Williams: Well, I'll always have that approach in the studio, just kind of looking around at what's happening, in that case I did a pattern in an appregiotor and I was like "oh this is cool," so that made the cut.Certain stuff will change as we sort of "solve" the song.
Bob: You've included some samples on the album, like the Fleetwood Mac sample on "Fleetwood Crack".How do you decide when to sample something and when you should just do it yourself?
Joe Williams: I don' think I would ever call it a "decision", I will play around with samples as if they are any other thing I could do.Some days I'll just sit down and think "yeah I'll do some samples today" and I'll break out what I need to do that.On that song you mentioned though, Lindsey Buckingham denied us when we tried to clear the sample for Europe.I mean they are all pretty wealthy now so I'm sure I was on the bottom of their list when you think of all the licensing stuff they do too.I'm sure he would have been a bit more apt to clear the sample if the title was a little more…respectful [laughs].
Bob: What are you going to do for the European release, are they going to mix the part out, it seemed like a pretty integral part of the arrangement.
Joe Williams: We're just gonna pull the track.It's going to be replaced with "Violator" which was on an EP.
Bob: You have been playing with a lot more conventional instrument set up than on the album when it was you doing almost everything.Does that change how you think of the material?
Joe Williams: Absolutely not, the live stuff doesn't really influence anything about the material.
Bob: Are you going to use your touring band on the next album?
Joe Williams: Maybe, I have been seriously thinking about it.Maybe a little bit of both approaches.
Bob: What else is on the agenda for you?
Joe Williams: Well touring a lot, going into some production work.I'm producing a guy named Craig Dempsey, its gonna be some good material.
Bob: How is production different for you than making your own album?
Joe Williams: Well I'm still trying to use my approach, just letting what's going on around you to affect the songs as they are constructed.But I also like seeing ho other people do things.
Bob: One thing that has been talked about a lot is the album cover, what inspired that?
Joe Williams: Well, I had a conversation with someone when I was making the album and there was a girl at a party who was crying while smoking weed.The concept of that was strange to me, someone who was crying and wanted to be high at the same time.
Bob: And how did you get Sophia Lamar to appear on the cover?
Joe Williams: She knows Andrew Strasser who did the art design.And she looks…y'know, interesting so we put her on.
Bob: Last question, why White Williams?
Joe Williams: Well there was already a singer named Joe Williams, so I didn't want it to be that. One thing that I hate is how hard it is to keep people from calling you the name of whatever your solo project is.
Bob: Yeah, that must be annoying.But why White as opposed to any other color or name?
Joe Williams: Well I guess I enjoyed the alliteration behind it.Nothing complicated [laughs]
Bob: Anything else you'd like to say?
Joe Williams: Can I do a Brown shout-out to Garret Adams?
Bob: Yeah, sure.Thanks for talking to the Brown Daily Herald.
Once a week, the Brown Daily Herald publishes Post-, its arts, culture, and entertainment supplement. We are Post's music writers, bringing you the sounds and noises that we care about and telling you why you should care too. Watch this space for features, interviews, concert and record reviews, and more!
