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Straight to Video
Rock Art Rock
The Decemberists
September 19, 2009
Terminal 5, New York, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "The Decemberists played a special one night 'lottery show,' where the songs played were picked at random by a master of ceremonies, played by John Wesley Harding..."
Ra Ra Riot
April 4, 2009
Webster Hall, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "This show was, at the time, the biggest one Ra Ra Riot had sold out as headliners, and it was clear to me after watching it that the band is destined for even bigger and better things..."
Florence and the Machine
October 28, 2009
Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY
By Amanda Hatfield "Florence Welsh and her backing band delighted and mesmerized a sold-out crowd at Bowery in her first official NY headlining show..."
Dirty Projectors
July 19, 2009
Williamsburg Waterfront (Brooklyn, NY)
By Amanda Hatfield "I was skeptical about how well Dirty Projectors' gorgeous, complex vocal harmonies would carry over outdoors, standing under hot sunshine..."
See more in the Rock Art Rock gallery.
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Search results for: the beatles
Alex Chilton: 1975-1981
In early 1979, Alex Chilton formed the Panther Burns with Tav Falco. Chilton was nearly a decade removed from his stint as lead singer in the Top 40 band the Box Tops and almost five years from his last recordings with Big Star, the pop band whose work had sparked a legion of dedicated followers. Over those five years, Chilton had begun his definitive move away from everything he’d done before. He made two solo records that had grown deliberately more simple and primal, crossing rockabilly with outrage, and he’d then moved himself behind the scenes to produce the first singles of the band the Cramps, rockabilly revolutionaries of an even more primitive sort. With his next project, the Panther Burns, Chilton found his least refined band to date and again pushed himself seemingly out of the spotlight, this time in the role of the guitar sideman. Yet he appeared to still have a great hand in the band’s direction. The Panther Burns had started almost as an art project, but a year later they had evolved into a rock ‘n’ roll dance band. They were like no other dance band around.
Jim Duckworth, a jazz guitarist who would soon join the band on drums, saw them for the first time in December 1980. “I’m walking down the street, I’m not even at the club yet,” Duckworth says, “and all I can hear—they’re on stage playing, and it’s in between numbers—but all I could hear was this shrieking, screaming feedback. Not your Jeff Beck-style feedback… more the guitar’s too close to an overpowered amp, shrieking feedback. It was that Metal Machine Music [Lou Reed’s 1975 experiment-in-noise record] on crack sort of thing… They had a synthesizer player. He had no conception of what they were doing. He played between tunes, during the tunes; it was all the same to him. They were doing this back-to-basics roots-rock thing and it was hilarious. It was the funniest fuckin’ show you ever saw. It was loose and it was raw and it really worked. When those guys were on, it was a beautiful thing.” read more
“Don’t Bring Me Down”
You’ve heard the song and may’ve even used the expression the title was based upon, but despite the many recordings of different songs with the same title, there are just three that are fit to undergo examination of the origin of “Don’t Bring Me Down”, a stand-up song that has endured confusion, the passage of time, and a multitude of complaints and criticisms no matter who sings them. Consider them exhibits A, B, and C.
The basic definition of the bring down might seem obvious and unnecessary to outline, but since over-explaining is a bit of a specialty of mine, I’m going to do it anyway. If it’s too much of a bring down for you, you can skip this part. But the general idea is that a negative person or event come to destroy an otherwise perfectly good situation—an instant depressor and a real bad vibe—is a bring down. Born from ’50s jazz and hipster lingo (look, I’m no William Safire, but it’s my best guess), whether it’s a party, an idea, a person’s lifetime hopes and dreams, or even their delusions—to be told, ‘That’s not gonna fly, Jim,” is a definite bring down. Ruining someone’s high or coming down from one? A bring down. Get off my cloud, and don’t be a downer, a bummer, or a drag—these are all other ways of saying, “Don’t Bring Me Down.” As jazz lingo had a way of finding its way into R&B and rock ‘n’ roll, and into the vocabs of the people who listen to the stuff, the bring down found its way into hundreds of songs, some more memorable than others. Dig?
Springsteen’s Autobiography in the Works, and Other News
It’s no secret that the Boss is one of the most celebrated wordsmiths of the last few decades, renowned for some of the best lyrics written in rock ‘n’ roll. But Springsteen is undertaking the lofty task of penning his own autobiography, which will be based upon a collection of journals he’s kept throughout his career. Publishers are most definitely going to have a bidding war over the manuscript (which as yet does not exist), with the rights expected to fetch $10 million. (NY Post)
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top is a down to earth dude. He decided to take the London Tube to his own concert the other night at Wembley Park. The Tube then broke down, so he had to take a bus to another stop, where he ran into a bunch of fans headed to his concert. (BBC News)
Just in time for Christmas, in case you haven’t yet spent any money on the Beatles reissues, the re-masters are being released on a limited edition, apple-shaped USB drive. The 16MB drive will include 14 stereo releases, 13 mini-documentaries, and a slew of other neat stuff. (Reuters)
Read more news after the jump.
Best Song Ever Wednesday: The Beatles, “And Your Bird Can Sing”
I was driving into work this morning and the Beatles’ “And Your Bird Can Sing” came on the ol’ iPod, and I was immediately struck by how amazing this song is. Dare I say, it made me genuinely… happy? I dare! I guess I never really noticed it before since it’s on side two of Revolver, an album packed with one great song after another. “And Your Bird Can Sing” (written solely by John Lennon, who claimed it was a throwaway and considered it one of his worst songs) is sort of the wallflower of the bunch, but taken out of the context of that record, it’s a revelation of a hard-edged rocker, particularly for its circular, dual-harmony guitar riff.
Played by McCartney and Harrison with no overdubs, apparently the double-tracked guitar solo came in at #69 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list. Head over to Songfacts.com for more interesting backstory on the song.
Seriously, I listened to it four times in a row. C’mon John, it’s the best song ever!
But wait. There’s more super important related Beatles news waiting for you after the jump. read more
Sean Lennon: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead OST
Sean Lennon
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead OST
(Chimera, 2009)
Perhaps more than any other peripheral characters from the world of Shakespeare, Hamlet courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have the dubious honor of starring in the most Shakespeare parodies. W.S. Gilbert (the librettist half of Gilbert and Sullivan) took a shot at them with the late-19th century play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: A Tragic Episode, in Three Tabloids, and in 1966, Tom Stoppard debuted his absurdist take on the characters with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Now, with all America enraptured by vampires, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead demands a soundtrack that is both macabre and playful to underscore their exploits.
Sean Lennon delivers with songs that are eerie and childlike, befitting wakes as well as naptime. This distinction is clear from the beginning of the record, when Lennon layers sheets of devilish piano tritones before resolving into major chords and finally picking up steam with tuba oomph and pizzicato strings. The title theme evokes the scores that Danny Elfman has contributed to Tim Burton films; fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas will be especially pleased.
Lennon doesn’t settle for any single style, however. “Elsinore Revisited” is a creepy music-box number. “Bobby’s Bedroom” is a sweet 6/8 ballad, alternating between happy arpeggios and a beautifully brooding B section. “‘S Blood” and “The Interview” are sustained soundscapes that evoke Brian Eno’s ambient sphere.
“Elsinore Reprise” and “Finale” have some soaring rock moments. The latter concludes with pulsing brass and bass, and a blast of cacophony is truly reminiscent of the mid-period Beatles tracks “Only a Northern Song” and “It’s All Too Much.” (I’d make the same comparison regardless of the artist’s last name.)
The record was composed on Lennon’s bedroom computer, and while this indicates that there’s a large amount of MIDI synth in use, the overall sound is surprisingly organic. “Fortenbras” comes close to a too-synthetic sound, but the rhythm is pinned down by a watery scratch on guitar strings that balances everything out. Only “Charlotte’s Theme”, with its militant video game bombast, slips too far into the MIDI hole.
The record is primarily instrumental, save for a few “ahhs”; but there’s nothing wrong with a little free association rap from the man that invented and destroyed the sub-genre: Kool Keith. Keith swings by on “Desire”, and, as he is a masterful actor in his own right, he reprises his intergalactic pimp persona: “We protrude the ozone layer / I’m a ozone player, club night / I’m a broad chaser with a silver blazer.”
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, the movie, has been circulating around film festivals and garnering positive reviews for its dark comedy, but as of yet, it doesn’t seem to have a full-fledged distribution deal. So you’ll have to get the album and use your imagination, watch the actors and vampires chew and suck the life out of each other on the insides of your eyelids. The soundtrack is direction enough.
Listen: Various Tracks [at chimeramusic.com]
Trick or Treat with Alice Cooper
New Single and Old Stories from the Shock Rock King
Hard to believe that Alice Cooper’s new single, “Keepin’ Halloween Alive”, packs more punch than any 10 new rock songs combined, especially when you consider the fact that the Shock Rock King has, as the song says, “kept Halloween alive since 1965.” But there you have it.
Of course it helps that here Alice is backed by axemen Piggy D. (of Rob Zombie’s band) and Dave Pino (Powerman 5000), two of the few new(er) jacks who can stand toe-to-toe with Detroit’s original glam-slammer. Still, it is Alice alone who leads this thrashfest. And why wouldn’t he? It’s been his kinda holiday all along.
“At home, my family all gathers around an old, spooky tree decorated with skulls and bones in the living room, and we exchange gifts,” Cooper says. “It’s our holiday. We even all have matching black-and-orange Halloween sweaters! I wanted a theme song for people like me, and for us, Halloween never ends.” read more
Saying Farewell to Chuck Biscuits, and Other News
*** Well, turns out no one seems to know if Chuck Biscuits is actually dead or alive. C-daddy’s! James Greene, Jr. is on the frontlines of the story trying to figure out what the hell is really going on after getting conflicting emails from Biscuits’ family members. (JGTWO.com)
Despite some speculations going around the internet to the contrary, we are sad to report that Chuck Biscuits—drummer for Danzig, Circle Jerks, Black Flag, and Social Distortion—has indeed passed away after a long battle with throat cancer. The 44 year old had recently found a special place in the pages of Crawdaddy!, and James Greene, Jr., our resident metalhead/Biscuits expert, will be penning what will no doubt be an eloquent and entertaining eulogy to the musician in the coming days. Stay tuned. (Metal Underground)
After collapsing on stage last Saturday during his opening number at a show at the Oasis Leisure Center, Morrissey was taken to the hospital, but was back to work performing at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday where he melodramatically reenacted the passing out incident for confused audiences. (London Times)
Bummed you didn’t get to CMJ this year? Here’s one run-down of some of the most buzzed-about bands during the industry fuck fest. (New York Times)
A record dealer has come across an extremely rare, still-sealed copy of the Beatles’ Sgt. Peppers owned by the widow of a Columbia Records exec. All of the faces of the fab four are missing on the cover, replaced by faces of Columbia executives. The album was presumably given away to about 100 lucky people at the label. (The Daily Swarm)
Learn how to play guitar from real live successful indie rockers, including Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara, Aaron Dessner of the National, and Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend. (Stereogum)
The Sublime “reunion” tour, sans Bradley Nowell of course, pissed off the deceased frontman’s family by using the name, which was actually trademarked by Nowell himself prior to his death. Randomly, Todd Rundgren, under the name “Rome Ramirez,” was signed on to take vocal duties. Um, really? (Onion AV Club)
Cornershop: When I Was Born for the 7th Time
Cornershop
When I Was Born for the 7th Time
(Luaka Bop/Warner Bros., 1997)
Sometime in 2002, following the release of the curiously titled Handcream for a Generation, Cornershop came through Los Angeles, played a gig, and followed it the next day with an appearance on a local morning radio show. This is not an extraordinary sequence of events—bands do it all the time (or used to anyway), the order of operations varying by degrees. But there was something unusual about the exchange between the radio DJ and bandleader Tjinder Singh. Something told me to grab a cassette, pop it into the boombox, and press record as I listened to them talk about the new album, Singh’s side project named Clinton, and the previous Cornershop album, When I Was Born for the 7th Time.
DJ: Did you feel a lot of pressure after that record?
Singh: No, actually, none at all, we carried on in the usual fashion…
DJ: Was the music you did with Clinton a precursor to the new Cornershop record?
Singh: Not really, no.
DJ: Can you tell us about the new album, then, when you set out to make the new record?
Singh: This one?
DJ: Yeah.
Singh: There’s not much to talk about, really. We just tried to make it as hot as possible and as undeniable as possible.
DJ: Tell me about some of the influences on this record. It’s not unfair to talk about a soul influence on this record.
Singh: Isn’t it?…
XTC’s Psych Side Project Gets an Acid Flashback
First, the bad news.
“At this point,” announces Andy Partridge over the phone from his Swindon, England home, “XTC is pretty much a memory, I’m afraid. I don’t think it’s ever going to be a going concern again. I certainly have a dislike of older bands that re-form; they really, really shouldn’t do it.”
For fans of the legendary British post-new wave group—who managed to survive a good 20 years longer than most of their contemporaries, with the possible exception of REM—this news comes not so much as a shock but rather a grim confirmation of the end of an era. Yet, as Partridge continues, it becomes clear that, while XTC the band may be strictly a historical concern, XTC the brand is in the middle of one of its busiest years in quite some time.
Who Covered It Best: “Mrs. Robinson”
by: Jocelyn Hoppa
Duh, the Lemonheads did. They take the relatively ubiquitous Simon & Garfunkel song and give it a little breezy, jangly punk flavor. And there’s also a video, which features a smiley Evan Dando looking a bit coy and flirtatious while cruising around in a boat through a water canal. It’s not so hard to imagine the Lemonhead’s take on this song as a very ’90s-inspired wink-wink sorta joke.
Who else covered “Mrs. Robinson”? See a list after the jump. read more
by: Jocelyn Hoppa
published: November 16, 2009 in column: What Goes On
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