new songs: The Dead Trees - "Back to LA" and "Older"

the songs sound more like Little Joy than their own debut. "Older" also has a very Velvet Underground vibe. I like it. The Dead Trees played these tracks in frontman Michael Cummings' Los Angeles backyard for Fader Magazine

Back to LA:

Older:

must watch video: Zach Condon of Beirut joins The National for "Fake Empire" at Paleo

when I first watched this video via the live stream a few days ago, I literally screamed out loud when Zach Condon came out. his addition to the song is beyond breathtaking, and very much worth a view (or ten)

I've uploaded the entire concert on youtube, and it's a spectacular set. they even played "Secret Meeting" and a couple of really old tracks from their second album, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers

set list:

set list:

Start A War

Anyone's Ghost

Secret Meeting

Conversation 16

Slow Show

Squalor Victoria

Afraid Of Everyone

Bloodbuzz Ohio

Sorrow

Available

Lucky You

England

Abel

Fake Empire

Mr. November

Terrible Love

Beirut - Port of Call

I am obsessed with this song.

Beirut - Port of Call [mp3]

that is all.

video: The Strokes - Trying Your Luck (ACL 2010)

this might be the best song Julian Casablancas has ever written

Girls - Vomit

Girls - Vomit (click to stream or enter your email below for a free download)

listen to the whole song through. trust me.

at first, it begins soft and slow, then it gets a bit feistier. finally, it ends in a 60's soul feel that is absolutely divine.

SF based Girls will release their third album, Father, Son, Holy Ghost on September 12th.

must watch videos: Arcade Fire at Bonnaroo

having seen this band in concert and having watched many, many YT videos of them on stage, I can attest to the fact that they generally kick a lot of ass. however, their set at Bonnaroo is something different all together. such intensity, such passion, such perspiration.

band of the week: Bare Wires

Bare Wires make music like a raunchy, punk rock Kinks. They're from Oakland. The songs speak for themselves.

tour:

Aug 6th: SF, San Frandelic Summer Fest
Sept 5th: Vancouver, w/Thee Oh Sees
Sept 6th: Vancouver, Lucky Bar
Sept 7th-11th: Portland, Music Fest NW
Sept 9th: Portland, w/Thee Oh Sees

Bare Wires- Ready to Go [mp3]

Wicker Park Fest this weekend in Chicago

Bummed about missing Lolla this year? Head on over to Milwaukee Ave (from North Ave to Wood St) this weekend and enjoy a weekend of fun and music. A mere $5 gives you admission and tons of bands to see, including Everest, Ha Ha Tonka, Wavves, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, Blitzen Trapper and El Ten Eleven, a nifty little thing I found in my inbox today

Saturday:

Sunday:

preview the music HERE

book review: David Bowie: Starman by Paul Trynka

“He was unique. The only singer I ever worked with where virtually every take was a master.” -Ken Scott, record producer

David Bowie’s real name was David Jones, he took the name Bowie at an early age after becoming obsessed with Jim Bowie from the film The Alamo. From then on, it seemed evident that David would transform into a million different things, each more interesting than the last.

Former editor of Mojo magazine Paul Trynka has compiled a definitive biography of Ziggy Stardust entitled David Bowie: Starman. In it, he follows the rise of one of the most interesting figures of rock n roll history. In the prologue, Trynka describes a Bowie performance as a “spectacle of not-belonging”. And thus the mood is set for the entire book, which is devoted to unearthing the secrets behind the man who hid behind so many guises.

David Bowie: Starman begins with a brief familial biography, tracing Bowie’s self-identification with alienation and schizophrenia to his mother’s family, many of whom suffered from mental illness. The book then chronicles Bowie’s first exposures to music. In 1955, when he was eight years old, the young David heard Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” for the first time. He says that “my heart nearly burst with excitement. I’d never heard anything even resembling this. It filled the room with energy and colour and outrageous defiance…I always wanted to be Little Richard—he was my idol.” And so our journey begins.

This biography is very interesting and extremely well written. It explains little details about Bowie’s life, like the incident that resulted in him having two differently coloured eyes (it has to do with a love triangle, and a fist fight with a friend.)

From the beginning, Bowie was determined to be a star. He wanted to be an entertainer, a singer, famous. “He boasted a bright eyed teenage confidence and reacted to every break as if it were his by right.”

When he first became a fad in the local scene at age seventeen, he was influenced by the Beat novels of the time and thus adopted a nomadic lifestyle. Many of his early performances had to do with showmanship, and often lacked any singing at all. David Bowie, therefore, has always been determined to be a performer and entertainer above all else. Therefore, his artistic expression was never limited to music, but rather embodied a vast spectrum of experimentation, from his pansexual nature to his glamourized multi-media dance performances.

Bowie would charm woman after woman and in true hippie fashion, explore the world without being anchored by a job or having to worry about paying rent. He was a delightful addition to all social circles, and his peers would seek his presence without expecting anything in return but the pleasure of his company.

This book is thorough and detailed with respects to the intricate relationships which drove Bowie’s career, from Calvin Lee to Iggy Pop to Mick Ronson to Lou Reed. Trynka delves into these relationships through extensive narratives from the people closest to Bowie during all periods of his life, exploring not only his musical career but the accompanying drug addictions, sexual experimentation and his unparalleled influence on his fans and the entire music industry.

Bowie himself attributes his multi-faceted musical career to the fact that he was not naturally talented. He says “I forced myself to become a good songwriter. I had no natural talents whatsoever. I made a job of work at getting good.” Trynka cleverly analyzes this by stating “having built up a technique from scratch once, he could do it again”.

Even in his early years, image was everything. When he was a little boy, mothers admired how clean and well-kept he always was; as a teenager, his peers both adored and envied his unique sense of style and glamour. According to Scott Richardson, for Bowie, being a performer was “I’ll do anything, play anything, say anything, wear anything to become a star, and there’s nothing wrong with that. And there was a tremendous hunger on the part of the audience for it too.”

For any devoted fan of David Bowie’s music, this book is a must read. It brings much needed perspective to the man who has fascinated generation after generation of young kids and adults alike, and influenced bands in every genre.

David Bowie: Starman was released today. Buy it on AMAZON

Beirut announce Chicago show (+tour dates)

Beirut will play Congress Theatre on Monday September 26. Tickets on sale Wednesday at 10AM. Get them HERE

Tour Dates:

07/05 – Ferrara, Italy @ Costello PIazza
07/07 – Republic of Serbia @ Exit Festival
07/09 – Slovakia @ Pohoda
07/12 – Arles, France @ Arles Fest
07/14 – Meco, Portugal @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/16 – Valencia, Spain @ Benicassim Festival
07/18 – Lyon, France @ Les Nuits de Fourviere
07/20 – Nyon, Switzerland @ Paleo Festival
07/29 – Portland, ME @ State Theater
07/31 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga
08/02 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix
08/04 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix w/ Owen Pallett
08/05 – Sun. Aug. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/10 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
08/12 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
08/14 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
09/02 – Dorset, UK @ End of Road Festival
09/04 – Stradbally, Ireland @ Electric Picnic
09/06 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
09/08 – Amsterdamn, Netherlands @ Paradiso
09/12 – Paris, France @ Olympia
09/14 – Brussels, Belgium @ AB
09/16 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy
09/21 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/22 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
09/28 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
10/04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
10/09 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
10/11 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall
10/25 – Richmond, VA @ The National
10/27 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
10/29 – Austin, TX @ Stubbs Waller Creek
11/11 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
11/13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

The new album, The Rip Tide will be released on August 30 but snag a taste below:

Beirut - A Candle's Fire [mp3]
review forthcoming.

Watch: Radiohead's entire Glastonbury 2011 set

As Thom says, the band plays "King of Limbs and shit"

set list:

Lotus Flower
15 Step
Morning Mr Magpie
Little By Little
All I Need
Separator
Give Up The Ghost
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Staircase
I Might Be Wrong
Bloom
Reckoner
The Daily Mail

Street Spirit (Fade Out)

Arctic Monkeys News

To all people familiar with The Strokes News, I am currently writing a similar website called Arctic Monkeys News. I'll be posting all new AM information there, so subscribe via RSS feed or follow the twitter. As always, thanks to all of my readers for their continued support.

Sunday Morning Covers

Arctic Monkeys - Take it or Leave It (The Strokes cover) [mp3]

Franz Ferdinand - What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani cover) [mp3]

Phoenix - Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Bob Dylan cover) [mp3]

Arcade Fire - This Must Be the Place (Talking Heads cover) [mp3]

Andrew Bird - The Giant of Illinois (The Handsome Family cover) [mp3]