"omg omg omg" was my reaction when I first saw the headline...my roommate told me she thought someone had died... anyhow, yeah, Albert's been done with the new record for a couple of months now, they're just making all of us fans anxious GAH. but I am super stoked because he will be touring soon, and then reunite with THE STROKES and holy crap music will be music again.
so the new record is called como te llama, and the track listing is as follows:
1. "Bargain of a Century" 2. "In My Room" 3. "Lisa" 4. "GfC" 5. "The Boss Americana" 6. "Rocket" 7. "Victory at Monterey" 8. "You Won't Be Fooled by This" 9. "Spooky Couch" 10. "Borrowed Time" 11. "G Up" 12. "Miss Myrtle" 13. "Feed Me Jack Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Peter Sellers"
I've been pretty stoked about seeing these guys at Rickshaw in May, here are some other Tour Dates + an mp3
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - 2008 Tour Dates
Apr 23 - Johnny Brenda's ++ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Apr 24 - Black Cat Backstage ++ DC, Washington DC Apr 26 - The Map Room ++ Charleston, South Carolina Apr 27 - Criminal Records (acoustic in-store) Atlanta, Georgia Apr 27 - The Earl (w/Via Audio) Atlanta, Georgia Apr 29 - The Hi Tone Cafe ++ Memphis, Tennessee May 5 - The Opolis ** Norman, Oklahoma May 6 - Hailey's (w/Port O'Brien) Denton, Texas May 7 - The Mohawk (w/Port O'Brien) Austin, Texas May 9 - Modified ** Phoenix, Arizona May 10 - Club Congress ** Tuscon, Arizona May 11 - Beauty Bar ** San Diego, California May 13 - The Echo ** LA, California May 14 - Rickshaw Stop ** San Francisco, California May 16 - Towne Lounge ** Portland, Oregon May 17 - The Vera Lounge ** Seattle, Washington May 19 - Media Club ** Vancouver, British Columbia May 20 - Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah May 21 - Hi-Dive Denver, Colorado May 22 - The Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska May 23 - The Picador Iowa City, Iowa May 24 - 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota May 25 - University of Wisconsin- Memorial Union (w/ Ha Ha Tonka) Madison, Wisconsin
yeah so I saw Panic 2 Thursdays ago when they kicked off their honda civic tour (which they deemed their Happy Birthday Brendon tour, with said lead singer attaining the ripe old age of 21...oh the lucky bastard...) anyhow, I've been swamped with work so I haven't had the time to write a proper review, and now, it's been such a long time (and, quite honestly, too many joints) that I won't be able to recollect everything from that night, just the important things which I so smartly wrote down the next day. so be forewarned, this is not a review, but merely a summary of the night's events.
first off, their incredibly catchy "she's a handsome woman" off their new record was stuck in my head for DAYS after. they introduced it by stating "this is a rock and roll song". thanks, Panic. but in all honesty, Panic has undergone some major changes in the past couple of years. they've shed their whole burlesque/vaudville/electronica-pop coat and (successfully) moved on to...well, they moved on to back in time when music was music and the voice was more than capable of what most synthesizers do today. also, their record has a lot of different "genres"..taking influences from folksie stuff to blues to country to good ol' rock n roll. this being said, hello Ryan Ross, who knew you had such an amazing voice?! he gave a spectacular rendition of "I have friends in holy spaces", which Brendon sings on the record.
She had the world [mp3] if his vox don't make you tear up, even just a bit, you are DEAD INSIDE. I also really adore this song: Behind the sea [mp3], but that might just have to do with the fact that Ryan winked at me while singing it. whew. "we're all too smart to talk to g-d". yep, yep, yep.
for the record, their new album makes you feel a myriad of emotions, all good, ranging from excited/giddy [their lead single, nine in the afternoon, of course, referencing Ryan's complaint that he thought it was 7 in the afternoon when they were stuck in the recording studio with no windows for ridiculous amounts of time] to really quite at home [northern downpour]. Pretty. Odd. is to good-soundtrack-to-your-life music what A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was to a workout playlist...meant to be.
their performance was obviously a bit less than perfect, they seemed a bit intimidated and unsure of themselves. Ryan delivered through and through, though, and all of them performed quite well, the guitars BLEW MY MIND AWAY (bass included) that green gentleman anyone? anyhow, yeah, even though their performance was not up to their own standards, it was still pretty fucking amazing.
they played a lot off of their first record, only all remixed versions. Brendon encored with "Time to Dance" [which he explained was their first recorded song] by himself on an acoustic guitar, asking the audience to full in for the missing keyboard intro. come to think of it, there was a lot of acoustic-guitar goings on during that show. the rest of the band joined Brendon after he finished to sing a couple more encore songs, Pas De Cheval [I LOVE this one. for some reason, it reminds me of Aretha Franklin. a LOT.] and Mad As Rabbits, the closer to their record.
oh, just for the record, there were three opening bands: phantom planet, the hush sound and motion city soundtrack, and PP was BY FAR the best, they gave such a spectacular performance, really genuine and heartfelt. they're just a great band who love what they're doing. it's kind of sad how that's refreshing...so many people in the music industry have just lost touch with the music and the connections it's supposed to induce with the fans...
so yeah, I stick to my word, they are, and have always been a great band. people were far too hard on them, partly because of how played out "I write sins not tragedies" became, but COME ON, most of the band weren't even 18 when they made their first record! they are musical prodigies, and more importantly, willing to learn and adapt, as they displayed with their much matured and very enjoyable sophomore record. not to mention they deliver great live sets, which is so important. I've seen them twice now and will definitely trek a third (and fourth etc) the next time they're in the neighborhood.
so Pete Doherty of The Libertines/Babyshambles has been arrested and will spend about 3 months in prison. That sucks. His situation always saddened me, he is such an amazingly talented musician who has some really fucked up things in his life.
on another note, I finally got the new Panic album. I adore it. when people said they had a butt load of Beatles' influences, they weren't kidding. I heard some Aretha Franklin too haha. a formal review will shortly follow.
I forgot how often I used to watch this video. you can't watch it once. it's more addictive than nicotine. the director wanted to make it look like The Strokes were achieving orgasms. needless to say, the effect was achieved and then some. to me, this song is the perfect answer to sexual self sufficiency.
and also a great tune to have on repeat for 5 miles and/or a whole bunch of ab exercises. boo ya.
I cannot wait until Albert's album comes out in June and he begins touring. because the sooner he does that, the sooner The Strokes will be out with a new album and the sooner I can achieve nirvana.
I was listening to "Sunshine" by Matt Costa and windows media player continued with the Little Miss Sunshine Soundtrack, one of my favourites. That record got me to listen to Sufjan Stevens, so I am pretty indebted to that. Damn good movie too.
I thought I'd share this:
Devotchka- Til the end of time [mp3]
Devotchka is brilliant, I'm glad they're getting noticed nowadays.
Thursday night I went to see My Chemical Romance at The Warfield and was pretty taken aback.
First of all, the opening act, Billy Talent, blew my mind away. They are that band who inspire you so much after hearing a couple of songs, you immediately want their entire discography and accompanying lyrics. They reminded me of all of that angst and rebelliousness I had in high school. I've become a lot more passive lately and seeing them brought me back to a better time. The same can be said of MCR.
Let's begin with the quality of sound that they displayed. Perfection. Frankie's rhythm worked so well with all of Ray's solos. Mikey and Bob gave some damn good backbone with their respective bass and drums.
Their stage presence: Mikey finally helped me understand why everyone is in lust with him. He embodied that sexy musician in an alternate universe look, with his hair in his face and such concentration to his bass that you'd think he was a robot. Frank and Ray made out for a few seconds. Priceless.
Gerard and Frank both lit cigs onstage and just started smoking. Their complete lack of concern for CA state laws or getting in trouble with the Warfield people was brilliant.
GERARD IS NO LONGER BLOND! thank goodness. also, he had this constant hip thrust thing while he was singing that drove me cah-razy.He also jumped up and down and urged people to do the same.
Also, they incorporated Bob quite nicely (the drummer is usually forgotten) and Gerard told the audience it was up to him whether or not they finished their set. Gerard's voice was strained, he seemed completely drained, but he still gave a great performance. Regardless, his voice was overpowered by the music and the audience's singing, because nearly everyone knew all of the lyrics to all of the songs and were singing along. Myself included. Twas brilliant.
The people at the show were what you would classify as "emo" or "outcasts" and I realized how MCR, and music in general, really is all that those people have. I mean I used to be kind of emo in high school. I understand how hard it is not to be accepted by your peers and not to be good enough for your parents. MCR indeed serves as a refuge for these guys.
The set list was amazing. Of course, they played what they told the audience was hailed as MTV's summer anthem of 2004, "I'm not ok (I promise)". Much to my surprise and pleasure, they played my favourite, "House of Wolves". Most of the songs came from their latest record, The Black Parade, a couple from their debut and a handful from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, including a song which I think is one of the sexiest things of all time: "You Know what they do to guys like us in prison". Oh what that song does to me...
The most moving song was, hands down, "Cancer". Their performed it superbly and the audience's reaction was chilling. It was really obvious how much the song meant to everyone, and to all of us in different ways. Most amazingly, everyone was quiet and attentive, and nobody was singing aloud in a way that overpowered the band. Everyone was in complete unison and harmony, twas beautiful. They gave an encore with their immensely popular "Helena" which Gerard pronounced "Helayna". Finally, I was confused about how to pronounce that for ages.
So I am going to do what plenty of music mags have done before me without me fully understanding it, and hail My Chem as one of the greatest live acts of today. It wasn't so much about a superb sound (don't get me wrong, they were fucking brilliant but that's not the jest of it) but the atmosphere. They weren't pretentious at all, Frankie took time after the show to take pictures with fans and sign autographs (he was quite patient with my stupid temperamental camera that went off at the wrong time). They were fully involved with the audience without losing their grip as musicians. But most importantly, I know that seeing them perform was probably the highlight of a lot of people's lives. And that's what music is all about. Changing lives and inspiring people. Letting some misunderstood teenager know that someone else has been there and that there is an end to all of the misery which seems like it'll never cease. Gerard told us just to go out there and do what we love. I'm really thankful that he follows his own advice.
Dead!:
"if life aint just a joke, then why are we laughing?" yep, their lyrics kind of kick ass.
It's titled "Konk" and is set for a April 14th, 2008 release
The Kooks will soon tour to support their new record:
5 Apr 2008 Elysee Montmartre Paris 16 Apr 2008 Le Printemps de Bourges festival @ Le Phenix De Bourges 19 Apr 2008 Magazzini Generali Milan 22 Apr 2008 Apollo Manchester 23 Apr 2008 Oasis Swindon 24 Apr 2008 Newport Centre Newport 25 Apr 2008 Arena Hull 27 Apr 2008 Academy Birmingham 28 Apr 2008 Academy Sheffield 29 Apr 2008 Corn Exchange Edinburgh 1 May 2008 Brixton Academy London 2 May 2008 Brixton Academy London 3 May 2008 Pavillion Plymouth 5 May 2008 Dublin Castle Dublin 18 May 2008 House Of Blues san Diego 18 May 2008 House of Blues San Diego, CA 19 May 2008 The Wiltern Los Angeles 19 May 2008 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA 25 May 2008 George Sasquatch Festival George, Washington 25 May 2008 Sasquatch Festival George, WA 26 May 2008 Wonder Ballroom Portland 26 May 2008 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR 29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre 16+ Denver 29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO 29 May 2008 Ogden Theatre Denver, CO 31 May 2008 Fine Line Music Café 18+ Minneapolis 31 May 2008 Fine Line Music Café Minneapolis, MN 1 Jun 2008 Turner Hall Ballroom Milwaukee 2 Jun 2008 Vic Theatre Chicago 4 Jun 2008 Kool Haus Toronto 9 Jun 2008 Paradise Rock Club 18+ Boston 10 Jun 2008 Terminal 5 New York 11 Jun 2008 Terminal 5 New York 15 Jun 2008 Isle Of Wight Festival Isle Of Wight 18 Jun 2008 Columbiahalle Berlin 20 Jun 2008 Southside Festival Stuttgart 22 Jun 2008 Hurricane Festival Hamberg 24 Jun 2008 Hove Festival Arendal 5 Jul 2008 Main Square Festival Arras 6 Jul 2008 Rock Werchter Werchter 12 Jul 2008 T In The Park Kinross 16 Aug 2008 V Festivals Hylands Park Chelmsford
their new single is as catchy as ever and is out tomorrow:
so yeah, this year on August 22-24, some of the time's coolest bands will be in Golden Gate Park, SF for the Outside Lands Festival. The headliners are *DRUM ROLL*:
TOM PETTY! RADIOHEAD! and JACK JOHNSON!
other great artists to look out for: Andrew Bird and Black Mountain see the entire lineup HERE
so yeah, if you have a few hundred bucks to spare, you should definitely go.
in case you've had a deficiency of sexy awesomeness in your life, take heed of this new supergroup comprised of Alex Turner from the Arctic Moneys and Miles Kane from the Rascals. I remember when I first heard about these guys about a month ago, I went bonkers. I ADORE ALEX TURNER. and Miles is pretty cool too. they performed for the first time March 4th in Brooklyn. anyhow, their record is titled "The Age Of The Understatement" and is due out for a April 21st release in the UK and a May 6th US release. knowing these two talented bastards makes me confident that said album will rock your socks off. so let's engage in some positive materialism and support these talented blokes!
so apparently I haven't been listening to Funeral thoroughly enough (I never actually just sat down and listened to it.) I just realized that Une Annee Sans Lumiere has French lyrics oh lord.
I really like Arcade Fire. they produce good music with a great vibe. yay Canada! oh, and they did all those Obama-benefit shows. <3
"Do you guys wanna do it?" Yacht's bouncing frontman Jona Bechtolt inquired. The audience gave a fairly reserved affirmative response. "DO YOU GUYS WANNA DO IT?" he yelled again. This time, he met a more enthusiastic collaborative "YEAH!"
He then joined his partner in crime Claire Evans in singing an infectiously catchy opening song that kept repeating "it's boring", followed by some cool bass sounds and finally ending in "you can live any way you want". Thanks Yacht, but I'm sure the people in the audience already knew that.
They continued singing to a purely synthesized sound that would make Daft Punk proud. Add an energy filled exhibitionist display of dancing and you have quite the recipe for good rave music.
The problem was, Yacht seemed a bit out of place, seeing as how this was an all ages show (with actual children in the audience), and of course, the headlining band being clad in Lacoste fresh from the Ivy Leagues.
Other than their obvious displacement in an otherwise accommodating venue (really, any other night and the Portland based band would have fit right in), Yacht gave a memorable performance which was short and sweet (a bit under 30 minutes) and ended in a reflective song which they dedicated to Easter: "Will we go to heaven or will we go to hell?"
Their performance made it is obvious that they don't seem very concerned with this question, because they are living in the moment and putting all of their efforts into creating palatable tunes that will soon become club favourites. Needless to say, they are doing a damn good job so far.
When Vampire Weekend finally came onto stage, it became clear just how accomplished they are at doing what they intended from the beginning: playing classical music with rock instruments. Beginning with "Mansard Roof", they played all of their songs except for "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance", as well as a couple of lesser known songs of their's.
Lead Singer Ezra Koening wished a Happy Easter to those in the audience who observe the holiday and continued by saying "to some, this is a religious celebration..." [cheers] "so let's make it a religious experience". Oh Ezra, how you read my mind I have no idea.
He asked the club to turn down the lights for one of my favourites, "I Stand Corrected", which is a slower, more soulful tune which is uncharacteristic of the energy filled twenty somethings from New York.
They played "Ladies of Cambridge" (previously named "Boston"), which drummer Chris Tomson told me was a b-side to their Mansard Roof single. They followed that with my personal favourite, M79.
They dedicated the next song, A Punk- perhaps their most widely known tune - to a couple of girls standing in the front with DIY sunglasses with "OH" written on each lens. These two lucky gals were invited by keyboardist Rostam Batmanglijon stage to dance to the ridiculously dancable song. Seriously, I dare you to listen to it and be still. It is impossible, your body involuntarily will start to move and shake.
Ezra then instructed the audience to help him sing "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", giving them the task of reiterating the parenthetical chorus in the higher pitch. According to Rostam, Blake is a friend of their's with a pretty face currently pursuing graduate studies at Stanford University.
The next song they played is yet to be titled but its quality matched (and actually surpassed) the debut. People who think that VW is going to suffer sophomore slump will be pleasantly surprised to the contrary. "Now it's a different game," Ezra sang. No, you're wrong there Ezra, it's the same game and these guys have mastered it.
The only bad thing I have to say about this performance would be that they did not oblige to the audience's imploring cries of "encore!" In all fairness, they played nearly all of their songs, and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" would be quite a feat to perform live, considering they were modestly equipped with only a handful of instruments. It would have been nice to hear them cover something though.
Ezra's voice was perfect. They all gave spectacular performances, and most notably, Chris Baio reminded us how the bass is supposed to be played. The band had boundless energy during the performance and were completely in sync with one another. The show was fun and memorable, and VW promised to come back to SF soon. After they performed, Ezra kind of rushed out of the venue, Rostam followed suit a while later while Chris Tomson stayed behind, chatting with fans and putting away his drum set. Bassist Chris Baio peeked out about half an hour later, evidently shy but friendly. He told Tomson that he was headed out to a bar to meet a couple of friends. Vampire Weekend seem like they are still in their "whoa, I'm a rock star and have boundless opportunities" stage and they are obviously exploring these new grounds independently. Give them a couple of years and they will grow stronger as a band and develop those indestructible ties that compel bands to voluntarily spend all of their time together, not only time spent making music.
As I walked away from the stage, Tomson thanked me for coming to the show and wished me luck in an internship that I was discussing with another fan who works at KFOG. I was touched by his demeanor and thanked him before heading out into a happier world-one that has forever changed because I saw such a genuine and musically accomplished performance and had the chance to speak to one of the nicest people and definitely the most friendly musician I gave ever met-that drummer who always has an inviting grin on his kindly goofy face.
I discovered Voxtrot when I went to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert, and was very angered by all the people in the audience who were booing this very talented band because they were eager for Alex Turner et al. I bought their record, and absolutely loved it (I still listen to it quite regularly). If I remember correctly, this band hails from Austin, TX. All of the people I've talked to like Voxtrot's older stuff (EPs, seeing as how the eponymous record that I have is their debut) more, and I found some mp3s floating around the internet. I realized what all of those people meant. Their old stuff is gold (I still love their debut record but wow I never realized I could like them more). Anyhow, I need to go down and get their EPs but here are a couple of mp3s for you all to enjoy. The second one is so very brit pop, I LOVE it.
drip drip drip, I watch my Brita filter at work. yes, it takes me a little while in the morning to get my brain functioning at full capacity. my daily dose of music blogs usually does the trick though. a favourite of Snow Patrol is stuck in my head right now...
the new we are scientists album is out...Brain Thrust Mastery pitchfork review We Are Scientists - Impatience [mp3] I have yet to listen to the album in its entirety, so I cannot give a fair review of it but I like what I've heard so far
oh, and I like Spin's artist of the day for yesterday: PlayRadioPlay! - review + mp3 here in my opinion, his voice is a good fusion of Ben Gibbard and Win Butler. he still has a lot of work to do but he's on the right track.
3 more days until Vampire Weekend! ah! I am so excited.
oh, and just for the hell of it, here is that trippy MGMT video we all love so much:
I've had a pretty weird week. but spring break is nearly upon me so I should probably get some work done...
but just remember, in the words of Dwayne from Little Miss Sunshine, "do what you love and fuck the rest". college is NOT supposed to be a time when you earn a degree so that you can have some arbitrary career that you can't stand. DO WHAT YOU LOVE. it doesn't matter if that means being temporarily (or permanently) broke. work shouldn't have to feel like a burden.
I stopped listening to them after I saw them live. They were like 1 step above terrible. Out of sync, weak vocals, no connection with audience, barely audible bass. The acoustic set was good though. I also deleted all of my FOB songs off of my computer (and trust me, I had their entire discography, plus b sides etc) which I'm kind of regretting because Infinity on High was a pretty good pop record. I just really can't forgive bands who suck live. At least I have the records in disc form at home.
anyhow, enjoy a good live cover of "love will tear us apart"
watching it just saddens me more...my high expectations for FOB were shot dead.
I've been feeling pretty unmotivated lately. I need a nap and some food. Vampire Weekend, 5 days awayyyyyyyyyyyyy. oh that shall revitalize me to the max. and Spring Break could not have come at a more necessitated time.
wow, so apparently the Raconteurs' new album is coming out on the 25th, entitled "Consolers Of The Lonely". Way to spring that one up on us boys! I can't wait, Broken Boy Soldiers was one of my favourite albums of 2006 and I wanna see if they can beat sophomore slump. They probably can, seeing as how they're a super duper super group but hey you never know...
and, I am sorry but I cannot help myself. I was reading The Music Slut's blog and Delta Spirit was mentioned. DS is one of my new favourite bands, do yourself a favour and check them out. If they are playing a show within 50 miles of your area GO AND SEE THEM. It will change your life, I guaruntee it.
