Merry Swankster

What makes tUnE-yArDs special? | Video

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:52:40 -0500

tUnE-yArDs - "Real Live Flesh"

I found this studio recorded clip posted on Pitchfork. It's the best evidence answering the above headline. With the help from a sexy bass line, Merrill Garbus builds vocal loops and rhythms before your very eyes in the wonderfully shot video (care of 4AD Sessions). The track is called "Real Live Flesh" from the recently re-released BiRd BrAiNs. The Dirty Projectors cue is an easy one to point out, same with Garbus's R&B via indie stylings, but the finished product is all original. (via P4k)

tUnE-yArDs is in the middle of a 4 night run in NYC opening for the Dirty Projectors. The Village Voice was impressed. They posted a video too, from a recent Minneapolis show.

Look, the Projectors are doing fine, just fine. Just a wee bit overexposed at the moment, maybe. "All I know is this part of the city is the creative capital of the entire world," deadpans Dave Longstreth at one point. (Soon thereafter he's rambling about the unpleasantness of irony.) They play a lovely set that inspires maybe half the awe and exuberance whipped up by tUnE-YaRdS in an opening-act fiesta so absurdly enjoyable I'm actually going to indulge this weird capital-letters thing.
I gather TY mastermind Merrill Garbus has been playing this spoiler/scene-stealer role for awhile now, a brassy one-woman band (plus an innocuous dude on bass) who expertly loops herself banging on drums or howling into a couple different microphones (or both, simultaneously) until she's crafted a sort of DIY Lion King fantasia, over which she then strums a ukulele and bellows marvelous stuff like "Do you wanna live? YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAHYEAHYEAHYEAH!" This will put you in the mind of Pylon's surly femme disco-punk and/or Micachu's deceptively sweet noise-rock clatter, but mostly it just puts you in a pretty fantastic mood. It's gonna take me awhile to think of another opening act that energized an initially indifferent crowd this thoroughly. (Village Voice)

tUnE-yArDs - "Never Move To Maui" (?) Live @ the Cedar, Minneapolis 11.11.09

Save Monolith? | Interview with festival director + People's fund

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:21:22 -0500

Previously:Monolith Festival needs a bailout for survival
More news from the Monolith front. In short:

Reverb's (Denver Post) John Wenzel interviews Monolith co-creator and festival director, Josh Baker, and fleshes out the situation.

Reverb: It may come as no surprise to hear you guys are in rough shape, considering this year’s turnout, but I’m guessing most people weren’t expecting an appeal for help so soon.
Josh Baker: It’s been a tough three months for us.

What made you decide to send out this e-mail now, instead of last month, or next week?

I’ve been thinking about it, and we’ve been trying to do our own due diligence and do our own stuff behind the scenes save it so it’s not really a public thing. A lot of people invested time and emotions into it and we didn’t want to diminish the festival by something like this. We had three great years, but we came to this point where we’re like, “Man, we’re running out of time. We’re running up against meetings for next year, and our window of time is closing.” Matt (Fecher, Monolith’s co-creator) and I pretty much do this because we love it and think it’s great for the community and great for Colorado. We really enjoy doing it and we’ve put our lives into it for the past three years. It’s almost like our child.

Do you see this as a result of consistently low attendance?

No, we just came up a little bit short on tickets. We actually had our strongest year ever this year. It’s an expensive venue to do a show in, and the rain on the first day really hurt us. Sponsorship and tickets and all that were all up, but not quite in line with where we needed them to be to be successful. Our mantra’s always been to just break even. There were a lot of positive factors to take away from this year.

So what do you blame this on mostly?

The weather was definitely one of the biggest factors that happened — had it not been 50 degrees and raining on Saturday. Our walk up (sales) on Sunday were really strong, but not so strong on Saturday. That’s probably 75 percent of it.

Read the rest of the interview: [Monolith Public Appeal]

There's also something of a virtual money jar soliciting funds to help the struggling festival get back on it's feet. Check out the Kickstarter widget below to find out more (h/t: Cause=Time).

BREAKING: Monolith Festival needs a bailout for survival

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:27:49 -0500

Oh noes! Monolith Festival organizers just released the following news regarding their impending demise unless a wealthy patron comes in to save the fledgling operation.

MONOLITH Fans,
[T]he festival is very grim. A tough economic year and an opening day of chilling rain combined to put a serious dent in our humble operation. We have continued to pursue any and all options that would allow us to recover from this year and head into 2010 with full steam. At this point in time, we have been unable to secure any options. We are communicating this message to you - the fans, the media and the artists who have supported time and time again for good reason. We hope that somewhere, in our vast network of music lovers, that there may be someone with the means to pull us up by our boot straps and give us chance to continue building this amazing event.

If you have any input or know of someone who may be interested in investing in/purchasing our small but mighty event, we would love to speak with them. We have a number of options available for interested parties/individuals. For more information please contact jb@monolithfestival.com. Again, this is our last resort and we have explored just about every option that is available to us. To the folks who we still hold financial obligations to, we whole-heartedly appreciate your patience and willingness to work through this tough time with us.

Really sad news all around, but not all that shocking, really. I can't help but pick on the choice of using the "boot straps" metaphor. Conservative lore tells us that one picks up his or herself by their boot straps, unassisted. A suggestion, if I may, would have been "help us the fuck out cause this failing enterprise is losing money".

Full note here: Important Note from MONOLITH

For archive coverage of Merry Swankster notes on each of the three years of the festival go here.

Quarterly Report: Third Quarter of 2009 Podcast

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:59:09 -0500

Album of the Quarter : A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar
Runners up: Memory Tapes - Seek Magic, Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem

I am well aware that this podcast is a good month and a half removed from the end of 2009's third quarter, and that we are balls deep in the year's capping three-month span. But, perhaps the extra reflection has further winnowed the included tracks down from the fickle week to week whims of the blogosphere? Let's just pretend that that's true.

It's sort of an odd, plucky mix, shorter on the raw number of contributing tracks than usual, and maybe a bit counter-intuitive in their selection. But it feels right. I'll note that I grappled with including something from Girls' debut, but all the songs just seemed so obviously worse than "Hellhole Ratrace" and I couldn't pick a stand-out from the runners up. So, I'm stuck just acknowledging their existence with a sentence here. I'm sure they won't lose much sleep over it.

So listen, remember the heady days of late summer 09, and I'll try to get Q4 under the tree just in time, promise.

"Merry Swankster Third Quarter Podcast 2009"

Tracklisting :

01: Mount Eerie - "Between Two Mysteries" (from Wind's Poem)

Considering the shadow it cast over the decade's pop culture, you'd think some aging 90s baby would have written the definitive Twin Peaks ode by now, but Phil Elvrum's Mount Eerie track feels definitive, if tardy. Spooky and understated, like the show's opening credits, rather than it's more grotesque and hilarious mood swings, though I might just be saying that due to the tasteful lifting of Angelo Badalamenti's synth swells.

02: Thom Yorke - "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses" (single)

I haven't listened to In Rainbows since the month it came out, I downright hated The Eraser, and generally feel like my Radiohead super fandom won't make it out of this decade alive (Don't get me started on that "These Are My Twisted Words" track). So, why am I repping a supremely indulgent single from ol' Lazy Eye? Because it's as manically, darkly adventurous as anything he's done in at least five years. Rebooting and picking up where "Myxomatosis" left off? Yes, please!

03: HEALTH - "Die Slow" (from Get Color)

They grind and smash much better than they float and coo, for sure, but this one approaches balance. The vocals are total mush, but at least they occupy the right spaces. Full album review here.

04: Neon Indian - "6669 (I Don't Know if You Know)" (from Psychic Chasms)

I can see how this band, and the so-called "glo-fi" movement they are lumped in with, can be infuriating to folks. It's basically an emotionally stunted wash of easy nostalgia, I'll admit. That said, sometimes these smears can be so basic as to become archetypal. This band, out of all of them, have a knack for non-cliched universality. "I don't know if you know/ I don't know if you know/ it didn't show..." is simultaneously vague and specific enough to work for me, anyhow.

05: YACHT - "Psychic City" (from See Mystery Lights)

The best pure pop song Jona Bechtolt has been associated with since his Blow days, and a huge improvement from the tape-hiss plagued K Records obscurity his composition reworks. An inspired salvage job, really. The twee lyrics are better situated when their cleverness Tigger-bouncing on this electro groove. Full album review here.

06: Hercules and Love Affair - "I Can't Wait" (from Sidetracked)

The only new track from a recent DJ compilation sees New York's most authentic disco outfit moving even deeper into the early-90s club sound they've occasionally flirted with in the past. It's a deep submerging, not an attempt to crossover. Sounds pretty cool. I suppose a token line about the song title and the as-of-yet unknown street date for a new Hercules and Love Affair LP is appropriate here, so feel free to make one to yourselves.

07: Cold Cave - "Life Magazine" (from Love Comes Close)

For all the flack this band gets for being so comically dark and goth (they are both, don't get me wrong) it's interesting to note that the pop vocal performance they get from Caralee McElroy in this awesome track is much, much sunnier than anything she EVER did while a part of Xiu Xiu. .

08: The Drums - "Let's Go Surfing" (from Summertime! EP)

Super young, perhaps prematurely touted Brooklyn band The Drums nonetheless win points on this stand-out from their debut EP, which posits that nihilistic post-punk and cheerful 60s beach anthems can exists on the same emotional plane. "Oh woman/ I want to go surfing/ I don't care about nuthin'!" Beyond that simple, clever conceit, the song is bursting with pop ideas, leaping from an excellent whistled ear-worm to an appropriated schoolyard chant rather gracefully.

09: Times New Viking - "Half Day in Hell" (from Born Again Revisited)

These kids might never take a grand aesthetic leap, but this ode to a crumbling relationship (I think?) features all of the things they've always done well. Wobbly sloganeering and wobblier organ tones, mainly. Full album review here.

10: Jay Reatard - "It Ain't Gonna Save Me" (from Watch Me Fall)

Shades of development here from Jay Reatard, though as prolific as he is, you can hardly expect a much air between releases. Pulling back from full on psychosis to acoustic, live-wire paranoia as the track runs down is the trick of an old pro, though. And he's still an awfully young punk.

11: Karen O & the Kids - "Capsize" (from Where the Wild Things Are OST)

If anything, Karen O's soundtrack for Spike Jonze's (quite good) Where the Wild Things Are film is more precious in context, scoring mopey monsters and sniffling kids. Removed from the flick, it's an interesting, but slight left turn for her. More overtly psychedelic than the glittery It's Blitz!, though still managing to rock out more than you might suspect. The Love Is All inspired "All is Love" is maybe a little bit too cuddly, still, but "Capsize" has a reckless, energetic strut. And those unchained guitar spikes have to be Nick Zinner's.

12: Fiery Furnaces - "Lost at Sea" (from I'm Going Away)

So, I guess a return to straight-ahead songwriting wasn't really what I wanted from FiFu after all. I'd grown accustomed to those self-sabotaging twists and turns. That said, there isn't a single release from the band that doesn't have one ballad of deadpan heartbreak from Eleanor Friedberger that makes me mist up, while staring out the nearest available window. This is that one.

13: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Higher Than the Stars" (from Higher Than the Stars EP)

There hasn't been a better classical indie-pop moment in this band's career than the crisp fall night sigh Kip Berman uses to sing, "in the back of her mother's car, in the back of her mother's car..." Sharp sweater music, par excellence.

14: Memory Tapes - "Plain Material" (from Seek Magic)

I don't even like the Flaming Lips, but even I have to admit that this strummy stunner would be a great Lips song. It's more than that, too. It's got those very of-the-moment joyous shout samples at its chorus, and also some sleek, contained techno loops underpinning the indie rock shell. The thumping, dancey tracks from Seek Magic are great for a party mix, but this works whenever. Full album review here.

15: A Sunny Day in Glasgow - "Close Chorus" (from Ashes Grammar)

If I didn't know for a fact that this track was recorded as the last gasp of an Atlantic hurricane pelted A Sunny Day in Glasgow's recording space, I'd like to think my attentive ear could have picked up the crackling pitter-pat around this gorgeous song's edges. But there's so much else to be intoxicated by, that it's easy to lose sight of any single detail. When the song strips down to that swoony girl chorus, I get pretty weak in the knees. And, I know that MBV references in song reviews are almost as verboten as Hitler comparisons in political discourse, but the end of this song really does have a remarkable bit of K. Shields guitar magic. Full album review here.

16: Destroyer - "Bay of Pigs" (from Bay of Pigs EP)

OK, if I'm gonna wrap up this podcast with a 13 + minute "ambient-disco" number by Dan Bejar, I should probably apologize for calling Thom Yorke indulgent a while back. I like this better than Thom's, though. Even the blank, still passages sound lush and expectant. The kinetic parts enough to long for him to incorporate a more upbeat electronic palette in his more economical album tracks. And really, if you're going to go big and wonky and bloated, you can't have a better opening line than, "Listen, I've been drinking" can you?

Retrohump - You're going to hell

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:17:44 -0500

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Going To Hell

Today marks 31 years since the infamous tragedy of the Peoples Temple cult in Guyana. This American cult, led by Jim Jones became internationally known following the mass suicide of nearly one thousand people on November 18, 1978. The tragedy is known as the Jonestown massacre.

Another act of notoriety coupled with the Jonestown story is the rock band Brian Jonestown Massacre, a portmanteau of late Rolling Stones’ guitarist Brian Jones and the mass cult suicide at Jonestown. They have a song called “Going To Hell” that I like and the video is pretty rad. So let's review. Mass suicide, a dead Rockstar at 27 and eternal damnation. Happy Wednesday!

909 Temple members died in Jonestown, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning, in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones and some members on an audio tape of the event and in prior discussions. The poisonings in Jonestown followed the murder of five others by Temple members at a nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. The victims included Congressman Leo Ryan, the first and only Congressman murdered in the line of duty in the history of the United States. Four other Temple members died in Georgetown at Jones' command. To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass suicide, it is the largest such event in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001. (Wikipedia)

Dirty Projectors, Live @ Bluebird Theater, Denver 11.8.09

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:36:40 -0500

[Photos by Merry Swankster]

For what its worth, I'm firmly placed in the camp of believers calling Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca as one of the best albums of the year. There is a magical cohesion from track to track that elevates the album's song collection into something more special as a sum of its parts, even in spite of standout songs. Bitte Orca keeps pulling me back even as I flirt with other tempting releases that hover in my orbit. Last Sunday's show at the Blubird was the first time I've seen the band, which I'll reluctantly admit was one that never struck my fancy enough to inquire about further. Lucky for this passenger on the current bandwagon, the heady Brooklyn band's setlist did not stray far from the 2009 release.

Denver/Boulder: Shows this week | 11.16.2009 - 11.22.2009

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:27:10 -0500

Pixies will perform Doolittle and associated b-sides in their entirety to mark the album's 20th anniversary. Both Fillmore shows are SOLD OUT.

Monday November 16
Pixies w/ No Age @ Fillmore Auditorium
Everclear @ Blubird Theater
3 Inches of Blood @ Marquis Theater
Wolfmother w/ Heartless Bastards @ Ogden Theatre

Tuesday November 17
Pixies w/ the Fluid @ Fillmore Auditorium
Atonal Melee @ Larimer Lounge
Mr. Gnome @ Hi-Dive
Sailor Jerry @ Blubird Theater
Justin Nozuka @ Fox Theatre

Wednesday November 18
Safe Boating is No Accident @ Rhinoceropolis
The Dutchess and the Duke @ Larimer Lounge
Bobby Long @ Hi-Dive
Warren G @ Fox Theatre
The Blackouts @ Lion's Lair

Thursday November 19
Demon Funkies @ Blubird Theater
Electric Six @ Larimer Lounge
The Moore Brothers @ Hi-Dive
All Time Low @ Gothic Theatre
Throwdown @ Marquis Theater
Thrice @ Black Sheep
Broken Lizard @ Boulder Theater
Railroad Earth @ Fox Theatre

Friday November 20
Grand Archives @ Larimer Lounge
Head for the Hills @ Blubird Theater
Alela Diane @ Hi-Dive
Attack! Attack! @ Marquis Theater
The Last Waltz live by Polytoxic & friends @ Boulder Theater
Railroad Earth @ Fox Theatre

Saturday November 21
Pink Mountaintops w/ Snake Rattle Rattle Snake @ Hi-Dive
Deastro @ Larimer Lounge
The White Tie Affair @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
Russian Circles @ Marquis Theater
Savoy @ Blubird Theater
Vandaveer @ George's
Railroad Earth @ Fox Theatre

Sunday November 22
Billy Joel & Elton John @ Pepsi Center
Agent Ribbons @ Hi-Dive
Japandroids @ Larimer Lounge
Dear and the Haedlights @ Marquis Theater

Video: Flaming Lips - "Watching the Planets" (NSFW) | Lots of naked people (incl Wayne)

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:57:33 -0500

New Flaming Lips video for Embryonic's "Watching the Planets" is out and its a feast of T & A & D. Find the video at NME and then hide to a private corner. There is really no easy way to explain to an innocent passerby why you're watching a crowd of people being born from a furry, ball-shaped, giant vagina. Ditto for the gangs of naked bicycle riders and a nude Wayne Coyne crowd surfing, et cetera et cetera, et cetera.

Previously:
Cover art battle: Who has the most artful vaginas?

Retrohump: On my way to where the air is sweet

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:35:24 -0500

One of my favorite LCD Soundsystem lyrics is the snarled bit about borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 80s from the classic "Losing My Edge". James Murphy's ability to communicate his sage observations through simple language is one of the lesser discussed talents.

Those lyrics swirled in my mind while putting together the following selection of hastily curated Sesame Street clips. Hasty due to the fact there was no way I was going to be thorough about this task. After all, we're talking about 40 years of content in which I missed the first 10 due to the simple fact of not yet being born. Add in the last, oh say about 20 years after outgrowing the Muppets demographic there's been a window of 5 to 10 years of actual engagement with the show. Similar statistics should be common for most people in their twenties or thirties who are penning stories this week marking the 40 year run of Sesame Street. Outside of those satisfying fetishes for childhood programming, I figure most people return to the show once their broods pull them back in. Until then how about running through a selection of Sesame Street clips, decade by decade? Let's.

My two favorites out of the selected are "Manamanah" and the "African Alphabet Song" for subtle generational satire and soothing multimedia composition, respectively.

Sesame Street - African Alphabet Song - 1990

Sesame Street - Manamanah - 1976

More after the jump...

Numerology: Nouveau Ocho

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:38 -0500

As I mentioned previously, Prof. Klein is a bit of a stickler about getting these Numerology pieces right beyond a shadow of a doubt. Instead of chalking early attempts up to the blogging learning curve like the rest of us, he stays awake at night, shaking with regret that low hanging fruit like the number 8 was not given its proper due. So today, as we all hold our breaths waiting to know if we'll ever know how bad the U2-scored Spiderman musical can possibly suck, Dave gives the mark of the arachnids its due, and continues to rewrite history. (JK)

A few years ago, on 8-8-08, to be exact, the Times published an excellent tribute to the number 8, titled “Crazy Eights.” Readers learned about the “deranged Roman Emperor Elagabalus,” who held octal-themed dinners to which he’d invite eight very tall men, eight men with gout, eight men with hooked noses, and so on. Mary Queen of Scots decreed that no one with a rank lower than an earl or archbishop could eat more than eight dishes at one meal. Rather than try to compete with such erudition, I just tip my eight-cornered hat, offer up a toast (V-8, naturally) and proffer my own list of associations, which, as is my wont, is a lot less high-minded and a lot more contemporary: “Eight Arms to Hold You” was the original title of the Beatles’ Help. The 8-track, an endless loop of 1/4" magnetic recording tape, is a low-fidelity icon invented by Bill Lear of Learjet fame. The boogie-woogie bugle boy of Company B played his horn “eight to the bar,” and Tobor the Eighth Man was an American adaptation of 8-Man, a Japanese cartoon from the mid-‘60s starring what’s considered the first robotic manga character. Tobor (“robot” spelled backwards) derived extra strength by smoking “energy cigarettes.” Of course, these days, any purveyor of children’s entertainment who suggested such a plot point would be declared a Section 8, the Army term for a soldier who is too mentally addled to participate in war, as in this line from Full Metal Jacket: “I don’t think Leonard can hack it anymore. I think Leonard’s a Section 8.”

Tobor the Eighth Man
(opening theme song)

While 8 may not receive the attention as 1, 3, 7 or 9, as the Times article alleges, it still makes its way into a bevy of song titles—only there’s not much of a pattern. And while there are some fine offerings, the 8 slot comes down to a cage match between two classics of the mid-‘60s, both stellar offerings from seminal bands. But before attempting to make the deeply personal choice between these two superlative contenders, let’s take a look at the mixed bag of offerings clamoring somewhere beneath these titanic tunes. “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am” our lone Roman numeral entry, is a remake of a hoary English music-hall ditty and a no. 1 hit in the U.S. for Herman’s Hermits in 1964. “Henry” was one of the fastest selling singles ever, at that point, although the Hermits didn’t think much of it. And while it helped break the band in America, it fostered their lightweight reputation, a source of tension throughout the band’s brief but successful run.

Most songs about times of day stick with nice round numbers (e.g., “Six O’Clock” by Lovin’ Spoonful, “12:30” by the Mamas and the Papas, “5:15” by the Who). Breaking the mold is the languid, lugubrious “8:05” by Moby Grape, which imbues a pretty mundane time of day with heretofore unimagined drama, courtesy of the hushed harmony singing of the Grape. David Bowie’s “Eight Line Poem” makes a neat segue from “8:05,” with its slow, bluesy guitar and general air of torpor. The third song from Hunky Dory finds Bowie in a reflective mood, which he would soon jettison when he adopted the Ziggy Stardust persona.

“Behind the eightball,” a billards term for “in a disadvantageous position,” has entered the vernacular with a vengeance. The term has provided song titles for the likes of Bill Haley, Madness, and Lee Dorsey. Eightball is the name of a seminal ‘90s comic drawn by Daniel Clowes, father of “Ghost World,” and Eightball songs referring to a large amount of cocaine are plentiful, such as NWA’s “8 Ball” and Super Furry Animals’ “Baby Ate My Eightball.” Less Than Jake’s “Ask the Magic 8 Ball” is an homage to the Mattell toy that’s been answering yes-or-no questions with oracular authority since the 1940s, and which is now available in both online and sarcastic versions. Plain-old “Eightball” or “Eight Ball” has been tapped by a slew of rockers, from Boston’s Gang Green to ex-Saint Ed Kuepper to the numerically named Salem 66. But it is “8-Ball” by Underworld, from the soundtrack to Leo DeCaprio's big emission of cinematic greenhouse gas, 2000’s The Island, that really takes the cake. From all the pressure that went into making that piece of hokum, a diamond was squeezed out, in the form of this gorgeous track, with its chugging mellow groove, scrappy guitar break that slowly builds to a rousing finale, and lyrics that are faintly ridiculous yet perfectly aligned with the song’s seductive rhythm.

Underworld - "8 - Ball"

The top ten 8-bit video game themes...

The protagonist in Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man plots a murder in a crimeless future where telepaths monitor the minds of the populace to prevent crimes before they can occur. To keep the telepaths at bay, he hums this disturbingly catchy jingle:

Eight, sir; seven sir;
Six, sir; five, sir;

Four, sir; three, sir;

Two, sir; one!

Tenser, said the Tensor.

Tenser, said the Tensor.

Tension, apprehension

And dissension have begun.

The Liars incorporate the sequence in “The Pillars Were Hollow & Full of Candy So We Tore Them Down.” Not an eight song in the strict sense, but it seemed too cool not to mention. The following, however, is a bona fide 8-themed assortment:

* “After Eight,” the closing track of Neu ’75, feels like a New York Dolls-style stomp that’s been picked up and tossed headlong down the autobahn.
* Cloud Cult earns a double dose of octal props for the shape-shifting “Your 8th Birthday” off The Meaning of 8.
* “Eight Piece Box” by Southern Culture on the Skids is the last word in woman-as-roadside-meal imagery.
* “Mix Number 8,” left off the initial release of Eno & Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (it was included on the 25th anniversary re-release) has its charms, among them a stuttering rhythm track that recalls Eno’s work with Cluster, a Harold Budd-sounding spray-can trumpet, and spoken vocals in an unnamed language ingeniously manipulated into a sort of melody.
* Beginning with the line, “When you sleep, no one is homeless,” “Eight Full Hours of Sleep” is a paean to the redemptive power of unconsciousness by Against Me. It should not be confused with “Track 8” by the largely unheralded late-‘80s Lincoln, Neb., outfit For Against, which, despite an uninspired title, boasts dark, echo-y guitar lines, a crisp rhythm section and candied, yearning vocals that predate the shoegazer sound of the early ‘90s by several years.

For Against - "Track 8"

* “Eight Days on the Road” is a versatile nugget by Howard Tate that has been covered by the Queen of Soul and Foghat. (Incidentally, Foghat, whose name comes from an imaginary character from the childhood of the band’s singer, Dave Peverett, gave the world the so-called Foghat Rule, namely, that every fourth album has to be a live double.)
* Styx’s anti-greed “Pieces of Eight” does nothing to burnish the reputation of this oft-maligned art rock outfit of the ‘70s.

But we’re reaching now. The fact is that 8 comes down to a contest between two out-and-out ‘60s rock classics: “Eight Days a Week” and “Eight Miles High.” It really comes down to this: Are you a Beatles man or a Byrds man? In this corner, you've got Lennon and McCartney at the peak of their collaborative powers, their voices melding in a delirious, rough-hewn harmony of rare beauty. The song was one of the Beatles’ many firsts: the first time they took a rough sketch of a song and experimented with various ways of recording it in the studio. Those swelling, heavenly chords that seem to arrive out of nowhere to mark the song's beginning—the first fade-in on a pop song—came about well after the best take (no. 13), during remixing sessions. Those ringing guitars, those bracing handclaps, and lyrics that perfectly embody romantic infatuation add up to 2:44 of pure, magisterial hook. The song has been covered by everyone from Alma Cogan (a Monty Python punch line) to the Runaways and the Dandy Warhols, none of whom could possibly hold a candle to the original.

the Beatles - "Eight Days a Week"

But maybe the whole “ooh I need your love babe” thing is no longer relevant to your nuanced existence. Perhaps you prefer the challengers, in the corduroy trunks and rectangular purple shades: The Byrds. From the ominous distorted bass line that opens the track, like a Morse code signal, joined by those unmistakable Byrds harmony vocals, and that guitar—Coltrane lines squeezed through a lysergic play-doh factory via McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker—this is perhaps the quintessential aural equivalent of the drug experience. While it spawned scores of formulaic psychedelia à la the Lemon Pipers’ “Green Tambourine,” “Eight Miles High” manages to convey both the euphoria (through, what else, euphoric vocals) and the paranoia that a lysergically altered consciousness can bring. Building to a satisfyingly chaotic ending—always a plus—“Eight Miles High” is, no pun intended, hard to top.

the Byrds - "Eight Miles High"

R.E.M. - "Driver 8"

In a certain sense it’s pointless to say one is better than the other, unless it makes sense to argue that a lemon is better than a lime, a crocus better than a snapdragon. It’s tempting to consider these two old warhorses akin to Dame Judi Dench and Helen Mirren canceling each other out at the Oscars, and award the statuette to Anna Paquin in an upset (in the form of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8.”) Great song, to be sure, but how could R.E.M. win out over the Byrds, when R.E.M’s trademark sound is, like, two-thirds Byrds? With my back to the wall, I have to give the nod to the Beatles, using the following criterion: If stuck on a desert island with a close-and-play record player and a vinyl 45 of one of these songs, I would opt for “Eight Days a Week.” Its jangly, smile-inducing beauty just might give me the strength to carry on, while the spooky, drug-induced beauty of “Eight Miles High” would surely make me a Section 8.

Numerology is our pal Dave's ill-advised quest to find the definitive song for every number from one to a hundred. We hear 60 is the new 40, and now we're not even that impressed by his progress.

Previously: No. 1, 2 (redux), 3, 4 (redux), 5-7, 5 (redux),6 (redux), 6.4, 7 (counterpoint), 8, 9, 10/11, 12/13. 13 (counterpoint), 14/15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26/27, 28 , 29 , 30, 30 (counterpoint), 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, Footnotes, 57, 58, 59 , 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67

Denver/Boulder: Shows this week | 11.09.2009 - 11.15.2009

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:53:44 -0500

[Neon Indian]

Monday November 9
Fu Manchu w/ Black Sleep of Kali @ Larimer Lounge
Evangelicals w/ Holiday Shores @ Hi-Dive
Wicked Rocks: An Evening of Rock and Roll Music @ Bluebird Theater
Kate Voegele w/ Kevin Hammond @ Fox Theatre

Tuesday November 10
Neon Indian w/ Tigercity @ Larimer Lounge
Generationals w/ Marcus Church @ Hi-Dive
The Whigs w/ the Features and the Dead Trees @ Bluebird Theater
Hollywood Undead & Atreyu w/ Escape the Fate @ Fillmore Auditorium
Daedelus w/ Evol Intent @ Fox Theatre

Wednesday November 11
In This Moment w/ In Fear & Faith @ Marquis Theater
Cutter Nuxon w/ Ray Ray @ Larimer Lounge
Slightly Stoopid w/ the Aggrolites @ Ogden Theater
Rob Bell w/ Drops Like Stars @ Fillmore Auditorium
Chali 2NA (Jurrassic 5) w/ Gift of Gab (Blackalicious) @ Fox Theatre
Twiddle @ the b.side lounge
Gwar w/ Job For a Cowboy @ Gothic Theatre

Thursday November 12
The b Foundation w/ Mike Pinto @ Marquis Theater
Take w/ Gata Negra @ Larimer Lounge
The Sickly Ferguson w/ Roger Brought His A-Game @ Hi-Dive
Cage the Elephant w/ Morning Teleportation @ Bluebird Theater
Ghostland Observatory w/ BOYHOLLOW @ Ogden Theater
Mason Jennings w/ the Wheel @ Fox Theatre
Jen Korte & the Loss @ the b.side lounge
Kevin Mileski @ Walnut Room
Mile Markers w/ Tone Deficit @ Lion’s Lair
Breathe Electric w/ As Told-By @ Black Sheep

Friday November 13
Air Dubai w/ the Pirate Signal @ Marquis Theater
Crown City Rockers w/ Luckyjam @ Larimer Lounge
Horse Feathers w/ Old Canes @ Hi-Dive
Mason Jennings w/ Nathaniel Rateliff and the Wheel @ Bluebird Theater
Super Diamond w/ Under A Blood Red Sky (Neil Diamond/U2 covers) @ Ogden Theater
Black Crowes @ Fillmore Auditorium
Hell's Belles w/ Forth Yeer & Frontside 5 @ Fox Theatre
Moira Smiley w/ Voco and Rani Arbo @ Swallow Hill (Daniels)
Matt Flinner Trio w/ martin Gilmore @ Swallow Hill (Tuft)
Chuck Prophet w/ Stephen Ashbrook @ Walnut Room
Neutralboy w/ Suzi Homewrecker @ Lion’s Lair

Saturday November 14
Daughters of the Sun w/ Woodsman @ Rhinoceropolis
Reno Divorce w/ boldtype @ Marquis Theater
Houses w/ the Knew @ Larimer Lounge
L.U.P.E.C. Crush Party: The Postman w/ #3 @ Hi-Dive
King Khan and the BBQ Show w/ Those Darlines @ Bluebird Theater
Ozomatli w/ Nathan Maxwell (Flogging Molly) @ Ogden Theater
Imogen Heap @ Fox Theatre (early show)
Hell's Belles w/ Forth Yeer & the Mighty 18 Wheeler @ Fox Theatre
Will Hoge w/ Ego, CMKY @ the b.side lounge
Eliza Gilkyson w/ Ellis Paul @ Swallow Hill (Daniels)
Mary Stribling w/ Combo Amazo @ Swallow Hill (Tuft)
Mono Verde w/ the Hollyfelds @ Oriental Theater
Saosin w/ Innerpartysystem @ Gothic Theatre
Ideal Fathers w/ Smoothbore @ Lion's Lair

Sunday November 15
Real Estate w/ Woodsman @ Hi-Dive
Powerman 5000 w/ 20XII @ Bluebird Theater
E-Town: Imogen Heap w/ Gregory Alan Isakov @ Boulder Theater
Crown City Rockers w/ Luckyiam @ Fox Theatre
Voice of Addiction w/ Peaceful Peaches @ Lion’s Lair

Record Review: Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:14:30 -0500

Four albums in, and there’s no easy move for Times New Viking to make. Mopping up the murk of their previous three releases for a crisper, more mature sound might actually be the most ordinary, clichéd path available. “Noiseniks go symphonic pop!” is a story that’s been told at least since The Ramones were trading skin- and hair-care tips with Phil Spector. That said, the brash, bratty, bloody-red art-punk sound they’ve wallowed in to date has established a fairly low basement ceiling for continued growth within its confines. Not really an inspired threading of this particular needle, Born Again Revisited has a title that telegraphs its intent to boldly re-cover old ground. Last year’s triumphant Rip it Off hinted at a band on the verge of harnessing their craptastic fidelity as an instrument itself, blowing swoony melodies out to the point where they became purely emotional smears. In direct comparison, this new record feels more tightly coiled and less deliberately romantic. Early word had the band claiming they’d upped the production sheen by “25 percent,” a compromise position that might have been interesting if the album they turned in didn’t reveal it as just another in a long line of smart aleck remarks.

There are still more than a few stubbornly catchy songs on Born Again Revisited. Times New Viking’s best asset continues to be singer/keyboardist Beth Murphy, who shines in both roles. Standouts like the minute-and-a-half-long blip of “Half Day in Hell” work well by being relatively roomy, muting the feedback squall to let her wide-eyed vocals and beat-up keys melt towards harmony. The guitar-dominated, male-fronted tracks are more hit or miss. For every tinny winner, like the brooding lead-off, “Martin Luther King Day,” or the casually anthemic “No Time, No Hope,” there seems to be a repetitive dirge lying in wait. The clamorous “I Smell Bubblegum,” for example, sounds like the sinister exclamation of a hunter/killer on the trail of some wounded pop trifle. The album’s success ratio is ultimately decent, but with two superior sets of very similar material fresh in the memory, the law of diminishing returns is starting to assert itself.

Times New Viking - "Half Day in Hell"

tUnE-yArDs: danger at the spot jam hop

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:46:36 -0500

[Photos by Merry Swankster - 10.23.09 @ Bluebird, opening for Sunset Rubdown]

tUnE-YaRdS return to Denver on Sunday as warm up act for Dirty Projectors at the Bluebird.

Upon entering the Bluebird Theater for Sunset Rubdown's show I was immediately drawn to tUnE-YaRdS noisy racket taking place on the stage. Merrill Garbus is tUnE-YaRdS and she was not only the most exciting performer I've seen rock the shit out of an ukulele, but the most exciting performer this year. She draws you in and hypnotizes with a performance style so raw and honest, even those turned off by the music remain fixated. With a strong and confident voice that appears to pull from the depths of her soul, Garbus represents the tUnE-YaRdS as sole member.

Songs begin by Garbus recording short drum and vocal samples and looping them for the intended track, all done in real time. Unfaithful to the name inferring multiple artists, this is a true one person band. What struck me most about the composition was the precision of each loop and the flawless execution of timing everything together perfectly for each song's rhythmic foundation.

Much like the Dirty Projectors' experimental vocal intonations, Garbus dabbles extensively in modulating her voice, blurring the line between singing and chanting. Her innovative style can at times sound like an amalgamation of forest creatures. It's quite intense and completely rad. A showstopper indeed. An accurate description for the Tune-yards would be Animal Collective's erratic structures combined with the aforementioned Dirty Projectors sweeter embrace of melody and a healthy dollop of African textures for good measure. Seeing the crazy eyed singer straddling the line between loud singing and screaming in front of a crowd unfamiliar with her work and pull off a captivating show was pretty remarkable. You could feel the audience embrace her as the set progressed. In spite of the interesting presentation it lacked the pretense one might expect.

With such a capable and sure voice, Garbus reaches out with a sincerity that is nothing if not wonderfully appealing. Her goofy cuteness during frequent crowd banter only endeared more, as if to further convince what was impossible not to do. If heading to Dirty Projectors this weekend I implore you to get there early and NOT MISS Tune-yards.

Below, a sample from the 4AD released BiRd-BrAiNs album, additional tracks streaming at the Tune-yards site.

From 4AD:

Possessing an expansive sound that marries a coarse folk ingenuity with the bold pop sensibility of an R&B siren, Bird-Brains was assembled with a staunch DIY aesthetic. Recording herself using a digital voice recorder and produced using shareware mixing software.

//tUnE-yArDs - site
//tUnE-yArDs - myspace

tUnE-YaRdS - "Hatari"

"Hatari" is like a grab bag of styles from the Tune-yards universe. Lo-fi R&B, African pop, bright laid-back reggae and ukelele(!) wrapped together in a brilliant track. A cursory Internet search taught me hatari means danger in Swahili. The rest of the recited chants (mimi naweza, sijui) I don't have an answer for.

Photos of the 10.23 show continued after the jump.

Retrohump: Mount up

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:50 -0500

Warren G & Nate Dogg - "Regulators" - 1994

Hey New York, this could be your Friday night! Can an artist survive for 15 years on a hit single? I guess the answer lies in how profitable shows are at this venue. I don't live in New York anymore, how big is the Music Hall of Williamsburg?

[ed note: I'm going to start having some fun with our neglected Wednesday feature in effort to bring it back to life.]

Gossip @ Bluebird Theater, Denver 10.19.09

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:53 -0500

[Photos by Merry Swankster]

Beth Ditto of the Gossip is a force to be reckoned with. Even without possession of a headline luring, outsized personality, Ms. Ditto's robust voice would likely be enough to attract. While in Denver for a weekday stop at the Bluebird last month, Ditto's operatic punk soul erupted for the Gossip's young, faithful fans.

Ditto's playful nature can come off as terribly endearing or inappropriately loose, but even tightly wound adherents to the latter can respect the extreme self-confidence she exudes while dealing with their own hang ups. She's funny too. Add that to a great command over a tremendous, booming voice. She's also unapologetically honest, never one to be accused of mincing words. Some might think it's gross for someone, especially a girl, to burp onstage (or anywhere really), or to joke about farting, or even discuss her giant vagina. Yet others find hilarity in the charm of oversharing. At the very least, all can agree that the incessant commentary is if nothing else, highly entertaining.