It’s a Sad Week for the Goths… October 21, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: M83, Mariqueen Maandig, Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor
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I was definitely a goth in high school and like every black-clad rocker girl in the late 90’s, I loved Nine Inch Nails. I was pretty sure I was going to marry Trent Reznor and have all of his angry little babies. In 2005 I had the opportunity to spend about half an hour in a room with the man (and 2 other people) and I could have sworn he’d realised I was the love of his life.
I guess not though, since that isn’t me in the dress. Frig!
Trent Reznor took Mariqueen Maandig, solo artist and former singer of West Indian Girl, as his bride this past Saturday, October 17th. I have to say, as details come out, I’m surprised at how traditional the wedding seems to be.
NIN touring member, Danny Lohner, let the cat out of the bag when he updated his Twitter page on the worst day of my life.
Click for the photo.
ExploreMusic has learned from a ‘credible source’ that it was M83’s “We Own The Sky” that took the honor of being the song that Mr & Mrs Reznor are dancing to in the photo that Lohner posted.
If you’re curious, both Mariqueen Maandig’s solo work and West Indian Girl are kind of interesting. Both projects are heavy on the electronic clicks, beeps, pops, and rhythms, though they are more shoegaze (or nu-gaze) than dancy. Mariqueen’s solo stuff is definitely darker and more experimental than West Indian Girl, but if you like M83 you’ll probably dig what they have going on.
Today, coincidentally, is also the 20th anniversary of Pretty Hate Machine’s release. We’re getting old, my friends.
mp3: Nine Inch Nails – Sin from Pretty Hate Machine
mp3: M83 – We Own The Sky from Saturday=Youth
Holy Wilco, Batman! October 16, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Feist, Wilco
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If you didn’t see Wilco at Massey Hall on October 15th, don’t worry. It was boring. The sound was terrible. Feist definitely didn’t come out for “You And I”. I had no fun.
Just kidding!
It was a great show – it was the opposite of everything I wrote up there. The crowd was even the opposite of the standard Toronto crowd; cheering and dancing happened!
There was a full on crowd sing-a-long to “Jesus, Etc.” Feist, introduced as Jeff Tweedy’s ‘friend Leslie’, came out for “You And I.” ”Impossible Germany” was a real highlight as well, very intense.
mp3: Wilco – Jesus, Etc. from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
mp3: Wilco – You And I (feat. Feist) from Wilco (the Album)
mp3: Wilco – Impossible Germany from Sky Blue Sky
Canada, the Weekend. October 15, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Broadway Calls, Gaslight Anthem, Jesse Malin, Murder By Death
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As I mentioned a few days ago, I went to see The Gaslight Anthem, Murder By Death, Jesse Malin and Broadway Calls on Tuesday night.
The show was great; Gaslight have really found their groove, they were improvising and taking risks with some of their songs on stage. It was an A+ show, though the sound at the Kool Haus was the worst I’ve ever heard it. The echo was so bad in parts of the room that the vocals were completely muffled. Once we moved to the centre of the room it was much better – keep that in mind if you find yourself at a similar sounding show!
Whether you were at the show in Toronto, are just a proud Canadian – or neither – you will probably appreciate this blog entry that Benny from The Gaslight Anthem wrote for Exclaim.
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Well, Toronto did not disappoint.
This is a show we’d been looking forward to for quite a while, the last show at the Opera House was one of the best shows of tour and we had a good feeling about this one.
We pulled up to Kool Haus early, and got to know the local neighborhood of office buildings, fish hatcheries and a sugar refinery. Like some bizarre version of Newark, NJ. When I walked into the venue I was blown away at the size, and was shocked we could play a venue that size. It was also still decorated with orange banners laced with confetti and giant yellow stars on the wall. I thought I walked into a senior prom from an 80’s movie. To my pleasure they ripped it all down, TGA are anti-balloons, especially in Canada.
It was the second night with Broadway Calls and Jesse Malin opening up the show. They both played really strong sets to a really large audience for so early on. I watched both from out front and really dug the sound there, not too bad at all. Murder By Death were celebrating anniversaries and had their usual bad-ass, whiskey soaked show. One of the best bands around these days.
We came out to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. Because, why not? No better way to get the good time started. Well, there is probably a better way, but it’s damn fun regardless. We played a mostly ‘59 Sound set, scattering in Elvis, Woody Joe and Angry Johnny throughout. The crowd was so incredible, the energy was truly infectious and we felt it all the way up on that big stage. Great feeling for sure. When we came back out to do more songs, we played 4 more old songs and finished off with Rivers Edge. I loved the show, this city is really becoming one of the best places in the world for us to play.
Until next time, I’d like to thank anyone who came out to the shows and the people who help us out in Canada. As usual, it’s truly a pleasure and we can’t wait to make it back. Like Brian said last night, these days, America is the workweek, and you guys are the weekend. I feel as tall as Joe Carter.
Bob Dylan…What the Fuck? October 14, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Bob Dylan
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He’s done some wacky shit in the last couple years, but, I have never experienced anything like Bob Dylan’s rendition of “Must Be Santa.”
I warn you now, listening to it feels like putting a hand mixer directly into your brains.
1) It’s going at 2000 beats per minute
2) There is an insane accordion breakdown
3) The man-choir really draw attention to the drunk-uncle quality of Mr. Dylan’s voice
4) The list of reindeer and presidents at the end. Yes, reindeer and also presidents.
Jokes (oh, so many jokes) aside, the project is for a good cause. Click the ‘STATEMENT’ tab on the widget for Bob Dylan’s quote. **Note, I replaced the widget because it was crashing my safari and firefox browsers**
Tom Waits Is My Hero October 14, 2009
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That title doesn’t actually make any sense since I don’t play any instruments or write songs. I’m just a really, really big fan.
November 24th (my birthday!) Tom Waits is releasing Glitter And Doom, a 2 disc collection of the best tracks from the sold out Glitter and Doom tour of the US and Europe last summer. The first disc is 17 tracks from the 10 shows pieced together to sound like a single show. The second disc, called Tom Tales is a “selection of the comic bromides, strange musings, and unusual facts that Tom traditionally shares with his audience during the piano set” according to tomwaits.com.
The press for the album has been great; read Tom Waits’ interview with himself, and watch highlights from the pre-packed press conference announcing the tour – both made me laugh out loud a couple of times.
Enter your email address into the widget on this page and you’ll receive an email with a download link for a free preview of the album, 8 of the tracks in mp3 format. I did this yesterday and then pre-ordered the package with the t-shirt and the booklet - I’m a sucker for the words ‘limited edition.’
Glitter and Doom Live
01. Lucinda / Ain’t Goin Down
02. Singapore
03. Get Behind The Mule
04. Fannin Street
05. Dirt In The Ground
06. Such A Scream
07. Live Circus
08. Goin’ Out West
09. Falling Down
10. The Part You Throw Away
11. Trampled Rose
12. Metropolitan Glide
13. I’ll Shoot The Moon
14. Green Grass
15. Make It Rain
16. Story
17. Lucky Day
mp3: Tom Waits – Singapore (live) from Glitter and Doom
Rock & Roll Extravaganza October 13, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Broadway Calls, Bruce Springsteen, Gaslight Anthem, Jesse Malin, Murder By Death, Ryan Adams
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Gaslight Anthem and Murder By Death, what a great tour! The line up hasn’t been identical for the entire trip around North America, but tonight’s lineup (actual set times) at the Kool Haus in Toronto looks like this:
8:00 – Broadway Calls
8:45 – Jesse Malin
9:30 – Murder by Death
10:30 – Gaslight Anthem
Kool Haus is kind of a bummer venue (really big, with questionable sound), but I’m still really looking forward to it.
Gaslight blew everyone at Toronto’s Opera House away when they played a very sold out show about 6 months ago. They even paid on-stage tribute to all the Bruce Springsteen comparisons they’ve been drawing, which I thought was really stellar of them. Remember when the Killers started to draw similar comparisons to the Boss on their second album? Man, oh man, did they ever piss and moan about it. What a bunch of babies.
Murder By Death put on a great show as well, but it will be interesting to see them in a 2500 person venue since they played to about 100 at their last Toronto date. If you haven’t heard them before, I suggest giving them a listen if you dig on the country-punk thing that’s been happening.
I’m still getting to know Jesse Malin and Broadway Calls, and it’s always nice to see artists play when you’re getting acquainted.
New York’s Jesse Malin reminds me very much of Ryan Adams, which is makes sense since Adams produced Malin’s solo debut The Fine Art Of Self Destruction.
Gaslight Anthem label mates, Broadway Calls, are sonically a sort of Green Day/Gaslight combination. Some songs from Good Views, Bad News are more memorable than others; “Basement Royalty” and “Tonight’s Alive” are particularly good.
mp3: Broadway Calls – Tonight’s Alive from Good Views, Bad News
mp3: Jesse Malin – Me and Julio Down By The School Yard from On Your Sleeve
mp3: Murder By Death – Spring Break 1899 from Red of Tooth and Claw
mp3: Gaslight Anthem – Say I Won’t (Recognize) from Senor and The Queen
mp3: Gaslight Anthem – Even Cowgirls Get The Blues from The ‘59 Sound
The Avett Brothers. An Introduction. October 7, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: The Avett Brothers
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I just heard about The Avett Brothers two weeks ago when they played a sold out show at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, though they’ve been releasing music since 2000 and touring since 2002. In their native North Carolina the band sell out 7000 person venues!
I hate when I come so late to the party!
The Avett Brothers (hard ‘A’) are comprised of brothers Seth and Scott Avett, Bob Crawford and (sometimes) cellist, Joe Kwon. Their sound is a winning combination of bluegrass, country, folk and rock and roll – aren’t all the good bands, lately?
Their 13th effort, I and Love and You, was produced by Rick Ruben, which not only lead to a more polished sound, but has increased the band’s profile tremendously (see me finally getting in on the secret).
You’d think Ruben’s influence would have made a big impact on the band’s sound, but on my early investigations, things seem to follow a natural progression from 2007’s Emotionalism.
I’ve dropped two tracks from I And Love And You, as well as “Shame” from Emotionalism to illustrate…!
mp3: The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble? October 4, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Against Me!, Lucero
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Memphis, Tennessee’s Lucero have not been an easy band to be a fan of in Toronto. Their physical albums are impossible to find, and to the best of my knowledge they didn’t even play in the city until 2007 (they’ve been touring the US since 2001).
Things have turned around in the past couple of years though. Lucero have played my fine city twice since 2007 and are coming back on October 20th (unfortunately that is their only Canadian stop on this tour). While they’ve been sold out of all CDs on their past visits, a girl can dream that it’ll be different this time…
The ninth album from the band (out October 6th) sure won’t be hard to find though. About a year ago Lucero signed a deal with Universal Music Group. How very Against Me! of them. Other than a reluctance to share things I love with a lot of people, I have absolutely no pretensions about bands I love signing up to the majors. I didn’t think Against Me! could get any better, but their major label debut (New Wave) blew me away.
The major label recording budget has been good to Lucero’s 1372 Overton Park as well. It’s a bloody masterpiece! They’ve added horns, back-up singers and the mix is more flattering than I’ve hard in the past. It even packs all the twang and country-punk that the past albums had. I’m impressed. For fun I Googled the address ‘1372 Overton Park’ and it appears to be a building (under construction) at the corner of Overton & Watkins Streets in Memphis. My last name is Watkins, so this pleases me.
I just tried to write out a few highlight tracks, but honestly, it was pretty much the entire album, it’s worth investing a few bucks to buy it. The story behind the track “Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble?” is noteworthy though. Singer, Ben Nichols, was watching Be Here To Love Me, the documentary about Townes Van Zandt, and in it Townes’ 3rd wife said that when she met him, the first thing he said to her was “Hey darlin’ do you gamble?” she knew right then that he was the one.
mp3: Lucero – Hey Darlin’ Do You Gamble
mp3: Lucero – What Are You Willing To Lose
mp3: Lucero – Sixes And Sevens
Update: the album is not being released physically in Canada yet, but with the dollar nearing parity, now is the time to place your amazon.com orders!
My Body’s a Zombie For You October 2, 2009
Posted by Shannon in music.Tags: Dead Man's Bones
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(photo: Hama Sanders)
My introduction to Dead Man’s Bones was the video for “In The Room Where You Sleep” about 6 months ago. I was struck but the clunky piano and the strong voice – to say nothing of children’s choir.
There was no straight on shot of Ryan Gosling in the video, and besides, I never could have imagined (in a million years) that Sean from Breaker High was capable of writing – or even participating in – such dark, creepy and exciting songs. Because altogether too often actor-turned-musician projects turn out like this, it just never even entered my mind that something this fucking great could possibly be fronted by an actor.
Whatever you do, don’t let the A-lister deceive you.
The band’s sound combines elements of 50’s pop on songs like “My Body’s a Zombie For You,” “Paper Ships,” and “Name In Stone,” along with a more 80’s synth sound on the album version of “In The Room Where You Sleep” and the track “Pa Pa Power.” Overall though, Ryan Gosling and Zach Sheilds’ self-titled album, Dead Man’s Bones, roots itself in the drama and dark mystery of silent horror films and the kind of terror that only the sound of a children’s choir can invoke.
This is hardly surprising when you learn that the band was formed when Gosling and Sheilds set out to write a theatrical monster-ghost-love story for the stage. One disappointing realization after another and … voila! You get a self-titled album and set of North American tour dates.
The album is out October 6th through Anti Records. You can listen to it in full on their MySpace page in the meantime.
Perfect What You Do Best October 1, 2009
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I’m pretty skeptical of the ‘next big thing’ in music. I’m known to exclaim, “This is the best show I’ve ever seen!” during a pilot episode, but music grows on me (slowly) over time. It takes me years to switch phrases from “I love that album,” to “I love that band. In this one aspect, I’m not fickle.
I love Cuff The Duke.
Their first album, Life Stories for Minimum Wage, was as good as the title clever would have you believe -plus they put on a great live show in small local venues. In 2002, Cuff The Duke were also doing some really different. Alt-country was barely on the map as a genre of choice, and there weren’t really any havens in Toronto for slide guitar fans like there are now (I’m looking at you, Dakota Tavern). I wasn’t the band’s biggest fan, but I dug what they were doing.
In 2005, the band released their self titled effort in a sea of highly polished “indie rock” records. Cuff The Duke was in no way a departure for the band, but it was another solid album that made my ears happy.
In 2007, I popped Sidelines of the City into my CD player (I’m so retro), and from the first bar of fiddle in “If I Live or If I Die,” it was clear that Cuff The Duke were playing in a brand new ball park. They weren’t playing a new game, but oh man! did their outfit ever look new and shiny.
Way Down Here, the band’s 2009 offering, follows suit. The gorgeous harmonies in lead track, “You Were Right” give me that warm-sweater-on-a-cold-day feeling that is exactly what I’ve come to love most from a Cuff The Duke album. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to post about Way Down Here. About a month ago I used the word “perfection” to describe how I feel about it in a conversation with a friend.
Overall, I love that once Cuff The Duke found their sound they never strayed very far from it. With every album they build on their foundation; adding new polish, maturity and depth every time they go in and record.
