More indisputable evidence that Ben Bridwell is one of the more genuine dudes in rock: He and two of his band members delivered a surprise performance of Marry Song at the wedding of a couple that got engaged at a Band of Horses show earlier in the year.
“Njal proposed to Elin at the Band of Horses show in Oslo earlier this year. When the Bride and Groom heard that BoH was to play a festival in Tromso on the same day of their wedding, they contacted the band and told them their story. With all the coincidences surrounding the wedding, the band said, “What the hell” and decided to surprise the couple. The band showed up minutes after landing in Tromso to play Marry Song at their ceremony. BoH was honored to be a part of the couple’s special day. Congratulations Njal and Elin!”
The groom seems torn between looking at his soon-to-be wife or the band.
If you were paying attention back in April, you know that a Telekinesis 7-inch containing two new songs and a cover was released for Record Store Day.
Well, those three tracks ended up on a five-song EP that is out in digital format today, called Parallel Seismic Consipracies. This is all leading up to a sophomore LP, with production by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, scheduled for release in early 2011, according to Spin.
The EP contains two new originals (Dirty Thing and Non-Toxic), two covers (The Drawback by Warsaw and Game of Pricks by Guided By Voices) and a full-band version of Calling All Doctors from the Telekinesis debut LP.
Internet TV network Revision3, which I’d never heard of until today, employed an arsenal of HD video cameras to film Frightened Rabbit at a recent sold-out tour date at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop.
The result is a 70-minute, 14-song experience that sounds just as wonderful as it looks – this is no distorted/jittery/pixelated Flip-cam job. You can watch the whole thing in full (above) or even skip from song to song at the site on a setlist that includes a cover of The National’s Fake Empire that segues into Backwards Walk.
Can’t think of a better way to prepare for the band’s show at the Clubhouse in Tempe on Oct. 17.
I mentioned recently how much I’ve enjoyed The Soft Pack’s self-titled debut, and here the band performs one of the tracks (Answer to Yourself) from the LP for La Blogotheque’s Take-Away Show for part of its series from NxNE in Toronto.
Remember: The Soft Pack makes its way to the Clubhouse in Tempe on Sept. 18 as a co-headliner with Menomena.
As part of a mailing-list update, The National offered a brief – yet totally logical – statement concerning SB 1070 and the band’s two October shows in Arizona:
“Finally, we’d like you to know that we’re concerned about the discriminatory legislation that has been passed into law in Arizona. We don’t feel it’s right to boycott playing in AZ as our fans had no say in passing SB 1070, but we do intend to donate a share of proceeds from the October Tucson and Tempe shows to Latino Justice PRLDEF in support of their civil rights work. You can learn more about this organization at www.latinojustice.org.”
Like the upcoming Artists for Action concert on Aug. 27, The National seems to get it. As I’ve been saying, why punish the fans who likely share similar political viewpoints as the bands they listen to? By donating a portion of its earnings, The National at least gives fans an option instead of flat-out denying us a show.
Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic offers a similar call to action to play Arizona, not avoid it, in a Seattle Weekly column.
Appalled that I’d chosen to spend time with Menomena’s Mines over a leak of the new Arcade Fire album a couple weeks ago, a friend accused me of being a hipster, which I guarantee is the first time that’s ever happened.
Without trying to pit one against the other, the truth is, I’ve just found that Menomena’s musical eccentricities hold my attention a little more. And Dirty Cartoons is a definite standout on Mines. Here we have a condensed version of the song for a video (via Pitchfork) that features an air-drumming busker – who keeps time quite nicely. (Much as I enjoy this video, though, it cuts short the full satisfaction of the 4-minute, 53-second original.)
Remember: Menomena and The Soft Pack are co-headlining the Clubhouse in Tempe on Sept. 18.
Watching The National’s set on the Lollapalooza live stream over the weekend and this four-song session on The Interface is all I can do to keep from counting down the days to the band’s two-stop return to Arizona in October.
I, for one, will never tire of the end-of-the-show climax that Mr. November has become or the red-faced, middle-of-the-crowd freakout of Abel. Mostly, I’m looking forward to seeing the new songs performed in person for the first time, especially England, my favorite off High Violet.
The band performed England (below), along with Afraid of Everyone, Lemonworld and Terrible Love for The Interface. Be sure to watch the interview, in which you will discover the band’s rooting interest in baseball.
Proof that patience and persistence pay off when it comes to record shopping, I was rewarded with a trip to Half Price Books earlier in the week, when I snagged two N.W.A. 12-inches and a six-song Beastie Boys 12-inch for Shadrach: An Exciting Evening at Home with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. All three are in damn near mint condition, too.
The Shadrach 12-inch contains two Paul’s Boutique tracks – Shadrach and Car Thief – and four non-LP goodies, including And What You Give Is What You Get. In the insanely thorough 33 1/3 book on Paul’s Boutique, author Dan LeRoy writes of the track:
The instrumental version of “Shadrach” boasts a laundry list of new samples, including the riff from Black Flag’s hardcore anthem “Rise Above,” soundbites from various dancehall records and an interjection from comedian George Carlin. Yet although it only appears at the tail end of this mix, the snippet of the Jam’s “Start!” that gives the track its title is the most intriguing lift.
It’s a classic Paul’s Boutique-era cut – just a wild orgy of samples and scratches pieced together perfectly. Makes me wanna revisit the album.
If you’ve ever thought, “Hey, I wonder what Built to Spill songs would sound like re-imagined as synth-filled, 12-inch remixes from the 1980s” – and who hasn’t?? – then you’re in luck.
TwentyFourBit points us in the direction of The Electronic Anthology Project, the rather odd but really awesome brainchild of Built to Spill singer/guitar god Doug Martsch and bassist Brett Nelson (not to be confused with guitarist Brett Netson). Quite simply, the duo has re-recorded seven BtS songs “in the vein of the 80’s 12-inch remix.” Each song even has a new title that is an anagram of its original.
From listening to the three songs available on MySpace – Eels (aka Else), What If Your Dull (I Would Hurt a Fly) and Age I Felt (Get a Life) – this is as fun as it is totally unexpected. The only thing that would make it any better would be for an actual 12-inch pressing of one of the songs, perhaps backed with the original.
Check out Eels and the tracklist below (via TwentyFourBit):
The Electronic Anthology Project:
1. I Dim Our Angst In Agony (Goin’ Against Your Mind)
2. Age I Felt (Get A Life)
3. At The Where (The Weather)
4. Eels (Else)
5. What If Your Dull (I Would Hurt A Fly)
6. A Gloss Siren (Israel’s Song)
7. Far Path Tall Sign / (Things Fall Apart)
On the heels of its debut LP Eyelid Movies (on Barsuk), Phantogram – the Saratoga Springs, NY, duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel – is setting course on a national headlining tour, including an Oct. 8 stop in Phoenix at Sanctum, a Central Phoenix bar/nightclub/venue I admittedly know nothing about.
I have precious little information about the show, other than Josiah Wolf of WHY? appears to be the opener.
What I do know is that Eyelid Movies is a great album, bringing electronic elements and live instrumentation together in warm and tripped-out fashion. Barthel spelled out her hip-hop influence for us in April, and you can hear it come through on the record (especially on a track like As Far As I Can See)
