Monthly Archives: April 2010

arizona

Phoenix New Times puts out call for protest songs

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arizona_google

We’re quickly finding that the effects of the heinous SB 1070 immigration law aren’t limited to the political arena. Whether it’s sports protests or bands deciding to bypass Arizona, this law is going to touch each of us in one way or another.

As someone who is a bit embarrassed to claim Arizona these days, I understand the reaction of bands to reconsider playing shows in the state. But I don’t necessarily agree with it. I’m sorry, Stars, but all you’re doing is punishing and alienating your fans, most of whom probably have political beliefs that align with yours. Why don’t you actually come to Arizona and try to affect change? Better yet, why not reach out to fans to have conversation about it before making your decision, like some artists. (Thank you, Jonah Matranga and Damian Abraham.)

While I appreciate their desire to do something, I think it’s presumptuous for Stars to assume their absence would somehow have more of an influence on a government that’s never heard of the band than speaking directly to fans they can call on for action. Their heart’s in the right place, but it’s not like their decision would have the same economic impact on our state as possibly losing the 2011 MLB All-Star Game. Hey, if Shakira can make an appearance in Arizona, why can’t Stars?

Anyway, how about a more functional and direct approach to making a statement? Phoenix New Times music editor Martin Cizmar is asking local bands to put their music where their mouth is and write protest songs that he will make available for download.

Says Cizmar: “Arizona’s music community needs to battle against SB1070 in earnest. We need to tell our elected officials how absurd we think this law is, and how much harm it’s doing our state. There’s no better way to do that than by writing and recording a few good old fashioned protest songs.”

From what I can tell, he’s already got possible commitments from Source Victoria, Kinch and Dfactor, who also keeps a blog at Waved Rumor.

So if any local bands are reading this, I encourage you to join the effort.

(Image from Boing Boing.)

general, sports

The Baseball Project: Cubs 2010

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broadside_300

As promised, The Baseball Project has delivered the second song of its “Broadside Ballads” series, in which the band writes and releases a song each month during the baseball season.

This one deals with something near and dear to my ever-broken heart: the Cubs. I can’t say I’m as optimistic as Scott McCaughey, who makes one bold prediction after another on Cubs 2010: “This is the Cubs year, 2010 / 102 years, this drought has to end / everybody from 1908 is dead.”

As McCaughey suggests in the song and in an interview, there are plenty of ifs involved for the Cubs to end their – and my – misery. And McCaughey isn’t a Cubs fan, so he can afford to make these reckless proclamations – “this will be the year of no last-minute choke” – without that feeling of perpetual dread that something will derail their season.

I know, it’s an awful way to think, and McCaughey seems to be challenging that pessimism, dismissing all those mishaps and countless curses (he doesn’t even mention Bartman) and asking us to envision that glorious moment.

I’ll never stop believing, I just hope he has Cubs 2011 ready for next season.

arizona, hip-hop, video

Public Enemy: By the Time I Get to Arizona

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Sadly, almost 20 years later, this song is as relevant today as it was in 1991, when Arizona officials rejected a federal MLK holiday in this state. Now Arizona is back in the political spotlight for all the wrong reasons after the governor signed a bill that all but welcomes racial profiling under the guise of tough immigration reform.

I’m not one to take much of a public political stance, but this is shameful and embarrassing. I can only imagine what people who have never been to Arizona must think of it. Perhaps something like Chuck D. envisioned in 1991 …

general

Incoming: Far, May 24 at Rhythm Room

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far

With a new album – At Night We Live – due out on May 25, a reunited Far will help ring in the release with a show at Rhythm Room on May 24. Tickets for the all-ages show are $15 and can be purchased here. Dead Country and Phoenix’s Constellation Branch open.

The band is taking pre-orders for the album, coming out on Vagrant, at its site, where you can also stream the single Deafening.

Water & Solutions made a huge impact in shaping my tastes back in the day, but I never had the chance to see Far live in the band’s original go-round. So I’m excited for the second opportunity.

Speaking of second chances, the band talks about just that in the studio with Spin.

[STREAM]: Far | Deafening

general

Stream the National’s High Violet at NY Times

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highviolet

You’ve heard Bloodbuzz Ohio and seen The National perform Terrible Love on Fallon. Now, the New York Times is offering a full stream of the highly anticipated High Violet, due out May 11, to accompany an NYT Magazine feature on the band.

After a couple listens, I’d say Bloodbuzz Ohio, Afraid of Everyone and England are the initial highlights. Also, is it just me or does Matt Berninger’s voice seem to dominate the mix? I guess it’s sort of hard to tone down that baritone, which has become a trademark of the band.

Anyway, that’s a small quibble for what is sounding like an astounding album.

[STREAM]: The National | High Violet

general, video

Japandroids on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic

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I had little hesitation choosing to see Japandroids on Monday over Beach House after our Frightened Rabbit plans were derailed by that damn volcano. And now I’m starting to think Mother Nature intended for me to be at the Japandroids show all along because it was a pulsating performance, already my favorite concert of the young year. (Now if Frightened Rabbit reschedules for Phoenix, then I’ll get the best of both worlds.)

I didn’t keep a setlist, but I’m almost certain the Vancouver duo – playing their first show in Phoenix – tore through all of Post-Nothing and then some, including Darkness on the Edge of Gastown, Art Czars and its 7-inch B-side, the Big Black cover of Racer X. (I took some video, but I think my digital camera’s feeble audio capabilities were completely devastated by the volume levels.)

Three days before the Phoenix show, the guys stopped by KCRW in Los Angeles for a session on Morning Becomes Eclectic in which singer/guitarist Brian King explained the not-so-subtle secret to success as a two-man band: “The amps, especially their size and quantity, is what it’s all about.”

Here’s the KCRW setlist:
1. Crazy/Forever
2. Sovereignty
3. Art Czars
**Interview**
4. Rockers East Vancouver
5. Wet Hair
6. Young Hearts Spark Fire

I recommend watching the entire session, but KCRW also uploaded Art Czars to its YouTube channel if you just want to watch that (and, man, I love this song):

general

The One AM Radio: Credible Threats

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oneamradio

Now that Record Store Day is over, I’m revisiting all the exclusive releases to see what I missed and what I can still find.

First on the list is a 7-inch by The One AM Radio for the new song Credible Threats, which includes a Mae Shi remix on the B-side. The limited-edition record – only 500 copies were pressed – also comes with a download code for both tracks and a bonus remix by Jogger and (here’s the best part) 3-D glasses to watch the video for the song.

The group and Dangerbird Records has kindly offered a free download of the song, but you’ll have to buy the 7-inch to get the other goodies.

The One AM Radio played this track when we saw them open for Titus Andronicus last month at Chyro Arts, and it’s a pop charmer, full of paranoid visions right from the opening line: “I’m never sleeping, I’m too busy keeping track of all the ways they say I might die.” I’m already sold on the song, but according to the teaser video, Busdriver appears on the Mae Shi remix/cover. Should be well worth tracking down that 7-inch.

general

Monday night: Japandroids at Rhythm Room

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Two months ago, Phoenix music fans were forced to make a tough concert-going decision for Monday night: Frightened Rabbit, Beach House and Japandroids were all playing in the Valley on the same date at different venues – an example of the annual spillover thanks to our proximity to Coachella. Unfortunately, the choice narrowed over the weekend after Frightened Rabbit was forced to cancel because of grounded flights in the UK due to the spewing ash from the Icelandic volcano.

That set off a domino effect in town: Stateside Presents has since moved Beach House from the previously sold-out Rhythm Room to the larger Clubhouse, where Frightened Rabbit was supposed to play. That means more tickets have become available. (The Middle East, originally opening for Frightened Rabbit, remains on as support for Beach House.) Likewise, Japandroids (with Avi Buffalo opening) have now been moved from The Trunk Space to Rhythm Room.

So with Frightened Rabbit sadly no longer an option – crushing our dreams of that potential laser show – I’ve chosen to check out Japandroids instead of Beach House, a decision some people find questionable. But the duo’s 2009 album Post-Nothing gets heavy rotation, and I’ve been happily spinning my new Art Czars 7-inch that I picked up at Stinkweeds on Record Store Day.

general

Stream new Telekinesis: Dirty Thing

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telekinesiscvr

A Telekinesis 7-inch with three new songs is just one of the exclusive Record Store Day items I’ve got my eye on for Saturday’s shopping binge. After all, Michael Benjamin Lerner’s debut LP was one of my favorites of 2009, and this is all new material.

As if I needed any motivation to purchase the 7-inch, Carrie Brownstein has an exclusive stream of the A-side, Dirty Thing, at her excellent NPR blog Monitor Mix. Brownstein also assures us the B-sides – Non-Toxic and The Drawback – “are just as snappy and sharp.”

And, for crying out loud, look at that cover art!

[STREAM]: Telekinesis | Dirty Thing

general, interview

Q&A with Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit

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(Note: When an opportunity to interview Frightened Rabbit singer Scott Hutchison arose in advance of the band’s April 19 show in Tempe, I knew my friend Casey, the man behind the great blog Crumbler, was the man for the job. His impassioned response to Pitchfork’s review of the band’s new album is worth your time, as is his outstanding interview here.)

Scott Hutchison answers the phone in Amsterdam, which he is visiting on this day for the first time. He has come to play a show with Frightened Rabbit, the band he started as a solo act in 2003 and has since developed into one of the most compelling acts in indie rock. Amsterdam has lived up to his expectations: “Booze is a cunt,” he tweets a few minutes before I call him. “Brain no worky.” But by the time he picks up the phone he seems to have shaken the cobwebs: He is cheery and thoughtful, gamely answering questions about his band’s excellent new record, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, and the somewhat bizarre critical response it has drawn. Frightened Rabbit comes to the Clubhouse on Monday, and it’s a show well worth seeking out. Arizona was an early adopter of Frightened Rabbit; according to Hutchinson, it’s the first place that ever requested an encore.

Below Hutchinson talks about moving beyond break-up songs, creating his rap persona and being misunderstood by Pitchfork.

Crumbler: So you guys are heading to Coachella next week. Do you like playing festival shows, or do you prefer the clubs?
Scott Hutchison: Well, each presents itself with a different kind of challenge and atmosphere. The big shows that you play in the afternoon, a lot of the audience might not have heard your music before. That in a way is a bit more fun. When you play in the clubs, you have an audience from the start. But when you play at an afternoon festival, that feels like more of an achievement — to win a crowd over in the space of 40 minutes. I love them both, though. They have their pros and cons.

I saw you in a particularly sweaty club in Arizona a couple years called the Rhythm Room. Midnight Organ Fight had just come out, but everyone in the pit knew all the words (see video at left), and you guys came out to play an encore. I remember you saying that you don’t usually play encores — is that still the case? 
The reason back then was that no one had ever called us back before.  Now we do plan for it. I do remember that show — it was a surprise that people wanted to hear more.

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