All posts by Kevin

general, video

Incoming: Sea Wolf, May 17 (Tucson)

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My punishment for choosing to see Born Ruffians/Cadence Weapon on March 17 in Phoenix over Nada Surf/Sea Wolf in Tempe is this: driving two hours to Tucson on May 17 to see Sea Wolf. Could be worse: Alex Brown Church and Co. could not come to Arizona at all on this first headlining tour for the band.

The show, which kicks off the tour, takes place at Plush, one of my favorite venues in the state, and tickets are scant $7 (buy here). That’s the good news. The bad news is that’s the same night as Cave Singers at Modified. Sigh. Reports from the Sea Wolf show in Tempe were high with praise, so that’s going to be a tough call.

Here’s the video for the fantastic song You’re A Wolf, from the 2007 record Leaves in the River, which, on a drive to Flagstaff, my mom proclaimed is “cool.”:

general

Mt. Wilson Repeater (Jim Putnam of Radar Bros.)

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mtwilson.jpg

I’ve enjoyed Auditorium, the new record from the Radar Bros., so much, I’m just now hip to the news that frontman Jim Putnam is putting out a solo project on April 15 under the name Mt. Wilson Repeater.

From what I’ve read, Putnam played every instrument on the self-titled record, due out on Eastern Fiction.

Having streamed it a couple times at Eastern Fiction, the record is mostly instrumental with a little more leg room for experimentation than what you might find on a Radar Bros. record. (Read a quick Q&A at Paper Thin Walls, where Putnam discusses the creative process for the project.)

Though I’m not one for all-instrumental records (or even almost-all-instrumental records), there’s something positively hypnotizing about the way Putnam lulls you in. As a big fan of the Radar Bros., I’m probably biased in that assessment. A friend once offered his opinion of Radar Bros. to me as being “good, but kind of same-y.” Mt. Wilson Repeater definitely has strains of the Radar Bros. sound, but Putnam, who recorded the project himself, allows for some more unorthodox styling – surprising guitar tones and rhythm (Out Country Way) or the subtle inclusion of horns (Tether in the Haze … gorgeous).

  • Mt. Wilson Repeater | All Night Every Day
general

The National: A Skin, A Night (DVD)

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askinanight.jpgWhile I wait for an album to be released in 2008 that is as good as Boxer was in 2007, I’m excited about the news of the National documentary, A Skin, A Night, by Vincent Moon.

A friend and I were talking Sunday night about Boxer and how four months into 2008 no album has come close to it. I think Elbow’s The Seldom Seen Kid stands as the front-runner for me so far. Or it may just be that I’m forced to wait for every odd-numbered year for a National record (2005: Alligator; 2007: Boxer; 2009: ??).

A Skin, A Night is due out May 20 and comes with a 12-song CD called The Virginia EP.

The tracklisting for EP (via):
1) YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN, VIRGINIA (previously unreleased)
2) SANTA CLARA (UK b-side)
3) BLANK SLATE (UK b-side)
4) TALL SAINT (demo)
5) WITHOUT PERMISSION (unreleased cover)
6) FOREVER AFTER DAYS (demo)
7) REST OF YEARS (demo)
8) SLOW SHOW (demo)
9) LUCKY YOU (daytrotter session)
10) MANSION ON THE HILL (live)
11) FAKE EMPIRE (live)
12) ABOUT TODAY (live)

You can watch the trailer for the film here. You can also see some Vincent Moon-directed National videos here.

Pre-order the DVD/EP at Insound.

Here’s the EP’s namesake (I’m assuming) performed last September on WOXY’s Lounge Acts.

  • The National | You’ve Done it Again, Virginia (live on WOXY’s Lounge Acts)
general

Devastations: Black Ice

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Beggars Banquet is offering up another free mp3 from the new album, Yes, U, by Devastations (previous post).

Check out singer Conrad Standish’s entry in the I Used to Love H.E.R. series, too.

HELP WANTED: Any WordPress experts out there? I’m having some issues at my other site, Circa 45. Every time I try to save or publish a post it just goes to a blank php page. Also, I’d like to update this site to the current version of WP. So if anyone can help, there’s probably some free music in it for you. Hit me up at any of the contact info over there on the right. Thanks.

arizona, general

Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American (deluxe edition)

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0403jew.jpg

The NPR All Songs Considered blog brought up a good topic recently: What’s your comfort-food music? What’s an album you can listen to when nothing else seems to work at the moment? It took me about a day to think about, and then I turned on Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American, and I had my answer.

I’m not going to get into a long spiel and defend this to elitists. But having spent most of my life in Phoenix/Tempe, I got to see Jimmy Eat World rise from small clubs (who remembers the Green Room?) to huge arenas. And cynical as I am, not one bit of me resents the group’s popularity or mainstream cachet. Let’s not forget this was a band that beat The System – dropped from Capitol, self-released a record, made Bleed American and then took off.

Bleed American holds everything a comfort record should have, everything a good record should have – charming hooks, memorable lyrics and an unpretentious approach to rock. Ironically (or not?), that sentiment is summed up in the record’s second song, A Praise Chorus, when singer Jim Adkins sings: “All I need is just to hear a song I know.” Yeah, maybe it’s cheesy, but that’s also what makes it genuine.

Like Clarity and Static Prevails before it, Bleed American (originally released in 2001) now is getting the reissue treatment, and it’s not some half-assed attempt at double dipping into sales. It’s a two-disc set, the second of which contains 18 tracks worth of B-sides, rarities and bonus songs (track list below). The original album is remastered for the release, due April 29.

I’ve gathered a few of the bonus tracks here and there – the group’s covers of Game of Pricks and Last Christmas – but a majority of the bonus material looks new to me. I had never even heard of the Good to Go EP until Thursday. (Oddly, I have two JEW 7-inches with B-sides not included on the reissue: Your House (demo) and A Praise Chorus (Radio 1 Session).)

So, snobs be damned, here’s to one of my favorite records in my collection.

  • Jimmy Eat World | Game of Pricks (Guided By Voices cover, BBC Radio 1 session)

Tracklisting for Bleed American deluxe edition after the jump.

Continue reading Jimmy Eat World: Bleed American (deluxe edition) →

hip-hop, video

Incoming: Erykah Badu with the Roots, June 14

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How did I miss this? Thanks to Jose for the tip.

Frankly, I’m a little shocked that the Roots aren’t the headliners for this show, June 14 at Mesa Amphitheatre. But the tour is called the “New Amerykah Tour”: Erykah Badu with the Roots. Tickets ($33 prices not announced) go on sale Saturday via Ticketmaster.

Ah, but nothing beats an outdoor show in the middle of summer in Arizona. For the Roots, I’d do just about anything. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them live – back when they were big enough only for clubs. Their “Hip-Hop 101” portion of their live shows should not be missed.

They are on tour in support of Rising Down, due out April 29.

Here’s the video for 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction). (And, yes, I’m totally biased in terms of who I want to see at this show):

general, video

Elbow: One Day Like This (video)

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We’ve already seen the Grounds for Divorce video from Elbow’s latest, The Seldom Seen Kid (due out in the U.S. on April 22), and now we have another one, this time for One Day Like This.

This video is pretty masterful in its simplicity. The visuals – a single-camera shot of a kid slowly, then triumphantly, spinning a condos-for-sale sign – complement the song instead of dominating it. At first, you sort of feel bad for this kid – working this menial task on a drab corner. But then by the end of the video you’re rooting for him because you can relate to him. And the song’s slow, hopeful build drops your guard.

Even a cynic like myself manages to get chills at Guy Garvey’s writing on this one:

“Someone tell me how I feel
It’s silly wrong but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like the final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight

Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light”

I’d be shocked if this song – and album – don’t wind up among my favorites of the year. Seriously, this band keeps getting better.

(Apologies for the Yahoo! embed with short ad in beginning, but Universal annoyingly disables embedding on all its YouTube videos.)

general, video

The Panderers: Hotshot’s Boy

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When I saw DJ Z-Trip last August, he performed with a drummer I had to meet, if only because he was wearing a Public Enemy T-shirt.

Turns out that drummer, Pete McNeal, has played not only with Z-Trip but with Mike Doughty and the Breakestra, a couple acts that get a lot of rotation around here. He also spent time with Cake.

Now, McNeal is part of a four-piece called the Panderers, who are recording on Doughty’s Snack Bar microlabel. (The group’s bass player, Andrew “Scrap” Livingston, also performs with Doughty.) Not surprisingly, the Panderers are on tour with Doughty through April (no Arizona dates).

I just picked up the Panderers’ five-song EP, Hotshot’s Boy, on eMusic, and I defy anyone to not groove – you have to at least bob your head – to the soul-meets-blues hooks and rhythm.

  • The Panderers | Come On

Here’s one version of the video for Come On. There are a couple others – a bonus cut version and short version – at the Panderers’ YouTube page.