Travis is streaming its new album, The Boy With No Name, due out this Tuesday, on its MySpace page.
I picked up the CD single (for 99 cents!) for Closer, which contains two B-sides: The Day Today and This Love. I haven’t had time to fully digest it, but I’m really liking the lead single. There’s always such a hopeful exuberance about Fran Healy’s songwriting.
It’s cheesy, maybe. But it’s also a beautiful departure from the mopey, woe-is-me heartbreak.
I got caught up on my Sole Sides news yesterday, and the site pointed to a project I’m going to follow with great interest.
The Shadow Sessions, which I’m assuming is the group’s name, is a live band performing DJ Shadow’s classic Endtroducing … in its entirety. Details are sketchy, but the group’s MySpace notes that it’s targeting a June release and that the project is for charity.
Nothing is downloadable yet, but the group is streaming “Phase I” of the recording: drum tracks. That only makes sense seeing as how Endtroducing … is built on the foundation of drums and beats.
I’ve been trying to match up the beats the Shadow Sessions posted with the corresponding DJ Shadow song. I’m pretty sure that Track 4 of the drums matches Building Steam With a Grain of Salt. I think Track 1 might be Changeling/Transmission 1. Track 3 could be What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4)??
It’s neat to see this come together piece by piece. Also, think about what’s going on here: A DJ samples live instrumentation, which then is pieced back together by, uh, live instrumentation.
On that note, does anybody have the deluxe edition of Endtroducing … ? Worth it? Yay? Nay?
Anyway, go check out the Shadow Sessions on MySpace.
Holy hip-hop lineup … the Paid Dues Festival is hitting Mesa Amphitheatre on Aug. 10. It starts at 1:30 p.m., which poses one small problem: It’ll probably be about 115 degrees. But it’s hard to deny the lineup:
• Felt
• Atmosphere
• Sage Francis
• Living Legends
• Brother Ali
• Mr. Lif
• Zion I and Grouch
• Cage
Tickets ($35) on sale Friday via Ticketmaster.
In honor, here’s a video of Felt’s Early Morning Tony featuring art by former Phoenix homeboy Jim Mahfood.
Much to my surprise, guitarist/singer Ross Flournoy of the Broken West e-mailed me to say thanks for the posts and “featuring so much of our stuff.” Very cool.
He also mentioned that a fan recorded a show the band played recently in Seattle. Says Flournoy, “He had a super-pro set-up so the sound is incredible…I think it’s by far the best sounding live recording we’ve been able to get thus far.”
With that, he attached an mp3 of Big City from said show. They’ve made it available on MySpace, so I’ll just keep on spreading the goods.
Also, the band has picked up dates with the National for some West Coast dates in June. Closest they’re coming to Phoenix? San Diego on June 25 or Los Angeles on June 26. Road trip, anyone?
I’m not sure how many times I can hear the Broken West live without actually seeing them live. It’s starting to get frustrating. I demand they come back to Phoenix because I missed them the first time around.
The latest live “session” – it always sounds so much cooler when something is called a session – comes from eMusic, which has a five-song performance the Broken West performed at SXSW at a Clothing Store That Sells Overpriced Ironic T-Shirts So Kids Can Appear To Have Shopped at Thrift Stores. (We know, Jesus is your homeboy.)
Whatever, the set has five songs, including the pretty much undeniable Brass Ring and On the Bubble. eMusic has made Brass Ring available as a free download, so I’ll post it here. As for the other four, well, you’re on your own.
Related:
The Broken West on KCRW.
The Broken West live at SXSW (mp3s).
I caught the tail end of Colorstore’s set the other night, and it reminded me to go MySpace digging to see what’s up with some of the better local bands. Robin Vining is always a busy man, taking part in both Colorstore and Sweet Bleeders. Turns out, he recently tackled a solo project, too.
The Nightcap Serenade, so says Vining, was inspired in part by the RPM Challenge, which basically asks artists to record an album in 28 days. I’m guessing they end up with either a boatload of garbage or some fairly riveting, if not rushed, material.
It’s easy to say that Vining’s falls in the latter category – at least from the three songs he’s made available to download. For the most self-critical of musicians, the need to squash that instinct to pore over songs and edit and re-record and rinse and repeat must be brutal. “So now I’m striving for the more instant gratification of imposing a strict duration limitation and popping one out this month,” Vining wrote.
The title track is a mercurial instrumental that carries strains of Western strings, Italian-style atmosphere and a little electronic juice at the song’s takeoff. Then there’s Stupid Face, a forlorn and soulful plea that probably would sound better on a ’50s jukebox than 21st century MySpace.
At his RPM page, Vining says “steps were taken to prevent ‘cleaning up’ or ‘overworking’ tracks and performances (which is, to say that it just wasn’t done). Even though everything was tracked individually, I wanted most of this to sound like a live performance of a somewhat ragged band.” To that end, he probably accomplished his feat, and it also proves what sort of spontaneous elegance one can create under deadline.
Where were you when Asleep in the Sea played its last show? I was there, at the Trunk Space, amid the sweaty, smelly and hopped-up kids of the mostly under-21 set. They laughed, they cried (wait, no they didn’t) and they moshed (seriously, they did).
It was pretty apparent from the get-go that the farewell would be far from serious, a reflection of the lighthearted manner that makes (errr, made) the group so great to begin with. They took requests for pretty much the entire set – save for the opener (Annie) and the closer (Dance On). They also entertained the angsty/hormonal antics of the skinny-jeaned kids souped up on flavored soda: “Fuck you!” and “Don’t break up!” and “Fuck you!” It was touching. Actually, it was somewhat inspiring and heart-warming to see so many people sing along to the songs when this city is often panned for its lack of local support. That said, I could have lived without the moshing/body contorting/”dancing” or whatever you want to call it.
But, hey, I guess it’s nice to see the sense of finality tempered by some levity. Because if it wasn’t the moshing, then there was the final sing-along to Dance On or people crashing the stage for an “encore” after fervent chants of “one more song!” These people are nothing if not dedicated. It’s enough to make you wish for just one more show.
Reunion, anyone?
I wrote a few weeks ago at Circa 45 about Brand New Funk, one of the many great tracks off He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper by DJ Jazzy Jeff (the DJ) and Fresh Prince (the rapper).
I praised the song’s production/sampling value and even gave props to Fresh Prince’s lyrical prowess (shocking, I know). Then last week, a comment was left by Ready Rock C (born Clarence Holmes), part of the production team who was pictured inside the liner notes for the album, a tip-off that he might have had a big hand in the album’s creation. There appears to be bad blood, from some cursory research.
Here’s what Ready Rock C had to say in the comment at Circa 45:
THe reason Jeff used the Original Bass Line and Beat is that He never did the original to begin with. So rather than be creative and make a new version He used the same track that I produced on the original Hes THe Dj Im the Rapper album. I am also behind the Lyrics Parent Just Dont Understand, The Music of ITS TIME TO CHILL, JUST ROCKIN, ROCK THE HOUSE, HUMAN VIDEO GAME, JUST ROCKIN, TAKING IT TO THE TOP, MY BUDDY, and a few more. I was discredited for alot of work that I performed and wrote. These guyz have particularly Will Smith has made it big time and never thought once to act on Helping me back in the music game. Its hard to get back in after being severely discredited. THier music simply has not been the same since my departure. Peace and Blessings to All.
Ready Rock C
Now as Jazzy Jeff reintroduces the track – Brand New Funk 2K7, though not really brand new because it’s mostly the same musical foundation – I’m not sure what to believe. If Ready Rock C lost his lawsuit for unpaid royalties (per Wikipedia), then maybe Jazzy Jeff has free reign on the catalog and would use it to spite Ready Rock? It’s weird, though these sorts of dealings likely are the norm for the music industry.
Of course, I meant no disrespect to Ready Rock C – if he is, in fact, the producer of the track, then the man deserves his credit. And I applaud him for commenting to speak his mind. (Somehow, I don’t think we’ll get Will Smith to weigh in on the issue.) The label on my vinyl copy of the album offers production credits to DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, though that doesn’t mean Ready Rock C didn’t play a major role. Who knows?
In any event, Jazzy Jeff has revived Brand New Funk with lyrical stylings from Peedi Crack for his new album Return of the Magnificent. It’s not terrible, but it’s awkward to hear a familiar song coupled with an altogether different emcee and rhyming scheme. Jazzy Jeff seems to be making a play for the nostalgia factor while at the same time updating its relevance. I’d just hate for this version to somehow cheapen the value of the original, which I hold in high regard.
Nevermind what I said. We saw both Sunset Rubdown and Tapes ‘n Tapes. It was fantastic. More on that later. In the meantime, I’m too drained for an in-depth post. So here’s a making-of “webisode” for Sage Francis’ Got Up This Morning video.
Remember: Sage hits the Clubhouse in Tempe on June 12. Sah-weet.
Related:
Sage Francis: Human the Death Dance.
