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Short-order music
Philadelphia band Dr Dog announced today that they would be making a handful of new tracks (written since Shame, Shame) available for free download to their fans via their Facebook page over the next few weeks. The first offering, “Take Me Into Town” is an unhurried bluesy treat:
STREAM: “Take Me Into Town” (download)
Scott Hutchison from Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit blogged Monday about how he recorded a cool, collaborative EP of songs with folks from Twilight Sad, Idlewild, and others in a remote house in Perthshire (with “plenty of fruit wine”) and lickety-split, two songs were available now for free download (quite good ones, all broguey and anthemic). The Music Like A Vitamin supergroup is raising money for Scottish mental health, which of course you need after you submerge yourself in the marvelous misery of Frightened Rabbit for too long.
STREAM: I Forgot The Fall – Music Like A Vitamin (download two songs here)
And then of course Tallest Man on Earth and Sufjan both dropped EPs on us from out of the blue (bam! available now!), and current Fuel/Friends favorite Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives made a name for themselves by releasing a steady stream of 7″ singles in the Portland music community over the past year, coming out as they wrote and recorded them.
This trend I see gaining steam among indie musicians this summer is one that I love. I call it “short-order music” — not to imply a lack of quality (some of those diner omelettes whipped up in three minutes can be the best thing you eat all week) but rather a visceral, vibrant, of-the-moment transmission direct from the artists you love into your eardrums.
Arguably, we are becoming an impatient, on-demand culture whose attention span is brief and flickering. Nowhere is this more true than in the music community. One is reminded of Veruca Salt (who wants it NOW, Daddy) in our insistence to be constantly sated and titillated, and I am no different. But perhaps musicians can also harness this constant hunger to work in their favor.
In an age where the anticipation of a full album (and the inevitable leaks) can severely quell a musician’s financial gain from new music, this seems like a possible temperance. The guerrilla approach to releasing new songs via digital EP seems to encourage the immediate, bite-sized purchase of new music. At a few bucks per pop (or as Scott Hutchison blogged, “only six fucking quid!!”), it is more financially palatable for fans who are often used to getting, well, everything for free. There also is the perception of less risk – with only five songs, it’s less likely you’ll be getting that 12-minute art rock jam instrumental at the end of the disc. Unless you like 12-minute art rock jams.
While of course there will always be a place for us to fall in love with the well-crafted, cohesive, full album, I also welcome the willingness to mix things up a bit during the in-between days. Let me see what you’ve been up to since the tour ended. Surprise me with four new songs from the summer when I wake up tomorrow. Yeah?
What do you guys think?
Sister Hazel Ready 'Heartland Highway'
Sister Hazel is preparing to release their eighth studio album, entitled 'Heartland Highway' on October 12th. The first single, entitled "Stay Awhile" is due out later this month.
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Islands Played Unicorns & Daniel Johnston Songs For Big Terrific’s Big Show @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
There’s a comedy show here in Williamsburg that makes for really good Wednesday diversions. It’s called Big Terrific, it happens in the Cameo Lounge (which sits in back of the Loving Cup on N. 6th Street), there’s a special on all-you-can-drink High Life which is pretty disgusting/convenient, it regularly features all sorts of rising and established comics (from people you haven’t heard of to like Zach Galifianakis, John Mulaney, Sarah Silverman, Eugene Mirman, or Aziz Ansari), and it’s run by some friends of the ‘Gums: Gabe Liedman aka Videogum Glee master, Max Silvestri aka Gummy Awards Host and at least 50 seconds of Gabe and Max’s 100 Seconds, and Jenny Slate who you may also know as a shell of anthropomorphic adorability named Marcel, or Stella from Bored To Death, or from a promising season on SNL.
The show’s free, always — which means you can and should go tonight — except last week, when it moved to Music Hall Of Williamsburg for a ticketed Big Terrific blowout, featuring a spread of very funny people (including Todd Barry, Sean Sullivan, Videogum human target Joe Mande, and the New York Times-profiled Jesse Popp). Also there was a set from Islands, which in addition to featuring material by the band Islands, also featured material by the band Unicorns, and a medley of songs by Daniel Johnston. If you missed this show, you can see photos here by Natasha Ryan, or video of Nick Thorburn’s Daniel Johnston covers (“True Love Will Find You In The End” and “Honey I Sure Miss You”) below.
As far as the comedy part, there’s Big Terrific every Wednesday, but there’s something sooner: Videogum’s Back To School Party tomorrow night. It’s at the Bell House, it’s 21+ and there’s a nice lineup overlap with this photo set as our party will have Gabe Liedman, and Max Silvestri, and Joe Mande (and also John Mulaney and Jon Glaser, and of course, our host/Monster’s baller Gabe Delahaye). Also, there will be a DJ set from me. And it’s free! As is Big Terrific. So, come to Brooklyn and hang out tomorrow, or some other Wednesday, and/or click around in this post to be relieved of this ridiculous summer-ending stress we’re all feeling these days via laughter and Islands.
Here’s Thorburn on Johnston:
Junip – “Always” Video
This Andreas Nilsson-directed video for “Always” doesn’t have oozing creatures or special effects makeup, but it’s still creepy. That tells you a lot about the clip’s main character, who comes to help the band prepare for an air guitar contest — it actually looks like the world championship in Finland. Nilsson and Junip frontman José González have worked together on a few videos. “Down The Line” is still the best, but I like the unusually triumphant ending here.
Julian Lynch – “Untitled”
Julian Lynch’s warping, wobbling Mare offers an enjoyable trip down memory lane for folks who used to view Forced Exposure and Chemical Imbalance as druggier versions of the New Testament. Even if you didn’t — or have no idea what I’m going on about — it should be easy enough to enjoy the underwater loner feel, SCG flourishes, smeary vocals, woozy lo-fi horns, Jersey Devil acid of his scattered compositions. For someone included on our 40 Best New Bands Of 2010, the stuff feels weirdly out-of/of-another time. See, for instance, the pretty acoustic-to-electric psychedelia bit Lynch posted at his Tumblr. He say’s it’s from his new album, that there’s “no definite title yet.” (Ideas?) Take a listen.
Reunited OutKast Outtake Surfaces
The photo above is part of the press kit for 2006’s Idlewild, the last OutKast project to get an official release. Obviously it’s been a while since Andre 3000 and Big Boi worked together, which is why it was a bummer that both Andre 3000 appearances on Big Boi’s Sir Lucious Left Foot were cut from the album due to label disputes. The first, “Royal Flush,” did come out as a single, but the second track didn’t surface until recently. Big Boi played “Lookin 4 Ya,” also featuring Andre 3000, on East Village Radio yesterday. Listen:
Das Racist – “Ek Shaneesh” Video
Back on the day the internet was ruled by DR’s funny Nintendo-NES mashup “Who’s That? Brooown!” video, which, much like Das Racist’s culture vulture/nature nurture pop-referential rap schemes, was perfectly calibrated for dominion over blogspot proprietors and the A.D.H.D. minds they feed, casual acquaintances of the Shut Up, Dude mixtape learned how important hypeman/spirit guru Dapwell is to the band’s mission. In fact, the entire video game is about locating him, because sometimes he is a little lost. Today’s clip from the mixtape is for their ever-clever track “Ek Shaneesh,” directed by Weird Days, and Dapwell’s all over it, as are Heems and Victor Vazquez, the streets of Queens and copious green screens.
FYF Fest 2010 In Photos
This past weekend L.A. hosted the heavily (and according to various reports, perhaps overly) attended Fuck Yeah Festival. Great lineup, though apparently not the most easily navigated festival experience, according to our forces on the ground. We sent photographers Graeme Flegenheimer and Patrick Collier, who suffered through $4 water bottle prices and severe crowding to come back with a great shots of Panda Bear, Best Coast, the Blow, Big Freedia, Ariel Pink, Magic Kids, Abe Vigoda, Warpaint, Cults, the Mountain Goats, Sleep, Titus Andronicus, Wavves, and many others, including a Kisses aftershow at the Echoplex and a late night Panda Bear set at The Glass House. Some Polaroid portraits in the mix, too.
Relatively Clean Rivers
Crystal Castles – “Baptism (No Age Remix)”
This No Age remix of “Baptism” from Crystal Castles’ second self-titled album sounds like the version of “Baptism” you’d find on Dean and Randy’s forthcoming Everything In Between. If you’ve heard “Glitter,” “Inflorescence,” or “Life Prowler” you’ll know what I mean. If not, think about a fuzzy, ambient, propulsive, dark-side-of-the-boom-box moment on some past No Age track. Then add Alice Glass.
Dirty Projectors – “Temecula Sunrise” (Live At Other Music)
This stripped down “Temecula Sunrise” comes from the forthcoming Bitte Orca Expanded Edition, a double CD collection that includes additional “Live At Other Music” acoustic tracks, B-Sides, and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “As I Went Out One Morning” (not a cover of this Dylan … or this Dylan … or …). We’ve heard “Temecula” acoustic-style elsewhere, but the opportunity to really focus on all those voices is something that never gets old.
Class Actress – “Terminally Chill” (Neon Indian Cover)
Class Actress’s take on “Terminally Chill” is less chill, though a lot icier than the original. Add this one to your Neon Indian cover mixtape, next to Here We Go Magic’s “Deadbeat Summer” and White Hinterland’s “6669 (I Don’t Know If You Know).”
Browse Weezer’s Hurley Clothing Line
As mentioned, PacSun and Hurley (the clothing company) are teaming up to sell Hurley (the Weezer album) ahead of its September 13 release. According to PacSun, you and your best friends can buy the album inside PacSun starting this Friday. Also on sale? Limited edition Weezer clothing, as part of their partnership with Hurley (the clothing company). All the pieces come in shades of green, grey, and white, thought not all are explicitly “Weezer” items (as the press release says they’re “Weezer-inspired”). Take, for example, the puffy vest below, which doesn’t advertise your Weezer fandom as much as make you look like Rivers Cuomo:
Summer Camp – “Veronica Sawyer”
Jeremy Warmsley and Elizabeth Sankey are Summer Camp. They released their Young EP yesterday. As you might suspect by the combo of their and their collection’s name, the UK duo’s sweet, mildly shadowy sound ought to go over well with fans of ’90s twee pop and its modern day torch bearers. Get nostalgic via “Veronica Sawyer.”
Surfer Blood – “Floating Vibes” Video
Surfer Blood act out late night/early morning TV favorites, like local newscasts, home improvement shows, accident lawyer commercials, cooking shows, home shopping networks, etc. in this lo-fi video for the first track on Astro Coast. The video was directed by G. Warner and Ralphael Blanco.
Marnie Stern – “Transparency Is The New Mystery
Up at ATP this weekend I found myself DJing for friends and staff in the ‘Gum Suite, spinning this song more than once and answering more than one question about it. And now it is free, for your ad hoc friends and family DJ sets. Marnie Stern, the eponymous, third full-length from one of the Stereogum tag set’s most creative guitarists, is another step toward the directly emotional, inventively song-oriented fare Marnie’s been working out since her debut a few years back. The relatively balladic, heart-wrenching “Transparency Is The New Mystery,” though, is the jam of jams on her third album, which is also her best album. It also highlights the particular dimension Zach Hill’s playing takes when he works with Stern, his beastly, busy kit work sawing off few of its edges, yet entirely at home underpinning this vulnerable confessional of self-doubt, and self-awareness, and self. Take three minutes with it, and repeat:
[MP3] Sweet Lights: “Ballad of Kurt Vile #2″
Crocodiles – “Hearts Of Love” Video
When she posted “Sleep Forever,” Jessica noted the more optimistic tones in BTW Crocodiles’ followup to their Summer Of Hate debut. Initially you get that feeling in this sunny, sandy “Hearts Of Love” video, but the guys refuse to remove their leather and things grow darker, bloodier, more psychoanalytical. Summer Of Hate 2010:
OMD – “If You Want It (Black Light Odyssey Remix)” (Stereogum Premiere)
I’m listening to the new OMD more than I imagined I’d be listening to the new OMD. I won’t pretend to like every song on History Of Modern the British synth-pop group’s first album in 14 years (and the classic early ’80s lineup’s first in 24 years), but the percentage of good to bad is well in their favor. The first four tracks are a sorta perfect return to their various forms. And considering current explorations in electronic music — from Cold Cave to chillwave to Wierd Records to Crystal Castles to the Mercury Prize winning XX to newbies and plenty of bigger pop acts — it’s also the perfect time for them to resurface. As far as favorites, take a listen to this Black Light Odyssey remix of the stadium-sized second track “If You Want It.” Then take a step back to the fuzzy opener, “New Babies: New Toys.” Longtime collaborator/Factory Records in-house designer Peter Saville did the cover art.
B.o.B. & Rivers Cuomo – “Magic” Video
Rivers Cuomo is one of the many guests on B.o.B.’s debut album (Lupe Fiasco, Janelle Monae, Hayley Williams, and Eminem also show up). His appearance could be the weirdest, next to the Vampire Weekend sample on “The Kids.” Cuomo sounds chirpy but forced on the chorus. It seems like he’s having fun in the video, where, honestly, he doesn’t look 40 years old (wearing the same vest and glasses for the last decade or so also helps you look ageless). Not sounding his age? A bit of a problem for Cuomo when it comes to Hurley. Watch his B.o.B. spot below:
