July 31, 2008
Upcoming Releases
Perhaps the most significant release coming in the near future, especially for indie/folk music, is Conor Oberst’s self-titled album. This will be the Bright Eyes’ mastermind’s first solo album since 1996. Oberst will still have a backing band, this time in the form of the Mystic Valley Band. Listening to lead single "Danny Callahan" and a few other tracks, it doesn’t seem like a far-reach from his past work, but still a solid effort. For those who cannot wait for the August 5 release, you can stream the entire album on conoroberst.com/album.
Other noteworthy upcoming releases for the end of summer/fall include David Byrne/Brian Eno Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (8/18), Calexico Carried To Dust (9/9), Ray Lamontagne Gossip in the Grain (9/9), Ben Folds Way to Normal (9/30), and Oasis Dig Out Your Soul (10/6).
by Jeff Goncalves
Fresh Baked:
Weezer
The Red Album
2008 | Geffen
F
Despite, or perhaps because of, their quirks, Weezer have always confounded their listeners. Their 1994 self-titled debut was an undeniable success. Quirkier and poppier than the sad, tenth generation grunge knockoffs of the day, the Ric Ocasek-produced “Blue” album yielded three top-ten singles and catapulted the band into household name status. Next, Weezer turned the knife inward, yielding the self-produced masterpiece Pinkerton, an introspective, warm, heartbreaking set of songs. The guitars squall, drums sit very forward in the mix, it’s a headbanger’s record for nerds. But the band got sued for copyright infringement by Pinkerton Securities, and couldn’t properly promote the record, so it flopped. Bad.
Weezer spent the next five years languishing in obscurity and legend. Rumor had it at one point that frontman Rivers Cuomo had turned Brian Wilson, spending days on end in the studio, bouncing a rubber ball and muttering to himself. Re-emerging into the public eye in 2001 with new bassist Mikey Welsh and the self-titled “Green” album, Weezer tried to give the people “what they wanted,” in the form of ten short, vapid, Ric Ocasek produced songs that sold very, very well, but lacked the gravitas of their first two albums. Since then, every few years the band releases another bland retread that makes the catchy parts of their earlier efforts seem like gimmicks they’re trying to exploit. The albums always sell very well, and yield a hit single or two, complete with a goofy, gimmicky video.
More on Record Review: The Red Album
Hidden Gem:
Galaxie 500
Today
1988 | Rough Trade
I surprised myself by picking up by Dean Wareham’s Black Postcards (Tell Me Do You Miss Me was a bit of a snooze) but it’s a love for Luna and a greater love for Galaxie 500 that inspired me to check it out. Admittedly, Black Postcards is a bit more rewarding than Tell Me, though it reads more like a grocery list than a memoir.
Galaxie 500’s Today quickly became (and still is) one of my favorite albums. Today was quite unique to the other music that was being released in 1988, more Velvet Underground or Modern Lovers inspired than the hair metal that was the disease of the airwaves. Rap was also making its way on to the mainstream airwaves. Thinking back to music of the late eighties (not that I paid much attention at the time or even knew who Galaxie 500 was; I was 10) I tend to think overproduction, i.e., Bobby Brown, so it’s kind of interesting to learn that Today cost only $750 to make. Another interesting point is that Bongwater’s Kramer either out of brilliance or laziness (Wareham remains unsure) allowed the band very few takes on each song, sometimes allowing Wareham one take on vocals and the guitar overdubbing. So it’s pretty incredible that this album is nearly flawless; of course it could just be all the reverb. But one of Today’s greatest strengths is its simplicity, the other strength being the fantastic backing of Damon Krukowski’s drumming and Naomi Yang’s dreamy basslines.
I worked six months at Guitar Center after dropping out of college in 1999. Fed up with listening to the alternative rock station, I asked if I could I put on Today. The album made it about a minute and half into “Flowers” when my co-worker asked me to turn it off, complaining, “Dude, this shit is boring. It’s making me tired,” I complied, resuming our regularly scheduled brand of shitty music (Buckcherry). I walked out of the job not long afterwards.
by Justin Weingartner
July 30, 2008
Don’t take rides from strangers…unless it’s for Wilco
Need a ride to the Wilco show at McCarren Pool on August 13? Well, thanks to Jeff Tweedy and company, you now have options. The newly created “Passenger Side” program allows fans to go on to Wilco’s website to find or share rides to the band’s shows. According to their site, the message board was established to help with rising gas prices and temperatures, and, of course, to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint. It’s also a unique way to connect Wilco fans…that hopefully doesn’t end in any mishaps. Check out wilcoworld.net/roadcase/
by Jeff Goncalves
Hidden Gem:
Palace Brothers
Days in the Wake
1994 | Drag City
A
Will Oldham occupies a unique, odd position in the greater Americana subconscious. Far from a household name, but universally known among certain sects of record nerds, Oldham has been making music with an ever-evolving cast of supporting characters and, initially, an ever-evolving name, since his auspicious debut with the 1993 Palace Brothers album There is No-One What Will Take Care Of You.
Perhaps Oldham and Co.’s finest moment is Days in the Wake, a collection of simple ballads that centers almost entirely around Oldham’s high, reedy voice and gentle but propulsive acoustic guitar. A far cry from what he’s doing these days (as Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Oldham’s new Lie Down in the Light is routinely gorgeous and surprisingly “up”), Days in the Wake often sounds like abject sadness set to music. “When you have no one, no one can hurt you,” goes the opening line to “You Will Miss Me When I Burn”, setting a precedent for a long descent into loneliness. Indeed, on “I Send My Love to You” and “Meaulines”, Oldham’s voice audibly cracks; whether from vocal strain or emotion is unknown. The effect, however, makes Oldham sound like a lost kid, desperate to be heard through a haze of white noise.
What sets Days in the Wake apart from the multitudes of other sad bastard, solo acoustic guitar albums? The fact that this was released in 1993, probably just before Nirvana’s Unplugged special aired. Although popular music had gotten very “cool” by that point, loud and fast were still very much the rule and the norm. In 1993, folk, bluegrass and alt. country had yet to come in to vogue. What’s the most punk thing you can do, when everyone’s cranked to eleven, speakers blown, eardrums bleeding? Strip it all the way down to the essence. One voice, one guitar. Simple and beautiful. Ultimately, punk as fuck.
by Brook Pridemore
http://www.bonnieprincebilly.com/
Hidden Gem:
Richard Hawley
Coles Corner
2005 | Mute Records
A+
It’s Monday, I’m off from work and the sky is overcast, threatening rain. A light drizzle trickles over 4th Avenue but not enough to open the umbrella I’m carrying. What better reason is there to throw a jacket over my head, rush indoors and pop in Richard Hawley’s Coles Corner?
A guitarist for The Longpigs in the 90’s and later, Pulp, Hawley has been releasing gems such as Coles Corner (supposedly named after a street corner from his native Sheffield) since his self-titled debut in 2001. Much like Elvis Costello did with Burt Bacharach with Painted from Memory, Hawley records his albums as if he and his music were from another era, carrying himself like a crooner from the 60’s without letting you forget that he is from our time.
The orchestration which opens Coles Corner sets the overall tone of the album; that of lost love. Hawley happily admits over shining guitars, “Here’s where the sound/of my tears hits the ground/just like the rain” on “Just Like the Rain”. Imagine every woman in the audience swooning when he pulls the microphone close, pleading “Darling, wait for me,” on “Wait for Me”. “The Ocean” is the most epic song on the album, erupting in the end into a chorus of strings, keys laced in tremolo and Hawley’s slightly hoarse baritone vocals hitting you like waves crashing against the shore. “Born under a Bad Sign” is hands down my favorite track on the album. Hawley weaves the tale of a Brando like character, the tough but sad underdog, strumming his guitar all alone. “(Wading Through) The Waters of My Time” could have easily been penned by Johnny Cash or strangely, Neil Young. Hawley strips the song down to its elements like an old 45 record release; acoustic guitar, vocals coated in reverb, slide guitar and light percussion. The album ends with the surprising Eno-esque “Last Orders” an ambient piece consisting solely of piano and swirling guitars that echoes like a song lost in a cave.
Besides Hawley’s talent to pen a great tune, it’s the production that makes Coles Corner as well as his other albums so successful. Where others might make Coles Corner sound merely nostalgic, Hawley lifts directly from his influences without seeming like a thief, putting a fresh spin on classic songwriting while making each song his very own.
by Justin Weingartner
Yeasayer (pictured), Tokyo Police Club, and The Secret Machines will play free shows at Urban Outfitters stores in support of Free Yr Radio campaign. Dan Deacon will also play a Free Yr Radio benefit show at the Slowdown in Omaha, NE. The campaign was created to support and publicize the importance of independent radio. Each show is to benefit a local independent radio station. The shows are free, but admission will only be permitted with an e-ticket that can be printed out from FreeYrRadio.com. Dates are after the jump.
More on Treats for the Tragically Hip: Yeasayer & More to Play at Urban Outfitters
Yeasayer (pictured), Tokyo Police Club, and The Secret Machines will play free shows at Urban Outfitters stores in support of Free Yr Radio campaign. Dan Deacon will also play a Free Yr Radio benefit show at the Slowdown in Omaha, NE. The campaign was created to support and publicize the importance of independent radio. Each show is to benefit a local independent radio station. The shows are free, but admission will only be permitted with an e-ticket that can be printed out from FreeYrRadio.com. Dates are after the jump.
More on Treats for the Tragically Hip: Yeasayer & More to Play at Urban Outfitters
