Nu-Metal Pioneers (Man, That Seems Like an Oxymoron) Faith No More Confirm That They Are Planning US Dates on Their Reunion Tour…Get Ready to Get Hyperviolent [Brooklyn Vegan]
Brooklyn Psych Rockers Yeasayer Announce New Album Odd Blood; Released February 8 (Check Out the Tracklist Here) [NME]
Watch Video For Philly New-Wave Act Cold Cave’s Single “Love Comes Close;” More Importantly, Listen to the Song…It’s Good and Stuff; Love Comes Close Reissued November 13 [Stereogum]
Andrew Bird Plans Entire Tour of Playing Churches; Given Andrew Bird’s Usual Songwriting Themes, This Could Be An Attempt to Bridge Gap Between Church and Science (But Mostly I Just Made That Up) [Pitchfork]
Watch New Video From Really Heavy Japanese Metal Band Boris For “H.M.A.”…Which Just Consists of Boris Dressed Up As Twisted Sister And Smashing Stuff [Southern Lord]
Stream Antony Hegarty (From Antony and the Johnsons) Singing Puccini, All In the Good Name of Quality Coffee – The Result is Beautiful; The Concept, Ridiculous…But I Do Really Want a Cup of Coffee Right Now [Pitchfork]
Watch Video For Brooklyn Twee-Garage Band Darlings’ Single “Teenage Girl;” Continually Exclaim “Oh Man, I’ve Seen That Before! Oh, Is That Bedford?! Cool!” [The Tripwire]
I Really Feel Like My Kids Need To Listen to Guns N’ Roses, But I Feel Like Axl Rose Is Best Absorbed Subliminally; Well, Here’s An Album of Guns N’ Roses Singles Rearranged As Lullabies; Stream Samples of Rockabye Baby! [Idolator]
Really Solid Punk Band Against Me! Announce New Album White Crosses; Released Sometime in 2010…Expect It to Be Really Solid! Let’s Here a Hoorah for Consistency! [Spin]
compiled by Max Sebela
Watch Yoko Ono Duet With Antony and the Johnsons’ Antony Hegarty; Feel Melancholy [Pitchfork]
Jay Z Finally Discusses The Whole Little Mama Crashing The VMAs Thing…Contrary To Popular Belief, Jay Believes Fighting Mama Not The Solution (C’mon Jay, That’s What You ALWAYS Say) [Prefix]
Stream Little Joy’s Binki Shapiro Singing a Cute Little Lullaby, “Kids Song” – If Only Kids Listened To This Instead of Stuff Like This…Or, To Take Things One Step Further Into Pseudo-Reality, This. [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Stream Los Angeles Dub-Glitch Guy Flying Lotus’s New Song “Satelllliiiiitteeeeeee” – Wandering, Glitchy, and Lovely [Myspace]
Dan Deacon Announces Fall Tour; Promotes It With Ridiculous Cartoon-Character Naming Contest (Just Spotted The Michelin Man) [Pitchfork]
Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon Announces Hiatus For Bon Iver; Luckily, Unmap, The Recent LP From Vernon’s Side Project Volcano Choir Is Haunting, Sprawling, and Provides Vernon in the Meantime [Prefix]
Blur/Gorillaz Frontman Damon Albarn In Running For London Olympics’ Artistic Director (My Guess: Albarn Replaces All Athletes With Cartoon Characters, Who Perform As Avatars of Real Athletes, A La Those Food Races at Basketball Games) [NME]
Ryan Adams Has First Art Gallery Opening At New York’s Morrison Hotel; In Other News, Ryan Adams Doesn’t Seem A Very Talented Artistl; Should Probably Stick To Releasing 30 Albums a Year and Hanging With Elton John [Spin]
compiled by Max Sebela
Popular Music Blog Gorilla vs. Bear Runs A Top Twenty Albums of the Decade; In Other News, Music Blogs Unaware That Decade Is Still Happening [Gorilla vs. Bear]
Madonna Dubbed “Crypto-Satanist” By Polish Catholics For Concert Occurring On Feast Of The Assumption (If Madonna Is a “Crypto-Satanist,” What Is Alkaline Trio For This?) [Idolator]
London’s Glam-Pop Star Patrick Wolf Runs a Tirade Against a Woman In His Band; Throws A Microphone, Chair, and Spits In Her Face – All While Dressed Up As What Looks Like Bowie From Labyrinth [Pitchfork]
Auto-Tuned Hip-Hop Artist T-Pain Runs For President Of University of Florida…“Gonna Buy U A Dr-…New Field House, and Improve Bathroom Conditions In The Freshmen Dormitories” [Idolator]
Watch Art Rocker Nick Cave Read From His Upcoming Novel The Death of Bunny Munro (With That Score Behind Him, Cave Looks Pretty Well Suited As A Daniel Plainview Double); Bunny Munro Released September 1 [Spin]
Watch Antony And The Johnsons Cover Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love;” Hauntingly, The Song Becomes Desperate And Obsessive [Pitchfork]
Sonic Youth Set To Appear On Episode Of The CW’s Teen-Sex Romp Gossip Girl; Next, I Want To See Jim O’Rourke On The Recently Restarted Melrose Place [Prefix]
Radiohead MAYBE to POSSIBLY Release a RUMORED EP, HYPOTHETICALLY Titled Wall of Ice ALLEGEDLY Monday [Stereogum]
compiled by Max Sebela
January 22, 2009
Antony and the Johnsons | The Crying Light
FRESH BAKED
Antony and the Johnsons
The Crying Light
2009 | Secretly Canadian
B+
If you’re a fan of pop music that errs on the side of mystery, esotericism, dreams, and the heights and depths associated with Greek myth and tragedy, a little bird with a cathartic chirp probably already told you that Antony and the Johnsons released their third studio album, The Crying Light, this past Monday.
The band’s latest is largely a continuation of the work they started with 2005’s Mercury Prize-winning album, I am a Bird Now, a bridge which, depending on how you felt about its predecessor, is either a thing of beauty or a structure of contention. The instrumental arrangements, made manifest by lead singer Antony Hegarty’s ubiquitous voice — dripping, almost lisping with a desire to express all the wonders, flaws, hells, and perfections inherent in the relationships that exist between us and ourselves— form a sensitive accompaniment, almost as if the sounds of the band and the vocals of the lead singer are shifting states of the same dark matter.
More on Antony and the Johnsons | The Crying Light
FRESH BAKED
Antony and the Johnsons
The Crying Light
2009 | Secretly Canadian
B+
If you’re a fan of pop music that errs on the side of mystery, esotericism, dreams, and the heights and depths associated with Greek myth and tragedy, a little bird with a cathartic chirp probably already told you that Antony and the Johnsons released their third studio album, The Crying Light, this past Monday.
The band’s latest is largely a continuation of the work they started with 2005’s Mercury Prize-winning album, I am a Bird Now, a bridge which, depending on how you felt about its predecessor, is either a thing of beauty or a structure of contention. The instrumental arrangements, made manifest by lead singer Antony Hegarty’s ubiquitous voice — dripping, almost lisping with a desire to express all the wonders, flaws, hells, and perfections inherent in the relationships that exist between us and ourselves— form a sensitive accompaniment, almost as if the sounds of the band and the vocals of the lead singer are shifting states of the same dark matter.
More on Antony and the Johnsons | The Crying Light
November 11, 2008
New Antony and the Johnsons LP Due in January
Courtesy of Secretly Canadian, Antony and the Johnsons are due out with a new full-length record, entitled The Crying Light. Originally intended to be available last Spring, the new official release date for The Crying Light is January 20, 2009.
On the cover of the album will be Kazuo Ohno (pictured gracing the cover of Antony’s Another World EP), the famous Japanese Butoh dancer. And inside, you can hear the work of composer Nico Muhly, who assisted with the record’s arrangements.
Can we expect The Crying Light to be a contender for what will become the first “best album” of the New Year?
