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Bits: The Flaming Lips, The Due Diligence, A Place to Bury Strangers, Liars, The Like, Gin Blossoms

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  • Pitchfork is featuring a doc on the making of the Flaming Lips’ Embryonic, and since the week is almost over, you’d better get over there.

  • Hooray for the Due Diligence! Isaac Gillespie and company surpassed their Kickstarter goal, so I Will Wreck Your Life will get a vinyl pressing, and the album is streaming at their Bandcamp site.

  • “But what I really want to do is direct…” A Place to Bury Strangers are holding a contest for aspiring music video directors. Create a video for APtBS’ song “Deadbeat” and upload it to the Deadbeat contest YouTube channel for a chance to win a signed boxset, 4 tickets to an APtBS show of your choice and have your video posted to all APtBS websites with credit as the official video.

  • Additionally, do yourself a favor and see A Place to Bury Strangers live:

    9/30 – Nashville, TN – Next Big Nashville Festival at Exit In with Yeasayer, Waaves, & Javelin

    10/1 – Durham, NC – Duke Coffeehouse

    10/2 – Richmond, VA – Strange Matter with Ceremony & Soundpool (Killer Pimp Night)

    10/3 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge with Chapterhouse, Soundpool & Ulrich Schnauss

    10/15 – Minneapolis, MN – Whole Music Club at University of Minnesota

    10/26 – Brooklyn, NY – Death By Audio with Japandroids

    10/30 – West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street

    11/3 – New York, NY – Billboard Showcase at Gramercy

    11/11 – Monterrey, Mexico – Escenica

    11/13 – Mexico City, Mexico – Festival Sonorama

    Leave your pansy earplugs at home.

  • This could be worth wading into the murky depths of iTunes: Liars have released a live EP of their May 27 Shepherd’s Bush gig, cleverly entitled Live at Shepherds Bush Empire, exclusively through iTunes.

    Tracklisting:

    1. Scissor

    2. Proud Evolution

    3. The Overachievers

    4. Clear Island

    5. A Visit from Drum

  • I finally watched We Jam Econo: the Story of the Minutemen last night! This is not news. It’s just an excuse to post this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79D1ifOhGb4?fs=1]

Jennifer adds:

  • The Like are on a U.S. west coast tour now-right-now.

  • The Gin Blossoms’ new album No Chocolate Cake is streaming on AOL Music.

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: Titus Andronicus

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This week, Jennifer gets excited about some punk fuckin’ rawk.

The best way I can explain The Monitor, the new(ish) record from Titus Andronicus , is to say that it is like two photographs, one from the 21st century and one from the 19th, carefully overlaid so that their elements blend and the eye is left with the challenge of determining what is now, what was then, and what is both, eternally suspended on the thin webbing of successful illusion. Internet, I have listened to this record a lot. I was really, really excited to finally be able to see them live.

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Patrick Stickles (l) and Ian Graetzer (r)

Following opening acts Screaming Females (solid punk band; their singer can also really shred) and Free Energy (pop punk so awesome they get their own post next week), Titus Andronicus kicked off the show last Saturday night at Webster Hall with A More Perfect Union, a song which references, among other things, the Newark Bears, the Garden State Parkway, Born to Run as well as both the Battle Cry of Freedom and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The recorded lyrics include the phrase tramps like us, baby we were born to die, but Patrick Stickles sang born to run instead, infusing (and transforming) the line with howling punk rock defiance. Naturally the pit went crazy. And it only got better from there.

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Amy Klein, playing her violin while wearing her guitar

One of highlights of the show came during The Battle of Hampton Roads. The song is 14 minutes long and they played all of it. The middle section is instrumental, a fusion of fuzzy guitars, parade drums and what I thought were bagpipes on the record but live turned out to be keyboard effects. It sounds like a column of weary Union soldier walking home on a dirt road in the rain. It is the kind of thing that just begs for a drum line. And so the barrier provided one: we stretched out our hands, all of us, all the way down as far as I could see, and pounded on the stage. Meanwhile, the floor was vibrating from the pogoing feet of the pit behind us.

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l to r: Patrick Stickles, David Robbins, Eric Harm, and Ian Graetzer

In conclusion: that was awesome, and I can’t wait to see them again when they open for the Felice Brothers in Poughkeepsie in October. If you live in the tri-state area and are waffling about going to that show, BUY A TICKET NOW. It’s going to be good.

— Jennifer

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

Cleveland’s annual Ingenuity Festival kicks off tonight at 5 PM.

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Mon, Sep 27| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
    Menomena
    Suckers
    Tu Fawning
    $15
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Thu, Sep 30| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Charlie Musselwhite
    Kristine Jackson
    $20.00 adv / $22.00 dos
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Thu, Sep 30| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Bobby Bare Jr.
    Blue Giant
    $12.00
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Fri, Sep 24 | 9 PM
    Grog Shop 18th Anniversary Party
    Team Music Saves
    John Neely
    Guilty Pleasures
    Miss Mary
    free

  • Mon, Sep 27 | 8 PM
    A Place to Bury Strangers
    Freedom
    Hot Cha Cha
    $10 adv / $12 dos

  • Wed, Sep 29 | 8 PM
    Bettie Serveert
    Lawton Brothers
    All Comers
    $12 adv / $14 dos

  • Thu, Sep 30 | 9 PM
    Tim Kasher
    Goodmorning Valentine
    Brian Straw
    $10 adv / $12 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Fri, Sep 24 | 9 PM
    Strange Boys
    Gentlemen Jesse & His Men
    Natural Child
    The Wooly Bullies
    $8

  • Sat, Sep 25 | 5 PM
    6th Old School Sinema Post-Zombie Walk Bash
    Horror of 59
    The Coffin Riders
    Dead Federation
    The Cleveland Burlesque Co.
    free

  • Sun, Sep 26 | 9 PM
    Vermillion Sands
    Rubella
    45 Spider
    $5

Thirteenth Floor

  • Fri, Sep 24 | 7 PM
    A Place to Bury Strangers
    Ludwig
    Swarm of Bats
    free

Kent Stage

  • Fri, Sep 24 & Sat, Sep 25 | 7:30 PM
    Debacle: Kent and Akron Bands Reunite
    Fri:
    Ig Nition
    7 Wide 4 Lipps
    Vinyl Back
    Unreal McCoys
    Germ Free Adolescents
    Subterraneans
    The Bizarros
    The Attitude
    Sat:
    The Pets/Sidewalks
    The Worlds Collide
    Joy Circuit
    The Nelsons
    The Clinic
    Bongo’s Jungle Party
    The Somatics
    In Fear of Roses
    Zero Defex
    $5

Musica

  • Fri, Sep 24 | 8 PM
    Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos
    the Lonely Forest
    Bethesda
    $12

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: Blake Mills

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As I was nearly employed in nefarious plans to acquire the object of desire in Jennifer’s post today, I am glad for the happy outcome. Jennifer suggests those seeking to obtain the below-mentioned artifact for themselves contact the Venice Beach location of Mollusk Surf Shop.

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Internet, last week I did something I haven’t done since (probably) 1998: I bought music on a cassette tape: Break Mirrors, by Blake Mills, formerly of Simon Dawes, who are now just Dawes. (Trivia: First cassette I bought, in 1986: Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA and The Hooters, Nervous Night; last cassette I can remember, before this one: Jerry Cantrell, Boggy Depot.) You may, rightfully, be wondering whatever possessed me to do such a thing, especially since I had already acquired the actual music on the cassette in digital format and have been happily listening to it for some time now.

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The answer to that question, is, essentially, that this was less about the tunes (though they are very good; more on that in a minute) and more about the artifact. I am not the kind of music nerd that has an opinion about vinyl. That I have three actual records in my apartment right now is more due to the fact that they come as part of special packages then any desire of mine to listen to them in that format. Also, I don’t have a record player.

My first motivation was to see the liner notes and more of the album art – the collage on the cover is only the beginning, but as it turns out, all of that is part of the CD version – but more than that the idea of a cassette tape was weirdly compelling. I suspect because it is the kind of retro I can feel a real connection to, in the sense that I am the kind of music nerd that, in 1989, spent several months carefully combing the aisles at Tower Records to assemble Tom Petty’s entire back catalog, and then spent hours sitting on my bedroom floor with my stereo making three 90 minute mix tapes solely devoted to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Later I would make several driving mixes, one tape on the topic of Heavy Metal I Have Loved, and, finally, six carefully curated identical mix tapes as high school graduation gifts for my friends. I suppose that’s not a lot, all things considered, but my point here is, the prospect of the weight of the tape in my hand made me happy.

And as it turns out, one of the many random objects that has traveled with me through the last nine years, six moves, and three states is my walkman:

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As you can see it’s gotten somewhat battered over the years – when and where someone taped the lid on, I have no idea – but I’m pleased to tell you that, after some judicious wiggling of plastic parts, it still works. And the record sounds just as good, if not better, than it does digitally; I was sure I could hear more layers, and definitely a broader, richer drum sound.

Outside of all of that, I am once again and as usual at a loss for fancy music critic language to describe it to you. I can say that, sound-wise, he’s less country/Americana-y than Dawes has become, with much more of an indie-pop sensibility, and that the lyrics are interesting; he tells stories I want to listen to over and over again.

He’ll be on tour with Band of Horses this fall in Iowa, Ohio and Kentucky, but in the meanwhile, here he is performing Hey Lover with some friends, courtesy of YouTube user seizediem :

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2_bnB6haLA?fs=1]

–Jennifer

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Bits: The Black Keys, Andrew Bird, Neil Young, Sweet By and By, the Felice Brothers

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  • With the proceeds from a benefit concert played in Akron, Ohio, last autumn to honor Alfred McMoore – the artist who inadvertently named the band – the Black Keys Alfred McMoore Memorial Endowment Fund has been established to support community services for Akron residents like McMoore who suffered from schizophrenia.

  • Andrew Bird will reprise his popular Gezelligheid concerts in December with dates in DC, Boston and Chicago.

  • Neil Young’s highly-anticipated, Daniel Lanois-produced album Le Noise is up on NPR’s First Listen.

  • A reminder for those in Northern California: The Yolo Throwdown Car and Music Festival is coming up this weekend, featuring the Sweet By and By, who are slated to hit the stage around 3:15 P.M.

  • Our good friend Digger has been counting down the top ten Felice Brothers songs of their career so far, which includes the brilliant “Marie”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izAAG1QEX_k?fs=1]

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Fri, Sep 17| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Beachland Barn Dance III – Rape Crisis Center Benefit
    Mark Haas | 8 PM
    Paul Kovac & Mark Olitsky w/ guest Laura Lewis | 8:40 PM
    One Dollar Hat | 9:20 PM
    Waxwings | 10:10 PM
    Silver String Band | 11 PM
    Hiram Rapids Stumblers | 11:50 PM
    Louise Keller Square Dance between acts
    $7
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Sat, Sep 18| 8 PM (7 PM door)
    Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
    Tom Evanchuck
    $18 adv / $20 dos
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Mon, Sep 20| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Koffin Kats
    The Give & Go’s
    Wolfboy Slim & His Dirty Feets
    $10
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Tue, Sep 21| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
    Those Darlins
    Turbo Fruits
    Henry Wagons
    $8
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Wed, Sep 22| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
    David Dondero
    Darren Hanlon
    Matt Scarbrough
    $8 adv / $10 dos
    Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

  • Wed, Sep 22 | 7:30 PM
    Van Dyke Parks
    Clare & The Reasons
    $20

  • Wed, Sep 22 | 8 PM
    El Ten Eleven
    Dosh
    Baths
    $8 adv / $10 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Sat, Sep 18 | 9 PM
    Weasel Walter Trio
    Flat Can Co.
    Swindlella
    Gothcock
    $5

  • Sun, Sep 19 | 9 PM
    Gelatinous Cube
    Sam Goodwill
    Fillmore Jive
    Zapano
    Discount Tents
    Summit Trio
    $5 donation

  • Mon, Sep 20 | 9 PM
    Marianne Dissard
    William H. Michael
    Corissa Bragg
    $7 suggested donation

  • Thu, Sep 23 | 9 PM
    HOTCHACHA (record release party)
    We Are Hex
    Fangs Out
    (Mad Dog wine tasting party presented by the band)
    $5

Musica

  • Sat, Sep 18 | 9 PM
    Joseph Arthur
    $15

  • Thu, Sep 23 | 7:30 PM
    Dead Confederate
    Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band
    Clemens
    The Big Sweet
    $10

Nighttown

  • Mon, Sep 20 | 7:30 PM
    Stan Ridgway
    $20

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: A Few of My Favorite Things: Nerds and Novelty Songs

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This is Jonathan Coulton performing at the High Line this past April. He is the uncrowned king of the nerdy novelty song. My iTunes informs me that his genre is “Unclassifiable” which I think is an unusual misspelling of “Awesome.” My personal favorites are Code Monkey, a love song for J. Alfred Programmer; Skullcrusher Mountain, in which a lovelorn mad scientist asks isn’t it enough that I ruined a pony, making a gift for you?; and Shop Vac, a tale of suburban disaffection and despair with a catchy sing-along chorus. I’m also really very fond of his cover of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back. Those last two might not be all that nerdy but they are a whole lot of fun.

The next song on my list of favorites, MMO RPG by Alex Greenwald (Mark Ronson and the Business Intl., Phantom Planet) – truly a piece of digital ephemera, as it is, for now, only available on YouTube – explores some of the philosophical complexities of on-line gaming:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv8HJ_mB2Nw?fs=1]

I will confess I’m not actually all that into computer games – the graphics tend to give me vertigo, and I prefer the low-tech joys of running around in the woods with capes and fake swords and the adrenaline rush when the elves come out of hiding in the middle of an otherwise routine trade conversation – but the song still fills me with glee. I am only sad that the “P” in the middle defeats my attempts to chair-dance to it YMCA-style.

Finally, there’s the song made by a band full of nerds that, on first hearing, I thought was a novelty song, but wasn’t: Teenagers , by My Chemical Romance. The video won’t embed, but you can listen to it here:

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F2936031%3Fsecret_token%3Ds-v5nxZ&secret_url=false My Chemical Romance – Teenagers by spatzkiersten

A breather amid the heavier themes of the The Black Parade, this one is for anyone who has ever been baffled or a little scared by their high-schooler, or had the urge to tell anyone to shut up, get off their lawn, and pull up their pants. I enjoy it tremendously, and all y’all should check it out.

— Jennifer

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Bits: Infantree, Justin Townes Earle, Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, Neil Young, A Place to Bury Strangers

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  • Infantree’s first full-length album, Would Work, is out today, and you can take a preview listen at Spinner (also up: Watchmen, Black Angels and Grinderman, among others).

  • No Depression wants you to interview Justin Townes Earle, and they want to compensate you for it. Submit a question for JTE, and you could win an autographed copy of his new album, Harlem River Blues

  • Pitchfork‘s One Week Only feature is currently running a documentary of Vic Chesnutt’s 2009 European Tour with Elf Power.

  • For those excited about the new Daniel Lanois-produced Neil Young album, Le Noise, Stereogum has a preview for you in the form a video for “Angry World”.

  • A Place to Bury Strangers has a five-song EP – “I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart”, “Girlfriend” and three remixes of “I Lived” – and you can download the Secret Machines remix from Mute. APtBS will be kicking off a fall tour with a free show at Thirteenth Floor in Massillon, Ohio, on September 24 and swinging through Cleveland on September 27 (more on that next week).

They Shoot Music Don’t They talked Oliver Ackermann of A Place to Bury Strangers, tagged “the loudest band in New York”, into going acoustic for an evening stroll in Yppenplatz, Vienna. Sweet results.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-VGMT0R8Q?fs=1]

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Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

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Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

  • Fri, Sep 10| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    The Floorwalkers
    Winslow
    Psychotech & Supply Co.
    $7
    Ballroom | All Ages

  • Fri, Sep 10| 9 PM (9 PM door)
    San Goodee
    GORK
    DJ Eso
    DJ Tuggle
    Presented by Cleveland Tapes, Coventry Kids, & Musikbox.com
    $5
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Wed, Sep 15| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
    Breathe Owl Breathe
    Lowly The Tree Ghost
    Leah Lou
    $8
    Tavern | All Ages

  • Thu, Sep 16| 9 PM (8 PM door)
    Matt & Kim
    So So Glos
    Very Knees
    In Association with The Grog Shop
    $15 adv / $17 dos
    Ballroom | all ages

Grog Shop

  • Fri, Sep 10 | 9 PM
    Jamie Lidell
    Tony Castles
    DJ Charles McGaw
    $15 adv / $17 dos

Now That’s Class

  • Fri, Sep 10 | 9 PM
    The Chop Tops
    Lords of the Highway
    Wolfboy Slim and His Dirty Feets
    Scoliosis Jones
    $8

  • Sun, Sep 12 | 9 PM
    Main Street Gospel
    Mondo Drag (alive records)
    Blacklight Betty
    $5 donation

  • Tues, Sep 14 | 9 PM
    Animal Lover
    South Reach
    Blood Alcohol Content
    free

Case Western Reserve

  • Sat, Sep 11 | 1 PM
    The Black Angels
    Fawn
    Afternoon Naps
    Sun God
    Self Destruct Button
    Prisoners
    Nick Riff
    Teenage Grandpa
    Ethiopians
    Sloth
    free – more info here