10/22/09 Northern* Olympia, WA
10/23/09 The Artistery* Portland, OR
10/24/09 Luigi’s Fungarden* Sacra, CA
10/25/09 Gilman St.* Berkeley, CA
10/27/09 Vacation Vinyl Instore - LA, CA
10/27/09 Echo Curio* Los Angeles, CA
10/28/09 Biko Garage* Santa Barbara, CA
10/29/09 Needles and Pens* San Fran, CA

* with Kellarissa

I came to know and became a fan of Rose Melberg from her DIY all-girls fun group Tiger Trap (the name comes from Calvin and Hobbes), which I often play on my radio show on KFSR 90.7FM, back in the day!

What I love about Tiger Trap is that all their songs (from all three singles/EPs they’ve released) is that they’re short, they’re cute, and Melberg’s twittery vocals. Even though the term “twee” (I hate that word) existed since the 80s, I have often thought that Tiger Trap were pioneers of modernday twee-pop.

Melberg would continue her unique songs with Go Sailor and The Softies, sort of simultaneously in 1994. Between the two projects, it was obvious which one seem more important, since Go Sailor quickly went away after only three singles.

The Softies (Melberg’s collaboration would be with Jen Sbragia) was more significant, releasing four albums, their last one being Holiday in Rhode Island, available from K Records. The thing about The Softies, is that they were going for that two-vocals harmony thing and their songs are often pretty mellow… unlike their punk-counterpart with the same name (I think they were from the UK).

Since I left the radio station in the mid-90s, I will admit to not keeping up with the whereabouts of Rose Melberg and her various projects (working as a drummer in another short-lived band, Gaze, working with Elliott Smith, The Potatomen, etc). I did know she went solo, or at least had solo records, but I was still surprise to find out that Rose Melberg is back with her third studio album, Homemade Ship, released last Tuesday on K Records.

I was actually pretty excited to listen to the new album, but since my only knowledge of her music were pre-1996, it seems a lot more mellow acoustic than even the softiest Softies music. In fact, with all the background vocals by Larissa Loyva, one could mistaken Homemade Ship to be the latest Softies album.

The album seems very personal to me, especially on “Sidewalk” and “Old Days”. But I also get the impression that Melberg must really love two other things in life: nature and animals.

In the form of nature, she seems obsessed with water (”we watch the water float you“), moon, wind, ships, and sailing. As for animals, she just doesn’t just write about them, but often singing that she is an animal (”Bear in a Cave”, “Sharks”, crows on “Old Days”, raccoon on “Moon Singer”).

In some ways, the title track, “Homemade Ship”, about being lost due to instruments failure, is my favorite song, because I feel as if Melberg simply isn’t singing about sailing, but more about life and where she is.

If you were hoping for the new record to sound like Tiger Trap or Go Sailor, you will be disappointed. If you’re already comfortable with The Softies, then I think you’ll feel right at home with this very quiet and tender Homemade Ship album.

Can’t get enough of Melberg? Head over to NPR to hear “Old Days” as the Song of the Day for August 19^th. Pick up Homemade Ships at K Records (LP for $10, cheap!).

(500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy movie that was released on limited screens in the US a few weeks ago. Although based on the trailer (yes, I am judging a film by its commercial), it looks very indie and very chick-flicky… I’m sure I’ll love it, but it seems like I will be renting this a heart-warming love story and secretly crying to myself in the dark instead of in public.

(500) Days of Summer is a movie about love, sure, but it’s also a movie about music. These songs build bridges between Tom and Summer and they tear them down. They can make you dance and they can make you cry. They describe how we feel and express emotions that just couldn’t get out any other way. Music is the soul of this movie.

- director Marc Webb

The Smiths-There Is a Light That Never Goes Out 3 comments

You know, they had me at The Smiths, who appears on the soundtrack with two songs (plus a bonus Smiths cover by She & Him). It definitely sparked my interest. I’m happy to report that I have the album for review, and it seems to be a great mixture of 80s modern rock with, er, 00s modern rock.

Of course, I’m familiar with all bands on the soundtrack, most of these songs I already have on various albums. Particularly, I’m keen on the old stuff. I mean who can say no to Hall & Oates‘ “You Make My Dreams” as you picture Daryl Hall’s legs flapping. Or just give into Morrissey as he whines “Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Pease, Please, Please, No Really Please Let Me Get What I Want”. Or reflecting on a time of innocence with Simon & Garfunkel’s sweet and harmless “Bookends”.

If there is a theme on this soundtrack, it’s that these are all love
songs. While as usual, the more established alternative acts (Regina Spektor, Feist, Wolfmother) does a great job with their love songs, the unknown artists (at least to me) on this compilation actually does a great job introducing themselves to me. I was particularly impressed with “She’s Got You High” by Mumm-Ra (are they named after the Thundercats’ arch-nemesis? If so: AWESOME).

As a cover lover, I noticed there are two on the album. As I previously mentioned, “Please….” by She & Him does an excellent job with the cover, although it sounds pretty much like the original. Singer Zooey Deschanel does not bother changing the lyrics from a male’s perspective (and there’s no hint of desperation in her vocals) and M Ward does his best Johnny Marr jangly guitar. No problem here, it’s just that I’ve heard this before.

Pixies - Here Comes Your Man 1 comment

My absolute favorite is The Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man” by Meaghan Smith (official/myspace). She re-interpreted the song as a slower-based song with male backup singers. There’s just something really sweet about the song when it’s slowed down from the original.

The really weird wild-card in this bunch is current-spouse of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian model-turned-singer, Carla Bruni. To be fair, she’s been releasing music since 2002, and her acoustic-folk French song, “Quelqu’un m’a dit” does a nice job as areak between all the English-based songs.

It should be interesting to see where the soundtrack play in the movie, so let me know if you see (500) Days of Summer. The romantic comedy movie is currently playing at selected theaters near you, while the soundtrack is available now via the great Sire Records. There’s always Amazon and iTunes (iTunes version includes the actors singing “Sugar Town”, “Here Comes Your Man” and “At Last”).

Trivia: The movie will be released in Australia on October 1^st, where the soundtrack actually have two Aussie bands: The Temper Trap and Wolfmother.

03/28/09 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s (duo) w/Erin McKeown Hoboken, New Jersey
03/29/09 Dave Marsh Show on Sirius/XM Radio (11 am) New York, New York
03/29/09 Fairfield, CT @ Stage One/Fairfield Theatre (duo) w/Erin McKeown Fairfield, Connecticut
04/02/09 Conroe, TX @ Heritage Place Ampitheater/First Thursday Concert Series (band) Conroe, Texas
04/03/09 Austin, TX @ The Cactus Cafe (duo) Austin, Texas
04/04/09 San Antonio, TX @ Casbeers At The Church (duo) San Antonio, Texas
04/06/09 Des Moines, IA @ Flying Mango (duo) Des Moines, Iowa
04/08/09 Showcase Minnesota, KARE TV - Channel 11 (w/Romantica) - 10:30 am Minneapolis, Minnesota
04/08/09 KTCZ interview/performance in Minneapolis, MN - listen @ www.cities97.com - 12:30 pm Minneapolis, Minnesota
04/08/09 Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity Theatre (w/Romantica) Minneapolis, Minnesota
04/09/09 Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall (duo) - opening for Alejandro Escovedo Milwaukee, Wisconsin
04/10/09 Danville, IN @ Royal Theater (duo) opening for Alejandro Escovedo Danville, Indiana
04/11/09 Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music (duo) - opening for Alejandro Escovedo SOLD OUT Chicago, Illinois
04/14/09 New York, NY @ The Living Room (trio) - WVUV “On Your Radar” Event New York, New York
04/18/09 Stone Ridge, NY @ Center for Creative Education (duo) Stone Ridge, New York
04/22/09 Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head (duo) - opening for Willy Porter Annapolis, Maryland
04/25/09 WFDU “Crash On The Levee” interview/performance (duo) - 10:30 am - listen @ www.wfdu.fm Teaneck, New Jersey
04/26/09 Freehold, NJ @ Concerts in the Studio (trio) Freehold, New Jersey
05/08/09 San Pedro, CA @ Grand Annex (trio) San Pedro, CA
05/09/09 San Diego, CA @ Anthology (trio) San Diego, Californi
05/10/09 Santa Monica, CA @ McCabes Guitar Shop (trio) Santa Monica, California
05/11/09 Tucson, AZ @ Plush (trio) Tucson, Arizona
05/14/09 Santa Rosa, CA @ Last Day Saloon (trio) Santa Rosa, California
05/16/09 Fallon, NV @ Barkley Theatre (trio) Fallon, Nevada
05/17/09 Chico, CA @ The Big Room/Sierra Navada Brewing (trio) w/The Greencards Chico, Nevada
05/21/09 Denver, CO @ The Soiled Dove (trio) Denver, Colorado
05/22/09 Taos, NM @ KTAO Solar Center (band) Taos, New Mexico
05/23/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Q-Jam @ Harry E. Kinney Civic Plaza (band) - opening for The Gin Blossums Albuquerque, New Mexico
05/25/09 She Ain’t Me RELEASE DATE in Europe Wageningen, Overijssel
06/01/09 (t)London radio & media day London, London and South East
06/02/09 Bob Harris Radio Show (BBC2) taping London, London and South East
06/06/09 Bob Harris Show (BBC2) airs London, London and South East
06/12/09 Fish Creek, WI @ Door Community Auditorium (band) Fish Creek, Wisconsin
06/13/09 Green Lake, WI @ Thrasher Opera House (band) Green Lake, Wisconsin
07/11/09 Austin City Limits (PBS) segment re-airs (internationally)! Austin, Texas
07/12/09 (t)Stanley, ID @ Redfish Lake Lodge (duo) Stanley, Idaho
07/14/09 (t)Halley, ID Halley, Idaho
07/15/09 Boise, ID @ Alive After Five Concert Series (band) Boise, Idaho
07/16/09 Moscow, ID @ Rendezvous in Moscow (band) Moscow, Idaho
07/17/09 Ephrata, WA @ Basin Summer Sounds (band) Ephtara, Washington
07/18/09 (t)Sandpoint, ID andpoint, Idaho
07/19/09 (t)Missoula, MT Missoula, Montana
07/20/09 (t)KRVO 103.1 FM Riverside Lounge interview/performance - TBD Kalispell, Montana
07/20/09 (t)Whitefish, MT @ Great Northern Bar & Grill (band) - KRVO show Whitefish, Montana
07/22/09 Crested Butte, CO @ Live! from Mt. Crested Butte Crested Butte, Colorado
07/23/09 Ridgway, CO @ Summer Concert Series - KVNF broadcast Ridgway, Colorado
07/24/09 Cedar City, UT @ The Grind Coffeehouse Cedar City, Utah
08/06/09 Bethlehem, PA @ Musik Fest (band) Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
09/26/09 (t)WTMT 105.9 FM interview/performance in Asheville, NC - TBD Asheville, North Carolina
09/26/09 Flat Rock, NC @ Flat Rock Music Festival (duo or trio) Flat Rock, North Carolina

Carrie Rodriguez is a singer/songwriter, from a Mexican descent, currently based out of New York. Her father, David Rodriguez, is also a singer/songwriter, having long relocated in the Netherlands in the mid-90s, where it seems he’s still producing music.

Anyway, she first came on the music scene via 2001’s SXSW*, where Chip Taylor met Carrie Rodriguez and was impressed with her that he asked her to tour with him in Europe. Since then, together, they released three albums and one EP.

By 2006, Rodriguez went solo and released Seven Angels on a Bicycle, however with the help of Taylor (who co-wrote and had a major influence on the first album). With She Ain’t Me, released late last year on the Manhattan Records (who I also just recently found out makes most of their music available on the BMG Music Club), Rodriguez is mostly on her own, employing the songwriting help of ex-Jayhawks Gary Louris, folk singer Mary Gauthier, producer Malcolm Burn (who won a Juno award for producer of the year for Emmylou Harris’ “Here I Am”), among others.

Listening to She Ain’t Me, I was immediately taken to the title track (”She Ain’t Me”). I marked it as a five-star track on iTunes and it became an instant repeat track for me. I feel that the song has a country folk influence, but the melodies sounds more like a great radio pop song. The singer warns the listener that this new woman might be perfect, but she simply cannot replace the singer (because she simply isn’t her.)

The most surprisingly thing I found about the song, having looked up the song credit as co-written by “D.Wilson”, I have concluded it is Dan Wilson - who you may all remember as being from Minneapolis’ Semisonic.**

I also enjoyed “El Salvador”, which is a long-distance (love?) song. If it’s not love, it’s definitely about missing someone… apparently that person is in El Salvador. The song is surprisingly optimistic in tone as well, despite all the waiting and wishing she could swim across the ocean.

The most surprising thing for me was that Rodriguez only wrote/play fiddle on a few of the songs (the rest, she settled on guitar). The most noticible fiddle song is “Absence”, which sounds like a southern bluegrass song and reminds me a lot of Bobbie Gentry. The reason why I bring this up is because she is known for her fiddles - and compared to her first solo album, the majority of banjo & fiddles gave that album more of a bluegrass feel to it.

If you love folk, pop, and a little bluegrass, you should want to check out Carrie Rodriguez. Judging from her major promotional tour, I think you will be hearing from her soon - if not already.

* I am happy to report that Rodriguez is returning back to SXSW in a few short weeks.

** From a Minneapolis point of view, she’ll be appearing on KARE TV and on Cities97, as well as playing at the Varsity, the same night (April 8^th). I would not be suprise if Wilson shows up at the Varsity show - so be on the lookout.

03/06/09 House Of Blues Myrtle Beach, SC
03/07/09 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
03/09/09 Orange Peel Asheville, NC
03/11/09
DPAC Durham, NC
03/13/09 The National Richmond, VA
03/14/09
Warner Theater Washington, DC
03/16/09 Wellmont Theater Montclair, NJ
03/17/09 Carnegie Music Hall Pittsburgh, PA
03/19/09
University of Buffalo Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY
03/21/09 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
03/22/09 Academy of Music Philadelphia, PA
03/25/09 Webster Hall New York, NY
03/26/09 Carnegie Hall New York, NY
03/28/09
Foxwoods Mashantucket, CT
03/29/09 House of Blues Boston, MA
03/31/09 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
04/01/09 Palace Theater Columbus, OH
04/03/09 Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee, WI
04/04/09 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
04/06/09 State Theater Minneapolis, MN
04/07/09 Midland Theater Kansas City, MO
04/08/09 Pageant Theatre St. Louis, MO
04/10/09 Dallas Palladium Dallas, TX
04/11/09 Jesse Jones Hall Houston, TX
04/12/09 Bass Concert Hall Austin, TX
04/14/09 Chavez Theater El Paso, TX
04/15/09 Sunshine Theater Albuquerque, NM
04/17/09 Coachella Indio, California
04/28/09 INEC Killarney
04/29/09 Leisureland Galway
05/01/09 Leisure Centre Omagh
05/02/09 Waterfront Belfast
05/04/09 Albert Halls Stirling
05/05/09 Caird Hall Dundee
05/07/09 Barrowland Glasgow
05/08/09 Barrowland Glasgow
05/10/09 Empire Liverpool
05/11/09 Royal Albert Hall London
05/13/09 Symphony Hall Birmingham

05/15/09 Britannia Pier Great Yarmouth
05/16/09 Corn Exchange Cambridge

05/19/09 Arena Hull
05/20/09 Borough Hall Hartlepool
05/22/09 Apollo Manchester
05/23/09 Apollo Manchester
05/25/09 City Hall Salisbury
05/26/09 Mile End Troxy Ballroom London
05/28/09 Brixton 02 Academy London
05/29/09 Brixton O2 Academy London
05/30/09 Brixton O2 Academy London
06/02/09 Grand Rex Paris
06/03/09 Aeronef Lille
06/05/09 Rockhal Club Luxembourg
06/06/09 Watt Rotterdam
06/08/09 Elizabeth Hall Antwerp
06/09/09 Capitol Offenbach
06/11/09 Palladium Cologne
06/12/09
Columbiahalle Berlin
06/14/09 Poer 2 Bremen
06/15/09 Rytmeposten Odense

06/17/09 KB Hallen Copenhagen
06/18/09 Ahaga Boras
06/20/09
Senstrumscene Oslo
06/22/09 Lisebergshallen Gothenberg
06/24/09 Hovet Stockholm
06/26/09 Tampere Arena Tampere
06/27/09 Cable Factory Helsinki

06/29/09 Maneshe St Petersburg
07/01/09 B1 Club Moscow

To say the least, Morrissey is the main reason why I listen to alternative music. Prior Morrissey, I was hoplessly in love with Chynna from Wilson Phillips. What made me deflect to the dark side was seeing Morrissey’s black humor as he sings his heart out to “There is a Place in Hell for Me and My Friends” on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

I bought everything I could from BMG music club. I still think it’s a great deal, you get 4 CDs for the cost of “shipping” - which usually works out to be about $4 a CD. BMG had a back catalogue of only some Smiths albums (they were missing albums like Meat is Murder and Rank to name a few) and only two Morrissey albums, Viva Hate and Bona Drag (the latter is more or less a compilation).

When those few albums wasn’t enough for me, I sought out singles, collecting cover artwork, fanzines, and bootlegs. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I can get a bit obsessive.

Just to let you know, for the sake of being faithful and for collecting, I still buy his singles. I no longer try and get all different version of a ‘greatest hits’ album or anything. For instance, I think there’s a new Smiths greatest hits out, which I’ll be ignoring… although there’s always this nagging voice in the back of my mind to ‘complete’ the collection, you know?

Okay, for those still awake, Morrissey’s latest album is called Years of Refusal. If you are only familiar with the ‘mopey’/depressing Morrissey of those Smiths days, I have to warn you that this album is very muscular and agressive. There is, of course, the odd sad song (”You Were Good In Your Time”), but they are quite outnumbered on this album.

You might have seen his “All You Need Is Me” tongue-in-cheek answer to all your woes or have heard “That’s How People Grow Up” on his last Greatest Hits album (that song was a brand new song at the time). The new “hit” single from this album is “I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris”, which sounds sweeping. I don’t know how to describe it, it sounds like the song should be epic, but it’s wrapped up in a two minute pop song. Typical Morrissey to end the song with “nobody wants my love“.

I really enjoyed the opening and closing songs (”Something Is Squeezing My Skull” and “I’m Ok By Myself”), they seem like fitting bookends to a great novel. The first song is just a fast song with an amusing Morrissey lyric of “don’t give me anymore“. The last song was co-written by Jesse Tobias, who is a semi-new collaborator. The rest of the album are written by old band rockabillish members, Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer, they’ve been with Morrissey since 1991.

Morrissey is definitely a more modern and mature musician since The Smiths… and easily his most poppiest album to date. New fans will be delighted, old fans may not really like. But you know they are going to buy it anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what I say…. although I will have to say this album is much, much, better than his last one, Ringleader of the Tormentors .

You can find Years of Refusal at any record store. If you can’t find it, then you are shopping at the wrong record store. Fans should be sure to only get the deluxe edition with bonus DVD.

Look for Julia Riley if you’re going to attend a show. I will at the Minneapolis show, so come say hi.

As a special bonus, here are some Morrissey songs I’ve previously mentioned:

UPDATE 3/6/09: I got this amusing note:

A Note From Morrissey on Tour of Refusal

“I have survived the interrogation of Atlanta’s Immigration officials and Myrtle Beach shall have me tonite (Friday), and the world from then onwards … if the world can take it. One of the many penalties of being human is that tours often take a military push to start, well, all of our answers will be in our songs tomorrow night. The bloodbath starts at 7.30. Life is testing you out. Be ready for anything.”

03/06/09 Neumos Seattle, Washington
03/12/09 Bottom Of The Hill San Francisco, CA
03/13/09 The Echo Los Angeles, CA
03/14/09 Beauty Bar (Neon Reverb Festival) Las Vegas, NV
03/15/09 Plush Tucson, Arizona
03/17/09 Longhorn Saloon Ft. Worth, TX
03/19/09 Room 710 (SXSW Day Party Show) Austin, TX
03/20/09 SXSW (Day Party Show TBA) Austin, TX
03/21/09 SXSW Daystage Austin, TX
03/21/09 The Parish (Barsuk & Merge SXSW Showcase) Austin, TX
03/22/09 Hi-Tone Cafe Memphis, TN
03/23/09 The End Nashville, TN
03/24/09 Drunken Unicorn Atlanta, GA
03/25/09 Plaza ’Duckpin’ Bowl Richmond, VA
03/26/09 The Black Cat Washington, Washington
03/27/09 Johnny Brenda’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
03/28/09 The Bell House Brooklyn, New York
03/29/09 Mercury Lounge New York, New York

03/30/09 The Middle East Upstairs Cambridge, Massachusetts
03/31/09 Garfield Artworks Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
04/02/09 Circus Columbus, Ohio

04/03/09 The Beat Kitchen Chicago, Illinois

04/04/09 7th Street Entry Minneapolis, Minnesota
04/05/09 The Slowdown Omaha, Nebraska
04/06/09 The Hi-Dive Denver, Colorado
04/07/09 Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah
04/08/09 Neurolux Boise, Idaho
04/09/09 Holocene Portland, Oregon

Say Hi To Your Mom, or currently now known as simply Say Hi, is an lo-fi indie rock band from Seattle, Washington. They have been quietly and consistantly releasing their charming little music since 2002 with equally clever titles (and not to mention multiple syllables) and lo-fi cover artwork (all pastel colors with black and white drawings).

They’ve been pretty constant because the music and direction are from mostly one person: Eric Ellbogen. He writes and records his music, usually at home on his mac. Well their latest album is called Oohs & Aahs and it was just released last Tuesday, March 3^rd, through Barsuk Records.

I managed to listen to the album three times, as I’m writing this, so it’s a really short, but sweet, album. Sweet songs includes organ-sounding “Audrey” and “The Stars Just Blink For Us”. Ellbogen’s vocals reminds me of lazy-man Strokes singer, Julian Casablancas, on these songs.

“November Was White, December Was Grey” was the lead single/song that they released in anticipation to this album, which had great a right-only speaker guitar playing, but forgettable. His singing on this one had a lot of breathing too, which I didn’t really enjoy. If you don’t believe me, you can download the song yourself via Spin.com. The only good news is that Winter is almost gone here… and yes, I’ll feel a lot better once Winter’s gone.

My favorite song on the album is quite upbeat. It’s called “One, Two … One” and it’s just one of those songs that I can just play over and over again. The low quality guitar and percussions makes it very simple to dance and groove to.

Plus clapping is always a bonus!

Overall, these songs are short pop songs, with analog/mono homemade sound quality - that’s endearing and personal. They are setting out on tour to promote this album for 2009, so be sure to check them out if they’re touring your area. I may try and catch them at SXSW, but since they’re returning to Minneapolis in April, it will be no big deal if I miss them in all the SXSW madness.

You can buy all of Say Hi’s records via our favorite record label or online at amazon.

Subscribe to our show at gcast.com (RSS).

This was a lot of fun. I had promised Ceji that it would not take more than 15 minutes of her time, but we ended up taking much longer than expected. Perhaps there will be an imminent part twoer.

I ended up taking out about 20 +/- minutes, to keep the podcast consistent. I felt that the iPhone talk didn’t belong with the music-related theme, so added it as a bonus at the end of the podcast. So listen to the end for about 5 minutes of iPhone/iPod love.

Taking a break from her moving day, I present to you:

CEJI
invisiblesparks.vox.com ♥ ceji.weheartmusic.com

Among some of the more interesting thing on our chat is that Ceji was named after Ciji Dunne of the soap opera Knots Landing. Like most television serial, “whodunnit” are big draws for ratings (think “Who Killed J.R.” or “Who Killed Mister Burns” and you get the idea). Well the big cliffhanger for Season 4 was a fast-raising starlet singer Ciji, who showed up, taking most of the spotlight and then ultimately murdered for the cliffhanger at the end of the season.

Incidentally, the actress Lisa Hartman, came back in the next season as Ciji’s doppelgänger, Cathy Geary.

Other things we talked about:

• Looking back at 2007, yes, 2007.
• Radio Milwaukee, Radiohead, Havana, etc
• Music discover, back in the day
• Our love for 120 Minutes and Matt Pinfield♥ (the clip I used was the parody of “Pat Minfield” for “120 Midgets”)
• Belle & Sebastian
• T.I.’s Paper Trail, Fleet Foxes, Little Dragon

 

NOTE: I wrote the following three weeks ago, and on retrospect, I was rather harsh on it. The more I thought about it (and re-watching it recently to get a good frame still for this article), this is really meant for fans that’s been waiting for the original documentary to finally be made available on a, assumingly, cleaned up version on DVD. There are a ton of old movies and documentaries that’s not available on DVD, so I applaud Provocateur for making this happen.

>>>
We don’t normally get ’screener’ DVD copies for review (I think the last one I got was for Negativland’s DVD), so I was pretty excited to get Words for the Dying DVD for review.

Being an early adopter of the DVD format (I own over 2,000 DVDs), I do appreciate the higher visual and audio quality that DVD had over VHS. I am starting to get into Bluray (I also have a handful of HD-DVD), so as far as movie snobbery goes, I’m up there. Keep this in mind when I talk about the poor visual and audio later.

First of all, for introduction purposes, both John Cale and Brian Eno are very accomplished musicians. Cale’s history with the Velvet Underground and Eno as regarded by many as the “father of ambient music” and his work with Roxy Music. This DVD release, it seems to me, was for fans’ services/demands. Documentary fans might also want to check this out, but to be honest, if you don’t like music documentary, you should skip this one.

This is a documentary, by director Rob Nilsson, is about the recording of John Cale’s album, also of the same name. Although the cover art clearly depicts and credits Brian Eno, it would seem whenever he’s conscious of the camera’s presence, he’s either covering his face and/or giving the viewer the finger. He makes it known that he did not want to be part of the documentary (although he does appear with a former interview at the very end of the album talking about the mix).

According to the DVD box, there are four parts to this documentary, revolving around four Dylan Thomas poems. However, watching it, it felt to me that there was only three parts (Cale in Moscow, in London, and Wales). Moscow and Wales are shot in black and white, which leads me to believe that either it’s done for artistic reasons and/or the footage they had (with poor lighting) was unuseable in color. Sometime the poor audio and visual made it hard for me to watch on my high definition television, maybe I’m just spoiled, but speaking for myself, I like seeing movies in color.

At the beginning of the documentary I had trouble understanding what was going on. Why were they going to see these various Moscow bands? I eventually concluded that they were talent, but there are random things like playing racquetball that I felt didn’t belong in music-making documentary. Overall, it felt like the journey on recording the album was really epic and squeezing all that in an hour and a half documentary is quite an achievement.

For their defense, they did have 1987 film equipment (probably VHS recorders) and considering that the original 1990 is long out of print that having it re-released on quality DVD by Provocateur DVD is well worth your time if you are a fan of John Cale or Brian Eno. The DVD price listing is $24.95, but obviously you can find it a cheaper online price. As a long-time DVD buyer, I can tell you that usually Deep Discount DVDs usually have the best prices ($16.47 includes free shipping).

Tracy Shedd is releasing her third album, Cigarettes & Smoke Machines, this Tuesday, and I will confess that I’m smitten with her sweet voice. Her voice is as pretty as her looks, which surprised me when I read that in her early albums that she deliberately hid her lovely voice behind musical shrouds. With Cigarettes & Smoke Machines, it’s her voice that is in the forefront.

So, I get the impression that earlier in her career, she loves (or would enjoy) the three colors Kieslowski movies (Blue, White, and Red).

Let’s take a look at the cover art, first of all. The cover does not feature Shedd, it’s actually one of her friends from 1996 named Emily Wilder, photographed by Amanda Sciullo. The cover is of a girl in blindfolds, and appearently Shedd had wanted to use this image for a cover - and finally used it with Cigarettes & Smoke Machines.

“Never Too Late” starts off the album with this tone that anything can happen, that it’s never too late. The album then become a little more frantic with the guitar on “Whatever It Takes”. It’s a little faster and direct, and I can see why they chose this song for their promotional music video. After watching the video, it seems to translate literally what the song is about - an angry/jealous woman and her boyfriend/husband.

Tour Dates 09/26/08 Hotel Congress // Record Release Party // Party On The Patio Tucson, Arizona 10/04/08 Eclipse // Record Release Party // Happy Hour with Tracy Shedd Jacksonville, Florida 10/15/08 The Apple Store Tucson, Arizona Discography [2001] Blue [2003] Red [2004] Louder Than You Can Hear [2008] Cigarettes & Smoke Machines

The pianos, bass, percussion, and cello, are all there in the background, while the strength lies in the guitar and her voice. It would seem that whoever arranged this album did a pretty good job, keeping you interested. For example, I felt that some of the songs are laid out in a slow/quiet and then followed by a faster/uptempo song. I know that sounds incredibly formulatic, but it works for me.

So let’s break down the tracks:

1. Never Too Late	[Y]
2. Whatever It Takes	[G]
3. Hardest Part Of Good-Bye	[R]
4. Won Past Ten	[G]
5. Plastic World	[R]
6. Not Giving Up	[G]
7. Remember The Time We Set The Highway On Fire?	[Y]
8. Go On	[G]
9. Paris	[R]
10. Valentine	[R]
11. So Sick	[G]
12. Home	[R]

I will have to say that I am a fan of the more faster song, as I felt like I should be dancing to these little stories that Shedd is singing about…. However, “Paris” has a nice spacing and pacing.

Cigarettes & Smoke Machines will be available this Tuesday, September 23^rd, on Teenbeat Records. Be sure to check some of their other bands, including The Rondelles and The Feminine Complexe.

As always, additional information over at our news.w♥m website.

09/20/08 Joe’s Pub New York, NY
10/18/08 Borgata Atlantic City, NJ
10/19/08 World Cafe Live (WXPN Studios) Philadelphia, PA
11/21/08 Troubadour West Hollywood, CA