Beards Over Babies P.2

Reacharound 27/4

---White Denim's Workout Holiday was of my favourite albums from last year. It was sharp and messy and fun and was able to mix all that with genuinely great songs. So getting the news that they've released some new material was a great way to start my monday.
download it from http://www.nialler9.com/2009/04/26/new-white-denim-mirrored-and-reverse/.



--- Here's a nice article about new Vampire Weekend projects and things; http://stereogum.com/archives/mp3/vampire-weekenders-prepping-second-album-side-proj_066112.html

I normally hate anything that comes with all the hype that VW had attached. But their album was so completely different from the image I had in my head. They were just an average band that happened to have some really clever little hooks and could aim at just having some fun unlike say Telepathe ... or Wavves ... or insert random over-hyped under-developed project here would.




--- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/pricewatch/2009/0427/1224245444200.html
Another article about the state of the industry which got on my tits a bit. So here's two quick points to read into any fear-mongering articles;

1) 'Music' is not equatable to the music industry. They are two distinct phenomena. THe death of the industry does not mean the death of music. This seems painfully obvious considering there has only been an industry since my most tepid of revolutions - the invention of rock - when a load of white guys got together stole black music and sang revolutionary songs about having a house party and maybe getting to dance with some girl. Think about which decades produced the most art, philosophy and music - you're looking at the 20's the 60's and now. Moments of creative impulses created by social trends and - at the moment - free music. Which lets people have access to a far rounded set of influences and very cheap means of recording. Anyone equating the industry with the music in this way is placing a bias and then spouting misery.

2) This is not the death of the industry. This is the industry actually seeing whats really happening cause oh my god their billions seem to have stopped getting bigger recently. We were ripped off through-out the nineties by the c.d. and the decision to introduce the c.d. in the first place has come back to bite them in the ass. This is the industry correcting itself.


--- Mick Weaver was a session player back in the 50s and 60s. Far as I can tell he mainly playeda hammond. Why do we care? Because I recently found this track and its deadly and I've been trying to hunt down more stuff by his group Wynder K. Frog.


And just for kicks, I found this video when looking for the above Vampire Weekend video. THese guys are deadly. Their version of Grizzly Bear's The Knife is amazing.
bye

the reacharound (23/4)

Final Fantasy play dublin at the ned of next month. The list of gigs that I've been this escited over are very few - I think its pretty much just Tom Waits last year and Radiohead in the olypmia before Hail to the Thief was released. I've never really been that blown away by his albums but some songs are brilliant and everything i've seen/heard from his live shows has been phenomonal.

also he said this to p/fork "Overall, Billy Corgan is pretty entertaining. He's Gob Bluth, but real life!" brilliant!

--- Speaking of gigs I is escited about;


--- King Khan has been getting a lot of play time in the office. Was going through a fairly serious garage rock buzz for a while (currently starting a northern soul buzz - the things we do to make the day seem less dull ....) Anyway this is his new video. Check him out;



--- Speaking of buzzes I've been on. I decided that even though I'm never going to read Harry Potter I fucking love the films. Perfect hungover morning films. Here's the first clips from the upcoming film.


--- http://www.state.ie/blog/ladyhawke-to-play-arnotts/

--- http://thequietus.com/articles/01524-sonic-youth-s-new-album-the-eternal-reviewed-track-by-track

--- http://www.nialler9.com/2009/04/22/mp3-super-extra-bonus-party-feat-cadence-weapon-radar/

Super Extra Bonus Party - Super Extra Bonus Party - 'Favourite Things' on MUZU.

yup.
Abe Vigoda's album Skeleton from last year was pretty great. There were moments where the band's energy and musicianship worked completely against each other and showed moments of what seemed like a song falling apart under the wieght or its own potential and then with a simple rim-shot or holler bam and we're straight back in again. Alots been said of their new sound and my lack of an ability to find the ep has been pissing me off for months now. But yeah on the strenght of this I will have to redouble my efforts - even if what I found essciting about the band now seems to be gone.



- Probably more important news - but I didn't like the look of the last post, what with their being no visuals or nothing just my random harping on about crap ..... anyway Pirate Bay news;
Regarding Friday

On friday we will get the verdict in the ongoing trial. It will not be the final decision, only the first before the losing party will appeal. It will have no real effect on anything besides setting the tone for the debate, so we hope we win of course.

Since a lot of people and press are really interested in the outcome of this part of the spectrial, we've decided to hold a small press conference on friday at 13.00 swedish time (GMT+1 / CET). It will be held on Bambuser, no-one is invited physically to participate, only digitally.

The URL for the Bambuser-stream will be posted on the front page of the site on friday some minutes before 13. If you're from the press or just interested in hearing our thoughts about the outcome, you are welcome to join the stream and chat.
It does sound ominous. I'll be trying to write up a large peice about this to set the tone/scene for friday.


- And so as all the irish festival going public sit around waiting for tonights electric picnic line-up ATP (i.e. a way better festival) are already making the first annoucements for their Nightmare Before Christmas show
http://www.atpfestival.com/NewsView/0904151031.php

and before you go scratching your heads about the Horrors inclusion read this; http://www.nialler9.com/2009/04/14/newsflash-the-horrors-are-good-shocker/



--
- Flynn

Micachu Revisited.

There are albums where the sheer overload of ideas is delivered in fun ways and you can spend ages dessiminating the different strands and inclinitations within the music. Well ok maybe if you listen to alot of classical - see here's the real difference between pop and classical.

In pop these strands are subsumed under this visage of hip-ness into a seamless whole. The strands cease to operate as seperate entities its just about the total package - image and all.

Micachu manages to saddle boredoms wierdness with hints of ska rythms, electro-pop, simple pop melodies, new wave, no wave ........ but its all so fucking organic that none of that matters in the slightest.

Here's a band that interesting noises, have a quirky sense of humor, sing in an intriging manner and just create their own little vibe.

Animal Collective comparisons will arrive - as have been made here but yeah .... anyway AC just sound more self-reflective, theirs is a music about exploring the paradigms of their own template. Even in the more commercial moments like Brother Sport the song goes far longer than a Micachu song and even 'swallows itself up' and regurgitates its momentum into that fantastic outro.

Micachu is way mroe straight up pop but from a person whose confidence, imagintation and love for new sounds goes way beyond what pop supposedly constitutes.

http://www.myspace.com/micayomusic

daily reacharound 13/4/09

So Micachu and the Shapes are supposed to be like the next big thing. This is the first thing I've heard from them. So yeah I don't really think that its cool to judge a band without either seeing them live or listening to a full album. But you really have to wonder when this we're too indie to bother playing instruments buzz is going to die.
Yes I'm still an animal collective fan - but thats different, fuck off.

- speaking of AC here's a new unofficial video for My Girls;


- New St. Vincent video. I had mixed feelings about whether or not I was goingto bother with the new album from Annie Clarke but after seeing this I think I'm now looking forward to it. 'Marry Me' was a big disapointment for me. 1) I hadn't quite realised just how obnoxiously incestuous pitchfork chooses to be until that release came out and 2) Now Now is a great song, and I've watched alot of clips of St. Vinnie live and Annie Clarke looks like an amazing performer - so much promise and then an album that starts brilliantly and then just fades away. Hopefully the follow-up will be great, it does have one great song;