Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – World’s Greatest (R. Kelly Cover)

Jacobpedia had a lot of traffic over the weekend thanks to Dino Soldo linking to my post about him.  I may not care for his playing, but he appears to be an alright guy.  He must not take himself too seriously if he considers my post the “most entertaining review” of himself that he’s seen.  In some ways, it blows my mind that I wrote something about Soldo, and he found it in less than twelve hours.  This could never have happened fifteen years ago.  Here are some links while I contemplate the magic of the internet:

• Drag City has released a new recording of “Death to Everyone” by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and the Picket Line.  It is from the sessions that will appear next month as Funtown Comedown, but it’s not going to be on the album.  Get it while it’s hot.
• Spanish newspaper The Leader reports that excavators have uncovered the first human remains at the site where Federico Garcia Lorca is believed to be buried.
• Last week, Keith Law revealed the Klaw 101, his list of his top 101 works of fiction.  Klaw makes his living writing about baseball for ESPN, but his book reviews on his personal blog are as good as just about anyone’s.
• One man’s forgotten Revolutionary War hero is another man’s early republic screw-up.  Arthur St. Clair would probably be better remembered if he had died in 1789 rather than in 1818.
• If Poisoned Pens is anywhere near as funny as the excerpts in Alexander Theroux’s review of it, it’s a must read.  One of the highlights is Mark Twain’s comment on Jane Austen: “Every time I read ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone.”  Let’s hope no one tries to pull that with Garcia Lorca’s bones.
• And, Bob Dylan’s new music video is more entertaining than anyone could have reasonably expected.

Time as got me in its sway and though I’d like to ride away, I will wait another day. So if you wait another day, I will wait a day.

I’ve got to announce this before I write this. I love Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. I love Will Oldham and if I had any Palace albums, I’m sure I would love them. But there are times when he frustrates me.

I see a darkness and Master and Everyone are two of my favourite albums of all times. Both have songs which can drive me crashing to the ground or lift me high above the clouds, my spirit soaring. But this album… but this album…

It has its moments. I’m sitting here listening to it play again as I write this and there are points where I feel Oldham could be at the point of ripping his listener’s soul out, but then it never comes. OK, so I don’t know the original Palace versions of these songs, and thus have no grounding point to base my opinions, but they don’t seem to go anywhere. Oldham doesn’t seem to believe what he’s singing. In Pushkin, the chorus repeats ‘God is the answer’ over country slide guitar and a vocal backing group, but there’s no belief here. It’s like a believer who’s been forced to believe and is struggling in vain to maintain his faith. In comparison, when Nick Cave bellows ‘Praise Him’ (not sure which album it’s from), it racks one’s very soul. God is indeed in the house and he’s demanding worship.

This is the vibe which carries through the entire album. Lacklustre, tired, like a man singing songs he wishes he’d never written. Maybe this is because the music was chosen by internet poll or maybe Oldham was just sick of Palace’s music, but his heart is lacking.

On a more positive note, though, it’s not a bad album by any means. It’s just not as good as some of his others. And it hasn’t succeeded in tormenting me emotionally. I haven’t needed my headphones on in order to catch every last word. I just don’t really care.

]]> http://tinypine.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/thomas-a-minor-the-picket-line/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:34:40 +0000 tinypine http://tinypine.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/thomas-a-minor-the-picket-line/

My younger brother (he’s taller than me so I hesitate to call him my ‘little’ brother anymore), Oscar Lee Riley Parsons lives in Louisville and spends his days making leather, doing some construction, AND making music. All the shy genes went to me and my older brother, James, I reckon, cause Oscar has been a singer and performer for as long as I can remember.

And people listen. His current bluegrass-ish band has backed Bonnie Prince Billy at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, been mentioned in the New Yorker, and now they have released their own EP.

They did a small run of covers. The banjo picker Bradley did the artwork (except for the moonshine jug that I drew and added at the last minute) and I typeset it, and ran them through my press x 250 or so. I think they are really nice… and appropriate for a semi-old timey bluegrass-ish rock band.

As a side note, the band members are in charge of gluing the covers onto sleeves. The ones I received were quite straight because Oscar did them. but I heard reports of crooked gluing. Adds to the charm?

Anyways, it is wonderful to hear my little brother sing. I can’t figure out what song is my favorite, but the first track “Ain’t No Doubt About It” is a familiar story about Daddy and JC racing towards the county line to get some booze before the store closed. We hear that story every christmas from JC. I am not surprised it worked it’s way into true permanence.

I also LOVE “Magnolia” and “Back In Town”. Ok. I love all of them. I will stop listing them… go to their myspace to hear a couple of songs!

I am proud of you Oscar.

If you want to attain a copy, try harassing the band on myspace? I think they only have local distribution out of my brother’s truck right now. and I think they sell them at Ear X-tacy in Louisville.

Possibly ALBUM OF THE YEAR. except that it’s only an EP. WE NEED MORE!!

Tisdagar, torsdagar och söndagar listar jag mina favoritalbum från oo-talet.

• #30 Bruce Springsteen – The Rising
• #29 Iron & Wine (with Calexico) – In the Reins
• #28 Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• #27 Bear Quartet – My War
• #26 M Ward – Post-War
• #25 Morrissey – You Are The Quarry
• #24 Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway…
• #23 Eldkvarn – Atlantis
• #22 Death Cab For Cutie – Plans
• #21 Solomon Burke – Don’t Give Up On Me
• #20 Lucinda Williams – Essence
• #19 Glasvegas – Glasvegas
• #18 Josh Ritter – The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter
• #17 Nick Cave – No More Shell We Part
  

#16 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Ease Down The Road (2001)

Efter beckmörka I See A Darkness drog Will Oldham upp persiennerna och släppte in ljus, luft och (något) gladare melodier. Ett bra drag. På Ease Down The Road finns förstås svarta hymner som Grand Dark Feeling Of Emptiness, men även lekfullhet och humor. Kolla in det här. Ett magnifikt album, och ett väldigt bra sällskap under långtråkiga, händelselösa dagar.

O semanário musical inglês New Musical Express publicou em sua edição que foi ontem às bancas a lista dos 100 maiores álbuns dos anos 2000 segundo um júri formado por membros e ex-membros de sua equipe, e mais uma seleção de músicos e agentes da indústria como Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Jarvis Cocker, Johnny Marr, Ian Brown, Alan McGee, entre outros. Essa sem dúvida vai ser apenas uma das muitas listas que vão surgir nessas últimas semanas de 2009. A Rolling Stone já prometeu que a sua lista sai na edição de 9 de dezembro no Estados Unidos, e convoca seus leitores a escolher o seu disco e música preferida, e o artista da década, em uma pesquisa online. Boa parte da blogosfera também já começou a publicas suas próprias listas, sendo possível encontrar dezenas delas por aí.

NME’s Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade

1. The Strokes – Is This It
2. Libertines – Up The Bracket
3. Primal Scream – XTRMNTR
4. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell
6. PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
7. Arcade Fire – Funeral
8. Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights
9. The Streets – Original Pirate Material
10. Radiohead – In Rainbows
11. LCD Soundsystem – Sound Of Silver
12. At The Drive-In – Relationship Of Command
13. The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
14. Radiohead – Kid A
15. Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf
16. The Streets – A Grand Don’t Come For Free
17. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
18. The White Stripes – Elephant
19. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
20. Blur – Think Tank
21. The Coral – The Coral
22. Jay-Z – The Blueprint
23. Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future
24. The Libertines – The Libertines
25. The Rapture – Echoes
26. Dizzee Rascal – Boy In Da Corner
27. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
28. Johnny Cash – The Man Comes Around
29. Super Furry Animals – Rings Around The World
30. Elbow – Asleep In The Back
31. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
33. Arcade Fire – Neon Bible
34. Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
35. Babyshambles – Down In Albion
36. Spiritualized – Let It Come Down
37. The Knife – Silent Shout
38. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
39. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
40. Ryan Adams – Gold
41. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
42. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
43. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
44. Outkast – Speakerboxxx / The Love Below
45. The Avalanches – Since I Left You
46. Delgados – The Great Eastern
47. Brendan Benson – Lapalco
48. The Walkmen – Bows And Arrows
49. Muse – Absolution
50. M.I.A. – Arular
51. The Good, The Bad And The Queen – The Good, The Bad and The Queen
52. Rufus Wainwright – Poses
53. Jamie T – Panic Prevention
54. The Golden Virgins – Songs Of Praise
55. Hard-Fi – Stars Of CCTV
56. My Morning Jacket – Z
57. Outkast – Stankonia
58. Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
59. The Hold Steady – Boys And Girls In America
60. Green Day – American Idiot
61. The National – Alligator
62. Queens Of The Stone Age – Rated R
63. Godspeed You Black Emperor! – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
64. The Radio Dept. – Lesser Matters
65. Muse – Black Holes And Revelations
66. Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling
67. Botch – We Are The Romans
68. The Horrors – Primary Colours
69. Biffy Clyro – Puzzle
70. Glasvegas – Glasvegas
71. Brian Wilson – Smile
72. M.I.A. – Kala
73. Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People
74. Brand New – The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me
75. The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
76. Capdown – Civil Disobedients
77. Isobel Campbell – Ballad Of The Broken Seas
78. Belle & Sebastian – Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant
79. Kings Of Leon – Youth And Young Manhood
80. Danger Mouse – The Grey Album
81. Field Music – Field Music
82. Mclusky – Mclusky Do Dallas
83. Laura Marling – Alas, I Cannot Swim
84. Regina Spector – Soviet Kitsch
85. Roots Manuva – Run Come Save Me
86. The Twilight Sad – Forget The Night Ahead
87. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
88. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go
89. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight
90. Gallows – Orchestra Of Wolves
91. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends
92. The Sleepy Jackson – Lovers
93. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
94. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster – Horse Of The Dog
95. Björk – Vespertine
96. Shellac – Excellent
97. Sigur Rós – Agætis Byrjun
98. Gorillaz – Demon Days
99. The Maccabees – Colour It In
100. MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

(Antes de comentar qualquer coisa preciso dizer da minha felicidade em ver o Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy nessa lista, uma vez que produzi um show dele aqui em Salvador em 2008. Fico orgulhoso!)

Não me sinto capaz de fazer uma lista com os 100 álbuns da década pois perdi anos importantes se acesso à informação online, quando estive sem computador ou internet em casa, e acabaria produzindo uma lista injusta. Mas, se arriscasse fazer, se assemelharia em boa parte com a do NME, tendo como principal diferença o acréscimo de muitos artistas norte-americanos como Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, Stephen Malkmus, Jay Reatard, Guided by Voices e outros deixados de lado pela lista da NME em favor de artistas britânicos de segundo escalão. Por outro lado o primeiro lugar eu considero indiscutível, é do Strokes e de mais ninguém.

Alguém sentiu falta do CSS? Eu senti. Não que ache que algum de seus dois álbuns deva estar entre os melhores do século, apesar de achar bons discos, mas imaginei que o NME ia escalá-las, assim como escalou o Klaxons. Também senti falta do Justice, talvez Radio 4, Kasabian e Soulwax, escolheria outro disco do Arctic Monkeys, e… É, não tem jeito, adoramos listas e sem dúvida voltarei a esse assunto em outros posts até o fim da década.

Pra terminar: O melhor das listas é chamar atenção pra um monte de coisas legais que deixamos passar despercebido, ou que até mesmo nunca ouvimos falar, e nos dar essa oportunidade de experimentar coisas novas.

*

A lista tem uma falha na posição 97, já que o disco do Sigur Rós é de 1999. Erraram também no título do álbum “Illinoise” do americano Sufjan Stevens, nomeado apenas como “Illinois”, colocaram uma foto de outro disco do Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy para representar a capa de “The Letting Go”, entre outras coisas capazes de deixar qualquer fã de mísica pop arrancar os cabelos com tanta desatenção. E muitas publicações ao reproduzir a lista do NME estão cometendo outros novos erros, o que tem feito a lista se espalhar cheia de furos pela internet, como a Folha Online que nomeou o disco do Outkast “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” como “Loveboxxx/The Love Below”. Tentei aqui no Quase Concreto revisar ao máximo, então a lista que vocês vêem acima está mais correta até que a do próprio NME. Podem copiar e colar à vontade.

ANDREW W.K . – Holiday Benefit Show

12/05/2009

Featuring Matt Sweeney and James Lo (of Bonnie Prince Billy and Chavez fame) w/ Mac Lethal and Schoo

12/5/09 – 8p.m. – ALL AGES – $12 advance/$17 door
Rock Island Brewing Company (RIBCO)
1815 2nd Ave. Rock Island, IL

Mac Lethal Daytrotter Session
Mac Lethal Encore Daytrotter Session

Come out and support the show for a good cause.

R: Aquí llega nuestro titular clichetero de la temporada. Porque estamos seguros de que Will Oldham se homenajea con más de una, de dos y de siete mil trescientas once farras (si no, no explicamos demasiado el déficit de higiene que se le intuye)… Pero al menos en esta ocasión no nos referimos a ese tipo de farra, sino a la puramente musical. Hace unas semanas se anunciaba que el próximo lanzamiento del hiperactivo Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy iba a suponer una nueva mutación artística: bajo el alias de Bonny Billy & The Picket Line, el artista lanzará Funtown Comedown en vinilo y descarga digital. El proyecto verá la luz el 15 de diciembre, pero como adelanto ya se puede escuchar una canción que hace pensar en… ¡farra! (y no en farra del tipo Fuck-Buttons-pásame-una-rula, sino del tipo redneck con ukelele y gorras diversas). El tema en cuestión se llama Death to everyone y puede escucharse en Pitchfork. ¿Que te suena el título de la canción? Claro que sí. Como que es uno de los temas imprescindibles de I see a darkness, el álbum por excelencia de Oldham. Y es que Funtown Comedown incluirá versiones de toda la discografía del artista (bajo todos sus alias) pasados por el filtro de taberna de rednecks repleta de ukeleles, palmadas, violines desafinados y botellines de cerveza que aporta la colaboración con The Picket Line (aunque basta escuchar algunos de los últimos directos de Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy para darse cuenta de que este tipo de “farra” ya la viene practicando desde hace tiempo… imprescindible que busquéis a la de ya el directo de A wolf among wolves que está incluido en Summer in the Southeast). Habrá quien diga que esto no es un omg4girls ni de coña… Pero, señores, por favor: no todo en esta vida es verle el chichi a la Spears. Y a mi, personalemente, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy me arranca muchos y mayúsculos OMGs. Este no será el último.

and it’s not about the beards.  although i’m pretty sure there’s beards involved. it’s not brown or beige or tank-fucking-tops or feedeldydeedledydeee. it’s not getting into a debate on traditional or contemporary or post- and neo- and psych- whatever. no more hyphens. it is what it is. if dylan electric is judas then john moloney is satan. these songs sometimes are the sounds of tramps fighting in a music store, or acidfrazzled hippies mad streamofconscious chants or drunk scotsmen sobbing into beer or sadsadsad odes to serial killers. that said i could draw you the line from woodie guthrie to david tibet. i could but it’s so twisted and fucked it’d blow yr tiny little bearded minds.  

• william elliot whitmore: take it on the chin
• sunburned hand of the man: wild animal track seven
• sufjan stevens: john wayne gacy jr
• six organs of admittance: attar
• bonnie prince billy: a minor place
• molasses: saint christopher blues
• current 93: this autistic imperium…
• cordelia’s dad: may blooming field
• arab strap: loch leven
• alasdair roberts: i went hunting

• last days of radio

A Hawaiian word meaning “foreigner”; this term, which predates Captain James Cook’s 1778 arrival in Hawaii, has also come to refer more generally to Caucasians; another Hawaiian nickname for white people—especially tourists—is “shahkbait”; you don’t want to be called shahkbait; some time ago, I found myself in Maui—with my father; we spent a few days at a hotel called Mama’s Fish House, by the beach in Paia (a laid-back town that’s home to Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson); my dad enjoyed himself in Paia; he ate; “I appreciate any culture that makes Spam a staple,” said my dad; I tried to keep dad from ordering dessert after every meal—pineapple upside down cake, coconut pie, haupia—but in my heart, I knew it wasn’t a battle worth fighting; rather, I knew I couldn’t win; my dad has a big personality—and Type 2 Diabetes; on our last day in Maui, we woke up at dawn to drive the winding Hana Highway; we visited a famous break called “Jaws” and watched local surfers from the safety of the shore along with other oglers; a Rastafarian with a longboard gave us the finger and called us “shahkbait”; road signs were, mostly, missing (supposedly yanked down by locals to discourage adventurous haoles—like us); we stopped at a wayside park called Kaumahina, which had a stunning view—and a prominent sign reading “no soliciting”—but dad and I were more interested in the family of feral cats that comingled with a band of aggressive, wild chickens; I fed the chickens bits of my apple core; dad gave them Hershey’s kisses; the next day, we drove to the airport in Kahului; with an hour to kill, we went to a shopping center with a Borders and a Starbucks; my father and I got into a fight when he ordered an Iced Caffe Mocha and an Old Fashioned; I asked him not to eat so much dessert—at least in front of me; he reminded me that he’s my father, that I can become patronizing and idiotic, and then he proceeded to order a second Old Fashioned; I couldn’t watch; I went to Borders and looked at a picture book about large jungle cats; two hours later, my father and I boarded different flights; on the plane, I kept mentally replaying the incident in Starbucks, and I became upset for being so controlling; my father likes doughnuts, it’s that simple; he’s 63; I should’ve let him eat his Starbucks doughnuts in peace; at one point in Hawaii, the last day of the school year was known as “Kill Haole Day”; Kill Haole Day seems to be a tropical cousin of “Beat Up a White Kid Day,” which coincides with May 1^st—May Day; Beat Up a White Kid Day has been a long-standing tradition in Cleveland public schools; seriously; while I am no supporter of random violence, this seems to be a fascinating inversion of traditional race/power dynamics; in “Maximum City,” Suketu Mehta’s analysis of Hindu-Muslim violence in Mumbai, he writes eloquently about “the powerful wish of minorities all over the world to be the oppressor rather than the oppressed”; for me, this is a troubling, cynical thought; I’d prefer an alternate path, one where—as Will Oldham (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) sings: “You do what you want/And I will do what I want/I’m now free of master and everyone/servant of all and servant of none”; that being said, I’m not one to speak: my father and I recently had a two-hour-long quarrel about a box of Thin Mints.

I was only going to stay 2 nights in Milan but I’ll stay an extra one as the hostel is good, I’ve not had enough time to see what I want to here and I’ve still got loads of working out to figure a route to Madrid. Getting to Andorra directly from the French coast doesn’t look likely so I think I’ll have to go inland to somewhere like Toulouse.

I’ve now booked 2 nights in Nice instead of the 3 I’d originally planned. I may well book an extra one but it just depends on the what I figure out route wise. I’m looking forward to a rest from the constant planning when I get home!

Now I’m waiting for a tram into the city centre where I will get a connecting one to the San Siro. I should be able to see the joint AC/Inter Milan museum at least but I’m hoping to get on the stadium tour as well.

There’s a fella from Perth working at the hostel who is an interesting guy and looks like Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. He’s done 14,000 miles in a battered old Leyland van and had plenty of adventures along the way.

There’s also another strange bloke who does the cleaning. He walks round like a druid with his head permanently facing the floor. Even when cooking or using the laptop (which he tilts and stands over while typing). A weird one he is.

Last night I cracked my travel mirror. Now believe this if you will but the last time I broke a mirror was 7 years ago. Great eh.

I just saw a shop called ‘Fugazzi’, not the best name considering it’s selling jewellery! Donnie Brasco fans will know what I’m on about.

I did to get on the San Siro tour, €12.50 with museum access. It was okay. The museum is quite small and annoyingly you’re not allowed to take pictures and the tour basically consists of the dressing rooms and the pitch. The Nou Camp tour is much better as is the Eastlands one.

Still, it was good to have a proper look at one of the World’s great football arenas. Sitting in Paulo Maldini’s old seat in the AC dressing room was fun and I also had a little word with Jose to give him a few pointers for improving Inter’s Champions League form, I think he appreciated it.

Before I was playing around with the iConvert app and I discovered I’m 1.933084e-16 lightyears tall. Or if you prefer 0.009090909 furlongs, 1.288e+10 angstroms, 0.3636364 rods, 0.000987473 nautical miles, 1 fathom, 0.06666667 shackles, 1.8288e+09 nanometres, 2 yards. Blimey.

The Cathedral of Milan is perhaps the most impressive Duomo I’ve seen in Italy and that is saying something. The intricate detail in the huge stained glass panes is stunning. This is a must see when here, though the massive oriental tour groups are a bit of a pain.

Milan is well known as a world centre of fashion and I saw plenty of evidence to support that today. To be honest though, victim was a word that sprang to mind often.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’ Fresco will not be on the menu after all. You have to book a month in advance for a viewing! I’d already read this was the case but had hoped that with it being out of season I might be able to wangle in. Not so, as a lad from Vancouver who tried today confirmed for me.

I actually saw a Lambretta today for the first time in the trip never mind just Italy. It was well ahead of me so I didn’t get the model but it was in immaculate condition with a gloss blue/silver paint job. Lovely stuff.

Back at the hostel now but I’ll save my further route planning for the morning, really can’t be arsed at the moment.

I fancied going to see a flick but after checking the listings they’re all dubbed. Philistines! Just say no (to dubbing).

So now I’m drinking a large bottle of Birra Moretti and it’s going down well. The bloke from Perth is a dab hand in the kitchen and is making a big vat of pasta with more ingredients than you can shake a big wooden spoon at, jobs a good’ n. After the grub there is the lad in my room from Vancouver who fancies checking out the local so I’ll have a little mooch with him.

The head-down fella came into the kitchen while we were having a drink. He seriously will not lift his head above a 90 degree angle, he had a glass of juice but used a straw just to avoid raising his swede. Craig (the Perth lad) shares a large room with him and says he even sleeps like that. It’s actually quite sad as it must be a mental thing, but even if that were to be sorted his posture would probably be a permanent mess by now.

TTFN.

Who? Frontier Ruckus

What? snowed country town melancholy, the farmers are locked in their barns, and they just have their banjos.

Sounds like? Timesbold, Whip, Will Oldham, Bonnie Prince Billy

Winter is to be seen at the horizon. If you don’t watch out, it’ll catch you. I heard from a friend that it was snowing in the United States. This seems like the beginning of an eternal winter. Luckily there is Frontier Ruckus.

It keeps you warm, evne if it’s sad. It’s something you should drink during heavy snow storms, while you’re thinking you can never get out of this. that nature finally has shown you that it’s stronger.

I’m not posting any songs from their album The orion Songbook. No, i’m just posting the demos that are freely available on their websites. Just the demos are amazing already. You can perhaps imagine how the album is. If so, go buy it here or here

Frontier Ruckus – Animals need Animals (demo version)

Frontier Ruckus – Ephiphanies & Revelations (demo Version)

You find a lot more demo songs here.

PS: still no reactions on my trade list plan. I guess it’s too complicated. (or should i tag them all?)

From top to bottom: Brian Eno – Before And After Science, Fink – Distance And Time, Bonnie Prince Billy – Beware, unknown.

PREVIEW: DOWNLOAD Samamidon’s “Wedding Dress” MP3

Sam Amidon (Samamidon) sounds like Michael Cera if Michael Cera were a folk singer and not an actor.  It’s that gentle timidity that likens Amidon to singer-songwriter, Nick Drake.  Amidon’s neo-traditional folk music has a quaint, 18^th century New England foliage-filled town feel.  Considering Amidon spawned from two Vermont song/dance/storytelling extraordinaries, I guess that makes sense.

His last album, All is Well (2008), which was produced by Icelandic engineer, Valgeir Sigurðsson (Kate Nash, Ben Frost, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Björk), is comprised of ten renditions of Americana blues/folk songs.  The traditional lyrics are told in simple story-telling form, but like your grandfather’s best stories, underpin a deeper moral.

Amidon’s banjo plucking and unassuming vocals are often accompanied by viola, horn and trombone — orchestrations which make the album a little less hillbilly, and far more elegant.  Download Sam Amidon, but don’t blame me for your sudden urge to flee to Appalachia on horse and buggy.

– Carly Wolkoff, Managing Editor

Yann Tiersen, Matt Elliott y Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy encabezan el homenaje al grupo londinense Coil, al cumplirse 5 años de la dramática muerte de uno de sus componentes, John Balance (se cayó del balcón en la casa que compartía con su pareja musical y sentimental, Peter Cristopherson) .

Para rendir este tributo, han grabado This inmortal coil | The dark age of love, 11 canciones creadas por Coil, adaptadas y reunidas en un disco que verá la luz el próximo 12 de octubre. En su MySpace ya se pueden escuchar unas cuantas canciones, y desde la web oficial se puede escuchar el disco al completo, previo registro.

Además de Yann Tiersen, Matt Elliott y Bonnie Prince Billy, participan Christine Ott, Yaël Naim, DAAU, Chapelier Fou, Sylvain Chauveau, Oktopus, Nightwood, David Donatien y Nicolas Jorio.

El tracklist es este:

1. The Dark Age Of Love – Yaël Naim, Chapelier Fou, David Donatien, Hannes d’Hoine, Roël Van Camp y Christine Ott
2. Red Queen – Yann Tiersen y Matt Elliott
3. Ostia – Bonnie Prince Billy, DAAU y Christine Ott
4. Chaostrophy – DAAU y Christine Ott
5. Love Secret Domain – Yann Tiersen y Matt Elliott
6. Tattoed Man – Yaël Naim
7. Teenage Lightning – Matt Elliott
8. Amber Rain – Sylvain Chauveau, Han Stubbe, Roël Van Camp y Nicolas Jorio
9. Cardinal Points – DAAU y Christine Ott
10. Blood From The Air – DAAU, Christine Ott, Deadverse, Nightwood
11. Outro LSD – Yann Tiersen y Matt Elliott

Aunque, como es mi caso, no se conociera previamente demasiado del trabajo de Coil, este disco no deja de resultar familiar, ya que el sello personal de Yann Tiersen, de Matt Elliott, de Christine Ott y de todos en general es muy visible en las canciones que interpretan, respetando siempre las originales, pero restándoles parte del componente experimental y electrónico que caracterizaba a este grupo para darles un tono más intimista y sentimental.

Y por cierto, aunque aún no sepamos nada del nuevo disco de Yann Tiersen (que se anunció para septiembre), al menos ya podemos imaginar que su participación en este homenaje ha podido ser razón para el retraso, aunque quizás no le falte mucho, a juzgar por la camiseta que se ve en la foto de arriba…

20 years from now I am going to be on a porch somewhere playing this song while the crickets chirp the back-up vocals.

The air is crisp this morning. This sweater is warm.

Things done around the house this weekend:

1) Cleaned both fish tanks. Thor did not go down the garbage disposal this time. Lesson learned.
2) Cleaned the shower. It is amazing how easy it was. I mean, I had to use a scraper but still. Now the symbiot that lined the tub can go back to Spider-Man. Yes, that was a comic book joke.
3) Removed TV stand / TV / DVDs from bedroom. The fact is I don’t really watch any porn in my room anymore. I don’t watch it in the living room either, so relax roomie.
4) Finished (?) a painting.
5) Laundry.
6) Hung new shower liner. Oh man, the shower is my new favorite place to hang out.
7) Learned (the hard way) that we do not have DVR set up on our TV.
Paid bills.

What an amazing life. I’m surprised the world didn’t just stop from all of the awesome productiveness spilling from my house.

That’s right, this week’s post is going to be about Will Oldham. (I got a new album by him this week and will eventually talk a little about it, after a slightly vitriolic reminiscence.) You might know him by one of his other monikers- Bonny ‘Prince’ Billy, Palace Brothers, Palace Music, or Palace Songs. But, what it comes down to is that he’s a balding man wearing eyeliner. At this point I should admit to harboring just the slightest hint of animosity (that phrase should be read with that high-pitched tone that implies sarcasm, especially the word ’slightest’) towards him and his crew. When I worked at a movie theater/pub/bar/concert venue/dark evil pit of wanna-be-corporate hell, Will had a three-night gig at said location. He had/has huge indie/hipster (woah- the slashes are getting out of hand- I’ll tame it down for the rest of the post) cred, and seeing as how this was in Portland, three nights was a given. If memory serves right I worked the first two nights and actually paid money to be there the third. At the time I was a fairly new fan- I had one record called  Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy Sings Greatest Palace Music. Yup- he made an album of one of his incarnations covering another one. Pretentious, oh my yes, but also enjoyable. I highly recommend it. (Apparently the critics don’t agree- read one of the only reviews of that album with anything positive to say here.)

I know at this point you’re expecting some juicy rock-n-roll star tidbits, but honestly all I remember is not liking him, or really any of the people who were with him. Maybe he was a little rude after the shows when we were trying to clean up and get out of there, maybe none of them tipped, or maybe it was the EYELINER. Who did he think he was, Bob Dylan in 1976?(  )So ever since that fateful (only to me- I’m sure he has no idea and could care less) encounter I’ve had mixed feelings about Mr. Oldham. Some of his albums have long periods of monotony where every song sounds the same and there is no discernable melody, but his voice is very evocative of a certain kind of loneliness, that kind that goes beyond just being alone and touches on that hard-to-imagine-or-describe place where we briefly realize the shortness of our lives and the futility of trying to figure out our “place” or “purpose” in the world and have to lay on the floor. Or maybe that’s just me….

The album I “got” (ie. borrowed from the library, etc…) is called Lie Down in the Light and was released in 2008. I’ve only listened to it in its entirety a couple times, and since I’ve never written about music before, I don’t feel very comfortable or confident right now. It’s not like writing about a book, where you can talk about the plot or the characters. Music has so many more intangibles, and for me whether I like something or not is often based on vague feelings or unexplainable preferences, like “her voice is too breathy” or “everything sounds the same” or “my ex liked them, so I feel weird emotions when I listen to their music and I don’t like it because I want to have moved on with my life and this music makes me feel like I just got dumped again and I’m a strong, independent woman and don’t need a man anyway.” For example.

So here’s my mini-review- good background music for cooking or cleaning or entertaining, with a couple really good songs in the middle. Kind of country, kind of folky, a suprising appearance by a clarinet, and one good bitter break-up song. For a more comprehensive review, check out Pitchfork’s review. Yes, I know Pitchfork is so 2004 (did I use that phrase in an earlier post? Oh well.) but whatever. Suck it.