thus spake drake: 09/01/2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Now Downloading: New Releases 09.27.11 - Wilco, Matthew Sweet, Mastodon

It's my birthday week, so the releases have kind of taken a backseat to cake, drinks and *other* forms of merriment. Traditionally, my birthday has been pretty good for new releases, and this year is no different. There's the latest from Wilco, Matthew Sweet, metal purveyors Mastodon, along with new ones from Dum Dum Girls, Dan Mangan, Dominant Legs, Twin Sister, Spank Rock, Van Hunt, Craig Wedren, Kasabian, VHS or Beta, Sleeper Agent, Pieta Brown, the Knux along with the return of veterans like The Bangles, Mekons and Daryl Hall. Meanwhile, reissues this week include the big deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Nirvana's Nevermind and a remastering of all Pink Floyd's catalog, put together in the box set Discovery. Not a bad birthday.

Playlist: New Releases 09.27.11

Wilco - The Whole Love
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

After two albums that had Jeff Tweedy & Co. settling into a comfortable zone of parenthood, the band is back to more challenging material. Not that Tweedy's second job as father dictates his material, or that Sky Blue Sky and Wilco (the album) were necessarily "dad rock," but his oldest (Spencer) is now at the challenge age of 15 and playing in his own band. Speaking as a father of a child who is 6-going-on-13, as much you try to keep it separated, the trials and tribulations of the son(s) seep into all that you do. I'm probably projecting the fuck out of this, but The Whole Love reeks of such complications, and not just the sarcastic aside in lead single ("I Might") of "You won't set the kids on fire, but I might." The opening of the album ("Art of Almost") suggests a Radiohead-like challenge, but that turns out to be a bit of a red herring, as there's plenty of conformity throughout, making this more of a compendium of the past decade for the band and possibly their least focused release. That's not a bad thing, in fact I'd rate it their best since their holy grail (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), but it keeps it from residing in their 'top shelf.' Maybe, with the help from the father-son combo The Racoonists, the next one will reach as high.

Mastodon - The Hunter
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

For the past decade, the state of metal has always seemed to ebb and flow with but one constant: Regardless of taste, Mastodon inevitably will blow your face off. Up until now, the Atlanta quartet has mostly remained in the margins of popular music that heavy metal provides, but with The Hunter, the band threatens to break through, and most deservedly so. Forgoing the concept album formula that has dominated the past three releases (and leaving behind their proggy-er notions, for the most part), The Hunter is easily their most straightforward affair to date, and yet, it still contains the need to blow your face off. The first three songs are the closest things to hits that the band has ever produced, with the hardest hitting being the opener "Black Tongue," the prettiest being the short "Blasteroid," and the best of both worlds being lead single "Curl of the Burl." The album is born in mourning, with the death of guitarist/vocalist Brent Hinds' brother, a hunter who died of a heart attack doing what he loved to do. Instead of wallowing in black, though, the band chooses to raise a fist triumphantly in his honor, and it's hard not to follow suit with each attack on the ear drums. 2004's Leviathan may still be their apex, but this is a wondrous cross-over that remains tried and true to the band's metal ethos, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Matthew Sweet - Modern Art
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When Matthew Sweet began talking about and previewing tracks from his latest, Modern Art, there was a feeling of the majesty of 1999's In Reverse and Sweet's enthusiasm for the release was indeed contagious. The result falls a bit short of both the aforementioned masterpiece and the pre-enthusiasm, but it is at it's very least, a feast for headphone listening. Relying less on his songwriting craft, Modern Art is more about building moods, sounds and harmonies that evoke the past -- more 'art' than 'modern' to be sure. There's nothing here that quickens the pulse, as any prior release could boast, but because it's such an intimate affair, it's missed opportunity that's easy to forgive. This is all Brian Wilson's Smile, the Beatles at their haziest mixed with a dose of the Byrds -- a potent mix that only begs for a touch of Neil Young's Crazy Horse to make it complete.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Music on TV - Week of 09.26.11: Pink Floyd week on Fallon

Like the Rolling Stones and Bob Marley in prior weeks, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon dedicates a week to legends of rock -- this week it's Pink Floyd week, featuring The Shins, Foo Fighters, MGMT and Pearl Jam all performing classic songs from the band's catalog. Meanwhile, members of Pink Floyd will also be stopping by to sit down with Fallon, specifically Nick Mason (Monday) and Roger Waters (Tuesday) -- who will also in with the Foo Fighters.

Pink Floyd - Discovery Studio Album Box Set

The week lines up with the reissue of Pink Floyd's entire back catalog, remastered -- 14 albums in total, also put together in a 16-disc box set (The Discovery Studio Album Box Set). On Monday, The Shins -- making their first late night appearance in over four years -- will be performing "Breathe (In the Air)" from The Dark Side of the Moon. Then on Tuesday it's Roger Waters joining Foo Fighters for a version of "In the Flesh?" from Waters' opus The Wall. Wednesday has MGMT reaching back to Syd Barrett-era Floyd with "Lucifer Sam," from 1967's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Thursday offers a country version of "Wish You Were Here" (1975's classic album of the same name) by Dierks Bentley. Finally, on Friday, Pearl Jam stop by to perform their version of "Mother," another track from 1979's The Wall.

Elsewhere, as previewed in last week's Music on TV calendar, Radiohead get an unprecedented whole hour episode dedicated to them on The Colbert Report, where they'll perform four songs from 2010's King of Limbs -- along with the unreleased song "The Daily Mail."

Picks for the week
Monday, September 26
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Kelly Rowland
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Fleet Foxes
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Colbert Report: Radiohead (Special One Hour Episode)
FUEL: The Daily Habit:
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Arctic Monkeys
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Nick Mason (Pink Floyd)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Decemberists (REPEAT)
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Chris Cornell
Tuesday, September 27
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Glen Campbell
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Trombone Shorty
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Butch Walker, Wye Oak
Wednesday, September 28
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Knux
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Lisa Hannigan
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: MGMT
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Cliff Martinez
TBS: Conan: Kid Cudi, Daryl Hall
Thursday, September 29
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Givers
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Death Cab For Cutie
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Tony Bennett
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: TV on the Radio
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Dierks Bentley
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Laura Marling
TBS: Conan: Portugal.the Man
VH1: Behind the Music: Nelly
Friday, September 30
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: The Airborne Toxic Event
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Pearl Jam
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Horrors
PBS: Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk -- A Celebration of New Orleans Blues: Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Tom Jones, Hugh Laurie
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Tony Bennett
Saturday, October 1
COMEDY CENTRAL: "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! -- The Alpocalypse Tour: "Weird Al" Yankovic
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Lady Antebellum
PBS: Austin City Limits: Mumford & Sons, Flogging Molly

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Now Downloading: New Releases 09.20.11 - Megafaun, Richmond Fontaine, Jens Lekman

After last week's embarrassment of riches, it's only fitting that this week's crop of new releases is a little more sleepy in nature. Two releases in particular, Megafaun's eponymous third release and Richmond Fontaine's alt-country rock opera, bring imagery of a joint dangling off the lips of a bearded hayseed, with a country-ish pastoral setting. Other new releases of note this week come from Jens Lekman, a reunited The Jayhawks, The Jim Jones Revuew, Nurses, Ivy, Boots Electric, Clap Your Hnads Say Yeah, Thrice, Van Dyke Parks, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Evangelista and the Mick Jagger-led super group SuperHeavy. There's also the soundtrack to Pearl Jam Twenty and reissues of Sandy Denny, The Grateful Dead and Miles Davis.

Playlist: New Releases 09.20.11

Megafaun - Megafaun
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

With their eponymous third full length release, Megafaun shed some of the art-prog-space-folk that distinguished their first two albums, in favor of a more straight-ahead sleepy Grateful Dead sound. There's still plenty of weirdness to be had here -- this is Megafaun after all -- but relative to past recordings, the album's flow remains incredibly focused and, dare we say it, mature. Megafaun drags a bit in the lengthy second half, but there are plenty of great moments (including the stunning closer "Everything"), to carry water as far as they need to go.

Free AOL Album Stream
Free Download: "Those Words" [mp3]
Free Download: "State/Meant" [mp3]

Richmond Fontaine - The High Country
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

With three novels now under his belt, singer/songwriter Willy Vlautin is quickly becoming a novelist who sings instead of vice versa. With The High County, the band's 10th long player, Vlautin blurs his professional life even more, writing a kind of alt-country soap opera acted out through the album's considerable 17 songs. The Damnations' Deborah Kelly guests throughout as the protagonists love interest, providing a comforting counterpoint to Vlautin's gruff delivery. It's a bold move for the band at this stage of their career, but Vlautin has been channeling Raymond Carver from the get-go, and it was only a matter of time before his written stories bled across an album instead of being housed song to song. With one of Vlautin's novels getting the film treatment -- The Motel Life starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, Dakota Fanning and Kris Kristofferson (and even a small cameo from Vlautin himself) -- we should cherish every Richmond Fontaine release, because it just might be his moonlighting gig
is going to take over the day part as well, very soon.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Glee - The Purple Piano Project: The Meh is Back

It's Senior year for the core group of New Directions -- Rachel, Fin, Quinn and Kurt -- and there's an interesting story there, that should carry the season. But this is Glee, the messy 'throw-as-much-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks' method of television storytelling.

Playlist: Glee - Episode 3.01
1. “We Got the Beat” (The Go-Go’s) – New Directions [iTunes]
2. “Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead” (Barbra Streisand) – Rachel & Kurt [iTunes]
3. “It’s Not Unusual” (Tom Jones) – Blaine [iTunes]
4. “Anything Goes” (From Anything Goes) / “Anything You Can Do” (From Annie Get Your Gun)– NYADA prospective students [iTunes]
5. “You Can’t Stop the Beat” (From Hairspray) – New Directions [iTunes]

Previously: "Prom" (Episode 2.18)

Bumbershoot 2011, Day 3 - Charles Bradley, Phantogram, Fly Moon Royalty, Urge Overkill...

Charles Bradley brings love to the Fisher Garden stage, Bumbershoot Day 3

One week later, the third day for Bumbershoot is finally in the books (words & photos up for perusal at Bumpershine this morning), and what a great day it was. I got to spend the early part of the day with my 4-year old photographer's assistant, found bliss with Charles Bradley, trip out with Phantogram, and enjoy some nostalgia with Urge Overkill and Grant Lee Buffalo.

Previously: Day 1 (Part 1 / Part 2), Day 2

Photo set on Flickr: Day 1 (rest to come)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Music on TV - Week of 09.19.11: Radiohead, Wilco

Radiohead play the season 37 premiere of Saturday Night Live

It was news enough that Radiohead was to be the musical guest for Saturday Night Live's season premiere this week, but the lads from across the pond are further taking advantage of their time in the Big Apple to also do a special hour long The Colbert Report two days later on Monday (September 26). They'll still be in support of 2010's King of Limbs for both appearances, but the Colbert appearance will feature a total of four songs performed live, including the unreleased song "The Daily Mail" (here they are performing it at this past Glastonbury festival). So this is one of those rare cases where I'm giving you the highlight of next week's calendar early. Enjoy!

Meanwhile, Wilco returns with a new album that harkens back to their adventurous Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The Whole Love, out next week, isn't so much a departure from the more accessible sounds of the past two albums (2007's Sky Blue Sky and 2009's Wilco (The Album)), as it's a realization that they're capable of ambitious heights, and even if The Whole Love doesn't quite reach the pantheon that is YHT, it's a welcome return to the sense that they're 'hungry.'

Picks for the week
Monday, September 19
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Spank Rock
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Bruce Springsteen (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Goldheart Assembly (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Harry Connick Jr.
TBS: Conan: Tig Notaro
Tuesday, September 20
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Gavin DeGraw
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Coldplay
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Kooks
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Kelly Clarkson
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Decemberists
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Tori Amos
TBS: Conan: Matt Nathanson
Wednesday, September 21
ABC: The View: Tony Bennett with k.d. lang
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Pitbull
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Wilco
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Two Door Cinema Club
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: The Kooks
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Elbow
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Death Cab For Cutie
TBS: Conan: Grouplove
Thursday, September 22
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Daryl Hall
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Chris Cornell
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Dirty Heads
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Bush
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Telekinesis
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Atmosphere
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Kelly Clarkson
Friday, September 23
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Jayhawks
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Dirty Heads
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Tony Bennett
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Beyonce
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Thievery Corporation
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Sonny Rollins
Saturday, September 24
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Radiohead
PBS: Austin City Limits: Lyle Lovett, Bob Schneider (REPEAT)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Now Downloading: New Releases 09.13.11

With this week's abundant crop of releases, it's obvious that summer vacation is now officially over. It's harvest time, folks, and we have a cornucopia of riches to sample from, the likes and depths of which we haven't seen since March. Cream of the crop lies with the latest from S.F.'s Girls, the super(girl)group Wild Flag, St. Vincent and hip-hop comedians Das Racist. If that weren't enough, there's also new ones from Neon Indian, Blitzen Trapper, Grizzly Bear offshoot CANT, A.A. Bondy, Mates of State, Neil Finn's Pajama Club, Blind Pilot, Ladytron, Milagres, Laura Marling, Kevin Devine, Robbers on High Street, Trombone Shorty, The Kooks and EP from Toro y Moi, along with a parade of new ones from grizzled old vets like Primus, Nick Lowe, Lindsey Buckingham, Todd Rundgren, Blondie and The Human League. Whew! Oh, wait... there's more. Reissues of Superchunk (Foolish) and Queen (A LOT) to boot.

Playlist: New Releases 09.13.11

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Like many indie California artists with interesting backgrounds, Girls has quickly moved from the lo-fi aesthetics of its charming debut, Album, to a return to Hi Fidelity of the early 70s. Frontman Christopher Owens still has that child-like sincerity in his lyrics, but now on Father, Son, Holy Ghost*, his voice has softened to that of a honey-tinged Elliott Smith, occasionally backed here by gospel singers. The songs are stretched out to allow for an incredible attention to detail, begging to hear the album on vinyl on a lazy sunny Sunday afternoon. Owens has confessed that Album was recorded in a heroin daze and that he's cleaned up his act, so it should be less of a surprise the amount of focus put into FSHG, but as last year's excellent EP Broken Dreams Club hinted, Owens and partner JR White were working towards this all along. The first two singles, "Vomit" and opener "Honey Bunny," are the perfect representatives of the spectrum that FSHG runs, as the album starts with a burst of energy and then pulls back the pace and brings out the gospel singers. The whole thing climaxes with the epic ballad "Forgiveness," which at about the 5:20 mark moves into a Crazy Horse stoned out jam. Girls' progression through these three releases is so wondrous to behold it's tempting to think about what's coming with the fourth, but that might spoil the beauty currently in hand.

*In title, Father, Son, Holy Ghost references Catholicism, which is interesting in that Owens grew up in the Children of God cult -- it takes one cult to recognize another.

Free Download: "Vomit" [mp3]

Wild Flag - Wild Flag
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

It's tempting to look at Wild Flag as a sort of Sleater-Kinney 2.0, given it's got 2/3 of that illustrious band's members in Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss, but more than that, it's a celebration of music in general -- both the listening and the playing. With Mary Timony (Helium) and Rebecca Cole (The Minders) rounding out the quartet, the band's sound is one of rollicking guitars, Brownstein leg kicks and smiles reaching from ear to ear. Wild Flag starts out strong with the album's default anthem, "Romance," thanks to a Brownstein-Timony shared chorus of "We love the sound/The sound is what found us/Sound is the blood between me and you." The tracks get kind of choppy after that, trading between the slack dissonance of Timony and Brownstein's chop melodic energy -- these songs are all fine by themselves, they just feel a bit incongruous. About midway, during "Short Version," the two parts begin to meld and the rest of the album sounds like the band has found their sound. It's like they tracked the album to represent the growth of the band, a process the listener gets to experience in the convenient length of an album. The climax comes on "Racehorse," with Brownstein singing "Well I'm a racehorse. yeah I'm a racehorse. you put your money on me," leading me to believe if there's a filly out there named Wild Flag, money is being put on it, no matter the odds.

St. Vincent - Strange Mercy
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Three albums into her solo career, after getting a nice start with artists Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens, Annie Clark's St. Vincent project is at the apex of a sort of "Art for Public Consumption" movement that we're currently enjoying in popular music. Between Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective and St. Vincent, 'difficult music' that still aims to be palatable has rarely been better, and Strange Mercy comes at a time when it should bring Clark to a much larger audience -- even the prog jazz bass flourishes seem ripe for a comeback in her hands. Clark has never sounded so confident and comfortable in her own skin as on tracks like "Cruel" and, especially, on "Cheerleader," which feels like her declaration to once and for all be her own woman, not the beautiful young woman who was once part of Sufjuan Stevens' touring clan. "I don't know what good it serves / Pouring my purse in the dirt / But I-I-I-I-I don't wanna be your cheerleader no more."
Download "Surgeon" from this widget:

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Bumbershoot 2011 - Day 2: Minus the Bear, Kaylee Cole

The hits keep coming... recap and photos from Day 2 of Bumbershoot is now up and ready for your perusal over at Bumpershine. Go ahead, and click... you can always come back.

Previously: Day 1 - Part 1 / Part 2

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bumbershoot 2011 - Day 1 (Part 2): Shabazz Palaces, Pickwick

Minus the Bear playing Fisher Green stage @ Bumbershoot, Sept. 3, 2011

The second part of Bumbershoot's Day 1 is up and ready for your perusal over at Bumpershine.

Shabbaz Palaces, Pickwick, Little Dragon, Trombone Shorty, Vetiver and more. Go.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Music on TV - Week of 09.12.11: Girls

S.F.'s Girls make network TV debut on Fallon Tuesday night.

Two of the hottest SEO words to have on an entertainment site right now make appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this week (Zombies, Girls). Tonight (Monday), baroque pop legends The Zombies celebrate the 50th anniversary of their forming. Two members, Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, are the principals present for the performance, with a full band to back them.

Meanwhile, in support of what just might be the album of the year, San Francisco's Girls makes their network TV debut the next night. Father, Son, The Holy Ghost, out Tuesday, represents another leap forward for the Christopher Owens and Chet "JR" White.

Picks for the week
Monday, September 12
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Sia
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Joy Formidable
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Glen Campbell
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Zombies
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Kills (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Alexander
Tuesday, September 13
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Givers
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Davila 666
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Cobra Starship
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Girls
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lykke Li (REPEAT)
Wednesday, September 14
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Cake
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Lenny Kravitz (REPEAT)
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Common
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Moondoggies
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Needtobreathe
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Neon Indian, Trombone Shorty
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Charles Bradley, Grouplove (REPEAT)
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Lenny Kravitz
Thursday, September 15
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Ziggy Marley
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Fountains of Wayne (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Horrors
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: LMFAO
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Interpol, Girl Talk (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Foo Fighters
Friday, September 16
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Stewart Copeland (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Kyuss Lives
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Airborne Toxic Event (REPEAT)
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Emmylou Harris
Saturday, September 17
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Lady Gaga (REPEAT)
PBS: Austin City Limits: Sonic Youth, The Black Keys (REPEAT)

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Bumbershoot 2011 - Day 1 (Part 1)

It took me a bit of time to get through the 3000+ photos I took at this year's Bumbershoot, and even longer to put some words to it. The first day (last Saturday -- I KNOW!) was soooo long thanks to catching 17 acts, we decided to break it up into two parts, stretching this bitch out even further. Photos and words are up now over at Bumpershine.

Monday, September 05, 2011

Music on TV - Week of 09.05.11: Pearl Jam 20

2011 will probably go down for me as a year of realization -- realization of just how bloomin' old I am. The anniversaries that are being celebrated recently have only served to remind me of how long I've been a concert goer in Seattle. Nirvana's Nevermind is going to turn 20 (we'll get to that at a later date), while the band Pearl Jam celebrates 20 years as a band. I know I first saw them as Mookie Blaylock some 20 years ago this December (opening for Alice in Chains complete with a surprise Temple of the Dog performance thrown in as well), and it just doesn't seem that long ago. Does it?

In celebration of their 20 year run, Pearl Jam played and curated a music festival this weekend at *Alpine Valley in Wisconsin, featuring Mudhoney, Queens of the Stone Age, The Strokes, John Doe, Joseph Arthur, Glen Hansard, and Liam Finn. Meanwhile, a Cameron Crowe-directed documentary gets the red carpet treatment at the Toronto Film Festival later this month, but later this week both Crowe and the band will be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The band performs and gets the interview treatment both Thursday and Friday, while Crowe is tow for Thursday.

*Why not in the Seattle area? I guess Dave Matthews' Caravan beat them to the punch.

Elsewhere, one of the artists that inspired the Pearl Jam and is playing the PJ20 festival also makes an appearance this week. John Doe, from the legendary LA punk band X, performs on The Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, to help promote his new solo release, Keeper, which made its way into stores last week.

Picks for the week
Monday, September 5
ABC: The View: Lady Gaga (REPEAT)
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Amos Lee (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson:
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Wallpaper (REPEAT)
NBC: The Today Show: Shaggy
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Mana (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Matt & Kim (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Mini Mansions (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: The Joy Formidable (REPEAT)
Tuesday, September 6
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Jim Jones Revue
FUEL: The Daily Habit: GZA featuring Wavves (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Roger Daltrey
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Antlers
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Black Angels, Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Lindsey Buckingham
Wednesday, September 7
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: AWOLNATION
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Charles Bradley (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Anthrax
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Matt & Kim, Screaming Females (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Band of Horses
Thursday, September 8
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Gabe Dixon
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: John Doe
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Kyuss Lives! (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Tinie Tempah
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Pearl Jam
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Foo Fighters
Friday, September 9
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Thrice (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Alice Cooper
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Pearl Jam
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lykke Li, The Hours (REPEAT)
Saturday, September 10
PBS: Austin City Limits: The National, Band of Horses

Thursday, September 01, 2011

Now Downloading: New Releases 08.30.11

School is back for much of the country as of this week (my kids have to wait one more week), and in conjunction, we can expect the trickle of releases to start to swell to a steady stream for the next two and half months or so. Hitting the shelves ahead of this rush is the sophomore release from Drake fave Male Bonding. Elsewhere, new ones of note come from both Beirut and Cymbals Eat Guitars. Then it's a slew of veterans coming back with releases, most notably the last from Glen Campbell (who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimers). There's also the return of Hella, Tommy Keene, Tommy Stinson, John Doe, Lenny Kravitz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mike Doughty, Tom Morello (Nightwatchman) and Butch Walker (& the Black Widows).

Playlist: New Releases 08.30.11

Male Bonding - Endless Now
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When Male Bonding came on the scene, with their tape hiss-y early singles, they were understandably lumped as part of a Dalston, UK lo-fi movement going on at the time. With Male Bonding's sophomore release, Endless Now, it's clear that the band's early lo-fi aesthetics were more a practicality than a desired end. The tape hiss of the early singles disappeared with their Sub Pop debut (Nothing Hurts), and now even the haze of the debut is cleaned up, thanks to veteran producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady, Kurt Vile and this week's Cymbals Eat Guitars release). The only other change from their melodic-punk debut is the deliciously crazed fills from drummer Robin Silas Christian have been scrubbed in place of a more within-the-song aesthetic. It's to be expected as the band cleans up their sound a bit, and while that edge is missed, the songwriting from John Arthur Webb is strong enough to make up for the rounded corners. Endless Now is filled with singles, and while much of the attraction here might be a late-80s-to-early 90s appreciation (hello Husker Du and Teenage Fanclub), it's hard to deny songs like "Tame the Sun," "Can't Dream," "Dig You Out" and the nearly six minutes of bliss that is "Bones."

Free Full Album Stream (Sub Pop / YouTube)
Free Download: "Tame the Sun" [mp3]
Free Download: "Bones" [mp3]

Beirut - The Rip Tide
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Since his impressive debut, the Balkan folk-inspired Gulag Orkestar (2006), Zach Condon (aka Beirut) jumped countries in theme. Bouncing from France (The Flying Club Cup - 2007), Mexico (March of the Zapotec 2008) and his music getting commandeered by musicians in Brazil for "Beirutando" in 2009, it can be safely said that Condon is now a musician of the world. What the newly released The Rip Tide does is have Condon writing more straightforward pop songs while synthesizing all his music's travels into the sound, making it both the most accessible and potenntially unique sounding album that Beirut has come up with yet. While the bounce of "Sante Fe" suggests that Condon has a sunnier disposition, this is a ballad-heavy release, relying much on Condon's worthy pipes (and the subtle backing of Sharon Van Etten on "A Candle's Fire" and "Payne's Bay").

More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Glen Campbell - Ghost on the Canvas
Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien / Free AOL Album Stream / "Rifle Eyesight" [mp3]
Tommy Keene - Behind the Parade
John Doe - Keeper
Butch Walker and the Black Widows - The Spade> / Free AOL Album Stream
Tommy Stinson - One Man Mutiny / Free AOL Album Stream
Mike Doughty - Yes and Also Yes
Hella - Tripper / Free AOL Album Stream
Blood Orange - Coastal Grooves
Dirty Beaches - Badlands
Tom Morello: The NightwachmanWorld Wide Rebel Songs / Free AOL Album Stream
Lenny Kravitz - Black and White America
Ray Bonnerville - Bad Man's Blood
Jacuzzi Boys - Glazin' / "Cool Vapors" [mp3]
Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You
Doug Benson - Potty Mouth / "Cool Vapors" [mp3]
Cobra Starship - Night Shades
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Am I The Enemy
COMPILATION
The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Singles Collection (1992-2011)

tags: music, album review, male bonding, beirut, indie rock, new releases