Archive
Sean Lennon
For fans of Sean Lennon… or potential fans of Sean Lennon… his 2006 album Friendly Fire was one of my absolute favorites that year. It’s short, but it comes with a DVD that’s ostensibly the entire album set to a music video (and shot very well with real artistic, movie-making direction). Anyway, check it out…
http://www.myspace.com/seanlennon
I just recently stumbled on a few more Sean Lennon projects…
The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger: Sean and his girlfriend (Charlotte Kemp Muhl) have a new pop project… the band name is The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger. They go by “Amatla & Zargifon” instead of Sean & Charlotte, and they have four songs available on their MySpace page. My favorite as of now is “Robot Boy.”
http://www.myspace.com/theghostofasabertoothedtiger
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead: Sean’s done the score for this upcoming movie… apparently Ralph “Karate Kid” Macchio has a role in it (thanks for the heads-up Steve)… http://undeadflick.com/
Live at The Stone, Jan 2008: The Stone is John Zorn’s club in NYC’s East Village (C Ave a few blocks from the Bowery). I went there for a show last March. It’s an amazing, but small, space dedicated to the arts. 100% of the proceeds each night go to the artist. There is no food/drink vending. They have artist curators every month (artists pick who they want to perform). They usually have two performances a night. The way they bring in money to maintain The Stone is by having annual benefit concerts and by selling their annual benefit CDs (Volume 3 is a Lou Reed/John Zorn/Laurie Anderson improv set and it’s available at thestonenyc.com).
Anyway, Sean Lennon and some friends had a gig at The Stone in early January 2008. I’ll warn you that it’s avant-garde / experimental — and not his usual pop fare. It features some of my favorites in the downtown NYC scene (Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle & Fantômas, as well as Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto & her wonderful solo releases). The show is available as streaming and downloadable (low quality mp3) at http://seanonolennon.com/music/stone/mp3player/
Enjoy!
~Dan – np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – Masada Book Two: Lucifer
Holy Fuck’s Daytrotter Session -Free EP-
Holy Fuck‘s Daytrotter Session has finally been released (it was mentioned in a Daytrotter email, like, 2 months ago)… :)
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1266/holy-fuck
Latin – a relatively new song. It hasn’t been released on anything yet and we’re not sure what will become of that song yet. We’ve been trying out different things on this one during this tour, and it’s starting to take shape!
Daytrotter does in-studio performances, and has MANY artists on their webpage. Some of the ones I’ve dug recently are My Brightest Diamond, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), and Erin McKeown… (and more, like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, et cetera)…
The Holy Linkage
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
~Dan
nin
New Nine Inch Nails album The Slip… low qual mp3, CD-quality FLAC, CD-quality WAV, and uber-high quality something-or-other format…
IT’S FREE. http://theslip.nin.com/
I’ve heard “Discipline” and “Echoplex” so far… I dig ’em…
I know, I know, they’re a pretty unknown band. Tell Trent that Dan sent you.
riiiiiiiiiiiiight…
~Dan
meaty Reptet, naked Raquy, and Gratuitous French Fries
REPTET. Great jazz band that lives about 4.5 hours too far away from me. Alas, they’ve been down this way (Eugene) from their way (Seattle) once lately (see review here). Great improvisors, great songwriters, great musicians. They’ve got a new album out. It’s great. It’s called Chicken or Beef?. My ears aren’t vegetarians. It’s quite delicious.
email “reptet @ hotmail (.) com” to see how to get ahold of a copy of Chicken or Beef?
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RAQUY and the Cavemen… tonight at Cozmic Pizza… look for a review tomorrow. Seen her and her band of misfits a few times in Cincinnati. They’re always a treat, plus they’ve put out 2 CDs since we last saw ’em… gather together in a cave and groove with a pict…
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Free French Fries are the opener for Peter Mulvey who is the opener for Patty Larkin… Thursday at WOW Hall. Peter Mulvey is one of my favorite singer-songwriters… ever. Great vocals, great guitarist (and his backing guitarist Goody is also wicked good, but not with him on this tour). Oh, and all you coupon haters can hate my cajun french fry fingers… foo! So, yeah, it’s all about literally free french fries via coupon (from The Vintage, who makes great cajun french fries & food and has great local beer on tap), not a band named Free French Fries. Though that would be cool in its own right… anyway, look for a review on Friday…
~Dan – np: Reptet – Chicken or Beef?
email “reptet @ hotmail (.) com” to see how to get ahold of a copy of Chicken or Beef?
Tonight?
Tonight it’s all about tonight…
>*>*> http://www.myspace.com/tonighttonighttonighttonight <*<*<
So wrong, it may very well be tonight.
~Dan
Opeth "Porcelain Heart" (video & my babble)
The first time I heard about Opeth was from a former roommate who had a mild lisp.
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“OK, I hear you saying ‘Opus,’ but that’s obviously not what you’re saying… argh…”
Flash forward a few years, and I get into a prog band called Porcupine Tree. I had pretty much sworn off prog, as I was seriously getting sick of most of the prog bands with their singers who wear too tight of pants… anyway, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree turns out to be a fantastic singer, guitarist, writer, producer, et cetera. He does solo stuff, has side bands (Blackfield, No-Man), produces other bands, et cetera… I quickly gobbled up his stuff, and then I heard that he produced this Swedish metal band Opeth.
No, Opeth.
Anyway, Steven Wilson produced three of my favorite records of theirs: Blackwater Park, Deliverance, and Damnation:
Damnation was the oddity, though… it was primarily mellow. The other albums (even those not included above) always had mellow “interludes,” but the primary songs on the records were full-on Swedish progressive death metal, complete with “cookie monster” vocals and kick drum blasts that could knock the Pope right off his bejeweled seat. (I would have stated that the Pope was sitting on his bejeweled seat at a truck rally, but I know that that’s a given. So, I didn’t mention it. Obviously.)
Anyway, Damnation was a primarily non-metal, metal album. It was released simultaneously with Deliverance (which was the muy-metal, metal album to “relieve the haters,” perhaps).
Anyway, Opeth‘s next album, Watershed (not produced by Steven Wilson but likely still damn good), comes out on June 3rd. Here’s a video for the edit of the song “Porcelain Heart.” It dances on the cusp of what’s good about Damnation, but hints about what the non-edit sounds like:
Porcelain Heart
I’m looking forward to the album.
~Dan
Oh, for an example of the cookie monster Opeth, here’s “The Grand Conjuration” (1:06 for cookie monster):
I love it, too!
Dave Douglas & Keystone – Live at the Jazz Standard
Dave Douglas & Keystone (who made one of my favorite CDs last year) is playing two sets each night for four nights at the Jazz Standard in NYC (April 10th to 13th). Sidenote: I went to the Jazz Standard in March of last year (to see Brian Bromberg‘s Upright All-stars when I was out that way on bidness).
Keystone is: Dave Douglas – trumpet, Marcus Strickland – tenor saxophone, Adam Benjamin – Fender Rhodes, Brad Jones – bass, Gene Lake – drums, and DJ Olive – turntables.
Anyway, eight sets of great jazz… and the cool thing is that Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music releases each show (of these special engagements) within 24 hours of the end of the set. So far, four sets and only one repeat song, too. Woot! 8 hours of new Dave Douglas coming my way…
OK, now back to studying…
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Keystone – Live at the Jazz Standard, 4/10/08 (early set)
\\\ the future of living-room improvisational music ///
OK, so… this blog is a nod to this blog… similar concept (music on the table).
Musical Furnishings
http://www.musicalfurnishings.com/
A future house of ours will have one of these.
~Dan – np: Zappa Plays Zappa – Live in Japan (Jan 2008)
purty video
Holy Fuck’s “Lovely Allen” from Holy Fuck LP2
(it starts 20 seconds in… I don’t know why the gap…)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
Post-rock brilliance… with a groove your grandma can dance to, but a name she won’t. ;-)
~Dan
Mark my words… best CD of 2008…
I’m not a bettin’ man, but I’ll bet you a hundred ducks that Secret Chiefs 3‘s Masada Book Two, Volume 9: Xaphan will be one of my favorite CDs of 2008 (likely Top 3 to be safe)… and it’s not even out yet.
Per a recent SC3 blog, it hits April 11th (from Tzadik-direct Downtown Music Gallery) or later in the month at other outlets (April 22nd or so from Amazon, etc), and a “Masada preview” is now posted on their MySpace page.
The Masada Book Two series is comprised of 300 or so songs that John Zorn wrote in the Masada vein, but not for the Masada quartet to play. A different artist arranges and records a handful of these tunes to make them theirs… so far, the results have been great (Marc Ribot, Cracow Klezmer, Koby Israelite to name a few). Xaphan (aka Volume 9 from Secret Chiefs 3) features arranger Trey Spruance, plus musicians from his latest SC3 tour, members from Estradasphere, and more…
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Up next in the Masada Book Two series is Volume 10: Lucifer from Bar Kokhba which will likely also hit a top spot on my CDs for 2008. It’s Bar Kokhba’s first studio release since The Circle Maker in 1998.
~Dan – np: Bill Moyer’s Journal podcast interview with Susan Jacoby
acawpelha soofy
I love Sufjan Stevens‘ music. Usually a cappella versions of songs are cute, but more of a novelty than anything more. Well, the UPenn Penny Loafers have done a fantastic version of…
Sufjan’s “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!”
(originally from Come On Feel the Illinoise!)
Enjoy!
~Dan
Free Celldweller
I’ve been a fan of the musician currently known as Celldweller for, geez, who knows how many name changes… :-) Anyway, I thought I already posted a blog along these lines, but I s’pose I haven’t… perhaps I just dreamt it.
Celldweller‘s got a free demo track up on his Fixt Music imprint. Go Here for a free download demo version of “Birthright.” It’s from his upcoming album [1]…
Celldweller started as Brainchild in 1992 (or so), then went by Circle of Dust [2], worked with/produced other hard-industrial acts Argyle Park & Klank, then collaborated with (magician) Criss Angel with Angel Dust [3], then officially started going by Celldweller with his debut in 2003 (Celldweller was the moniker he formerly only used as producer).
His music is what I’d call melodic hard industrial. Very catchy, hooky, danceable, but with a definite edge. He’s totally indie (CDBaby artists represent!)… but regardless of no major label presence, if you’ve watched movie trailers in the past 5 years, you have heard his music (most notably on Spidey trailers).
Anyway, go download a free track. Also, check him out on the MySpaces.
Oh, and rarely can an artist write a song that’s so hooky that I don’t get sick of listening to 3.5+ hours of the same song (remixed)… the Take It & Break It, Volume 2 collection of “Frozen” is stunningly fresh [4] after 3 jam-packed CDs of the. same. song. :-)
~Dan – np: Circle of Dust – Disengage
[1]- 2008? 2009? 2010? No one knows… ;-)
[2]- Disengage is a fabulous record and very similar to Celldweller now, but maybe a touch darker…
[3]- Anyone else remember the Ricky Lake [5] appearance?
[4]- Or stuntingly fresh?
[5]- *shudder*
r o c k i t
As much as I think Herbie Hancock‘s music in the 80s turned into real crap compared to his earlier work in the 60s and 70s (culminating in the über-pwning 1973 Headhunters record)… well, regardless of my lessened opinion of his 80s work, his Future Shock record in 1983 had the veritable groundbreaker “Rock It” on it. “Rock It” alone may have spawned hip-hop for all I know. I know it spawned a bunch of current musically-inclined DJs (or so the Scratch documentary informed).
Anyway, verbal heavyweight Chali 2Na of the rap group Jurassic 5 has a kicking rap mix of “Rock It” on his MySpace page. I dig it.
Check it out —> http://www.myspace.com/mrchali2na <—
That’s all I know…
~Dan – np: Book of Angels, Vol. 8: Erik Friedlander plays Volac*
* – I’m still recapping my 2007 CDs for a blog in the near future… it’s going much slower than normal… too much reading in my new “job.”
\\\the future of electronic improvisational music///
This is wicked…
Reactable Demo 1
Reactable Demo 2
Reactable Live in Berlin
Being a fan of improvisational, sound art… this is the good kind of wicked.
~Dan
PS- Bjork Live using a Reactable (2007 Volta Tour)
new musical finds…
Elsiane… she’s like Björk meets Portishead meets the Cranberries… ie- quirky electronic-fused pop with lush vocals, a trip-hop feel and tempo, and a unique vocal delivery. And the fact that Elsiane has dredg as a “Top 8” puts her in good place in my musical interests, per se. Check out this Montreal artiste…
This next artist is somewhat of a “parody” or “tribute” band of a fairly unknown artist… but it’s a fairly unknown artist that I love…
Secret Chefs 3 is a “tribute” band of Secret Chiefs 3. Anyway… the original (Chiefs) is a Mr Bungle spin-off band that does middle-eastern style metal mixed with surf music and dance beats on occasion. I love the Secret Chiefs 3 (led by mastermind Trey Spruance). The Chefs (no “i”) do a middle eastern, surf, metal mix of their own original tunes on instruments made from found objects… whether it be shovels, oars, or kitchen utensils. It’s a fun, original take on it all. And they’re only a “tribute” band in influence, not in actual songs. The Chefs material is comprised of all original compositions.
That is all… for now…
~Dan – np: Richard Dawkins – The Root of All Evil? (BBC documentary)
asthmatic
an Asthmatic Kitty-related blog…
There’s a nice hour-long streaming interview and sampling of Sufjan Stevens‘ new instrumental piece, “The BQE” (the Brooklyn Queens Expressway). This piece was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and has its worldwide premier the first weekend in November 2007. The link to the interview/sample is here –> http://www.wnyc.org/stream/spinning/spinning102807.mp3
In My Brightest Diamond news, here’s a beautiful clip of her performance on Manchester’s City Centre Social:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1127703951/bctid1213891068
~Dan – np: celldweller & subkulture “erasus” collaboration
Music is Best. -FZ
1) Lala is fantastic… it helps having a rabid music obsession and living on a doctoral stipend a possibility.
2) Nellie McKay is playing the Shedd Institute this Friday. M & I have tickets. I’m sooo stoked. I heart Nellie. I’ll post a review-blog afterwards. Other shows in the near future (hopefully for me) are… Melt Banana (see below), Múm/Talkdemonic (see below), John Zorn’s Moonchild (Mike Patton/Joey Baron/Trevor Dunn), Iron & Wine (early Dec), David Bazan (mid-Dec), Do Make Say Think (maybe)…
3) Melt Banana (from Japan aka MxBx) are coming to Eugene’s W.O.W. Hall (~5 miles from me). And it’s $10. They’re a hardcore/noisecore/screamo band (the 2 songs on their MySpace player are not really indicative of their overall sound, IMO)… like John Zorn’s Naked City with less jazz or Mike Patton’s Fantômas with more velocity/ferocity… and Japanese “singing.”
4) Icelandic electronic-soundscapers Múm are coming to Portland’s Crystal Ballroom, and Portland instrumental band Talkdemonic are opening. It’s cheapish, but I don’t know if I am going, yet. We shall see how this month progresses… but it is a show that excites me. Múm are like a more electronic Sigur Rós, in many ways (to me)…
5) Shortly after 1999 or 2000, when I heard about them from a 1¶ blurb in SPIN, Sigur Rós quickly became one of my favorite bands of all time. Their new 2-CD collection, Hvarf-heim, is going to have one CD of “hits” and one CD of acoustic songs. Also, out on the same day, their Icelandic concert documentary DVD, Heima, looks bucking frilliant. The trailers (here -and- here) are astounding when it comes to colors and cinematic vision, IMO.
6) Radiohead are “selling” their new album, In Rainbows, as a “pay what you can” for the download version. They’ve also got this for the physical product fans (decidedly not pay what you can):
Tracklisting:
CD 1 AND VINYL
15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE
CD 2 AND VINYL
MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING
Ooo… shiny…
~Dan
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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