Slowdive - an oral history

An oral history of Slowdive, with intimate interviews and stories from band members.

New album from Sigur Rós, free preview available now

Sigur Rós has a new release ready for the world and you can now stream their entire new album entitled, Kveikur, before the official release date on June 18, 2013.  If like me, you found the last record lovely but lacking in energy, I think you will like the balance they achieve on this one.  Kveikur is heavier on percussion, more varied in sonic production and yet still incorporates many familiar elements of their music -- the mysterious Icelandic lyrics, Jonsi's layered vocal parts, soaring and uplifting melodies.  I'm looking forward to having Kveikur as the soundtrack to this summer.

Watch the title track video:

The Making of Screamadelica

Primal Scream began life as a teenage rock and roll band, like many other groups.  Along the way, they discovered raves, samplers and dance music in the late-80's club scene, and the influence of their late-night experiences resulted in Screamadelica in 1991 (also see previous blog post about its 20th anniversary).  A new documentary goes behind the scenes in the making of this seminal album, with insightful interviews with the members of Primal Scream, producer Andrew Weatherall, and Creation boss Alan McGee.

Like other documentaries in the Classic Albums series, some of the interviews are held in the original studios that the band recorded the music, with detailed breakdown of how the song originated, some of the happy accidents that led to a particular guitar part or sample, and what they were feeling at the time. The success of the album after its release and the subsequent tours, endless partying, and the surprising award of the Mercury Prize over U2 are now part of the larger than life story of one of the best albums ever made.

The Making of Screamadelica on Netflix

Also out now, a limited collector's edition version to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Screamadelica housed in a circular tin reminiscent of PiL's Metal Box:

New Fleet Foxes arriving May 3rd, playing in NYC

Fleet Foxes will be releasing a brand new album on May 3rd, 2011 called Helplessness Blues.

They'll also be playing in NYC at United Palace on May 18. Tickets go on sale Friday February 4th, and I expect it to sell out  show sold out in the first hour.

The title track from the album is available as a sneak-peek preview on their website: Get it here.

Screamadelica turns 20

Screamadelica has been recognized as a classic album from the 90's, but often overlooked is the role of DJ/producer, Andrew Weatherall.  Weatherall took a British indie band, mixed in samples, brought in gospel singers, and gave them a new sound that had elements of house, dub, and psychedelic rock.  


To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of the album, Primal Scream will perform the entire album live at The Olympia in West London on November 27 and 28, 2010. The performance is to include a full gospel choir for "Movin' on Up" and "Come Together" as well as a complete horn section.

A number of samples were used in the production of the album:

• On the UK version of the album, "Come Together" opens with part of a speech given by Jesse Jackson at the Wattstax concert held in Los Angeles in 1972.
• "Loaded" features lines spoken by Peter Fonda's character in the 1966 movie The Wild Angels, as well as a drum loop from an Italian bootleg mix of Edie Brickell's "What I Am".
• "Slip Inside This House" features Sly Stone's laugh from the end of the song "Sex Machine" (from the 1969 album Stand!) and the Amen break.
• "Inner Flight" samples the closing sound on Brian Eno's "The Great Pretender" from the album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy).
• "Higher Than the Sun" uses a sample from "Wah Wah Man" by the Young-Holt Unlimited Trio.
• "Movin' on Up" does not sample but borrows from the lyrics to Can's "Yoo Doo Right".

also see: Screamadelica Commemorated on a postage stamp

Revisiting My Way by Akufen

Going through my dance records recently I came across a vinyl copy of Akufen's full-length from 2002 entitled My Way. I remember how much I loved listening to it when it came out, but since then I haven't given it much of a listen. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it has held up:



"Microsampling – Every morning when I wake up, it's become customary for me to surf the airwaves on both my tuners and shortwave receivers. (...) All that we hear on the air is dead within a few seconds. (...) I attempt to give new life to dead airwaves on the very moment of their short existence. (...) Every form of music has a right to exist – and be microsampled. I try to give a new life to sound and gift it with immortality" - Marc Leclair

New Iron and Wine Rarities Comp Announced

Usually, the collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks, and demos by an artist would be for fans only. In the case of Iron and Wine, you might well call this a proper album - these songs not only stand on their own, but as you listen over the span of the double-disc/triple-LP set, there is a cohesion of style (spare, acoustic) and substance that had also helped to define the earlier Iron and Wine catalog.

Below is the press release from Sub Pop:

IRON AND WINE - AROUND THE WELL
DOUBLE CD/TRIPLE LP (SP 808)
RELEASE DATE: MAY 19, 2009

Collecting songs ranging from out-of-print to never-before-released, Around the Well spans Iron and Wine’s earliest sessions which yielded the band’s debut (2002’s The Creek Drank the Cradle) through material recorded for 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog. The double-disc Around the Well collection is broken up into two sections. The first half is an assortment of hushed home recordings, unedited and raw, and the second highlights moments captured in the confines of proper studios with the help of other musicians, friends and engineers.

The album’s title comes from a line in the song “The Trapeze Swinger,” a fan favorite which was written for and included in the 2004 movie In Good Company. Three more songs written and recorded for the film finally make their appearance here as well: “Belated Promise Ring,” “God Made the Automobile” and “Homeward, These Shoes.” Around the Well also brings together hard-to-find covers such as The Flaming Lips’ “Waitin’ for a Superman” and New Order’s “Love Vigilantes,” along with one of Iron and Wine’s earliest originals, “Sacred Vision.” In support of Around the Well, this May Iron and Wine will perform ten intimate shows in five cities. In addition, Iron and Wine have begun work on the follow-up to The Shepherd’s Dog and plan to release a new album in spring, 2010.

This just in....

In case you didn't notice, there was quite a bit of snowfall in NYC today, and I got to shovel some snow this morning--for the first time this year. Nevertheless, we still got our regular UPS deliveries in with a bunch of new arrivals:

Waldeck's Gramophone Vol.1 CD: The first in a new series, "WALDECK'S GRAMOPHONE" is a superb blend of old and nu forms of jazz stylings, with a definite swing to it all. Cuts come from DJANGO REINHARDT, PINK MARTINI, CESARIA EVORIA, and many more.

Jazzbox-"JAZZ IS THE GRASS I CUT" CD is a collection of Scandinavian jazz standards cut-up and rearranged for the late night heads in fine style by JAZZBOX, including a superb take on LOUIE ARMSTRONG's "WHEN YOU'RE SMILING."

Chris Joss-Teraphonic Overdubs LP on ESL (his new album released on vinyl only so far)

People Take Warning: Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938, a lavish new 3-CD box set of Depression-era tracks celebrating the tragic stories captured in music (with intro by Tom Waits)

Onur Ozer-Kasmir CD/LP "The debut album for both, Onur and Vakant, Kasmir presents the musical world Onur was surrounded by, from the mystical Arabesque and Turkish art music, to the deep synthetic pulses that come through the drivers of some of the world's biggest sound systems on which he plays."

WIRE magazine, March 2008 issue.

Hot Chip-Made in the Dark LP version, finally.

And some new 12" vinyl:
Kraak & Smaak-That's Our Word EP
Young Lovers-Love you Madly EP
Oungin Collective-Riddim Come
Jimster-Dangly Panther
Only Fools and Horses-Spectacle Wins (new one from Permanent Vacation label)
Ssion-Clown (Glass Candy remix)

Fun with album covers

Click here.

Cat Power Jukebox preview

Chan Marshall comes out with a second album of covers, this Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008; this one's a tribute to the great vocalists who've influenced her over the years, backed by a full band of indie all-stars. I imagine you're already a Cat Power fan, so I think you already know how great this record will be, but if you'd like to come down to etherea and have an advance listen, I got a copy to play in-store before the album officially hits the shelves.

The album comes in two versions: deluxe silver-foil gatefold cover (LP and CD) with bonus disc of extra tracks and regular jewelcase version (CD only).


Jukebox tracklist:

01 Theme From 'New York, New York' (Kander/Ebb; popularized by Frank Sinatra/Liza Minnelli)
02 Metal Heart (Cat Power)
03 Ramblin' (Wo)man (Hank Williams)
04 Song To Bobby (Cat Power-- new song)
05 Aretha, Sing One For Me (J Harris/Eugene William; originally sung by George Jackson)
06 Lost Someone (James Brown)
07 I Believe In You (Bob Dylan)
08 Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
09 Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton)
10 Dark End of the Street (Chips Moman/Dan Penn; originally sung by James Carr)
11 Don't Explain (Billie Holiday)
12 Woman Left Lonely (Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn, popularized by Janis Joplin)

Backed by Dirty Delta Blues (Judah Bauer, Gregg Foreman, Jim White, Erik Papparazzi). Guest appearances: Spooner Oldham (Neil Young, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan), Larry McDonald (Toots & The Maytals, Taj Mahal), Teenie Hodges (Al Green, Memphis Rhythm Band), and Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Will Oldham).

Radiohead - In Rainbows

After the fairly scattershot approach of "Hail To The Thief" and extreme introspection of Yorke's solo "Eraser", it's pretty awe-inspiring to hear the group in expansive mode again, creating an album that keeps their emotional core inact while pushing the boundaries of their sound outward.

The initial impression given by the album (and one that stays after listening repeatedly) is a band at the peak of their powers. From the moment the first song starts, it's clear that there's nothing tentative going on here. We're up to full speed within seconds, kids cheer, the beats hit you square in the gut, Thom Yorke begins to jabber in his inimitable fashion, and it's recognizably paranoid skittish Radiohead, but looser and fiercer and funkier all at once.

There's all the expected pretty Radiohead moments but not neccesarily in the places you expect. There's weird percussive things. And big guitar roars and little piano noises and slightly computerized jittery things that melt into a soaring melody so seamlessly that you never really stop to think about the transition.

In short, In Rainbows manages to showcase all of Radiohead's strengths and use them as a foundation for something fresh and new. Once again.

Radiohead-In Rainbows website

-PAR