We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are huge comic book nerds, and one of our favorites of all time is the Scott Pilgrim series. With its electric take on post-collegiate life, love, and music the comic book reads like an autobiography of the last few years of our lives – and of course that’s all too true for the soundtrack to the film version of the books as well. Featuring songs written by Beck under the pseudonym of Scott Pilgrim’s fictional group (Sex Bob-omb) as well as bands like Metric, Broken Social Scene, and the Bluetones. Overall a fantastic record making us that much more excited for the film!
If you’ve never heard of these Beck-referencing, groove-tastic, spazalicious, leave-it-all-on-the-dancefloor rockers, you owe it to yourself to check out Whirlwind Heat. The first time I saw these guys was summer of 2006 on their tour with another Cannibal Cheerleader favorite Be Your Own Pet. Clearly these two acts had developed a competition to who could pull off the more insanity-induced set, and the winner was definitely the audience that night. The Heat have just released their newest LP, called Self-Titled or Scoop Du Jour on Rhapsody and
Amazon, so go download it immediately. This album exists in the same vein as their previous
LP Types of Wood but the dutiful listener can detect a greater presence of an underlying funkiness on this record. Check out this cover of “Another One Bites the Dust” and you’ll see what I mean.
One has to decide for oneself whether British tabloid mainstay and Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty is inspiring or sad. The ex-Libertine has made as much a name for himself since
his previous band’s collapse by dating supermodels and shooting smack as he has by penning woozy rambunctious rock tracks. I for one still think of the Libertines and hence Pete and co. as the greatest rock and roll story no one ever wrote, and sadly this guy has to live it. What we do get out of it though this time around is Oh What A Lovely Tour, 19 solid live tracks from Babyshambles’ most recent tour, most of which are delivered with the stoic, Cockney drawl that Doherty puts up when he hides his emotions. However, there exists a level of sincerity and vulnerability in all of songs, especially tracks like “The Lost Art Of Murder” and “Albion”, and the audience, singing along with nearly every song, clearly connects with their fallen hero. This record definitely makes the team and no, it’s not a pity pick; this kid fought for it and deserves it.
According to our favorite thrash-metallers Prey for Sleep’s Myspace we’ll be soon hearing new tracks from the group as they travel up to Cincinnati in early August to record tracks for a new EP with high-profile producer Don Debiase. According to lead-singer Hunter Townsend, the band will also soon be featured in a video game, have a new track up on their Myspace (”Sins of Unrest”), and have added a good deal of Texas dates. Lastly, the band’s videos for “Empires of Blood and Lust” and “Reborn” will be premiering on ME-TV within the coming weeks, so look out for those! Here’s the video for “Reborn” on YouTube in case you missed it last time around.
BLOC PARTY REVEAL “MERCURY” Yesterday we posed the question ‘what do our favorite Gang of Four indebted dance-rockers Bloc Party have up their sleeve?’. Today we have our answer as Bloc Party’s radio announcement was for a new single entitled “Mercury” (the video for which you can view below). Reports are vague as to if this is a one-off single or the first cut from their as of yet untitled third LP but either way we’re digging the new, techno-infused ‘Flux-ish’ sound, even if its lacking some of Russel’s driving guitar-parts. Can’t wait for the next countdown from these guys.
******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: NAS’ UNTITLED It must be hard to capture a moment in time on record, when all the feelings, the culture, the zeitgeist of the moment coalesces on one singular album. Nas‘ Untitled however, a fantastic followup to 2006’s Hip Hop Is Dead and perhaps his best post-Illmatic album, genuinely captures the fear, the hypocrisy, and the madness that is today’s America, and in doing so has crafted perhaps the best record of the year. Whereas his collaboration with DJ Green Lantern produced tracks of great bombast and excitement, Untitled is a calculated affair, placing intellectual verses over smooth, thoughtful beats with an air of critical thought and perhaps a hint of impending sadness. While The Nigger Tape was fantastic, Untitled transcends such accolades, not necessarily because it’s a better album outright but more so because its political statement is so bold as to suggest the message outweighs the medium. Nas has outshone even his own career-path on this defining album. Makes the team and is first in line for captain.
Nas – “You Can’t Stop Us Now” ******************************************************************** TRYOUTS: BECK’S MODERN GUILT The good news about Beck’s new album Modern Guilt is that cuts like “Chemtrails”, so haunting and ethereal as to remind listeners of the artist’s magnum opus Sea Change, are peppered throughout the record. Tracks like “Orphans” (featuring Cat Power!) and “Youthless” transcend the middling territory of the past few Beck efforts and really standout as fantastic testaments to the power of the Odelayer’s freaky-folk ballads. However, the album, for all its effort to sound spare and stepped-down sounds at times a bit sleepy. Still, an award goes to Danger Mouse for recapturing the slacker nature of Beck’s lo-fi recordings. Makes the team though expect this one to get kicked from the team when the principal catches him under the bleachers making those special ‘Chemtrails’…
Beck – “Chemtrails” ******************************************************************** STARS’ BEDROOM UP FOR POLARIS AWARD According to this Stereogum articleStars‘ album In Our Bedroom After the War is up for the preeminent Canadian music prize the Polaris Award, given to the best Canada-produced album regardless of sales. Definitely a great break for one of our favorite albums of last year which nonetheless continues to pop up this year. Great work Stars, we’ll see you at ACL!
Stars – “Window Bird” ******************************************************************** KANYE NEEDS ANGER MANAGEMENT? Can’t a brother catch a break? Even Kanye’s management thinks he needs anger management according to this Rock Daily report. Sounds to me like a publicity stunt to help change the erroneous public opinion that a black man shouldn’t speak unless spoken too. Personally I like West’s outspoken nature but we’ll see how everyone feels when he’s Uncle Tomming it on your TV screen all night. Keep up the fight Kanye I say!
MADVILLAINY 2 ON ITS WAY?Our favorite underground rapper MF Doom has a new album/torrent circling the Internet music drain entitled MF Doom meets SF Perkele: I Still Hear Voices (Prelude to Madvillainy 2). Exciting news to be sure, but it begs the question, as no official news has been released from the Doom camp, is this a real release?
In short, the answer is N-O. Sadly, it seems this creation is the work of SF Perkele alone, a Finlandish electronic artist with a clear taste for Doom’s mush-mouthed flow. The rhymes over the admittedly Madlib-esque beats are old Doom tracks purloined from the Metal Faced One’s extensive back catalog and laid over new instrumentation and beats. With some clever labeling and placing the album on all the right torrent sits, SF Perkele almost pulled this one off. More details here.
Sadly, it seems that Madvillainy 2 is to remain imprisoned in the land where all Chinese Democracies go and will probably never see the light of day. Still, we always have the next Doom release to look forward to, whenever that will be (you’ll hear it here first!). MF Doom meets SF Perkele – “Fishscale” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: MUSCLES Not so much new again as new to us at Cannibal Cheerleader, Muscles is an Australian electronic artist with a penchant for referencing early 90’s house music with just a whiff of irony and playfulness to make the listener unembarrassed to jam out. Tracks like “Ice Cream” cut like a knife with their unhinged beats but provide enough experimentalism and lyrical wordplay to keep even the most jaded vinyl collector satisfied. Stereogum recently posted the new video for single “The Lake” and it’s as kickass as the song, check it out below.
Muscles – “One Inch Badge Pin” ******************************************************************** BECK’S MODERN GUILT TRACKLIST/COVER ART Finally, a release date for what’s sure to be one of the top albums of 2008! Beck’s Modern Guilt is coming out July 7th (though we can trust we’ll be receiving it a little earlier than that wink wink) and check out that sweet minimalist cover art up above. Seems to match perfectly with the wispy, 60’s dreaminess that new track “Chemtrails” seems to be sporting (you can hear that one over at Beck’s website). Tracklist below:
“Orphans” “Gamma Ray” “Chemtrails” “Modern Guilt” “Youthless” “Walls” “Replica” “Soul of a Man” “Profanity Prayers” “Volcano”
If you don’t already know that Be Your Own Pet is swiftly becoming one of our favorite bands, you haven’t been paying attention to our endless lauding of what was last Thursday’s fantastic show at Stubb’s. Surfing the Nylon Magazine tour site we came across the BYOP Blog for the days leading up to the show. Events include an impromptu haircut for Jemina Pearl (gotta love her Friday the 13th tattoo), chilling with the Virgins, and almost getting caught in the Austin hailstorm. Texas goodness! Also, check out this cool Spin Magazine article about the rehearsal room of Be Your Own Pet, which happens to be in guitarist Jonas Stein’s parents’ house. Ah to be young again. I especially like the part about the Buzzcocks poster and getting skateboard equipment stolen at South By Southwest. Frankly, if you don’t lose SOMETHING at SX, you haven’t been to Austin.
In other news, there’s NO news about the release of an EP this summer that BYOP promised would feature the three missing tracks from their excellent sophomore LP Get Awkward. I fully encourage everyone to buy this when it hits the shelves (or better yet just import the UK version with the tracks already one there) but if you haven’t heard these tunes yet, give them a listen here. “Black Hole” and “Becky” both make the top ten list of best BYOP tunes of all time.
******************************************************************** NEW BECK SONG – CHEMTRAILS
You can check out a new Beck song from his upcoming (supposedly titled) Modern Guilt LP. It’s called “Chemtrails” and if this is any indication about what producer Danger Mouse has done with the alt-folkster, we can expect a softer, more stylistic Beck, combining the sonic palette of Sea Change with the lyrical content of his past few LPs, like The Information. Definitely check it out over at Beck’s Myspace or his website (just click on the jukebox in the upper right). ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER – FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
Speaking of South by Southwest here’s a UK band that’s seemed to hedge its reputation on its completely awesome SXSW performance. They’re called Florence and the Machine and they recall Amy Winehouse with a garage-rock bent. Check out a video from their SX set below and then listen to their awesome first single “Kiss With A Fist”. Enjoy people and comment!
Florence and the Machine – “Kiss With A Fist” (link removed at IAMSOUND’s request) Whoops! Instead here’s the Imeem stream of “Kiss With A Fist”! Enjoy!
Pink Nasty’s show Saturday night at the Mohawk was sadly, sparsely attended. However, that didn’t stop PN and her excellent backing band from delivering the hits, from Mold the Gold favorites like “Away Message” to new tracks like the garage-rock goodness of “Curses”. Sounding more like an alt-country songstress than her lo-fi recordings give her credit for, Pink Nasty was in rare form and definitely deserves all the attention she gets in Austin. Look her up now folks before she blows up into full-blown rockstar mode. More pictures below. ******************************************************************** BECK, LIKE THE BEER
Since Beck will be playing this year’s Cat Power, we figured we post a few of his little-known rarities to build the excitement up.
The mini-album Beck, Like the Beer is a rare demo tape circulated around the Internet after the artist gave the songs to a friend. Recorded in 1992 the album features psyched-out acoustic tracks that recall Mellow Gold and One Foot in the Grave, with a bent towards Beck’s more comic elements. Check these tracks out!
Our favorite chain-smoking Babyshambles frontman is out of “Her Majesty’s pleasure” (the term used by his Myspace). According to this article Doherty served 29 days of a 14-week sentence that was handed down due to drug and driving offenses. Here’s to freedom Pete!
In other news Doherty has posted a new tune entitled “Maybelline” and here’s the YouTube video to prove it. Good to have the band back together.
******************************************************************** CAT POWER TO APPEAR ON NEW BECK ALBUM
According to this Pitchfork article, Cat Power will be on Beck’s newest LP which, like Radiohead, NIN, and the Raconteurs before it, might be showing up on on our doorstep much sooner than we had thought. No further details have been revealed but you can bet we’ll be all over this when the album drops within the next few weeks! ******************************************************************** CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES ALBUM HITS THE STREETS
Charlotte Sometimes‘ new album Waves and the Both of Us hit stores yesterday and, you heard it hear first, it’s rad. While I unabashedly have a weakness for female singers, Charlotte’s voice and arrangements are both fresh, unique, and cutely naive. Having first seen her live at the AP Magazine party at SXSW (scenester heaven!) I can see how she not only appeals to the Bamboozle crowd but stands to transcend into the mainstream. Different from other female songstresses featured on this site (Cat Power anyone?), CS is completely unique and her album stands as a testament to this. Definitely check out album standouts like “Losing Sleep” and “Toy Soldier”. Four out of five bloody pon-poms! Anyone else heard this album yet?
We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are huge comic book nerds, and one of our favorites of all time is the Scott Pilgrim series. With its electric take on post-collegiate life, love, and music the comic book reads like an autobiography of the last few years of our lives – and of course that’s all too true for the soundtrack to the film version of the books as well. Featuring songs written by Beck under the pseudonym of Scott Pilgrim’s fictional group (Sex Bob-omb) as well as bands like Metric, Broken Social Scene, and the Bluetones. Overall a fantastic record making us that much more excited for the film!
