Happy New Years Cannibal Cheerleader faithful! Whether you’re just tuning in or you’re an old-school follower, we’d like you to know that 2009 is going to blow 2008 out of the water here on the blog. We’ve had more than one ‘returning to the fold’ post but this one represents a new direction, a dedication to creating new content, new videos, and introducing more new music. The blogosphere collectively suffers from multiple ailments: story-swapping, shameless copying, ‘hipster-dom’, and a general lack of originality. I’d like to think Cannibal Cheerleader is the cure for what ails you, the reader of the common everyday music blog. Let the CC crew rip out the old and inject you with a healthy dosage of bloody good music. This is Cannibal Cheerleader 2009 – we won’t let you down.
One of our favorite Austin bands Balmorhea continue to creep closer to the March 10th release of their third LP All is Wild, All is Silent on the excellent Western Vinyl and they’re celebrating by releasing a new track per week on their Myspace until the album drops. Check out the excellent “Settler” this week. Also, we recently recorded a video of the group performing tracks from their new album at a show at Austin’s own Parish. Check it out below!
While we can’t purport to know every band that calls the music capital of the world its home, we’re shocked the utterly fantastic local group known as Ume managed to fly under our radar for so long. A trio originally from Houston this group packs the energy of Sonic Nurse era Youth (with Kim Gordon vocals care of lead-shredder and riot grrrl Lauren Larson) and combines it with a furious punk drive that gives way to haunting minimalism in parts. Ume is a complicated band deserving of repeated listens and multiple viewings – luckily we’ll be checking them out this very Thursday at Emo’s Free Week! Come down and check them out out.
Check out this Brooklyn Vegan report on the happenings of the one and only Crystal Castles and their late night New Year’s Eve antics at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Seems like the show(s) was beyond wild, featuring hits old and new. Check out this video below of the group performing what I believe to be “Yes/No”, a track that will be featured on their sophomore LP. Rumors abound about who will be producing the album (Rick Rubin tops this list) and when production will start (ASAP we hope) so if anyone has any Crystal Castles news, hook us up people!
******************************************************************** AS DID MY MORNING JACKET
After a lauded performance at Bonnaroo 2008, it seemed that My Morning Jacket couldn’t possibly top themselves. Only that they have, with their ringing in of the New Year with a performance at Madison Square Garden in NYC. Go here for pictures but more importantly go HERE to download the live set, which features Marvin Gaye covers, MMJ rarities, and a classic countdown. Check it out immediately.
An amusing anecdote for the Cannibal Cheerleader faithful. It’s no small secret that we’re huge horror fans here at CC, so imagine our surprise when we Google ‘cannibal cheerleader’ and come across an upcoming film featuring just that – a cheerleader who goes about slaughtering and devouring her male classmates. Yes it seems that Diablo Cody of Juno fame long ago penned a horror script entitled Jennifer’s Body (titled perhaps off the Hole track of the same name from their seminal LP Live Through This) and its currently being produced with eyes on a September release. Starring Megan Fox as the title character and featuring dark humor (ala Heathers), oodles of gore, and much talked about female nudity, we have already labeled Jennifer’s Body as the best film of 2009. Now, some may disagree about labeling any piece of media as the ‘best of’ this early in the year. However, we at Cannibal Cheerleader think that we’ve found the cinematic equivalent of Merriweather Post Pavillion for 2009, and we plan to bring you obsessive coverage of the film throughout the year. Brace yourselves.
Seems our friends Balmorhea have been busy over the last few months, recording, mastering, and ultimately finishing their upcoming third LP All Is Wild, All Is Silent (cover up above). From the recent show we covered (video coming soon!) the gang’s new tunes are going to blow the lid off of everything they’ve done before now. Check the tracklist below, CD due out March 9th!
TRACK LISTING: SETTLER MARCH 4, 1831 HARM AND BOON ELEGY REMEMBRANCE COAHUILA NIGHT IN THE DRAW TRUTH NOVEMBER 1, 1832
With a setlist to die for and sounding tighter than Jenny Lewis’ thigh-highs, Rilo Kiley blazed through classics old and new at their triumphant turn at Austin’s Stubb’s BBQ.
4. MY MORNING JACKET AT THE PARISH
We managed to catch My Morning Jacket three times this year but none better than in the intimate setting of the Parish, where their magnificently raucous live antics threatened to collapse the second-story floor and show off their technical skill rather than their arean-rock readiness.
3. BE YOUR OWN PET AT STUBB’S
Ripping and shredding up the stage like a pack of wolves, Be Your Own Pet managed to sound both fresh with their brand new Get Awkward tracks and wizened with their undeniably punk ethos during their brief set at Austin’s Stubb’s BBQ.
2. CONVERGE AT RED 7
With a fiery set reminiscent of end-of-days prophecies, Converge annihilated all expectations with a set that was both brutal and enthralling, recalling the days when punk meant something more than just fast guitars.
1. CAT POWER AT STUBB’S
Easily topping the list of this year’s most enthralling live sets, Cat Power at Stubb’s recalled classic soul songstresses of yesteryear, soaring through classics from You Are Free, the Greatest, and this year’s Jukebox, all the while maintaining the composure and confidence of a road-weary but hardened troubadour. Chan Marshall has walked through the fire and come out the other side a little older, a little dustier, but all the better for her trials.
TOP FIVE HORROR MOVIES OF THE YEAR
5. THE RUINS
Simple setting, not-so-simple enemy, the Ruins managed to combine pleasingly-gory special effects with an overbearing sense of dread as the protagonists find themselves trapped on an ancient pyramid being eaten by, what else, rabid plants. Bloody pom-poms awarded all around.
4. THE STRANGERS
Perhaps the most outright terrifying flick on our list, the Strangers captures the nihilism of modern horror with stark and brutal imagery and enough impending dread to make you queasy throughout. Plus, check out the awesome old-timey poster, great stuff.
3. TEETH
A coming of age tale for the morally reprehensible amongst us (myself definitely included) Teeth tells the story of a young girl blossoming into full-fledged womanhood and all the blood, guts, and terror that it inevitably involves. Recommended for every frat-boy considering date-rape (warning: castration abounds).
2. FUNNY GAMES
A horrifically stark and undeniably enjoyable trek into the darkest reaches of the horror-film psyche, Funny Games forces the viewer themselves into sadism for continuing to watch the terrible torture of an affluent family by a deranged duo of golf-club wielding maniacs. Are we the real monsters for enjoying the film? It’s hard not to be when Naomi Watts starts gunning people down. A must see.
1. THE SIGNAL
Of all the horror movies this year to question the brutal and sadistic nature of the genre, none dared to go so far as to question the medium of delivery itself, to identify the maddening pervasiveness of media in our society and our cult-like devotion to it. In the Signal, the three directors attempt just that, fusing elements of horror, drama, zombie-flick, dark comedy, gore, and psyche-freak-out all into a visionary masterpiece that undeniably captures what is at times both the best and the sickest elements of horror cinema – the unending search for meaning in a cruel world attacking from all sides. So highly recommended I’m wondering why you’re still reading this and not buying it. You must have the crazy.
Any other readers have horror movie faves? Comments?
MY MORNING JACKET LEAVES US BREATHLESS Last night My Morning Jacket continued their massive Evil Urges tour and brought it all back home to Austin, “Where civilization first began,” according to Jim James. The performance recalled the last time the legendary James Brown swung through Austin before he died and played this same stage at Stubb’s BBQ, though he certainly would have been surprised to know that his heir apparent was a head-banging, wild-hair growing Southern rocker like the boys in MMJ. However, to see Jim James strut across the stage during “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 1″ with a cape draped over his shoulders, crooning and shrieking with all the showmanship of the hardest working man in show-business, one can see how he might be mistaken for the soul music legend. The Jacket’s set leaned heavily on the fantastic new Evil Urges LP but included crowd favorites all the way back to the Tennessee Fire. It was truly a night for the old-schoolers and new fans alike, as barn-burners like “War Begun” and “Evelyn Is Not Real” gave way to new standouts like “I’m Amazed” and “Sec Walkin”. The band’s penchant for bringing down the house is storied in the world of live music, but to silence a notoriously restless Austin crowd at the sold-out Stubb’s venue is truly a feat. Even during the drone-worthy exit music of “Dondante” the people surrounding me were rapt with attention, letting the music flow over them in waves while the light show danced spectacularly on Stubb’s giant overhang (pictured below). Some of the best tracks played included the “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. 2″ which segued into its “Good Intentions” scream then right into a furious guitar-breakdown, an absolutely transcendent version of “Lay Low” that found James’ guitar in hypnotic form, a killer rendition of “Wordless Chorus” where James slid across the stage on his knees in the middle of an elated cry, and the finale of “One Big Holiday”. Ultimately the Jacket’s set was a testament to the power of live rock and roll and an experience not soon forgotten by the likes of Austin’s Southern rock fans. If you have a chance to see the band on their Evil Urges tour, by all means buy tickets well in advance and find yourself directly in front of this amazing act while you still can. Definitely deserving of the moniker ‘the best live band in the world’. My Morning Jacket – “Lay Low” (Live) ******************************************************************** MMJ IN DALLAS VIDEO While the My Morning Jacket performance in Austin certainly wasn’t lacking in brilliance, it did miss out on something the Dallas folks had – Erykah Badu! That’s right, the soul-songstress joined the band on stage for her song “Tyrone” which the band famously covered at their much lauded 2008 Bonnaroo performance. Here’s the video below! Still doesn’t beat out Austin’s version of “Lay Low” though, haha.
******************************************************************** MOUNTAIN GOATS REVEAL NEW EP Straight off the success of their latest LP Heretic Pride, John Darnielle and the rest of his satanic band the Mountain Goats are releasing a tour exclusive EP limited to 666 copies. The double 7″ can be picked up at their shows (the band swings through Austin Nov. 1st) and features four brand new songs. Digital release will be announced later but for now, be prepared for Lovecraft in Austin this fall!
BLOC PARTY GET INTIMATE In an announcement that dropped jaws and got hips shaking worldwide, London’s own Bloc Party has revealed that their third LP, entitled Intimacy, will drop digitally this very Thursday and be available physically as soon as October. This move, reminiscent of the rush-to-the-streets strategies of the likes of Gnarls Barkley, Radiohead, and the Raconteurs, comes as a supposed result of the ridiculously early leak of the band’s last LP A Weekend in the City (which we hear at Cannibal Cheerleader had at least six months in advance). Here’s the tracklist:
01.Ares 02.Mercury 03.Halo 04.Biko 05.Trojan Horse 06.Signs 07.One Month Off 08.Zephyrus 09.Better Than Heaven 10.Ion Square
Of course we’ve all heard the inimitable “Mercury” and it’s Manchester-scene, vocoder heavy riffing, but in a separate announcement the band placed the as-of-yet unheard “Trojan Horse” on their Myspace today. Care to give a listen? We think it sounds like a more experimental “Prayer”, what do you think?
Bloc Party – “Trojan Horse” ******************************************************************** NEW MY MORNING JACKET VIDEO We here at Cannibal Cheerleader are waiting with bated breath for the August 24th My Morning Jacket here in Austin at Stubb’s, but until then, we’ll be satisfied with a new MMJ video for Evil Urges standout “Touch Me I’m Going To Scream, Pt. 2″. Check it below and stay tuned for pictures and a show review for what promises to be one of the top shows of the year next Sunday! My Morning Jacket – “White Rabbit” ******************************************************************** ANNUALS DROP NEW SINGLE Unsure about all this Sunfold side-project business? Just wish Annuals would get back to the bombast and rapture that characterized their wild, folk-tinged earlier work? Look no further young ones, as the band has revealed their new album Such Fun and it comes out Oct. 7th. Take a listen to first single “Confessor” and tell us the band isn’t back in fine, whimsical, volcanic form. Check it.
BEN GIBBARD COVERS RILO KILEY/STARS At a recent solo gig for Rhapsody, Ben Gibbard gave the acoustic treatment to some Narrow Stairs already classics such as “Cath…” and “Grapevine Fires”. However, the real excitement came when the Death Cab for Cutie frontman covered tracks from Rilo Kiley (”Silver Lining”) and Stars (”Your Ex-Lover is Dead”), and our friends over at Stereogum have the videos. Go check them out immediately to see how lonely songs like these can be somehow made even lonelier by the inimitable voice of Gibbard. Breathtaking stuff.
Death Cab for Cutie – “Cath…” ******************************************************************** JIM JAMES/CONOR OBERST/M. WARD MAKING RECORD? It would seem that according to this Pitchfork story, our favorite Kentucky troubadour, My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James, is collaborating with none other than Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame and M. Ward (the Monsters of Folk anyone?) to release a record of original work. Sweetness! Also noteworthy is James’ mention of releasing a solo record under the pseudonym Sec Walkin’, a nod to the title of one of the tracks off MMJ’s new record Evil Urges. Could this news be any cooler really? Read the whole story here and stay tuned for further developments on what promises to be a truly groundbreaking country record.
My Morning Jacket – “White Rabbit” ******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER – THE CARROTS When all-female Austin punk group Finally Punk went on indefinite hiatus (though they promised they hadn’t broken up…) this central Texas town truly lost one of its greatest rock and roll acts. However, from the ashes of the riot grrrl wreckage comes the Carrots, a doo-wop group recalling 50’s all-girl acts such as the Ronettes and the Shangri-La’s, featuring several members from Finally Punk. Austin’s answer to the undeniably catchy sounds of bands like the Pipettes, the Carrots spin a wonderful pop sound but retain the subversiveness of the former punk act with a kitschy wink to their audience on tracks like “Beverly” and “Secret Since ‘99″. Definitely worthy of attention, even outside of the Austin area, so go check them out immediately. No mp3s floating around of these gals but here’s a rad video of them playing “Beverly”.
NEW MY MORNING JACKET VIDEOS Our favorite country-fried rockers My Morning Jacket were on Conan last night and their performance of “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream (Pt. 2)” rang to high heavens. We also have a video here of MMJ at Bonnaroo with Kirk Hammett from Metallica, so check it folks!
My Morning Jacket on Conan
My Morning Jacket meets Metallica
MMJ = Fucking Metal. ******************************************************************** NEW HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR VIDEOGod’s gift to disco-lovers everywhere, Hercules and Love Affair have released a video for their single “You Belong” off their self-titled debut. Check it peoples! You Belong
******************************************************************** TERROR THURSDAY – EATEN ALIVE Terror Thursday is back at Cannibal Cheerleader! This week’s screen-gem is from the twisted brain of Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s overseer Tobe Hooper. Eaten Alive is the story of an insane hotel owner and his penchant for murdering his tenants and feeding them to his pet crocodile. Ridiculously bizarre acting styles by all involved in the film and enough gore and guts to keep the audience on their toes. Definitely a weird one, but deserving of four out of five bloody pon-poms nonetheless. ******************************************************************** FEED THE WIKILast off today we have a funny little phenom – seems as if people on Wikipedia are trying to decipher all the samples from Girl Talk’s new mashup Feed the Animals. From the looks of it seems like they’re being pretty successful so far, but does anyone know what they’re missing? Comment and let me know! See everyone next week!
NEW MY MORNING JACKET VIDEOS Hey all, sorry about the late update (computer troubles again!) but today will knock your socks off. We not only have the new official music video for My Morning Jacket’s first single off of Evil Urges “I’m Amazed”, but we have the premiere of the Evil Urges EPK video on which yours truly helped. That’s right, check out the concert footage in the first video – I’m behind the camera in front of the stage.
Here are the videos, enjoy! My Morning Jacket – Evil Urges
My Morning Jacket – “I’m Amazed”
My Morning Jacket – “West End Girls” ******************************************************************** NEW TILLY AND THE WALL VIDEO Awesome pop-rockers Tilly and the Wall have released a new video via Stereogum for their new single “Pot Kettle Black”. It features some serious shout-back chorus lines so it’s one of the more rocky tracks on their new LP O. Check it out here!
******************************************************************** NEW CRUISERWEIGHT VIDEO Cruiserweight have posted a new video on their Myspace via IheartMusic of their performance at SXSW. Check it out here.
Also the band has a new EP Cruiserweight Rocks the Moon coming out on Itunes on June 17th. Here’s the fun link to it.
The Faceless Werewolves performed at Emo’s last Thursday and who was there but your trusty Cannibal Cheerleader, camera in tow. Here are a few videos from the night that confirm what astute listeners already know: when it comes to garage-rock in Austin, the Faceless Werewolves are the head of the pack.
The Faceless Werewolves – “Couldn’t Believe It Blues”
The Faceless Werewolves – “My Weakness”
******************************************************************** MY MORNING JACKET – BLACK CAB SESSION
What’s even more awesome than being in My Morning Jacket? Being in a cab with My Morning Jacket of course, or at least that’s the theme behind this web series the Black Cab Sessions. They’ve done such CC faves as Death Cab and Scout Niblett and now they’ve got Jim James and Carl Broemel performing “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Pt. II” on their site. Check it out here.
Awesome stuff. Here’s an MMJ b-side to complete your daily recommended dosage of Jim James and co.
******************************************************************** NEW FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE VIDEO
Last time we heard from Florence and the Machine, the feisty UK songstress hailing from across the sea, she was just releasing her excellent single “Kiss With A Fist”. Now we have the video, a fun quaint piece that belies the bloody, furious lyrics of the song. Definitely worth checking out below.
******************************************************************** CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES IN ROLLING STONE
It seems like just yesterday we were standing amongst a scant few onlookers watching Charlotte Sometimes play as the first act onstage at the Alternative Press Magazine SXSW 08 party. Now she’s being featured in Rolling Stone and has received some heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. Frankly, more power to her! We at Cannibal Cheerleader want more people to hear the rock-cum-pop sound of Jersey’s finest female singer-songwriter export! Here’s a CS tune to celebrate!
According to this Pitchfork article, the mighty munchkins of Be Your Own Pet will be joining the Warped Tour for dates in July and August. The skater-punks will surely enjoy a little of Jemima Pearl’s madcap live antics and you know WE’LL be loving her at her upcoming Stubb’s show this Thursday. Prepare for pictures on Friday of that show. ******************************************************************** JOHANSSON’S TOM WAITS ALBUM STREAMING
Imeem is streaming Scarlett Johansson’s Tom Waits covers album. Check it out here and prepare to float on a wave of shoegazey-goodness with Marilyn Monroe providing vocals. ******************************************************************** CARRIE BROWNSTEIN POSTS NEW MONITOR MIX
Carrie Brownstein, writer for NPR and guitarist of the greatest American punk band to have ever existed Sleater-Kinney, has uploaded a new Monitor Mix. Check that shit out, it’s even got the Libertines on it! ******************************************************************** FULL-LENGTH EVIL URGES REVIEW Here’s a new feature – full-length reviews! Check out this new one for My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges and comment if you like it! Warning, long text ahead!
“The title track off of My Morning Jacket’s newest LP Evil Urges begins innocently enough, strutting in with a snare-drum downbeat, soft, funky guitar-plucking, and a twangy, country guitar riff, complete with syrupy slides, a seeming reassurance that the alt-country giants are back in fine form. However, as lead singer Jim James slinks in with a surprising, layered alto, a soulful falsetto croon more reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield than Neil Young, it becomes apparent that the Kentucky quintet is not in Louisville anymore. “Evil Urges”, a bricolage of extremely divergent genres including funk, Southern-rock, blues, and country, serves as a warmup to the album as a whole which, through its swerving between the Jacket’s noted strengths and their continuing flights with experimentalist tendencies, makes for a fantastic voyage and the band’s most original and exciting work to date. For any longtime fans of My Morning Jacket it should be clear by now, after 2006’s acclaimed Z, that the band’s penchant for reverb-soaked vocals and hushed instrumental strains have long since taken a back seat to piercing Prince-style vocals and fiery guitar heroics. The flecks of artistry and inspiration that peppered their debut effort The Tennessee Fire and separated it from contemporaries have been given room to breathe and fleshed out in all their glory. The band’s slow rise to fame recalls a roller-coaster ride, clicking up the tall first ascent with their debut and sophomore LP, the excellent At Dawn. The band’s Southern-rock dominance stood high atop the peak with the magnificent It Still Moves. And if the wildly innovative Z is the excitement of the first drop, Evil Urges is the first loop and the listeners are not strapped in but trusted to be stuck to their seats by the music’s sheer chaotic force. Urges, unlike previous Jacket LPs, contains not one extraneous song, not one skippable track, and flows elegantly from classic late-60s outlaw country like “Smokin’ From Shootin” and “Sec Walkin’” to barn-burning rockers like “Aluminum Park” and “Remnants” to radical mutations like the disco-rock “Highly Suspicious” or the bizarre instrumentation of both parts of “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream”. To describe the album as incomparable would not be wholly inaccurate, as its style varies so wildly and its influence seems cherry-picked from the best rock has had to offer since its inception. However, the album might be most accurately described as a rough combination of R&B-style singing and Flaming Lips’ madcap experimentalism, all painted on a canvas of Lynyrd Skynyrd country-fried rock and roll. Overall the piece gels fantastically and weirdly, stunning longtime fans with how different a band with a seemingly simple foundation, that of classic Southern-rock, can sound when they let loose their artistic urges, and flooring first time listeners with its disparity and creativity. During this year’s South By Southwest Music Festival My Morning Jacket frontman Jim James performed a solo set at St. David’s Episcopal Church to a hushed crowd of 240, all of whom witnessed acoustic performances of old classics such as “Gideon” and new tracks like “Librarian”. Much like during this performance, the listeners of Urges are all witness to the church of Jim James, only instead of reverent sermons he is preaching hellfire, brimstone, and yes, evil from the pulpit, raining down a musical storm on we the parishioners. Bow down before the mighty My Morning Jacket because they’ve just crafted one of the best records of the year. “
Thanks to Stereogum for finding this awesome SNL performance for My Morning Jacket on YouTube. Apparently they played the Prince-infused “Evil Urges” and the country-fried “I’m Amazed” both from the Evil Urges LP. Here’s “Evil Urges”:
And you can find “I’m Amazed” here. Thanks Stereogum! MMJ rule! Also, the introduction of ‘Quick Bites’, the format from now on of single-item updates. Here’s the first installment!
