NEW CRYSTAL CASTLES VIDEO/NEWS Our dearest friends Crystal Castles have just released a video for their single “Crimewave”, featuring a mesh-masked Alice Glass and a lonely zombie. Check it out below.
Crystal Castles – Crimewave (Crystal Castles VS. Health) In other CC news, according to NME (and confirmed by our friend Myke) the band has canceled several dates in the UK because of ‘recording committments’. Can we expect new Crystal Castles material soon? Here’s hoping so!
Crystal Castles – “Death (White Lies Remix)” ******************************************************************** FINAL BE YOUR OWN PET SHOW VIDEOS Sad as we were that one of our favorite acts of the day Be Your Own Pet broke up, we’re happy to report they left behind a trail of death and misadventure to rival the best punk acts of the day, and these videos from their final show ever prove it. Check them out below and godspeed you black-hearted punksters, we hope to see you again soon! “Super Soaked”
“Heart Throb”
Be Your Own Pet – “Hillmont Avenue” ******************************************************************** STARS ANNOUNCE NEW EP According to Pitchfork and confirmed by visiting the Sad Robots website, our favorite Canadian indie-poppers Stars are releasing a new EP entitled Sad Robots. Tracklist below, featuring five new songs and a live version of “Going Going Gone” off of Nightsongs.
01 Maintenance Hall, 4am 02 A Thread Cut With a Carving Knife 03 Undertow 04 Going, Going, Gone (live) 05 14 Forever 06 Sad Robot
Stars will be playing this year’s ACL festival (last time they came they played against Wolf Parade so I had to miss them, not this time!) so don’t miss them when they swing through Austin!
Stars – “Why I Want To Save You” ******************************************************************** CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER VS. RNC We didn’t post on Thursday for two reasons – one, very slow news day, not much to talk about. But second, we were busy planning our Cannibal Cheerleader protest trip to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Those familiar with us know that we’re first and foremost filmmakers (liberal ones at that) so we’re going to document the events of the RNC protests and bring them back to Texas (see, we’re not all rednecks down here!). We will be out of pocket until next Friday, but tomorrow I plan on writing mini-updates for the rest of next week. Because these will be very bare and pretty unsubstantial updates, next week is being declared ‘Vegetarian Week’ here at Cannibal Cheerleader. Fear not, I shall return with cool videos in tow and what’s more, if I find myself with an internet connection up there I’ll be sure and do a few quick updates. Any comments on this situation? Would anyone prefer I not go? Speak now or hold your peace! See you all in St. Paul!
CAT POWER AT LOLLAPALOOZA Sorry to everyone for the late and increasingly smaller updates (I’m in the process of moving and getting the zine together) and apologies to everyone for not being able to cover Lollapalooza for the Austin crowd. Frankly, the thing about the biggest concert festival in the US this year is that it’s way too expensive for the likes of me. So instead of showing my own concert reviews, I’d figure I’d highlight a few reviews of one of our favorite artists here at Cannibal Cheerleader, the one and only Chan Marshall of Cat Power who apparently killed at her set at Lolla.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS TROT THROUGH AUSTIN According to this Pitchfork article our friend John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats fame will be swinging through Austin on November 1st at Antone’s on his upcoming fall tour in support of the excellent Heretic Pride. You know that we’ll be there with bells on, but until then, listen to this fantastic track and despair you’re not watching him live right now.
SOUTHERN DRAMA IN AUSTIN Performing at Austin’s own Beauty Bar last night, Southern Drama managed surpass all our expectations and capture a refreshing slice of retro-country rock with a subversive edge that proved both genuine and engaging. There exists a level of underlying difficulty when playing any version of country music – the danger of the tunes seeming kitsch or even worse, too poppy is ever-present. However, Southern Drama plowed through such criticisms with instrumental virtuosity, care of their brilliant violinist Naomi Cherie, and with the captivating howl of lead singer Clarissa Ysel. With a voice more reminiscent of a riot grrrl act than a gypsy-country band, Ysel brings a level of emotion to songs steeped in evocative imagery, pulling the listener into the band’s complicated world. Worth mentioning is of course the care the band seems to take with their presentation, dressing up in psycho-carnival wares, instantly inviting and absurd all at once, proving to us here at Cannibal Cheerleader that Southern Drama is not only deserving of our close attention for their music but for their whole visual and performance formula. We’ll definitely be keeping up with these ladies, check in for more details this week! Southern Drama – “French Song” ******************************************************************** KAREN O PLAYS NATIVE KOREAN ROCK IN NYC Here’s a little show review by our friends over at the Music Slut in NYC who were lucky enough to be able to attend the debut of Karen O’s side project Native Korean Rock Monday night.
“I was simply ecstatic when word spread last week that Karen O would be debuting her new side project, Native Korean Rock, at one of Brooklyn’s most beloved & miniscule venues. For just about a half hour, she showcased a collection of love songs on par with the latter tracks from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Show Your Bones (most notably ‘Warrior’ & ‘Sweets’), backed by a quintet comprised of strings, drums & guitars. While we all know and love Karen for her gravelly howls and mighty stage persona, it’s sometimes easy to forget that her demure side is just as impressive & captivating. The stage was adorned quite eloquently with a Korean flag, ample blue cellophane & a partial ship bow (which read ‘Seoul’). Key elements of Karen’s outfit included roses, fringes & a spectacularly detailed navy blue cap. All in all, an immensely beautiful & touching evening.”
Here’s the setlist and encore:
Setlist Ooo. Body. Visits. Beast. Rapt. Sunset Sun. Comes The Night. Day Go By.
Encore Indian Summer. Day Go By [Reprise]
******************************************************************** TV ON THE RADIO REVEAL LP3 DETAILS That’s right, hot on the heels on one of our favorite records of yesteryear, Return to Cookie Mountain, art-punkers TV on the Radio will be releasing their third LP Dear Science, on Sept 23rd according to Pitchfork. Further details such as a tracklist and cover will obviously be forthcoming so stay tuned for further details!
TV on the Radio – “Blues From Down Here” ******************************************************************** BLOC PARTY VS. SEX PISTOLS?? Looks like the battle between post-punk and punk ‘77 is on as Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon became involved in a heated confrontation with Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke over the weekend at the Summercase Festival in Barcelona. You can read all of the details here but apparently things got nasty when Okereke asked the Rotten one if his other former band, Public Image Ltd., would ever get back together, prompting Lydon to apparently go on a racist tirade. Both parties were separated by their respective entourages but details are still blurry as to what was said or inferred by either party. Still, to say that Johnny Rotten isn’t crazy is pretty much a guarantee that you’ll be on the wrong side of the argument, at least, that’s our two cents. Any more news and you’ll be sure to hear about it from us!
MARNIE STERN REVEALS NEW ALBUM DETAILS Just when it seems that’s the world’s indie-rock guitarists, content with swirly rhythms and rudimentary string-plucking, Marnie Stern is back to teach these kids how to shred. That’s right, the greatest guitarist of modern indie rock is back with her second album called (bear with me now) This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That and it’s out Oct. 7th on Kill Rock Stars. If this album’s anything like her last effort, In Advance of the Broken Arm, listeners are in for a real tour-de-force of intricate guitarwork, but according to this Pitchfork article Stern’s prodigious instrumental mastery will be worked more fluidly into her song structures, creating perhaps a more pop-oriented album. Fine with us, can’t wait to hear some tracks! Here’s the tracklist:
01 Prime 02 Transformer 03 Shea Stadium 04 Ruler 05 The Crippled Jazzer 06 Steely 07 The Package Is Wrapped 08 Simon Says 09 Vault 10 Clone Cycle 11 Roads? Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Roads 12 The Devil’s in the Details
Marnie Stern – “Precious Metal” ******************************************************************** NEW MODEST MOUSE SONG – “SATELLITE SKIN” Apparently the Modest Mouse crew have been shopping this song called “Satellite Skin” around for a while. Heck, supposedly it’s even going to be on their upcoming as of yet untitled EP. Still, sounds like a real crowd-pleaser and rocks with the same inspired poetry MM is famous for. Check it below.
******************************************************************** NEW BAND CHEER: VIVIAN GIRLS We’ve been hearing about these girls for a while, from Brooklyn Vegan to Gorilla Vs. Bear and back again, but at Cannibal Cheerleader we usually reserve judgment until we’ve heard a full-length from a band and give them the opportunity to expand a unique sound into a whole album. Well color us impressed because the Vivian Girls more than deliver on their self-titled debut, ripping through ten lo-fi classics that scream equal parts indie rock sing-a-long, wall-of-sound guitarwork, and spacey, surfy atmospherics all around. Clocking in at just over 20 minutes the Girls have a knack for succinctness and directness, never overstaying their welcome but bringing the goods to each and every track. We’ll be watching these ladies closely and hope to have them swing back through the ATX soon!
Vivian Girls – “All The Time” ******************************************************************** WHY? TOUR SWINGS THROUGH AUSTIN An act that’s receiving as much acclaim in my close circle of friends as it is on the blogosphere, WHY? will be swinging back down through Austin on their latest tour. Watch for them on Sept. 8th at Mohawk playing in support of their excellent new LP Alopecia. This is one band that’s definitely going places.
WHY? – “The Hollows” ******************************************************************** BODIES OF WATER HAPPENINGS Bodies of Water just posted a massive Myspace bulletin that explains all the current goings-on of the band. I’ll post the full text below but to summarize: original drummer Jessie Conklin is quitting and will be replaced by two Texans, the band is selling their new LP A Certain Feeling on CD and vinyl, they’re about to begin a continent-covering tour, they’re making a music video, and hey look, free posters! Yikes! That’s a lot to digest, so read the following at your leisure. Let the good times roll you BoW workaholics!
“Hey guys – We recently sent this update out to our email list, but many of you may not be on it. If you’d like to be, send an email to mail@bodiesofwater.net and say that you’d like to be and then you will be.
This is what has been happening to us, and what is about to happen.
There are six things:
1. We have made a record called ‘A Certain Feeling’ that will be available to the public on July 22nd. The Secretly Canadian company is putting it out, and they are offering to sell it to you in advance of the release. They have CDs and vinyl records, and if you buy the vinyl you get a download code so that you can put it on your computer or some other little music playing machine. ALSO, they send you a poster if you buy something. Here is where you go to do it: http://www. scdistribution. com/cat/scd_catalog. php?usersearch=Bodies%20Of%20Water&pagerequest=
2. We are celebrating the release of this record by playing a show at the Echo on Thursday July 17th. Seasons and the Henry Clay People will be joining us that night. It costs 8 dollars, but if you want to only pay 5 dollars, tell us in an email and you will be added to a cheap list.
3. This show on the 17th will, sadly, be the last one that our beloved Jessie will play with us. Why? Because she decided a little while ago that the rock and roll lifestyle was not the kind she wanted to devote herself to. It can be an arduous one, and is certainly not for everyone! We’re, naturally, very sad about this. Her singing, drumming, and personal charms will be sorely missed. Her too-large shoes will be filled for now by two pairs of our friends’ feet; Jamie Pitts will drum to our songs, and Julie Carpenter will sing and play the guitar and violin. They are both from Texas.
4. In a month we are leaving to travel around the nation (and Canada) playing music in certain cities. There is a little map attached to this that shows you where and when we’ll be in those certain cities. We will try to put on a good show in all of them – it is important to us that people feel that they get their money’s worth. I am serious about this.
5. If you live in Los Angeles, it will be fun for you to look at the current issue of the L.A. Record magazine. There is a large poster in it depicting us pretending to be the Talking Heads. Have you seen the record ‘More Songs About Building & Food?’ We imitated it. I attached a picture of the poster to this bulletin so that you can look at how it is. The real poster is more monumental – it is 2 ft x 3 ft. The guy from L.A. Record took photos of us, and David collaged them together. There is an interview and some other pictures of us in there, too. It is free, so you WILL get your money’s worth if you seek this thing out.
6. We are in the midst of making a music video. I don’t know why I’m even telling you about this. It won’t be done for a while – You’ll see it when you see it. Anyhow, we will be cramming it through that tiny “pipeline” into your home or place of business via youtube and stuff. The themes of this video are: violence, dogs, nature, supernature, architecture, and lye. I know you are thinking “Great, another lye-themed video. Why do they even bother?” And I know what you mean; sometimes I ask myself the same thing.
EXTRA – We’re probably going to play in England, Germany, and France in October. We will pass along more details as we learn them.
HIGH PLACES REVEAL ALBUM DETAILSKnown more commonly as the ‘Brooklyn duo with the weird drumset’, experimental artists High Places have revealed the tracklist (below), album art (above), and release date (Sept. 23rd) of their new self-titled album on label Thrill Jockey. This of course follows the band’s meteoric rise since the digital release of singles’ collection 03/07-09/07 and you can read the full details over at Pitchfork. Here’s the tracklist:
01 The Storm 02 You in Forty Years 03 The Tree With the Lights in It 04 Vision’s the First… 05 Gold Coin 06 Papaya Year 07 Namer 08 Golden 09 A Field Guide 10 From Stardust to Sentience
This is shaping up to be one of our favorite releases of the year but that baby cover up there is reminding us of a bad trip! Yikes!
We’ve had one or two posts before now about the Crystal Castles “Crystal Theft” Controversy (you know, the one where member of the ‘chiptune’ community have accused Ethan Cath and Alice Glass of stealing beats from chiptune artists’ songs and not giving proper credit to their original creators). Well it seems that music blog giant Pitchfork Media has also weighed in and posted an exclusive article featuring communication with members and management of Crystal Castles on this subject, the full text of which is below. Also, hey, thanks for mentioning Cannibal Cheerleader Pitchfork, looks like we’re getting noticed here in Austin!
From Pitchfork:
“Today, however, we present the case of Crystal Castles vs. Various Members of the 8bitpeoples Collective, a group of “chip music”-makers and software/hardware developers inspired by classic video game sounds.
Our story begins in 2004, when a fledging Crystal Castles were still honing their craft. At that time, according to the duo, they relied exclusively on samples, and a few of those samples from that period were lifted from chip music artists.
A bit of background: Like many in the chip music community, 8bitpeoples artists routinely post their music on the collective’s website for free download, with the stipulation that said music is protected under a Creative Commons License. The license provides for free copying, distribution, and transmission of the works in question, provided the person doing the copying/distributing/transmitting:
1. Properly attributes the work 2. Does not use the work for commercial purposes 3. Does not “alter, transform, or build upon” the work (aka create derivative works)
It’s also worth noting that any of these conditions can be waived given permission from the artist behind the work in question.
So, back to Crystal Castles. 8bitpeoples alleges that the duo “violated every term of the [Creative Commons] license” in its use of music created by one of the collective’s artists, a musician called Lo-Bat. They also claim Crystal Castles employed a drum beat from another chip music artist, Covox, “in no less than four…songs.”
Others in the chip music community have chimed in with accusations. A writeup on blog Gameboy Genius lists several more instances of perceived beat-jacking on the part of Crystal Castles, even going so far as to analyze a pair of audio tracks side by side.
But here’s the thing: First, as mentioned, Crystal Castles admit to the sampling. What’s more, according to them, none of the music that contains uncleared samples has been released.
As Crystal Castles member Ethan Kath wrote in an email to Pitchfork, “These infringing songs are early unreleased tracks which were never performed. They are the most awful tracks associated with the band and [vocalist] Alice [Glass] herself hasn’t heard most of these tracks. I put these tracks together myself and then discarded them because I thought they were too poor for release. Labels were interested in collecting these sample-based tracks but we did not want to release these tracks because we did not like the songs. And even if we did like the songs, there were too many samples to clear. Three of the tracks sample early Madonna, three of the tracks sample Joy Division, two of the tracks sample the Stooges, three of the tracks sample Lo-Bat, four of the tracks sample Covox.”
According to the band, the controversy stems from the appearance of several unreleased Crystal Castles tracks online. At least one– which is titled “Insecticon” (erroneously, apparently) and samples Lo-Bat– appeared on the MySpace page of Lies Records, the label to which CC originally licensed their self-titled debut album.
Explains Kath, “One of our earliest tracks is a noise-guitar track called ‘Insectica’. While teaching myself how to use a computer music sequencer program, I mashed it up with a Lo-Bat track. It somehow appeared online as ‘Insecticon’. I assume it was named for someone mishearing Alice sing the opening line ‘I, Insectica.’ Someone else posted the track as ‘Bitter Hearts’ after learning that we have an unreleased track called ‘Bitter Hearts’ and [assuming] they had found it. If I had put the song online myself I would have called it ‘Insectica (Crystal Castles vs. Lo-Bat version)’ but unfortunately I did not upload it. I do not regret this, the publicity we are receiving four years later is priceless.”
The song in question, though still titled “Insecticon”, is now credited to “CC vs. Lo-Bat” on the Lies Records MySpace. It now includes a Creative Commons License acknowledgement as well. Crystal Castles also insist that Lo-Bat has contacted their manager and expressed that he does not mind the sample and finds the controversy “ridiculous.”
In a statement to blog Cannibal Cheerleader, a Lies Records rep notes, “I myself wanted to release ‘Insecticon’ but I could not find Lo-bat to seek his permission.”
Furthermore, Kath writes, “The artists who have been sampled have agreed that the 8bit community is making too big a deal about this, plus they do not want publicity for this, they do not want to be known as the bands that Crystal Castles sampled. Instead, they want to be known for their own great music. We are trying to help with this, we are organizing a compilation of our favourite 8bit songs for release on Lies Records.”
So yes, Crystal Castles did create derivative works based on the music of chip music artists without proper attribution (though the attribution wasn’t the band’s doing)– two Creative Commons agreement no-no’s. But since they didn’t release or perform the works– and deny that they were responsible for disseminating them– it would be hard to mount a case for the third Creative Commons violation (”commercial gain”). And indeed, even the other two Creative Commons conditions wouldn’t apply to experiments that were intended to remain in the bedroom/studio.
We may never know how most of the early Crystal Castles material made it online, but since Kath and Glass insist it wasn’t their doing– and since they’ve made clear their intention to not release any of the sampled material without permission– we think it’s high time to call off the witch hunt.
In other news, Crystal Castles have loads of touring to attend to this summer, including a round of dates with Nine Inch Nails. They’ll release a new UK single for “Vanished” in 7″ and digital formats via Different Recordings on July 21. They also hope to issue a new EP and a collection of remixes in the fall. “
Once again, thanks for the shoutout Pitchfork! The article pretty much sums up the issue from inception to ‘Insecticon” and they’ve come to the same conclusion as us down here at Cannibal Cheerleader, that we need to end this senseless argument over what are essentially Ethan Kath’s home recordings. You can read the original Pitchfork post here.
Also, as you can read from this update, Crystal Castles hope to be releasing a new EP and a remix LP sometime this fall. Awesome news! I imagine there will be a lot of comments on this article so since you can’t post public comments over at the P4K, bring them here. What do people think about this one?
Crystal Castles – “Alice Practice (Future Cop Remix)” ******************************************************************** CONOR OBERST SOLO LP/TOUR WITH JENNY LEWIS According to Stereogum, Conor Oberst is revealing more and more about his upcoming Conor Oberst LP and his tour with the Mystic Valley Band. In fact you can head over to Mr. Oberst’s site http://www.conoroberst.com/album/ right now and check out two additional tracks from his upcoming release, “Souled Out” and “Danny Callahan”. Also, according to Pitchfork Conor Oberst will be touring with none other than Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley for some of his fall tour dates in support of his self-titled album. The tracks here sound more upbeat than Cassadaga but certainly don’t dissappoint with their creativity or spirtuality. As Stereogum said, “Nothing like some alien sightings to bring some joy back to the songwriting process”.
Jenny Lewis and Conor Oberst will both be playing solo sets at this year’s Austin City Limits Fest so maybe we’ll get our first glimpse of the two together during one of their respective sets! Here’s another Conor Oberst track taken from a Mystic Valley Band live show that’s been circling the Internet for a while. Enjoy!
******************************************************************** THE ROLLER PLAYS THURSDAY @ RED 7 And you know we’ll be there to check it out, camera in hand! Just wanted to announce this as The Roller are fast becoming one of Austin’s preeminent metal acts, so catch ‘em now before they’re too big to catch!
The Roller – “Rattle of the Shaman” ******************************************************************** MAXMILLION DUNBAR AKA VULTURE V Seems that emcee Vulture V from Baltimore’s Food For Animals (http://www.myspace.com/thefoodforanimals) has a side project as a producer under the moniker Maxmillion Dunbar, and his first 7” featuring two new tracks just dropped via Future Times. Check out this first track “Outrageous Soulz” – quite a summer sizzler if we do say so ourselves!
Maxmillion Dunbar – “Outrageous Soulz” ******************************************************************** ACTION DESIGN DEBUT NEW TRACK ON MYSPACE Our favorite post-Tsunami Bomb female fronted pop-punk act the Action Design (yay for Agent M for getting back on her feet!) has a new track on their Myspace, a cover of grunge act Seaweed’s track “Kid Candy”, and believe us, it plays in the spirit of few punkers today. Action Design sound like what reading the Love and Rockets comic book feels like – the story of punks growing up, getting smarter, and looking inside for something deep amidst all that rage. Great stuff and it’s what made us include Action Design as one of our top ten new bands this year so far. Definitely check the band out at their Myspace and listen to “Kid Candy” – you won’t regret it!
Our dearest friends Crystal Castles have just released a video for their single “Crimewave”, featuring a mesh-masked Alice Glass and a lonely zombie. Check it out below.
Sad as we were that one of our favorite acts of the day Be Your Own Pet broke up, we’re happy to report they left behind a trail of death and misadventure to rival the best punk acts of the day, and these videos from their final show ever prove it. Check them out below and godspeed you black-hearted punksters, we hope to see you again soon!
According to Pitchfork and confirmed by visiting the Sad Robots website, our favorite Canadian indie-poppers Stars are releasing a new EP entitled Sad Robots. Tracklist below, featuring five new songs and a live version of “Going Going Gone” off of Nightsongs.
We didn’t post on Thursday for two reasons – one, very slow news day, not much to talk about. But second, we were busy planning our Cannibal Cheerleader protest trip to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. Those familiar with us know that we’re first and foremost filmmakers (liberal ones at that) so we’re going to document the events of the RNC protests and bring them back to Texas (see, we’re not all rednecks down here!). We will be out of pocket until next Friday, but tomorrow I plan on writing mini-updates for the rest of next week. Because these will be very bare and pretty unsubstantial updates, next week is being declared ‘Vegetarian Week’ here at Cannibal Cheerleader. Fear not, I shall return with cool videos in tow and what’s more, if I find myself with an internet connection up there I’ll be sure and do a few quick updates. Any comments on this situation? Would anyone prefer I not go? Speak now or hold your peace! See you all in St. Paul!
