CORIN TUCKER MAKES APPEARANCE
The elusive frontwoman of the greatest American punk rock act of all time, Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney fame recently popped up at a Blue Giant show in Portland, according to Pitchfork (photo by these guys). Seeing as she’s supporting the Oregon scene, perhaps Tucker’s coming back into the punk fold? Lord knows we need her, so come back Corin! CT will be helping Blue Giant as they record their upcoming LP but is not expected to perform live with them for long. Still, here’s hoping we see a lot more of her and maybe, just maybe, S-K finds it in themselves to get back together (only in dreams…).
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TRYOUTS – THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM’S THE ‘59 SOUND
On their sophomore LP Jersey-punk rockers the Gaslight Anthem have clearly decided that their sound, formerly split between Bruce Springsteen and Against Me!, needs to lean more towards the Boss than Tom Gabel and company. The explosiveness on The ‘59 Sound has been toned down a notch but the songwriting and heartfelt nature of the foursome’s music has been ratcheted up and on a precursory listen it appears the boys are in fine form, crafting a record with memorable hooks, intricate string instrumentation, and sincere lyrics. Sincerity might not be what you’d expect from the album given its song titles (”Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”, “Casanova, Baby!”, and “Here’s Looking At You Kid”) but wrapped in these kitsch, nostalgic recollections lie genuine emotion that extends to the present day. The record definitely makes the team, but readers might have to stay tuned; this record’s definitely a grower and probably warrants a couple more spins!
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TRYOUTS – THE SUBWAYS’ ALL OR NOTHING
The first track on the Subway’s sophomore effort “Girls and Boys” is one of the best rockers we’ve heard all year. Starting off with a rudimentary riff that explodes into distortion before giving way to call-and-answer male and female vocals, the song recalls the heyday of Oasis-britrock, where pop-rock wasn’t a dirty word and crunchy guitars mixed well with youthful voices. Yes our favorite UK trio is back on top of its game with All Or Nothing, an album chock-full of high-octane rockers that bely an air of exuberance and naiveté that comes off as genuine rather than label-made, as so many American pop-punkers sound (I’m looking at you Forever the Sickest Kids…). This record makes the team but may be shunned by the more popular kids because it’s too hopped up on sweets or something to practice properly. Still, a squad needs a crazy runt right?
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CANNIBAL CHEERLEADER HOSTING GONE!
The site where we’ve been posting all of our mp3s recently deleted my account (I guess that’s what I get for paying tuition all those years, thanks UT…). Anyway, that means that all the old mp3 links on the site are currently down, oh no! Anyone have some suggestions for new hosting, preferably cheap and simple? Of course the CC main site is still hosted on Blogger so the main site is cool for as long as we have it on here. If there’s an mp3 you missed earlier, email me and I’ll put it back up as soon as we get new hosting. Until then, no new mp3s (unless you email me, in which case I might slip you something cool…).
This whole situation has me pretty stressed, so I need to chill out like Conor Oberst on the cover art for his new self-titled LP. License to chill indeed. Any comments?
BE YOUR OWN PET JOIN WARPED TOUR
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.
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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.
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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!
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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. “
Posted: May 14th, 2008
Categories:
be your own pet,
carrie brownstein,
evil urges,
monitor mix,
my morning jacket,
npr,
scarlett johansson,
sleater-kinney,
tom waits,
warped tour
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Comments:
1 Comment.
The elusive frontwoman of the greatest American punk rock act of all time, Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney fame recently popped up at a Blue Giant show in Portland, according to Pitchfork (photo by these guys). Seeing as she’s supporting the Oregon scene, perhaps Tucker’s coming back into the punk fold? Lord knows we need her, so come back Corin! CT will be helping Blue Giant as they record their upcoming LP but is not expected to perform live with them for long. Still, here’s hoping we see a lot more of her and maybe, just maybe, S-K finds it in themselves to get back together (only in dreams…).
On their sophomore LP Jersey-punk rockers the Gaslight Anthem have clearly decided that their sound, formerly split between Bruce Springsteen and Against Me!, needs to lean more towards the Boss than Tom Gabel and company. The explosiveness on The ‘59 Sound has been toned down a notch but the songwriting and heartfelt nature of the foursome’s music has been ratcheted up and on a precursory listen it appears the boys are in fine form, crafting a record with memorable hooks, intricate string instrumentation, and sincere lyrics. Sincerity might not be what you’d expect from the album given its song titles (”Even Cowgirls Get the Blues”, “Casanova, Baby!”, and “Here’s Looking At You Kid”) but wrapped in these kitsch, nostalgic recollections lie genuine emotion that extends to the present day. The record definitely makes the team, but readers might have to stay tuned; this record’s definitely a grower and probably warrants a couple more spins!
The first track on the Subway’s sophomore effort “Girls and Boys” is one of the best rockers we’ve heard all year. Starting off with a rudimentary riff that explodes into distortion before giving way to call-and-answer male and female vocals, the song recalls the heyday of Oasis-britrock, where pop-rock wasn’t a dirty word and crunchy guitars mixed well with youthful voices. Yes our favorite UK trio is back on top of its game with All Or Nothing, an album chock-full of high-octane rockers that bely an air of exuberance and naiveté that comes off as genuine rather than label-made, as so many American pop-punkers sound (I’m looking at you Forever the Sickest Kids…). This record makes the team but may be shunned by the more popular kids because it’s too hopped up on sweets or something to practice properly. Still, a squad needs a crazy runt right?
The site where we’ve been posting all of our mp3s recently deleted my account (I guess that’s what I get for paying tuition all those years, thanks UT…). Anyway, that means that all the old mp3 links on the site are currently down, oh no! Anyone have some suggestions for new hosting, preferably cheap and simple? Of course the CC main site is still hosted on Blogger so the main site is cool for as long as we have it on here. If there’s an mp3 you missed earlier, email me and I’ll put it back up as soon as we get new hosting. Until then, no new mp3s (unless you email me, in which case I might slip you something cool…).
