Stereo on Strike Presents Lost Generation (Fallout) I had the chance to check out another Lost Generation a couple weeks ago, and it's clear that Wanz has become a much improved DJ with an impressive collection of new dance records. Too bad no one shows up to this, because honestly, dance nights are a pretty big let down when the crowd consists of three dudes watching Family Guy. The same night I saw Wanz, I was also coerced into stopping by Meridian Room for karaoke, and man am I glad that no one I know goes there on Thursdays anymore. I used to think it was a shitty time even when my friends were singing, but I've rarely in my life encountered as many alternabros as I did the other week at Meridian. Yuck. Have you seen the blazers these shitbags wear?
How Hard | Kaboom | Will Frenkel (Rubber Gloves) I remember seeing Kaboom at SHQ one time and watching lead singer Brad Santulli scare the crap out of way bigger dudes, one of which included a friend of mine who actually ran away from him. Thats pretty cool. I don't know a great deal about headliners How Hard, but they seem to play fairly straight forward hardcore inspired rock that certainly isn't bad in any way.
Treasure Mammal | The Freek Out | Karaoke (Radio UTD event at UTD campus) This thing is free and I'm almost positive that it starts at 8pm. Phoenix's Treasure Mammal is a fairly entertaining lo fi synth pop outfit that seem to fall somewhere between Mahjongg and Chromeo with a goofy emphasis on slop and songs that aren't as fully realized as those from the aforementioned groups. Probably a fun live show.
(This is a review by Negativespace, a friend that will be doing movie reviews for us regularly. I know this movie came out a couple weeks ago, but the posting delay is my fault, and future reviews will be much more timely. I figured some people would be interested in talking about this movie anyway. Thanks. SR)
Most of what you've read about the Coen Brothers' latest is true: return to form, perfectly orchestrated, masterfully executed, beautifully photographed, tremendously violent and bleak as all-get-out. But what you haven't heard is that ultimately, all these things end up working against it.
Cormac McCarthy, arguably the best living American (fiction) writer today, wrote the 2005 novel from which the Coens unsparingly adapted this perfectly calibrated crime drama where specifics are immaterial: anonymous drug money, anonymous dead Mexicans and anonymous dead dogs all set the scene for a picture-perfect anonymous drug deal gone awry, leaving a briefcase with 2 million bucks to fall into the unfortunate lap of Nam vet turned hunter Llewellyn Moss (a surprising Josh Brolin), planting him forever in the oversized shadow of bounty hunter Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem.), who has been hired by some pseudo-anonymous businessmen to reclaim the missing money. Although Chigurh (pronounced su-gar) is a "bounty hunter," it is clear from the movie's first few moments that he isn't merely some nasty enforcer assigned to recover the drug money-- rather, he represents some amalgamation of dark forces with a greater purpose that seems to add up to little more than pure evil. Operating without license from any earthly outfit, he haunts the Texas landscape with his "cattle gun," dispatching souls and offering his unique brand of life-coaching to anyone who has the misfortune to land in his path en route to poor outmatched and outgunned Llewellyn.
The Coens, given their tendencies, likely gravitated toward Cormac McCarthy's novel for no other reason than the possibilities that arise from putting Javier Bardem in a page-boy 'do and watching him spill almost unthinkable volumes of blood. And although this is more than enough gimmick to sustain a two-hour movie, the Coens overreach.
The ultimate thrust of the story is pure McCarthy territory--unmitigated evil outmatching its meek prey (among them, a pillar of Texas grace, Tommy Lee Jones). But unfortunately, this is not Coen Brothers territory. They tangle their trademark quirky genre fuck-yous with McCarthy's pessimistic fatalism in an equation that just doesn't seem to add up. The impeccable architecture of the story and its execution were more than enough to elevate No Country from a mere crime-genre entry into an artistic achievement perhaps unmatched in the Coen canon. But then, in the waning moments of the film, the preceding magic is reframed in an even bleaker, ultimately hopeless hue, transforming the suspension of disbelief a viewer has labored to sustain throughout the film into a philosophical construct. The resulting dissonance is the Coens' real gift to you: the awkward space between their own cynicism and McCarthy's pessimism.
I understand perfectly that McCarthy's novel served as their narrative template, but it's in articulation where a story finds it's levity, and the Coens (tripping over Billy Bob's withered corpse) just don't speak McCarthy's language. There's a degree of the Coens' trademark hokey camp to the film's more nefarious elements that is troublingly recast in the concrete of real-life when we are forced to buy into its triumph. So deviously constructed is their own genre exercise, so nervy and breathless, that it renders the existential chord they strike in the final act bloated and woefully unconvincing, negating all that came before--much to my personal aggravation. Subversion of narrative convention is cool and all, especially in the service of ponderous old-man philosophical sermonizing, but its drawn in such bold strokes here that it feels kind of insulting.
Of course, this is the point. The Coens have made a cottage industry of condescending to their characters, their settings, and their audiences. It's just that usually it doesn't sting so badly. The film is devilishly entertaining and expertly made, but its nagging insistence of being taken seriously shines a big, bright light on its failings. Its possible that the Coens intend this movie as some sort of rebuke to critics who say they laugh irresponsibly at their own violence, but I doubt it. It's very likely that all these themes are explored much more satisfactorily in McCarthy's book too, presently available at most airports and all Malls and the Southwest Branch of the Mesquite Library.
Afterthought: Anyone with evil Chigurh's Promethean prowess could likely just as easily knock over an armored car or commit serial credit fraud without leaving a trail of collateral damage 16 corpses long. But then, what would he do with the Cattle Gun? Verdict: There is no real gravity in learning that Tommy Lee Jones is no match for the Bogeyman. Worth Your Time. Not Your Money.
It's What We Get (Hailey's) Alan Palomo and Jason Faries' new dance night seems to be the most promising new electro weekly in the area, featuring a wide variety of pop, disco, and house, all brought to you with a respect for history that you wouldn't expect from a young duo and a taste for the newest dance tracks that you totally would.
Vampire Weekend | Uptown Bums | Handclaps and Harmonies (Rubber Gloves) If you've ever wondered what it would sound like if the Walkmen did a song for song cover of Paul Simon'sGraceland, then you probably have too much time on your hands. And if you've ever wondered about that AND thought it might sound cool, then you're probably a dork. And you'd also probably like Vampire Weekend, because they sound like that. I'm being a jerk, I know, but I can't take these NYC buzz bands anymore. If these guys were from Dallas, they'd probably be opening for the Valentines or something.
Kill Me Tomorrow | Koji Kondo | Laura Palmer (Doublewide) Drawing from a variety of influences ranging from Fugazi to Enon to the Fall to Pere Ubu, San Diego's Kill Me Tomorrow presents a skeletal, drugged out take on art/post-punk that is certainly entertaining enough and quite engaging at times, especially when they allow their more experimental electro leanings a bit of breathing room in the mix. Parade of Fleshhas put together an eclectic line up for this show, and you'll want to be certain to show up a bit early for one of Koji Kondo's brief but brutal sets.
Sydney Confirm | Krista LL Muir | Fancy Fist | DJ Mudi (The Cavern) This show will feature our own Sally Glassplaying with Sydney Confirm as Fancy Fist. I've actually never heard her sing in person (you can check one of her songs on her myspace page), but she better be good or she's fucking fired. Love ya sweetz! Krista Muir's indie folk is fairly pleasant if you're into that sort of thing.
Hangar 18 (Rubber Gloves) I can't stand this goofy rap garbage, but some people apparently like it for some reason.
Thanks to the homies at Radio UTD, we have four pairs of tickets forIron & Wine's performance at the Palladium Ballroom on Monday, December 10th, and we've decided against our better judgment to give them all away to you guys.
If you want to win, all you have to do is email weshotjrtix@yahoo.com between now and this Thursday at noon. Be sure to type "Iron and Wine" in the subject line and provide us with your first and last name. Four random winners will be notified via email and an announcement on Radio UTD that we'll tell you about soon. Good luck.
Cool Out at the Cavern, Bad Ass Jazz at Amsterdam (I really hate typing that name), and Bernard Wright at Gezellig. Anything else goin' on, cool dudes?
1. Mom - Little Brite 2. Dustin Morris - Balance 3. The Polyphonic Spree - Live from Austin, TX 4. Shiny Around the Edges - Applied Quantum Physics 4.(tie) Fishboy - Albatross 5. Zanzibar Snails - Krakkatowiak
Good Records Overall Top 20
1. Sigur Ros - Heima (2DVD/LTD) 2. Sigur Ros - Hvarf-Heim 3. Japancakes - Loveless 4. Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche 5. Mom - Little Brite 6. Burial - Untrue 7. Various Artists - Brazil 70 8. Phosphorescent - Pride 9. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Ask Foriveness 10. LCD Soundsystem - 45:33 11. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 12. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 13. Soundtrack - I'm Not There 14. Tunng - Good Arrows 15. Soundtrack - The Darjeeling Limited 16. Pedro - You, Me & Everyone 17. Grizzly Bear - Friend EP 18. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin 19. Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals 20. Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas
Strawberry Fields Top 3
1. Shiny Around the Edges - Applied Quantum Physics 7" 2. Raised by Tigers - LED 3. Parata - Heads! Heads! Heads!
Recycled Books Top 5
1. Fishboy - Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll 2. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther 2. Midlake - Bamnan & Slivercork 3. Snarky Puppy - The World is Getting Smaller 4. Mom - Little Brite
TUE: Kill Me Tomorrow/Koji Kondo/Laura Palmer (Doublewide) WED: Vampire Weekend/Uptown Bums/Handclaps and Harmonies (Rubber Gloves) FRI: Hotflash Party with The Party/Schwa/Killtronix (Fallout Lounge) FRI: The Black Angels/Strange Boys (Granada) SUN: Todd Rundgren (House of Blues)
In case you didn't notice, we have some good MP3s posted below for your downloading pleasure. And now we have this stuff:
FRIDAY
Demons | Goat | Aphonic Curtains | T.E.F. | Voyant | Judascow (House of Tinnitus) Demons refer to themselves as a "visual music" group, and you can sample some of these visuals on their Myspace page-- pretty interesting stuff that will probably be much more interesting in a live setting as opposed to a Myspace page. And if Demons roam on the slightly less harsh side of the room, locals Voyant are on the other extreme, forcing anyone who digs them to question their own sanity. And no, thats not an insult in any way. T.E.F, who appears to use some found sounds here and there, is also quite explosive.
Peter, Bjorn and John | Besnard Lakes (the Loft) So it's pretty clear that PB&J have produced 2007's "oh my god, I'm so sick of this song because I downloaded it six months ago" indie single of the year, receiving play at sweaty dance parties and yuppie dinner parties pretty equally. The majority of their material is fairly enjoyable indie pop of the standard variety, and if you're at all interested in this show, I would buy tickets now because I hear it is close to selling out. Besnard Lakes might be an interesting opener as well, as they inhabit some of the same "indie rock" brand terrority that PB and J does while incorporating some more adverturous space and prog influences into their material.
The Frenz | Sydney Confirm | Florene | Cygnus | U-Gene (Sloppyworld) Stereo on Strike event featuring Wanz' Frenz project and Laptop Deathmatch highlight Cygnus, who seems to be more celebrated in places that are not his home town. It's a shame, but I can't say it's a surprise.
Swiss Party with Sydney Confirm | Heart String Stranglers/Backflap (3114 Swiss Ave) The people throwing these Swiss Ave. parties have done a pretty good job of creating a fun environment over there, and with the rumor that this party will serve as the unofficial Peter, Bjorn and John After Party featuring an appearance by the band, this might be one of the biggest parties they've had yet. These things are usually $5, and often don't get jumping until well after midnight. Free kegs are usually in the house as well.
Markus with a K | Ian Bangs | Holla and Dutch | Sticky Buns (Hailey's) This is a We Made Out Once Party featuring ex Denton staple Markus with a K, a guy who has moved down to Austin and actually made a name for himself as a DJ. The rest are local DJs who all seem to have accumulated pretty loyal followings.
Here are some MP3s from albums we've been listening to around WSJR HQ lately:
SR Picks:
Bruce Haack, Electric Lucifer: Bruce Haack was an electronic music pioneer who never quite fit in with similarly distingusihed artists such as Silver Apples and White Noise. Primarily a producer of children's music, Haack began his career in the late 50's experimenting with music concrete and building homemade synthesizers for dance productions and children's educational albums. In the late 60's, Haack developed an interest in psychedelic rock and the Vietnam protest movement, culminating in his 1970 anti-war concept album Electric Lucifer. The record delves into styles and statements that Haack had previously explored in only a peripheral manner, and the results are often striking. The songs on Electric Lucifer are quite dark and strange for sure, and due perhaps to Haack's association with highly expressive theatrical children's productions, the entire record takes an overtly narrative approach to songwriting and performance, focusing as much or more on telling a story than on presenting songs as individual pieces of music. The listener can hear the strong psychedelic influence throughout the record, but more impressively, the influence that Haack has had (indirectly or otherwise) on American and European electronica is pretty apparent too, leaving one wondering whether discovering Haack's music just might have been one of Suicide's secret weapons. Or maybe it was just their sunglasses....
The Pastels, A Truckload of Trouble: 1986-1993: Ok, so sue me-- for the past couple of weeks I've been wimping out to C86 era sensitive Scottish twee pop bands, and damn it I'm not ashamed. At some point during one of my hundreds of spins of Orange Juice'sGlasgow School last year, I guess I decided that I could use a little more guitar pop in my life, and along with a pretty sweet "best of" collection from The Chills, The Pastels have been the band that I've turned to for my fix time and time again. Truckload of Trouble, a singles compilation, has been my record of choice, showcasing the best of the band's mid period material and most of the really great singles they released during the heyday of their existence. A lot of the songs rock quite a bit harder than one might expect from a group that has garnered the "twee" label, falling somewhere between the aforementioned Orange Juice and the beloved Vaselines, a band that I first started listening to when I was a kid because Kurt Cobain had their t-shirt or something. Managing to strike a balance between self aware, rough around the edges DIY amaturishness and a romantic rememberence of classic pop rock song structure, The Pastels are a pretty refreshing listen in a climate where such influences are something less than in vogue.
Plastikman, Musik: Hey, you know that super hip minimal/german/glitch/dubstep/new acid/Villalobos whatever disc you've been rockin' ever since you found out about it on Boomkat? Well, I'd wager that your record wouldn't sound exactly the same if it wasn't for the contributions of underappreciated 90's minimal producer Richie Hawtin, aka Plastikman. Kicking off his career as a DJ in the early/mid 90's, Hawtin concentrated on acid house as he began to dive into the depths of the dark, robotic minimalism that could be found in much of the Detroit techno and Chicago house that inspired him. The following track off of his acclaimed 1994 album Musik is one of its shortest, but the textures are fantastic and the mood is only slightly more striking than how ahead of its time it sounds-- a lot of today's fashionable techno clearly seems to be borrowing from his approach.
High Places, various singles and Myspace tracks: If you've ever wished that the Blow sounded more like Gang Gang Dance without losing the pop, you might be interested in High Places' sweet, psychedelic beach sound. I honestly don't know a whole lot about these Brooklynites (don't hold their home base against them), but with the blog success of bands like Beach House and albums like Person Pitch, I wouldn't be surprised if these folks started to get a little more attention in the coming months for their haunting vocals and Brian Wilson on heroin production choices. Very nice stuff.
Psychedelic Horseshit, Magic Flowers Droned: In a year that has brought us a surprisingly large number of excellent hardcore influenced noise/rock records, Psychedelic Horseshit's fuck all new LP Magic Flowers Droned has become one of my favorites. The obvious influences of Velvet Underground, The Fall, Homosexuals, Butthole Surfers and Cleveland proto-punk are all there, but this is the kind of music demands you think less and freak out more, and you'll probably be happy to comply. The track I've posted here isn't the most song oriented nor the most freaked out of their material, but it'll give you a pretty good idea of what you're in store for if you pick this one up. It's kind of silly, but so am I.
Various Artists- Milky Disco Compilation: A pretty nice collection of quality cosmic disco tracks from the likes of Lindstrom, Luke Vibert (as Kerrier District), Studio, Black Devil Disco Club and more. This album has been in rotation for a while in my car, and I've decided that one of my favorite tracks comes for the seductive Sally Shapiro--
Pylon- Chomp: Though the DFA's recent reissue of this group's first album, Gyrate, is a welcome surprise, I'm already hoping that they'll release their less celebrated second record. The scratchy guitar and disco rhythm aesthetic is actually more fully realized on the sophomore effort and might actually do more towards making the point that the group was predicting the future the way DFA would have you believe. They are right of course, since Jame's Murphy's taste and ideas are often superior to his actual music. I have a couple of versions of this, so it might be a vinyl rip, unless it was taken from a compilation, so please excuse any fidelity issues. Those of you using one of Wes Anderson's favorite Ipod/Fisher Price speaker setups probably wouldn't notice anyway.
Blue Orchids- Greatest Hit (Money Mounatin): I accidentally discovered Blue Orchids when I realized that a Slovenly song I really liked was originally performed by them. Since it was one of my favorite Slovenly tracks, I was immediately intrigued and set out to find the album of origin. It turned out that two members of Blue Orchids were founding members of The Fall, which is only obvious half the time. The other half is spent on winding, psyche-organ passages and some outright pretty melodies. This track tends to be the latter and a friend of mine remarked that it reminded her of Felt as well as The Kinks. The reissue of their first album along with some random 7-inch stuff is worth looking for, if only for a version of "All Tomorrow's Parties" that has the group backing up Nico and produced by Martin Hannett. How's that for being almost pornographically cool?
...Of Death- Build A Bridge And Get Over It: A fixture of Texas Hardcore shows from 2000 until 2003, Fort Worth's ...Of Death would have been a great band just based on the completely unpredictable structures and intensity that tempered their spastic blast, grind and thrash attack. And then there's the issue of the vocals. So inhuman, to hear them is to feel as if you're being attacked by a sky full of hummingbirds with whirring power drills for beaks. That will make more sense when you hear this track. I say it's an issue because some people are bound to not understand the appeal of this, like all great art. Best local vocalist ever? Probably. I'd pay these guys two hundred bucks out of my own pocket to reunite for one show. The singer is now a DJ in Chicago and some of the remaining members are in The Chimeneas. I'm a total poser for always meaning to see them live and never actually going.
Slovenly- We Shoot For The Moon: Just for good measure, a track by the aforementioned Slovenly. They somewhat defy what one might think of when someone mentions 80's SST. Their melodic guitar noodling and hyper-literate lyrics sound like a logical lead in to Polvo and similar 90's acts that followed. We Shoot For The Moon is considered their best record by the seemingly few followers they have. It has a drive and focus not found on earlier efforts and then charmingly throws that all away for the unexpected cover (Neil Young, Blue Orchids) or a twenty minute extended medley of beautiful synth instrumentals, noise experiments and harsher live material. I've owned this record for years and it still surprises me.
Lizzy Mercier Descloux- Press Color: This is a compilation of French born Lizzy Mercier Descloux's early work, including the confrontational No Wave she performed under the Rosa Yemen moniker. No matter how detuned or alienating, there is something very lovely about Descloux's vocals. This track simultaneously sounds like No Wave-era punk and 60's French Ye-Ye female vocalists. Her later work revealed her to be a worldbeat innovator, and though that material can border on cheesy, her voice usually saves it.
We'll be back with new stuff on Friday morning. For entertainment tonight, you've got the wonderful Taxi Fare at Zubar with DJ Natureor the Misfits at the Granada without Glenn Danzig. Oh well. And I'm pretty sure It's What We Get isn't happening at Hailey's this evening. Here is a little something to make your holiday even more special (courtesy of Cliff Notes)
I wonder what you guys thing of this little essay, written by Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes in response to criticism of his decision to permit advertisers to use Of Montreal songs in commercials. Here's the whole thing:
Are you a sell out? Yes. Don't let it bother you though, cause apparently I am also a sell out, and so are your parents and everyone you've ever known. The only way to avoid selling out is to live like a savage all alone in the wilderness. The moment you attempt to live within the confines of a social order, you become a sell out. Once you attempt to coexist you sell out. If that's true, then selling out is a good thing. It is an important thing. If we didn't do it, we'd be fucked, quite literally, by everyone bigger than us physically who found us fuckable.The pseudo-nihilistic punk rockers of the 70's created an impossible code in which no one can actually live by. It's such garbage. The idea that anyone who attempts to do anything commercial is a sell out is completely out of touch with reality. The punk rock manifesto is one of anarchy and intolerance. The punk rockers polluted our minds. They offered a solution that had no future. Of course, if the world would have ended before Sandinista! was released then everything would have been alright. It didn't. Now we have all of these half-conceived ideas and idiot philosophies floating around to confuse and alienate us. I think it is important to face reality. It is important to decide whether you are going to completely rail against the system or find a way to make it work for you. You cannot do both -- and if you attempt to do both you will only become even more bitter and confused.
When I was younger, and supported my parents, I chose to float between the two. A lot of people choose to do this. There are so many confused young people running around now polluted by this alloyed version of the tenets of the punk rock manifesto. Of course they're confused. It isn't possible to be in chorus with capitalism and anarchy. You must pick one or the other. Very few people are willing to do it, though. The worst kind of person is the one who sucks the dick of the man during the daytime and then draws pictures of themselves slitting his throat at night. Jesus Christ, make up your mind! The thing is, there is a lack of balance. When capitalism is working on a healthy level, everyone gets their dick sucked from time to time and no one gets their throat slit. It's impossible to be a sell out in a capitalist society. You're only a winner or a loser. Either you've found a way to crack the code or you are struggling to do so. To sell out in capitalism is basically to be too accommodating, to not get what you think you deserve. In capitalism, you don't get what you think you deserve though. You get what someone else thinks you deserve. So the trick is to make them think you are worth what you feel you deserve. You deserve a lot, but you'll only get it when you figure out how to manipulate the system.
Why commercialize yourself? In the art industry, it's extremely difficult to be successful without turning yourself into a cartoon. Even Hunter S. Thompson knew this. God knows Duchamp and Warhol knew it. Some artists are turned into cartoons and others do it themselves. I prefer to do it myself. at least then I can control how my cock is photographed. Why should it be considered such an onerous thing to view the production of art as a job? To me, the luckiest people are the ones who figure out a way to earn a living doing what they love and gain fulfillment from. Like all things in this life, you have to make certain sacrifices to get what you want. At least most of us do. If you're not some trust-fund kid or lotto winner, you've got to slave it out everyday. People who wanna be artists have the hardest time of it 'cause we are held up to these impossible standards. We're expected to die penniless and insane so that the people we have moved and entertained over the years can keep us to themselves. So that they can feel a personal and untarnished connection with our art. The second we try to earn a living wage or, god forbid, promote our art in the mainstream, we are placed under the knives of the sanctimonious indie fascists. Unfortunately, there isn't some grand umbrella grant that supports indie rockers financially and enables us to exist outside of the trappings of capitalism.
The thing is, I like capitalism. I think it's an interesting challenge. It's a system that rewards the imaginative and ambitious adults and punishes the lazy adults. Our generation is insanely lazy. We're just as smart as our parents but we are overwhelmed by contradicting ideas that confuse us into paralysis. Maybe the punk rock ethos made sense for the "no future" generation but it doesn't make sense for me. I like producing and purchasing things. I'd much rather go to IKEA than to stand in some bread line. That's because I don't have to stand in a bread line. Most people who throw around terms like "sellout" don't have to stand in one either. They don't have to stand in one because they are gainfully employed. The term "sellout" only exists in the lexicon of the over-privileged. Almost every non-homeless person in America is over-privileged, at least in a global sense.
Obviously, I've struggled with the concept. I've struggled because of the backlash following my songs placement in TV commercials. That is, until I realized that the negative energy that was being directed towards me really began to inspire my creativity. It has given me a sense of, "well, I'll show them who is a sellout, I'm going to make the freakiest, most interesting, record ever!!!" ... "I'm going to prove to them that my shit is wild and unpolluted by the reach of some absurd connection to mainstream corporate America."
I realized then that, for me, selling out is not possible. Selling out, in an artistic sense, is to change one's creative output to fit in with the commercial world. To create phony and insincere art in the hopes of becoming commercially successful. I've never done this and I can't imagine I ever will. I spent seven years not even existing at all in the mainstream world. Now I am being supported and endorsed by it. I know this won't last forever. No one's going to want to use one of my songs in a commercial five years from now, so I've got to take the money while I can. It's the same with pro athletes. You only get it while you're hot and no one stays commercially viable for long. It's not like Michael Vick is going to be receiving any big endorsement deals anytime soon. As sad as it may seem, one of the few ways most indie bands can make any money whatsoever is by selling a song to a commercial. Very very few bands make enough money from album sales or tour revenue to enable themselves to quit their day job.
Next time you see a commercial with one of your favorite bands songs in it, just tell yourself, "cool, a band I really like made some money and now I can probably look forward to a few more records from them." It's as simple as that. We all have to do certain things, from time to time, that we might not be completely psyched about, in order to pay the bills. To me, the TV is the world's asshole boss and if anyone can earn some extra bucks from it and they're not Bill O'Reilly, it's a good thing.
Another slow day, but the Granada is showing some new music DVD's on their big screen tonight. They're mostly lame but one of them is Nirvana: Unplugged In New York, which is a holiday classic from late 1994. That and the Charlie Brown Christmas Special are pretty much the last two cultural icons that I associate with this time of year that haven't been completely ruined. Oh wait, there's always this.
Same old shit for a Monday. Looks like we have a pretty slow week for shows due to the holiday, but there is some stuff going on here and there, and we'll have some solid posts this week for you as well. Additionally, we'll have a pretty cool little announcement coming within the next couple of days.
1. Fishboy - Albatross: How We Failed to Save the Lone Star State with the Power of Rock and Roll 2. Shiny Around the Edges - Applied Quantum Physics (7") 3. Mom - Little Brite 4. The Polyphonic Spree - Live in Austin, TX 5. Tre Orsi - N0. 7 (7")
OVERALL TOP 20
1. Sigur Ros - Hvarf-Heim 2. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup 3. Fishboy - Albatross: How we failed to save the Lone Star state with the power of rock and roll 4. Grizzly Bear - Friend EP 5. Soundtrack - I'm Not There 6. Phosphorescent - Pride 7. Efterklang - Parades 8. Octopus Project - Hello, Avalanche 9. Prefuse 73 - Preparations 10. Saturday Looks Good To Me - Fill Up the Room 11. Shiny Around the Edges - Applied Quantum Physics 7" 12. Mom - Little Brite 13. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 14. Soundtrack - The Darjeeling Limited 15. Port O'Brien - The Wind and the Swell 16. Flight of the Conchords - Complete First Season DVD 17. Gustafer Yellowgold - Have You Never Been Yellow? CD/DVD 18. Fiery Furnaces - Widow City 19. Shuta Hasunuma - OK Bamboo 20. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
