Sub Pop Readies A Few Gems For Black Friday

I'll admit, the complete list of Black Friday finds is not standing out as anything very demanding, but then again-like Richard Gere said in An Officer And A Gentleman: "I've got nowhere else to go!"

For reals, what else am I supposed to do when the world is expected to shop and feed this goddamn economy? Do you really think that Todd Totale (Yes, I refer to myself in the third person) is going to hit the shopping malls?

Hells no.

In fact, I believe that my presence is requested at a family function for my in-laws, which means that I simply need to find a record store on Black Friday, and I will use the entire shopping list for Record Store Day's Black Friday list as a reason to be tardy.

One of the items that has caught my eye is the Low/Shearwater split below, especially because I love both bands and love both of the songs they are covering.

Other than that, there's the usual suspects of a few classic rock bands/artists that I'll consider and the debut from Ghost is getting the vinyl treatment this week, so the majority of any purchases on Friday will be impulse buys after I scour the shelves for those titles.

I spy...Missing Person's rare first e.p. behind that Joni Mitchell album. 

See you at the record store!

Here's Sub Pop's spiel on Record Store Day's Black Friday line up:

Sub Pop is once again participating in the frenzied holiday tradition known as Record Store Day’s Black Friday.

On November 29th, Sub Pop will release two limited-edition Black Friday exclusives: Josh Tillman’s score to the forthcoming short film The History of Caves, and a split 7” featuring Low’s popular rendition of Rihanna’s megahit “Stay” and Shearwater’s take on Frank Ocean’s “Novacane.” Please find track listing details for both releases below.

The History of Caves is the directorial debut of photographer and filmmaker Emma Elizabeth Tillman, and it will premiere later this year on Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes. Josh Tillman’s haunting, spare instrumental score spans 10 tracks, all of which are featured on this limited-edition LP. The album is limited to 2,000 copies.

Labelmates Low and Shearwater each contribute arguably-improbable covers of popular songs for their 7” split single. After performing a crowd-favorite live version of Rihanna’s “Stay” at the Pitchfork Music Festival this past July, Low recorded a studio version at Sacred Heart in Duluth, MN. Shearwater recorded their own gauze-wrapped, undulating version of Frank Ocean’s “Novacane” for this single.

The 7” is limited to 3,500 copies. Low’s proceeds will benefit Rock for Kids, while Shearwater’s will benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center. Both releases will also be available digitally.

Josh Tillman The History of Caves Tracklisting:

1. Finish Those Cigarettes & Go to Bed
2. News of the World
3. Alternate Title Score 777
4. Dial Tone
5. I Call It the Demon Tree
6. Of Course I Live With Them
7. Car Chase Theme
8. Dial Tone 2
9. Tender is the Night in Paperback
10. Titles Theme for Boy Voices

Low / Shearwater “Stay” / “Novacane” Tracklisting:

1. Stay (Rihanna cover)
2. Novacane (Frank Ocean cover)

Low Release Video To "Just Make It Stop"

The new Low album sounds promising. They also put on a pretty majestic live show, so if you get a chance, do check them out.

Here's the press release for the video premier to "Just Make It Stop"

We’re pleased to share Low’s breathtaking new video for “Just Make It Stop”, the official first clip from the band’s internationally acclaimed 10th album, The Invisible Way out now worldwide on Sub Pop. The video, which has a Life After People-inspired feel, posits the band in various stages of performance, shot in extreme close-up, before organic matter overtakes each frame and harnesses the warmth and frenetic energy of the song. The clip was helmed by veteran director Phillip Harder (Low’s “Words”, “Shame” “Over The Ocean”, “Canada”) and features stop-motion animation from Britta Johnson (Fleet Foxes “White Winter Hymnal”).

We’d also like to take this opportunity to announce that Low has added a handful of US dates to their current tour schedule, in support of The Invisible Way. The band will team up with longtime friend Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing fame) for a short co-headline trip, beginning June 17th in Washington, DC at Sixth & I Synagogue and ending on June 21st in Philadelphia, PA’s World Cafe Live.

The pairing was inspired by a fan’s tweet, who suggested the two pair up for his “dream show”. Both active on Twitter, Low and Mike engaged in the tweet and soon decided it was high time for a rematch as both artists had toured with each other in the past (during Doughty's time with Soul Coughing).

Low frontman Alan Sparhawk says of the pairing: "We are excited to be doing shows this June with our friend Mike Doughty. We first met when his band Soul Coughing brought us on tour years ago. I had heard them. They were like nothing else going on, every piece of the picture was fresh and on the edge - crazy/deep rhythm, samples/noise, word-play and melody. Their influence and friendship over the years has been priceless and dear to us, and Mike's lyrical/vocal grace has always been a level to which I measure and aspire to. The vocal does matter and it can be awesome."

Mike Doughty offers this: "The first time I heard Low, I played before them at CBGB in 1993. I remember leaning up against the wall of the dressing room, behind the stage, and feeling their warm, huge, slow sound vibrating the building. Soon after that, I contacted their producer, Mark Kramer from Shimmy Disc, and made my first solo album, "Skittish," with an explicit mission of replicating the reverbed, dreamy sound of their earliest recordings. Low and Soul Coughing toured together a couple of years after that; we became fast friends, and I remain a massive fan."

As for Low’s aforementioned June dates are preceded by the band’s previously announced European tour, which begins on April 24th in Birmingham, UK at Glee Club and ends on May 18th in Bairritz, FR at Atabal. This includes the sold out show at London’s Barbican Centre on April 30th. Additionally, Low has also three festival dates to mention at this time: June 22nd in North Adams, MA’s Solid Sound Fest; July 20th in Chicago for the Pitchfork Music Festival; And August 20th in Black Mountain, Wales at Green Man Festival. Please find a full list of tour dates below.

The Invisible Way was produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, engineered by Tom Schick and recorded in Wilco’s studio in Chicago, IL, during the fall of 2012. The album finds Low’s majestic melancholy in full bloom yet distinguishes itself with its starker, unadorned soundscapes, layered harmonies and drummer/vocalist extraordinaire Mimi Parker singing lead on five of the 11 songs. The album tackles large issues (“the songs are about intimacy, the drug war, the class war, plain old war war, archaeology and love,” says Sparhawk) in a manner that plays a stunning counterpoint to the sublime hush of the music.

Tour Dates

Apr. 24 - Birmingham, UK - Glee Club
Apr. 25 - Manchester, UK - Central Methodist Hall
Apr. 26 - Gateshead, UK - The Sage Gateshead
Apr. 27 - Glasgow, UK - Classic Grand
Apr. 29 - Bristol, UK - Trinity
Apr. 30 - London, UK - Barbican Centre (SOLD OUT)
May 02 - Copehnhagen, DK - Loppen
May 03 - Stockholm, SE- Debaser
May 04 - Oslo, NO - Bla
May 07 - Paris, FR- La Maroquinerie
May 08 - Brussels, BE - Cirque Royal - Nuits Botanique 
May 09 - Amsterdam, NL- Paradiso De Duif
May 10 - Frankfurt, DE- Zoom
May 11 - Bologna, IT - Teatro Antoniano (SOLD OUT) 
May 13 - Barcelona, ES - Casino de la Alianca
May 14 - Valencia, ES - Teatro La Rambleta
May 15 - Zaragoza, ES- Teatro de las Esquina
May 16 - Madrid, ES - Joy Eslava
May 17 - Valladolid, ES - Lava
May 18 - Biarritz, FR- Atabal
Jun. 17 - Washington, DC - Sixth & I Synagogue*
Jun. 18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar*
Jun. 19 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg*
Jun. 21 - Philadelphia - World Cafe Live*
Jun. 22 - North Adams, MA - Solid Sound Fest
Jul. 20 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Music Festival 
Aug. 17 - Black Mountain, Wales - Green Man Festival
*w/ Mike Doughty

Low Opening For Death Cab For Cutie On Spring Tour

I like the band Low for many reasons, but I will share a couple of the most obscure ones.

For one: Mim and Alan Sparhawk are Mormons, which is a religion that I've actually spent some time with. Not in the church itself, but in researching in as I used to live minutes away from Nauvoo, Illinois, so it's a part of my own history in some respects. I even had the rare privilege of being allow in one of their newly completed temples once, which is something that even some members of the church never get to do.

Without getting too sidetrack, the Mormon history is very strange, and to have a couple of its members in a band like Low is equally strange.

I like that aspect of them.

The second reason is that they are neighbors to the north of us here in Iowa, which means that they must deal with the same-even harsher winters than we do and they are part of the Midwest polite conglomerate is reassuring.

I'm tired of Chicago, Minneapolis, hell even Omaha getting all the attention when it comes to hip alternative nation bands.

Give Duluth some!

True story: I once had a dream where I booked Low for a concert in Nauvoo, Illinois and only about 50 people came. I felt bad for them, but had excellent visibility.

Speaking of Low in concert:

"Beginning April 10th, Sub Pop recording artists Low will serve as main support for the first 12 dates of Death Cab for Cutie’s upcoming North American spring tour. These dates will bring the bands to intimate venues and historic theaters across much of the United States, as Death Cab for Cutie performs with San Francisco’s innovative Magik*Magik Orchestra. Low was specially selected by Death Cab for Cutie as main support for these dates.

Low are touring in support of their 2011 release, C’mon, which was recorded in an old church in Duluth, MN and mixed in Hollywood, CA with producer Matt Beckley working alongside the band. C’mon received warm accolades from such places as: SPIN, Blurt, Entertainment Weekly, The Boston Globe, Washington Post, and NPR, who had this to say about their latest release:

Lush and beautiful in its simplicity…Longtime fans who've lived with Low will no doubt appreciate the return to form, while newcomers ought to fall in love with these songs and want to dig into the rest of the band's 18 years of passionate restraint.

Alan Sparhawk describes C’mon simply as: “Warm, pretty, large like Nashville without the country. Mim and I are talking to each other in the lyrics, sometimes it's not pretty, but it's as honest as love.”

See below for a full list of tour dates. For more information on Low please visit here."

w/ Death Cab for Cutie:

04/10/12 Denver CO @ Ellie Caulkins Opera House
04/11/12 Omaha NE @ Omaha Music Hall
04/13/12 Louisville KY @ Louisville Palace
04/14/12 Grand Rapids MI @ Covenant Fine Arts Center / Calvin College
04/15/12 Milwaukee WI @ Riverside Theatre
04/16/12 Chicago IL @ Chicago Theatre
04/19/12 Toronto ON @ Massey Hall
04/20/12 Montreal QC @ St Jean Baptiste Church
04/21/12 Boston MA @ Citi Performing Arts Center / Wang Theatre
04/23/12 Providence RI @ Veterans Memorial Auditorium
04/24/12 Buffalo NY @ Kleinhan's Music Hall
04/25/12 Philadelphia PA @ Tower Theatre

New Low Video Features Mike Love Apologist

I made a note to remind you wonderful music freaks that the awesome Low are back with a new album, and for some strange reason, they invited John Stamos to the party. That's right, the Full House dude who may be the only person who can claim Mike Love as his Broseph, has found his way into fairly relevant video for us slowcore fans who actually lived down the road from the City of Joeseph.

The record label spiel begins now:

C'mon, the shortest title of any Low album to date is officially available on CD/LP and digitally, as of yesterday April 12th.

Comprised of new material written on and off the road, this ten-song set was recorded in a former Catholic church, aka Sacred Heart Studio (where the band previously crafted 2002's Trust) and co-produced and mixed by Matt Beckley.

Yesterday, ET premiered the video for Low's ”Try to Sleep” which features actor, John Stamos.

Low - Try to Sleep (OFFICIAL VIDEO) from Sub Pop Records on Vimeo.

This is what Stamos had to say about how he came to be a part of the video:

"I'm actually good friends with their producer Matt Beckley, and he had played me some of the record while they we're making it, which I loved. Ironically it turns out I was a big fan of one of their older songs "Cue the Strings"... I'm a sucker for a well written song with great harmonies, and when it came time for them to cast the video, they asked if I'd like to be involved, I liked the concept I was happy to be a part of it. The new record is on all the time at my place. One of my favorite indie bands."

Low will begin a tour tomorrow, Thursday, April 14, in their hometown of Duluth, MN, with a very special in store on Saturday April 16 at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, 4:00 pm, in honor of Record Store Day 2011.

Those of you on the left coast, fear not, the band have just announced a slew of West Coast dates in early September, playing shows in such cities as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

See below for a full list of tour dates.

For more information on Low, please visit Sub Pop's artist page.

Try To Sleep MP3

Especially Me MP3

Low's Website

Tour Dates:

04/14/2011 Harbor City International School, Duluth
04/16/2011 Electric Fetus In Store for Record Store Day @ 4:00 pm
04/16/2011 First Avenue, Minneapolis
04/20/2011 Majestic Theatre, Madison
04/21/2011 Lincoln Hall, Chicago
04/22/2011 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville
04/23/2011 Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
04/25/2011 First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia
04/26/2011 Black Cat, Washington
04/27/2011 Bowery Ballroom, New York
04/29/2011 Paramount Center, Boston
04/30/2011 Daniel Street, Milford
05/02/2011 The Mod Club, Toronto
05/03/2011 The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor
09/10/2011 The Aquarium (Dempsey's Upstairs), Fargo
09/15/2011 The Rio Theatre, Vancouver
09/16/2011 Neumos, Seattle
09/17/2011 Aladdin Theater, Portland
09/19/2011 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
09/20/2011 El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles
09/23/2011 Velour Live Music Gallery, Provo
09/24/2011 Bluebird Theater, Denver

Low-Live Review

Chan Marshall cancelled her latest tour because she went crazy again, so what’s a guy to do but go see a show fronted by another looney bin. Alan Sparhawk, vocalist/guitarist/writist of the Duluth, Minnesota band Low, released the band’s most accessible album last year and then went crazy immediately before they embarked on an American tour. Now, not only does this mean that your label (and your band) are set to lose thousands of dollars in sales resulting from your craziness, but it also means that people are going to look at you in that “Will he flip out?” stare. So a tidy number of us set out to see a real live trainwreck in a funny little bar/restaurant that served a mediocre grilled cheese sandwich.

Late last month, Sparhawk did a nutty little interview with Pitchfork, which eloquently repeated his “Here’s how crazy I got:” story, along with a bizarre Mormon + Pot = bass player leaving story. Like a hockey crowd looking for a fight on the ice, there were lots of us there that understood a minor meltdown may be afoot if the crazy stars aligned themselves just right.

Sidenote
I’m so fucking angry at myself that I spelled “there” in the last sentence as “their” and spellcheck caught it before me. Stupid Stupid Stupid. I feel like such a retard right now.
End Sidenote

Having seen Low before several years ago, I knew that drinking a lot of High Life may create a sleep coma when mixed with Low’s “slowcore” tempos. But Sparhawk has wisely implemented some expansion efforts in his material as their music developed a bigger arrangement on the past three albums. Fine, then. I’ll stop at three High Lifes.
The polite audience sat down, hippie style, in front of the stage. Luckily, our seats were positioned directly off stage left, with new bassist Matt Livingston’s scrawny ass just four feet away from my face. A few things about Matt Livingston:
1.) He’s got a very scrawny little ass
2.) He needs to pull up his pants
3.) The elastic band on his boxers is showing
It was a very informal performance, with stripped down renditions of their last three albums taking up the majority of the set list. One song was aborted momentarily, after Sparhawk realized mid-verse that they’d begun in a higher key than he could sing in. Livingston and Mimi Parker kept going while Alan lowered the strings after asking permission from his invisible friend, Dr. Minnetonka. He then pulled out an apricot and yelled “Stop looking at me!” at the audience.
Alan then tried to kill himself by adjusting the stage lights in front of him despite being electrocuted doing the same thing once before.
His wife, Mimi Parker, occasionally ribbed him by telling him that he had “too many gadgets” for his guitar and other hurtful comments. Alan started weeping uncontrollably until a roadie came up and offered a huge joint that would take him directly to his “happy place.”
Mimi’s kit remains as primitive as ever, and Alan spent the majority of the night behind an acoustic guitar (with a bunch of guitar-effect pedals) carefully channeling an almost morbid muse. The other thing that remains with her presence is the unbelievable harmonies she adds. This is critical. With Low, things move at a snails pace, requiring listeners to be attentive to every detail. Mimi’s voice adds a very ethereal element to a very dirge-like rhythm. It’s clear that Low wouldn’t have been able to sustain an over decade long history without her contribution.

A girl that looked an awful lot like Harry Potter yelled out “Sunflower” when they came back for an encore. They started playing it (most awesomely, I might add) and then the Harry Potter girl scream “Yes!”, clapped her hands together and then pissed her pants
The “hit” “When I Go Deaf” ended the three song encore in a swell of feedbacks until Alan finally declared “I think we’re done now.”
Three other interesting things about new bass player Matt Livingston:
1.) His second touring bass is one of those Steinberger ones
2.) He wears glasses
3.) He’s a pretty nice guy
“When they finally found your body/Giant x’s on your eyes” starts the uplifting “Sunflower.” I suppose I’m a little grateful that they didn’t find Alan at the end of a noose. I’m glad he’s apparently gotten his shit just a little bit together. And, considering how his child with Mimi is probably ready for kindergarten and how touring may not be a viable option soon, I’m glad I took a night off see Low on their “Crazy From The Weed” tour.
Setlist:
Dragonfly
Monkey
Sandanista
In The Drugs
California
Amazing Grace
Condescend
Pissing
Violent Past
Lazy
Murder
Encore
Over The Ocean
Sunflower
When I Go Deaf