When We Make Love: The Soundtracks To Our Sex

Iggy Pop: The Godfather of Abstinence

I have to confess, after reading Gawker’s post “On Choosing Sex Music,” I was reminded of a regular column that was under consideration at one point here on Glam-Racket.

The article considers the critical admiration of Rhye, a band that I am not familiar with but would wholeheartedly consider as the common thread among these critics is that this is great lovemakin’ music.

A quick side note, the article identifies a dozen songs that you’re not supposed to play during sex, of which I’m guilty of at least one Marvin Gaye song.

Do Not Play These Songs During Sex:
Color Me Badd's "I Wanna Sex You Up"
George Michael's "I Want Your Sex"
Berlin's "Sex (I'm A...)"
Salt-N-Pepa's "Let's Talk About Sex"
Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy"
Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing"
Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love To You"
Prince's "Do Me, Baby"
Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On"
Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love"
Nine Inch Nails' "Closer"
N.W.A.'s "Fuck the Police"

The column that I was considering was an actual review of an album that was played during lovemaking. I even went as far as to ask my wife if something like that would make her feel uncomfortable, but almost immediately, I was given the green light.

Yet something stopped me from actually following through, namely because the idea was really stupid and I can’t imagine anyone giving a shit about the music that my wife and I listen to while we get behind closed doors.

The entire premise changed too many times to come to fruition, anyway. One draft would focus more on the wife’s perception of the music (which sometimes was non-existent) while another would end up as nothing more than a regular review of the record.

The most disturbing drafts matched the music with the actual act itself, and the results were just as creepy as you can imagine. Then there was the review of the spontaneous playlist that I prepared immediately before, but any such review would have to begin with the admission that the playlist began with the god-awful Berlin song “When We Make Love” off 1984’s Love Life.

Since we’re being honest, here are some notes from the lost drafts of this canceled column.

Channel Orange was considered “weird” by the Mrs. And obviously, that’s not a good thing.

Richard Hawley was too distracting.

Avalon is only the tip of the iceberg. For Your Pleasure is a close second and Flesh + Blood sometimes ranks as good as the last Roxy Music effort.

You can never go wrong with Pantha Du Prince, King Tubby, or any mix by Pete Tong.

Teddy Pendergrass should not be used unless you intend on working through at least one compilation side. There should never be any leftovers with Teddy.

Same thing goes for Barry White.

Marvin Gaye only in moderation.

Prince beyond 1999 is not recommended and the first two are essential.

I once had to turn off an Earth Wind & Fire record. It wasn’t working for me.

As exciting as learning more about the sex life of my wife and I must seem, the reality is that we’re usually to lazy to think beyond the 80’s Channel in our DirecTV music line-up. We’ve got that shit hot keyed, yo, and we play Russian Roulette with certain songs. If Kenny Loggins’ “I’m Free” comes on during the sweet love down by the fire, it means that we contract Chlamydia.

More than anything, the reason why I could not get behind the idea of a regular column like that is because it’s really none of your business. It’s fun to talk about once in a while and it’s a topic that I’m obviously not afraid of, but to bullet point the periods of our sexual activity is something I don’t want to have a digital record of.

I want to have an emotional record of those events, and as this blog attempts to remind everyone: the records themselves are the perfect compliment to any emotional event that life provides.

Badass Archival Footage Of Nick Cave

I asked my cousin the other day if he liked Nick Cave and he goes,

"I'm not that into him"

Or something like that.

Spoiler alert: This video will make you "into him."

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - White Lunar

I have to confess, unless it’s a movie soundtrack with a hefty blend of songs that fit nicely in the mix of the film, I rarely pay much attention to the music featured in movies. If it’s a movie score, forget about it. I appreciate how a score can bring emotional stock to a film and understand that modern day scoring is the closest thing that we may have in terms of classical composition, but it’s not anything that I feel the need to examine further.

There are a few exceptions to this, but I’d be hard pressed to name a soundtrack that spoke to me on any real meaningful level.

Or so I thought.

I sat down with Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’ White Lunar recently, a double disc collection of the pair’s soundtrack work a prepared for something uneventful. I will confess to not bothering to read the press material or familiarizing myself with the movies that this collection is gleaned from.

Within a few moments, however, I recognized something. A piece from the cd stood out and my attention turn to answer the question “Where have I heard this from?”

The answer was Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and the song that prompted my attention was “What Must Be Done,” a brief two-minute piece with little more than a repeated piano phrase. Surely, this was not the kind of thing that would leave such a lasting impression on its own, so it should only demonstrate the power that music has-even the most simplistic of compositions-when properly placed with just the right moving image.

The Jesse James material is housed with The Proposition and the forthcoming film The Road on disc one. With the selections from the film to Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road, White Lunar begins its travails into ambient territory. Prior to this, the first disc sticks to mostly Cave performing a plaintive piano with Ellis providing effortless violin work.

It’s with disc two that the material evolves more in to the “film score” realm, an eerie combination of Angelo Badalamenti atmospherics with Ellis’ previous work with the Dirty Three. It culminates with “Sorya Market,” a piece from the The Girls of Phnom Penh. For three minutes, the song continues White Lunar’s beautiful restraint. Then, after ten minutes of silence, the song erupts into atonal shrieks, hyper-bowed violins, and industrial noises. It’s unsettling-that’s the intent, obviously, and it serves as a wake up to remind the listener of the dangerous territory that both of these men originate from.

White Lunar won’t capture the imagination of new fans or encourage novices to pursue more notable moments of Cave’s illustrious career. What it does is find two talented men inspired by the imagination of their celluloid counterparts and using-quite effectively-their musical abilities to create memorable moments that stay with you after the credits roll.

This review originall appeared in Glorious Noise.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away

Endlessly endearing and enviably talented, Nick Cave returns with the Bad Seeds and another left turn, this time even more noticeable since the last effort (Dig Lazarus Dig) was such a raucous affair.

We should probably come to expect this from Cave, as Murder Ballads bequeath Boatman’s Call, and therefore it should come as no surprise that album number fifteen is the quiet and reflective Push The Sky Away.

It took me several listens to wrap my head around this record, and I think the delay was nothing but the shock of hearing Cave sound his age again, and the reality is that it may take a traveled person to really appreciate what’s going on with this record.

Because its simplicity is deceiving, but it also enables you to appreciate the beauty that comes from Cave’s distinctive voice and the wonderful draw of his words.

It’s what kept me coming back-those words. They’re filled with big, curious themes. Some of which he’s explored before, but that doesn’t mean they’re worth reviewing. After all, weighty topics like mortality, love, religion and mermaids sometimes need a second glance.

With the additional look, you’ll hear such incredible details like “I watch your hands like butterflies landing” right next to such naughty musings as “I was the match that would fire up her snatch.”

Producer Nick Launay wisely leaves Cave’s voice out in front, highlighting its age when needed, its desperation when it’s called for, and its dark perversion when everything else fails.

The Seeds find Warren Ellis again stepping up with remarkable restraint and incredible intuitiveness. Basic loop structures are introduced with very little else added to the mix; a spare piano, a lone guitar and a simple rhythm are usually the rest of the performances. The bare atmosphere that is created throughout the album makes it something dark and timeless.

Push The Sky Away is subtle masterpiece that is diminished only by the artist’s already impressive catalog. But to be honest, after my own repeated listens there is nothing else in the man’s work that I’d rather listen to at this moment.

Whitesnake Guitarist Releases Album That Isn't Called 'Vandenberg'

Not to be confused with 'Heading For A Storm'

I’ll say this about David Coverdale: he’s got good taste in guitarists.

And that goes for his recent axe-slinger, too: Doug Aldrich. Mr. Aldrich has some impressive chops, and he also possesses Mr. Coverdale’s penchant for regularly visiting hair salons and tanning beds. Understand that I say this out of pure jealously that they have hair to warrant even going to hair salons.

Now is the time more Mr. Aldrich to introduce the world to the band he was in before he sold them down the river to cater to David Coverdale’s quest for a new Whitesnake guitarist.

I’m pretty sure the reason you’ve never heard of Burning Rain before now is because they sucked, but just in case you need to find out for yourself, here we go again with another promotional blurb.

Frontiers Records is pleased to announce the release of bluesy hard rockers Burning Rain's third studio album, Epic Obsession, on May 21^st in North America.  Burning Rain was founded by current Whitesnake axeman Doug Aldrich together with singer Keith St. John (ex-Montrose). The line-up for the new album is rounded out by Sean McNabb on bass (ex-Quiet Riot, Dokken, House of Lords) and Mat Starr on drums (Ace Frehley). Epic Obsession comes after a long hiatus from the release of the band's second album, Pleasure To Burn, in 2000.  

Of Epic Obsession, Aldrich commented, "I think we have a good batch of songs that will stand up. It's a melodic blues rock approach to the sound.  It's really the only thing I have done outside of Whitenake in the last ten years."  Frontiers Records will be also be reissuing the long out-of-print first two albums from Burning Rain, the self-titled debut (released in 1999) and the aforementioned Pleasure To Burn. Both albums will be repackaged and remastered and will contain two added bonus tracks to each respective album.  Burning Rain's previous efforts received great acclaim in Japan and the UK prior to Aldrich being tapped as guitarist for Whitesnake in 2002, with Melodic Rock.com declaring, "Great quality song writing...fantastic production that rivals any others out there.  For fans of classic blues influenced hard rock there will be few albums to rival this record..."

EPIC OBSESSION track listing:

1.    Sweet Little Baby Thing

2.    The Cure

3.    Till You Die

4.    Heaven Gets Me By

5.    Pray Out Loud

6.    Our Time Is Gonna Come

7.    Too Hard To Break

8.    My Lust Your Fate

9.    Made For Your Heart

10.  Ride The Monkey

11.  Out In The Cold Again

12.  When Can I Believe In Love

13.  Kashmir*

14.  Heaven Gets Me By (acoustic version)*

*bonus tracks

Simple Minds - Once Upon A Time

The art of buying a record sight (or sound, as it were, in this case) unseen is a precarious one. There are those titles where the purchase are solely because the covers are so awesome (Iron Maiden’s Killer and Trio’s debut album immediately come to mind) and then you discover how great the music inside the sleeve.

Then there are those records that you buy because your friends-or some dumbass music blogger-recommend them. This is usually a bit more successful than the cover art method, particularly if your friend or favorite music blogger happen to have an idea of your personal tastes.

When in doubt, always begin your recommendation with James Brown’s Star Time box set.

Finally, there are those sight unseen purchases that are based entirely on the success or experience with previous records. Usually, these are the ones that you put into your shopping cart before the record is even released. The Police’s Synchronicity immediately comes to mind, as at least a dozen friends that I knew of mindlessly pre-ordered an album that had no chance of ever being out of stock.

And until I’d had enough after NYC Ghosts & Flowers, I used to religiously purchase Sonic Youth records the same week they were offered.

But there is one record buy that I’ll never forget which came from the love of one song so awesome that it’s still popular today, and used as a reference point when waxing nostalgic about the 80’s decade.

Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” wasn’t even written by the band, a Scottish outfit that had their obligatory roots in punk rock before changing their sound so dramatically that they are mainly known as part of the New Romantic movement.

Unlike Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet, nobody in America ever heard of Simple Minds. You’d have a couple of geeks that claimed to be fans since “Promised You A Miracle,” but the reality is that tune barely got airplay until the band got tapped to sing a Keith Forsey tune that both Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry turned down previously.

I think that “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” is so good that it would have been a chart-topper even without the help of The Breakfast Club. With that being said, the placement of that song in John Hughes film is priceless, and it will forever be tied with that cultural touchstone.

It was so good that when Simple Minds prepared to release their first album after the enormous success of “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” I was at the front of the line.

Once Upon A Time is a record completely motivated by that fact that it would be gobbled up by schmucks like me, and it’s blatant commercial production was designed with the hopes that something within its paltry eight tracks would stick to the brains of us dumb Americans.

And who better than Jimmy Iovine than to concoct the correct mix for us dumb Americans?

Actually, the downfall of Once Upon A Time isn’t Iovine’s fault at all, because the record sounds positively gorgeous, even a quarter-century later. No, where the record begins to come apart is during the creative conception of the material.

Clearly, Simple Minds had world domination in mind with this record, incorporating elements of American soul, gospel and disco into Jim Kerr’s lyrical activism and social commentary. When there were matters of the heart, Kerr tackles the subject with such a heavy hand.

With “Alive And Kicking,” the record’s first single and most notable entry, finds Kerr with a call and response with vocalist Robin Clark (former Chic vocalist and wife to guitarist Carlos Alomar, for all you Bowie freaks), asking such weighty questions like “Who’s got the touch to calm the storm inside?”

The arrogance of what is nothing more than a simple love song is smothering, so credit Iovine again for matching such pretentiousness with an equally grandiose arrangement.

There’s no way that what you’re hearing on Once Upon A Time started life with the same sounds and tones that you get on record. They are so bloated beyond mortal men that it transcends Simple Minds from a rock band into a slogan, and that slogan has its own soundtrack.

But because that soundtrack is for a slogan with world domination on its mind instead of a detention party for Brat Pack teens, Once Upon A Time rings like a hollow Wyclef Jean charity. The band carries a big megaphone but has very little to say, turning the entire record into less of a Scottish band of socially aware men and more of a farm-league U2.

By the time listeners get to side two, they’re greeted with “Oh Jungleland,” an attempt to channel the youthful musical fruits of Glasgow from the perspective of a wise, old sage who witnesses their creativity and drive with pride and support.

The “wise, old sage” is Kerr, who would have been 25 years old at the time “Oh Jungleland” was written, a fact that does little to add to the credibility of such lines as “You’ve got the love drugs/You’ve got the long nights/You’ve got the heartbeat that spirals to Heaven.”

If there ever was a time to enjoy the “love drugs” and “long nights”, it’s when you’re 25 years old. So the fact that Kerr and Simple Minds were sitting on the sidelines watching such Scottish bands like Orange Juice or Jesus and Mary Chain with envy or admiration is a testament to their own priorities and how much they compromised in their quest to get America to notice them.

Instead of channeling their youthful exuberance into music with passion, Simple Minds chose the route of mainstream acceptance and then had the silly notion that it all had to mean something more than it really was.

Once Upon A Time is the unfortunate result of their lofty expectations, and it wouldn’t be too long before audiences caught wind of the huge gap between Simple Minds’ own self-importance and the reality that their entire career was based on a pop song that even The Fixx turned down.

No shit.

To even suggest that the band somehow warranted the title of social commentators is utterly ridiculous, yet here they are on Once Upon A Time hiring a big name producer to tidy up their unwelcomed worldview.

Hopefully, all of this narrative and irrelevant back-story paints somewhat of a clear picture of the disappointment in my poor vetting process with this record. Once Upon A Time was clearly intended to capitalize on the success of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” while forging a path in utter contempt of it.

More Japandroids Dates

...And not an Iowa date among them.

Bummer.

Japandroids on tour 2013:

3/08 -- New Orleans, LA -- BUKU Music & Art Project
3/09 -- Winter Park, CO -- Snowball Festival
3/12 -- Austin, TX -- SXSW -- Viceland w/ Divine Fits, Wavves, etc
3/13 -- Austin, TX -- SXSW --- The Mohawk w/ Iggy & The Stooges, Ghostface Killah, etc
3/15 -- Mexico City, Mexico -- Vive Latino Festival
3/21 -- Bristol, England -- Bristol Academy*
3/22 -- Bristol, England -- Bristol Academy*
3/23 -- Leeds, England -- Leeds Academy*
3/24 -- Glasgow, Scotland -- Glasgow Academy*
3/25 -- Glasgow, Scotland -- Glasgow Academy*
3/27 -- Manchester, England -- Manchester Academy*
3/28 -- Manchester, England -- Manchester Academy*
3/29 -- London, England -- Troxy*
3/30 -- London, England -- Troxy*
4/01 -- Dusseldorf, Germany-- Mitsubishi Hall*
4/03 -- Copenhagen, Denmark -- Store Vega*
4/04 -- Oslo, Norway -- Rockefeller*
4/05 -- Stockholm, Sweden -- Berns*
4/06 -- Gothenburg, Sweden -- Tragarn*
4/12 -- Indio, CA -- Coachella
4/15 -- Santa Barbara, CA -- Velvet Jones^
4/16 -- Oakland, CA -- New Parish^
4/17 -- Oakland, CA --    New Parish^
4/19 -- Indio, CA -- Coachella
4/22 -- Pomona, CA -- Glasshouse^
5/24 -- George, WA -- Sasquatch Festival
5/27 -- Milwaukee, WI -- Turner Hall Ballroom+
5/28 -- Indianapolis, IN -- The Vogue+
5/29 -- Lawrence, KS -- Granada Theatre+
5/31 -- Austin, TX -- Emo's East+
6/01 -- Houston, TX -- Free Press Fest
6/03 -- Baton Rouge, LA -- Spanish Moon+
6/05 -- Carrboro, NC -- Cats Cradle+
6/08 -- New York, NY -- Governors Ball
6/09 -- Detroit, MI -- Orion Festival
6/11 -- Chicago, IL -- Metro
6/12 -- Columbus, OH -- Newport Music Hall
6/13 -- Manchester, TN -- Bonnaroo
6/15 -- Louisville, KY -- Headliners Music Hall
6/16 -- Pittsburgh, PA -- Mr Smalls Theatre
6/20 -- Charlottesville, VA-- Jefferson Theatre
6/21 -- Baltimore, MD -- Ottobar
6/22-6/23 -- Dover, DE -- Firefly Fesitval
7/12 -- Lisbon, Portugal -- Optimus Alive Festival
* with The Gaslight Anthem
^ with Cloud Nothings
+ w/ A Place To Bury Strangers

Warner Bros Records Announces Their Record Store Day Goodies

Some of the first items available for 2013's Record Store Day are starting to be announced, including the offerings from the still-standing Warner Bros. Records.

I'm not sure how the Zaireeka on vinyl thing would work and I imagine the end results would be pretty horrendous when trying to time everything up just perfectly, particularly with the differences in speed between the turntables.

But whatever turns you on, I guess, it's your list. Start savin'.

WARNER BROS. RECORDS AND AFFILIATED LABELS ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE VINYL RELEASES FOR RECORD STORE DAY ON SATURDAY, APRIL 20TH EXCLUSIVE VINYL PACKAGES AVAILABLE FROM THE BLACK KEYS, TEGAN AND SARA, LINKIN PARK, THE FLAMING LIPS, GARY CLARK JR., DEFTONES, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, AND MORE

**As these Limited Edition vinyl pressings and soon-to-be-rare artifacts are designated for Record Store Day ONLY, promo review copies will not be available.  Let's keep the culture of independent record stores alive.  Support the cause. Support vinyl. Support your love of music on Sat. Apr 20, 2013. Rick Gershon WBR Publicity

March 4, 2013 - (Burbank, CA) - Warner Bros. Records, an official sponsor of Record Store Day has announced its annual participation featuring a series of vinyl albums and singles available on Saturday April 20th exclusively in honor of everyone's favorite holiday: a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 1,000 independently owned record stores in the U.S., and hundreds of similar stores internationally. We are excited to reveal that our very special, Limited-Edition, Exclusive releases are as follows: Avenged Sevenfold: "Carry On" - One disc vinyl 12" Picture Disc - Limited to 5000 copies The A-side is the studio track Carry On, which is featured in Activision's video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.  This song was written specifically for the game and released on Sept. 25, 2012.  The B-side features the instrumental version which has been previously unreleased. This picture disc is limited and features the Call of Duty: Black Ops II artwork and Avenged Sevenfold's Deathbat. Avenged Sevenfold  "Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough" 12" vinyl LP and DVD Deluxe Edition - Limited to 3500 copies For Record Store Day 2013, on the 5 year anniversary of the Live in the LBC performance, we have produced a limited vinyl/DVD configuration, pressed on vinyl for the first time in a deluxe gatefold jacket and mastered by Bernie Grundman. This release contains both the first live concert film from Avenged Sevenfold "Live in the LBC" filmed live on April 10, 2008 as well as "Diamonds in the Rough", an offering of previously unreleased B-sides and more. The CD/DVD configuration was released September 16, 2008 and has since been certified Platinum. Biffy Clyro: "Black Chandelier" - 7" EP - Limited to 2,000 copies Pressed on limited-edition black and clear splattered vinyl for the first time and featuring an energetic and unreleased live performance of the new single Black Chandelier from the new Opposites album. This was recorded at Kaufleuten, Zurich-Switzerland on January 19, 2013. Also features a previously unreleased B-side, City of Dreadful Night. The Black Keys / The Stooges: "No Fun" Split 7" Colored vinyl Single - Limited to 7,500 copies This year's Side by Side Vinyl Series features The Stooges '69 classic track on one side and The Black Keys updated 2002 take on the flip side pressed on orange & red sunburst vinyl. Very Limited so grab it before it's gone for good.  Bombino: "Azamane Tiliade/Si Chilan"- 10" Single - Limited to 3,000 copies Nonesuch Records releases Nomad, from the Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Omara "Bombino" Moctar and his band, on April 2nd. The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, who just won the GRAMMY Award for Producer of the Year, helmed the recording at his Nashville studio, Easy Eye Sound. On Record Store Day, Nonesuch will release a 10" with the album track "Azamane Tiliade" and an exclusive non-album B-side, "Si Chilan."Mastered at Bernie Grundman Studios and pressed by Pirates Press, which means it sounds real good. Built To Spill: "Live" - Two-disc vinyl LP and CD Deluxe Edition - Limited to 2,500 copies An absolutely stunning collection of seminal Built To Spill songs recorded live during the band's 1999 "Keep It Like A Secret" tour. Originally released on April 18, 2000, on both vinyl (on Up Records) and CD (on Warner Bros. Records). The vinyl configuration initially contained two bonus tracks "Forget Remember When" and "Now and Then," which have now been included on the limited-edition CD in celebration of this release and Record Store Day. Naturally, it's cut for vinyl at Bernie Grundman Mastering especially for your sonic delight. Cream: "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" - Three-disc vinyl LP box set with book Deluxe Edition - Limited to 1,500 copies A sensational and historic reunion concert performed and recorded May 2, 3, 5, & 6 in 2005 and released for the first time in October of that same year - released on DVD, CD, and vinyl. Now available for the first time in over five years and for the first time ever, we have produced a limited edition of this box set on CREAM-colored vinyl in celebration of Record Store Day 2013 and this important recording. Half Speed mastering from Stan Ricker for the ultimate audiophile quality. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: "Patterns" - One-disc vinyl 12" EP - Limited to 3,000 copies Another RSD Exclusive 12"-vinyl EP includes digital download card. Details forthcoming but suffice to say, this is wondrous stuff. This one-time-only 12" artifact was made just for you and will disappear fast. You know what to do. Deftones: Live: Volume 1 - Selections from Adrenaline - One disc vinyl 12" EP - Quantity N/A Songs from Adrenaline hand-picked by Deftones and recorded live at Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York, on Oct. 13, 1996. The initial release in a series of seven vinyl exclusive releases with the first release being a Record Store Day exclusive and the last planned to be a Black Friday independent exclusive retail release. Finally, the light of day has come.Cut for vinyl by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios from the original live analog sources and pressed on both 120- and 180-gram highest-quality vinyl at Record Technology Inc. Eli "Paperboy" Reed: "WooHoo" / "Call Your Boyfriend" - 7" vinyl EP - Limited to 3,000 copies Eli "Paperboy" Reed is an emerging talent who already has two albums under his belt, 2008's Roll With You and 2010's Come & Get It, which earned the soul singer an especially loyal fan following in Europe - so much so that Reed was nominated as "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" by Britain's Mojo magazine. For the singer's upcoming Warner Bros. debut album, Eli takes his affinity for classic Chicago soul and blends it with a newfound respect for modern pop music. The result is a collection of songs that extend far beyond his neo-Motown roots. In the meantime, this release features a new song, "WooHoo,"and a reinterpreted version of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend," aptly titled "Call Your Boyfriend." The Flaming Lips:  Zaireeka- Four-disc different colored vinyl 12" - Limited to 7,500 copies Fans and critics agree that this is one of the most important and invigorating experimental albums in contemporary pop music. Four discs, designed to be played on cue and simultaneously, producing nothing short of a symphonic experience. Re-mastered by the band especially for this release at Bernie Grundman Mastering in celebration of this record and Record Store Day 2013, with unique art and packaging (Including a 12pg booklet) w/ limited to this release.. Once these are gone...they are GONE. Foals: "Holy Fire" - One-disc vinyl 12" LP plus two song 7"-colored vinyl EP - Limited to 5,000 copies Domestic vinyl exclusive of the celebrated new album, in visually stunning package featuring an additionaltwo-song 7" EP pressed on gold vinyl featuring the exclusive tracks "Bluebird" and "My Number (Friendly Fires Remix)." We've included a download card that can be redeemed for the entire album plus 7" single content. You're welcome! Gary Clark, Jr.: "HWUL Raw Cuts Vol. 2" - 12" EP colored vinyl - Limited to 1,000 copies Over 20 minutes of music and performance mastery available for the first time in all of its analog glory. Vol. 2 features a blistering live performance of "When My Train Comes In" as well as a studio version of the track off his hit album Blak And Blu. A beautifully crafted limited edition offering mastered at 45 rpm and cut by Bernie Grundman Mastering for maximum vibes. Iron & Wine: "Next to Paradise" / " Dirty Ocean" - 7" Single - Limited to 3,300 copies Iron and Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost on Ghost in the U.S. on April 16. Ghost on Ghostis the fifth release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam, using the pen name Iron and Wine. The album was produced by Beam's longtime associate Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Califone, Fruit Bats). This special 7" includes two exclusive tracks unavailable anywhere else but on this lovely one time only pressing just for RSD. Cut by, you guessed it, Bernie Grundman and pressed at Pallas MFG (Diepholz, Germany) for your supreme listening pleasure. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory  - One disc vinyl LP plus two song 10" EP, Exclusive poster and sticker - Limited to 3,000 copies The arresting debut album that came to be known by fans and critics alike as one of The Premiere Albums of The Decade!  Originally released on October 24, 2000, the album has sold over 10 million copies in the United States alone, where it has since been certified Diamond.  Around the world, the album would also garner Multiple Platinum status in over a dozen countries. Hybrid Theory still stands as a contemporary classic in the world of modern rock and alternative music. The bonus 10" EP contains the tracks "One Step Closer" and "My December". This pressing will also contain long out of print poster and original street team sticker re-productions.Here it is reissued on vinyl for the first time in over a decade and cut by Bernie Grundman Mastering to insure the highest possible audio standard. LP: "Into The Wild - Live At EastWest Studios" - Limited Edition 12" Vinyl EP - Limited to 2,000 copies Another Record Store Day Exclusive masterpiece from this critically loved and incomparable songwriter and vocalist LP captured completely live without overdubs just the way nature intended. Originally on CD only, this first-time vinyl pressing contains a previously unavailable bonus track "It's Over." Her Warner Bros. debut album will be released later this year.Your friends at Bernie Grundman mastered this with you in mind. Punch Brothers:  "Ahoy!" - 33 1/3 rpm Vinyl EP - Quantity N/A Nonesuch Records released Punch Brothers' five-song EP Ahoy! digitally and on CD last November. Now on vinyl for the first time, the EP has been pressed on 10" vinyl for Record Store Day, and includes songs by Josh Ritter ("Another New World"), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings ("Down Along the Dixie Line"), Punch Brothers ("Squirrel of Possibility"), and Mclusky ("Icarus Smicarus"), along with one traditional tune, arranged by Punch Brothers ("Moonshiner"). Originallyrecorded during the Nashville sessions for their critically acclaimed 2012 album Who's Feeling Young Now?, these tracks were produced by Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse). Cut by Chris Bellman (Bernie Grundman Studios) and pressed at Pallas MFG (Diepholz, Germany) because, sound matters! Surfer Blood: "Demon Dance" - One disc Colored Vinyl 7" EP - Limited to 5,000A special early look at Surfer Blood's new album PYTHONS, out June 11th featuring the single "Demon Dance" and another previously unreleased album track "Slow Six" pressed on exclusive tri colored- Navy, Blue and White vinyl. Tegan and Sara: Closer Remixed  - One-disc vinyl 12" EP - Limited to 5,000 An exclusive selection of remixes of the hit single "Closer" from Tegan and Sara's revered new album Heartthrob, assembled and released on vinyl in celebration of the album, as special thanks to fans and independent record stores on Record Store Day 2013. Closer Remixed includes 10 exclusive remixes of the new single by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Morgan Page, Until The Ribbon Breaks, The Knocks, Bradley Hale, Yeasayer, Chris Walla, Damian Taylor, Ted Gowans and C-ro & Sofa. About Record Store Day: Record Store Day is managed by the Music Monitor Network and is organized in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and celebrates the culture of independent record stores by playing host to in-store events/performances, signings and special product releases on a global scale on Saturday, April 20th, 2013. For more about Record Store Day, please visit www.recordstoreday.com.

Documentary of The National To Open Tribeca Film Festival

Guess which brother is in a rock band and which one is the film maker.

More news from The National, this time from the "I'm so glad my brother is in the band" department.

From the email, painstakingly formatted into a blog post:

New York, NY (February 28, 2013)—The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced that the world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers, executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry and produced by Matt Berninger, Carin Besser and Craig Charland, will open the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express. Director Tom Berninger chronicles his experience on tour with his brother, The National’s frontman Matt Berninger, in this funny and affecting film, which will also play during the Festival’s 12^th edition. The premiere, taking place on Wednesday, April 17, will be followed by a special performance by The National. The Festival will run through April 28.

Mistaken for Strangers follows The National on its biggest tour to date. Newbie roadie Tom (lead singer Matt Berninger’s younger brother) is a heavy metal and horror movie enthusiast, and can’t help but put his own spin on the experience. Inevitably, Tom’s moonlighting as an irreverent documentarian creates some drama for the band on the road. The film is a hilarious and touching look at two very different brothers and an entertaining story of artistic aspiration.

“Mistaken for Strangers exemplifies the independent spirit and vitality that Tribeca is excited to showcase every year,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer. “We are thrilled to open with a film that embodies the journey of an independent filmmaker, and is at its core a highly personal and lighthearted story about brotherly love. It will be a great night of both indie film and music.”

“We’re really happy to premiere this movie at Tribeca, as New York has been home to us for these past 15 years,” Matt Berninger said. “I was happy to give my brother whatever access he needed. I just didn’t expect this movie to include shower scenes.”
“When my brother asked me along on tour as a roadie, I thought I might as well bring a camera to film the experience,” explained director Tom Berninger. “What started as a pretty modest tour documentary has, over the last two and a half years, grown into something much more personal, and hopefully more entertaining. It’s a huge thrill to be showing this movie at the Tribeca Film Festival.”

The National band members include Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Bryan Devendorf and Scott Devendorf. In 2010 the band released High Violet, which sold more than half a million copies worldwide. A brand new studio album from The National is slated for a May release on 4AD with a world tour to follow.
The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 5 and 6, 2013.

About the Tribeca Film Festival:
The Tribeca Film Festival helps filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enabling the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center. It is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors.

Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture, the Festival brings the industry and community together around storytelling.

The Tribeca Film Festival has screened more than 1,400 films from more than 80 countries since its first edition in 2002. Since inception, it has attracted an international audience of more than 4 million attendees and has generated an estimated $750 million in economic activity for New York City.

About the 2013 Festival Sponsors
As Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, American Express is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking, bringing business and energy to New York City and offering Cardmembers and festivalgoers the opportunity to enjoy the best of storytelling through film.

The Tribeca Film Festival is pleased to announce the return of its Signature Sponsors: Accenture, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bloomberg, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Brookfield, Cadillac, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, ESPN, GE FOCUS FORWARD (in partnership with cinelan), Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Heineken USA, JetBlue, Magnum® Ice Cream, NBC 4 New York, NCM Media Networks, The New York Times, and OppenheimerFunds, as well as its Cultural Partner the Doha Film Institute. The Festival is also honored to welcome the following new Signature Sponsors: IWC Schaffhausen, PepsiCo.

Tickets for the 2013 Festival:
Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8.00 for all late night and weekday matinee screenings.

Advance selection ticket packages and passes go on sale Monday, March 4 for American Express Cardmembers, and on Monday, March 11 for the general public. All advance selection packages and passes can be purchased online at www.tribecafilm.com/festival, or by telephone at (646) 502-5296 or toll free at (866) 941-FEST (3378).

Single ticket and discounted ticket package sales begin Tuesday, April 9 for American Express Cardmembers, Sunday, April 14 for downtown residents, and Monday, April 15 for the general public. Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Chelsea Clearview Cinemas at 260 W. 23rd Street, and AMC Loews Village VII at 66 3rd Avenue. The 2013 Festival will continue offering ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Discounted ticket packages can only be purchased online and by phone. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.

The National Announce New Album And Summer 2013 Tour

Some recent activity in the National camp as the band wraps a new record and plans a new tour.

Here's some garbage that clogged up my email that wasn't from Condoms Depot.

[Brooklyn, NY, February 25, 2013] -- Following the announcement of their return to New York on June 5th at Barclay’s Center, The National are pleased to announce their North American and European summer tour. The tour begins on May 16th and covers the eastern United States and Canada before heading to Europe.. Highlights include Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee in June and Cincinnati's Bunbury music festival on July 14.

A brand new studio album from The National is slated for a May release on 4AD. This forthcoming release is follow up to the critically acclaimed High Violet (2010), which brought the band global critical and commercial success. People Magazine described the album as “stellar, moody atmospherics.” and Rolling Stone called it “a seductive collection of subtly surging anti-anthems, with evocative lyrics about the terrors and unexpected joys of adult life.”

Formed in 1999, The National consists of vocalist Matt Berninger and two pairs of brothers: Aaron (guitar, bass, piano) and Bryce Dessner (guitar), and Scott (bass, guitar) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). Their first full-lengths, The National and Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers, and a crucial mini-album, Cherry Tree, preceded their signing to Beggars Banquet in 2004. Alligator (2005), included underground anthem “Mr. November,” and raised their profile as the National grew into an incendiary live band. Boxer (2007), featuring songs like “Fake Empire”, “Mistaken For Strangers” and “Start A War,” sold over three times as many copies as its predecessor and saw them transformed from underground stars into a rock institution. In 2010 High Violet was released on 4AD and has sold 300,000 copies in the US.

Both individually and collectively The National’s members have been involved in countless artistic, charitable and socio-political pursuits.

5/16: State Theater Ithaca, NY
6/05: Barclay's Center Brooklyn, NY
6/06: Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD
6/07: Mann Center for Performing Arts Philadelphia, PA
6/08: The National Richmond, VA
6/10: Red Hat Amphitheatre Raleigh, NC
6/11: Stage AE Pittsburgh, PA
6/13: Lachine Canal Montreal, Canada
6/14: Yonge Dundas Square Toronto, Canada
6/15: LC Pavilion Columbus, OH
6/13-6/16: Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN
6/21: Hurricane Festival Scheessel, Germany
6/22: Southside Festival Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany
6/25: Cirque Royal Brussels, Belgium
6/28: Live At The Marquee Cork, Ireland
6/30: Parco Della Musica Rome, Italy
7/01: City Sound Festival Milan, Italy
7/02: Salata Zagreb, Croatia
7/14: Cincinnati, OH Bunbury Festival

Samuel Locke Ward - Panther Puss: The Lame Years Vol. 2

In case you missed it, Iowa City’s resident aural weirdo and bottomless pit of creativity, Samuel Locke Ward, has deemed 2013 to be “The Lame Years” and made a half-hearted vow to release a new album every month for the entire year.

The “half-hearted” jibe is the result of his clarification that he can pull out of his mock contract with fans at any time during the 12-month period, Ward could back out of the schedule and miss a month or so. From what I understand, SLW and his wife just had their first baby, so experience should indicate that this goal is probably going to be a tough one to complete.

Experience also shows that the more you try to throw against the wall to see what sticks, the more shit you’ll have to clean up when it’s all over. But S.L.W. has been running at a break-neck release schedule for some time now, and while it’s proven to include some filler, the ratio is surprisingly low.

For The Lame Years second release, Panther Puss, the ratio dips even lower. The February release is a more acoustic affair where as Volume 1 took a more electronic approach, which was good if not a bit harder to appreciate.

Samuel Locke Ward thrives in the acoustic setting as it forces him to rely on his keen sense of song structure instead of the plethora of distracting audio and instrument gadgets that always seem to be close by.

The strongest of the lot-“Swastika Eyes”-may be his best song to date, sung in a desperate register while his vocal dubbed companion tackles a higher one on the right channel. “The master race spiel has me yawning every time” he admits, “And your new hate-do has me rolling my eyes.”

The politics are an exaggeration (hopefully), but the song’s overall message-coming to terms with the pink elephant of a relationship, and having that colorful pachyderm the reason for splitting-is something that lots of couples have had to endure. While the decision may be easy, the love that is lost in the process still hurts, even when it’s morally necessary.

S.L.W. cleverly follows the track with one entitled “A Terrible Man Will Lead Us,” and whoever that leader is-Bush, Obama, Hitler-is a matter of your own perception, as Sam isn’t one to offer many hints.

Otherwise, Panther Puss is more of the same low-fi zaniness complete with strange vocal takes against a backdrop of surprisingly straightforward arrangements. Think Sun City Girls without the world-view instrumentation and with more personal politics as the primary motivator.

Ward isn’t one to specify who’s responsible for his discontent, he merely reports. And from the front line, it’s an existence of finding canned bargains in the damaged item rack (“Gimmie Canned Food”), dealing with people who lack any semblance of empathy for the human race (“Why Should I Care?”), and how his college town world is suddenly filled with bad people instead of the far-fetched notion that Iowa City’s free-spirit liberals have kept it clear of the same bullshit that impacts everyone else (“Shitty Streets”).

It’s one thing to document your everyday trial and tribulations, but to do it in such a fascinating manner is something that’s only reserved for those with the talent to make it so compulsory. Samuel Locke Ward possesses that talent, and Panther Puss suggests that his “Lame Years” project is neither lame or suffering from its assembly-line release schedule.

Chocolate Reign: Billboard Top 100 More Accurately Reflects How Awful Our Music Really Is

My father was the first person who taught me about musical genres.

When I was a young child, I questioned why my old man didn’t dig the catchy tunes by the Monkees or the Archies.

“Because it’s bubble gum music.”

I pressed to understand more, because I certainly loved my Bubble Yum and that “Last Train To Clarksville” sounded pretty rad, back in the day.

I learned that “Bubble Gum music” was anything intentionally produced with the primary goal of creating a hit through appealing to the lowest common denominator of the listener. It was supported by teenagers-my dad’s words-who had little appreciation for music itself, as evidenced by the manufactured sounds of the 1910 Fruitgum Company or whoever the band was that did “Yummy Yummy Yummy.”

I bring all of this up as we get ready to enter another era of Bubble Gum music, and the manufacturers of our most recent example will not longer be the result of production lines of faceless Salieri, churning out this carb-rich drab. Instead, the drab will be the by-product of an endless parade of no-talent amateurs, their success fueled by the fickle web surfer who will forget about the performer right around the time someone uploads the next cute cat video to YouTube.

Yes, the internet behemoth will now be considered on the increasing irrelevant Billboard Hot 100 charts, when calculating the hits that Americans listen to the most.

Personally, I don’t quite get the whole YouTube as a music player thing, but I have tons of friends that use it to discover and reminisce about music. It’s big enough that it would be stupid not to use it as part of the Billboard data, even though the decision will most certainly reflect the god-awful taste in music that this country has.

It will also enable the global shitstorm of poor music to invade our country, making way for the next “Gangnam Style” ad infinite.

Do you want to know the first song that I thought of when the YouTube on Billboard story was announced? That stupid “Chocolate Rain” song. How long before the next radio voice with a Yamaha keyboard begins their ascension into Casey’s Top 40? Are we setting these amateurs up for even more airtime than they are worth, invading our screens with the obligatory One Hit Wonders specials when the next decade rolls around?

Straight Outta SNES

Because I cannot handle anymore Tay Zonday.

My kids know an impressive amount of Top 40 music, and there is real joy in listening to them sing along, mimicking emotion and pretending like they have a clue about romantic love. At the end of the day, I would rather they sing Taylor Swift over Rebecca Black. While one may be manufactured and simple, the other one is an egocentric offering that needs a firewall that prevents them from sharing their limited talents with a population that doesn’t know any better.

In years past, a few of them have gotten through nationally (Timmy T., anyone?) it will be nothing like the Chocolate Rain enema that will flush out every musical meme right on to Joel Whitburn’s wallpaper.

It’d be a goddamn outrage if anyone actually gave a shit about the Top 100 anymore.

The xx - Coexist

“Therapy is in love with you as I am” begins “Angels,” the first song from The XX’s sophomore effort, Coexist. For me, my therapy is focusing on why I fell in love with The xx’s debut in the first place.

The spacious atmospherics, the primitive arrangements, and the deadpanned deliveries all captured my heart, and the fact that it sounded nothing like anything else for that point in time were all good reasons to catch my eye.

Now, t

hat eye is beginning to wander as the band has returned with more of the same formula with some fancier window dressing. Coexist is presented with a much more polished blend, incorporating EDM elements (specifically beats) throughout the gloom, in an obvious attempt to garnish more fans to huddle next to their mope while they people watch with contempt at the club.

The socialization is alarming, and it makes me want to go back to my original review and dock a few stars from it. Because I feel like I have been taken for the proverbial ride with Coexist.

Whatever charm and credibility that came from the debut has been lost with The xx’s choice to become the darlings of mope for as many disenchanted youth as they can.

Don’t get me wrong, the desire to become as successful as one can be is not necessarily grounds for termination. But when you’ve created an image of invisibility and a sound that attempts to capture the overwhelming loneliness of youthful hearts breaking, you also develop a commitment to those listeners that the common emotion is real.

And there is the problem with Coexist; I can tell you if these emotions are real or entirely contrived out of a desire for mainstream rewards. Everything is so packaged, produced, and perfected that I don’t doubt for a second that XX can put together 11 songs of personal turmoil any more.  

While their debut seemed like the result of some very harsh years, perfectly reflected through one personally appointed debut. Coexist on the other hand, makes it sound like Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim are part of the image machine to begin with, walking each step of their existence with intentional purpose.

Which makes all of their depressive undertones come off as trite and disingenuous. And with traits like that, coexisting is the last of my thoughts.

 

Let this review serve as my Dear John letter to The xx.