Q: You should sell your body on eBay. Yeah, I think so. Apparently, I do have an incredible immune system. I had hepatitis C and cured it by myself.
Q: How? Just by being me.
Q: Do you regret not moisturizing your face? No. I leave that up to other people.
Q: Ever think about getting Botox? No one's ever talked me into doing that. You're lucky if you walk out of there alive. God bless you.
Q: Are you still cutting your own hair? You've done that all your life, right? Yes. I did this bit here yesterday. [holds up a few strands on the side of his head] Also, I'm letting the dye grow out, since I'm not on the road. If the wife likes it, I'll keep it.
Former Pavement singer Stephen Malkmus has proven me wrong! I actually thought his best days were behind him but then I stumbled upon his MySpace site that right now stream his entire new album 'Real Emotional Trash' made with backing band 'the Jicks'.
Slow, nasty guitar hooks introduces the opener 'Dragonfly Pie' and sets the tone of an album inspired by 60's and 70's psychedelic hard rock. Think early Sabbath and Neil Young's extensive guitar passages. All this wonderfullly mixed with the usual Malkmus-like quirky playfulness.
I do not hesitate to put this album on par with anything Pavement ever did. Actually, you will be hard pressed to find a more cohesive set of songs throughout Malkmus' career. '*Real Emotional Trash' is loaded with killer songs!! Sometimes it's quite nice to be wrong...
If you would like some off-beat acoustic versions of some of the songs, go see the French 'La Blogotheque'.
Over at ClapClap they've way too much time on their hands. But they spend it wise and have gone absolutely beserk in analyzing the recording history of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It's extensive -- and I mean extensive - complete with graphs and stuff. Definitely fascinating.
Here is a danish version sung by legendary Steffen Brandt and his young apprentice Tina Dickow (Dico). So if you don't know the danish language... enjoy!
Ok, I know Rasmus already posted on this but I just have to give my two cents on Neil Young's double header here in Copenhagen tonight and tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the one for us at Indie Laundry and I'm almost peeing myself in excitement.
What better way to mark this than to broadcast two of my absolute Young favorites. 'Cinnamon Girl' is, of course, a classic. Its estatic one-note guitar solo is arguably the most kinky solo ever. The somewhat lesser known 'Ambulance Blues' is pure genious as well, yet completely different and one of Young's many lenghty masterpieces. Favorite detail: the sirening strings that adds a chilling and beautiful mood:
We like to bring good news. The news is that Sigur Rós will be announced to play Roskilde Festival this year. The information has not been confirmed by the festival itself, but it will be. Our source is as close as can be to the band, and it's 99% sure. He reports also that almost every song on their new album is done, except from lyrics and features less strings, no bow and more guitar.
This friday is Y-day at Indielaundry. One of the greatest songwriters of all time is gonna visit Copenhagen. We have seen him before at Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival, but never at a intimate show like the one on friday. A little setlist-research shows, that we can keep our hopes high. On the Continental Tour 2008 he plays two sets - a acoustic/solo set and an electric. A concert-form he has been using since the seventies, like the famous Filmore East show in 1970. The sets presents some of the best songs of his career - all the way back to Buffalo Springfield and at some concerts he even plays the Squires-song 'The Sultan' which was from his first bands first single from 1963. But we can expect a great variation of new and old. And personally I look forward to some of his greatest unreleased songs like 'Sad Movies' and 'Try'. Take a look at these songs from the concert a week ago in Amsterdam. The quality is not excellent, but the music is...
Personal favorite M. Ward has teamed up with beautiful actress Zooey Deschanel. It looks and sounds swell! The album is to be released on the 18th of march.
While we are waiting for the thirteenth(!) full-length Brian Jonestown record to be released on april 15., this video just came in from one of the fanboys. The quality is of course YouTube handheld shite, but you can in fact hear that Anton and the other fools is swinging.
I'm just really into BJM at the moment. Their double retrospective Tepid Peppermint Wonderland sums them up so well: Attitude, psychedelic-era excess, epic cunts, mastery, shoegazing wankers, tambourine gays, and something... more... brilliant that is. And drunk. And controversial and just plain bliss.
So if you don't already know these guys the list below will convince you that they are mad. The list is complete tracklisting for their upcoming album with video-interpretations from Mr. Newcombe himself. Enjoy?!
To me R.E.M is like an old friend you never really leave even though it has dissapointed you several times. I've been buying every album they have released since 1991, so of course I'm curious, even though their last album was downright terrible. Being back with a new album very soon this first take sound refreshing and convincingly super decent. At least the guitar is back! So check this first single from Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Michael Stipe out. It's from the forthcoming Accelerate. On Monday, February 11th, REMHQ will announce details of R.E.M.'s forthcoming European tour.
A little bonus (15/2-2008). The video for Supernatural Superserious directed by Vincent Moon. And if you up for some movie editing, then go http://www.supernaturalsuperserious.com/ . Here you can download all the shooting for the video and then make you own edition of Supernatural Superserious music video.
Of course it's possible to come from the countryside and still be mighty in a very laidback kind of way. The Superimposers is that kind of duo and I just learned about them on one of my favorite BBC-programmes - The Joy of Music with Sean Rowley. Now I'm pretty much mellowed down in the basement by these two guys.
The duo is Dan Warden and Miles Copeland and they are releasing the album 'Harpsichord treacle' in a few days time. The duo plunder the sunshine pop of the 1960's but also finds that showers and shadows is a part of the weathersystem. Altogether the mix is very laidback - dj-style - mellow and surfish. The kind of tunes you'd like in your ears on a summerbreeze while on the beach. The Superimnposers mixes different genres and to me this aural montage, or whatever you'll call it, draws back a lot on some of the nuggets from the 60's. It has Brian Wilson, Gene Clark, but also some Spritulized and stuff like that to it. What I really like about this stuff is that it's so full of warmth and lush symphonic production that you can't help being pleased. Also the vintage instrumentation is spot on. I think these guys deserves more press, so I can't really recommend them enough. In their genre they rock.
The release is on their own brandnew label Wonderfulsound.
I never heard about complaints choirs until the other day. And they are just priceless!
Those complaints choirs are formed to give voice to the complaints of a community. One of the best ones around the globe - these choirs are everywhere! - is the complainers from Helsinki. They are griping about everything from ready-to-assemble furniture, boring dreams, sauna etiquette, icehockey loses to sweden and ringtones in public.
This concept is very interesting in several ways. This is really social networking in it's finest hour. Bring together some angry consumers, start a choir and add some tunes and you've created a music mashup piece. This concept is grown in the underground, but recently BBC started something similar, taking somewhat credit for the idea, which really can't surprise any since public service concepts these days are pure stolen material. So pay your respect to the inventor, finnish artist Tellervo Kalleinen.
Week is already busy and my mind is still on monday. But it's tuesday. And it's busy. And soon it's wedensday and suddenly our life is over. Or wait, it's soon weekend.
To slow us all a bit down, drowse and relax, I've - for once - tried to be on time with a new release. Hot Chip is soon out with a new spinner on DFA/Astralwerks. It's called Made in the Dark.
I'm looking quite forward to hear what the electro-soul of the new Hot Chip album will bring us this time. Since The Warning they've been busy in my iPod and even though I love Coming on Strong as well, the style and momentum found on The Warning is the style I want from these dudes. The laidback attitude carefully designed for those crosscountry busrides, your headphones and the dark spots on the dancefloor.
So far my ears tell me the new album will mix the two poles between the kitchy and yet affecting lyrics and of course have both the deeper quirky ambient sound and the groove to get your head nodding.
My ears also tell my that these guys will join Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Van Halen and The Decemberists this year at the Roskilde Festival. Just guessing, but I'll bet ya!
Sometimes it's just not time for rock or indie. These are the jazztimes. And for some snack-minutes I've felt it. And learned a bit about Dave Brubeck - the shang-chi of the jazzpiano. Check out this 1961 recording of Take Five. The alt-sax is Paul Desmond and the drummer is Joe Morello. He is brilliant. Behold the moment around the 1:45 mark. Such subtle restraint, and then some serious speed to top things off. Just what you need for these small jazztime moments.
GQ has a rambling interview with Keith Richards: 
