Tuesday, June 21st, 2005

We're Just Friends

Oh the perks of fame. I wonder where Chris was going dressed up all fancy-like (save for the gym bag) before the band accosted him? Insert your own “more cowbell” joke – I’m not going there.

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a Wilco post. Let’s rectify that. Jeff Tweedy tells CNN that he’s feeling great now, thanks for asking. He also thinks that becoming a rock star is “a pretty lame goal”, at least as far as his son is concerned. He also tells MLive he’s not impressed with the Michael Jackson media frenzy. The Rocky Mountain News finds there’s still mileage to be gotten out of asking Jeff about A Ghost Is Born and Detroit’s Metro Times asks Nels Cline what it was like being Guitar Player cover boy this past Winter. And Spin ranked Yankee Hotel Foxtrot at #77 on their inane “100 Greatest Albums 1985-2005” list. Full list here (as tends to be my average with these lists, I’ve got 32 of their picks. I’m always around 1/3 cool).

Wilco are wrapping up their Summer touring schedule and will be heading back into the studio to record their sixth album this August. A live CD/DVD will be coming out this Fall just in time for stuffing stockings or giving out as Hallowe’en favours.

Paste asks Joe Pernice about poetry, his past and just what business he has getting happy on Discover A Lovelier You. Interestingly, despite good overall reviews, some fans have really been lashing out against this record. I hear it as another solid but not that different addition to his ouvre – not a watershed moment, but still perfectly worthy. Maybe it’s the slightly glossier 80s-ish production they object to? Pernice has never denied his love of 80s post-punk and new wave, but it’s never been quite so evident in his own work. It’s definitely a ways away from the bummed out orch-pop sound that Pernice was working with on Overcome By Happiness, but hardly obscures the songs. I think some people just like to complain.

Ex-Delgado Emma Pollack isn’t wasting any time in the wake of her band’s dissolution – Pitchfork reports she’s already signed to 4AD as a solo artist with an eye towards releasing her debut album next year.

The New York Daily News gives Dirty On Purpose some love. Jinners has compiled a slew more press clippings from the band’s CD (re-)release party this past weekend for their Sleep Late For A Better Tomorrow EP.

Some shows – The Soundtrack Of Our Loves (TSOOL to their friends and lawyers) are at the Horseshoe July 6 after opening up for Robert Plant at the Amphitheatre, Scout Niblett, who had originally been slated to open the Electrelane show a couple weeks ago, will be at the Horseshoe – for real this time – for her own show August 1, and creepy-esque gothists Cranes are at Lee’s Palace September 15. And tickets for the September 10 Sufjan Stevens show go on sale tomorrow – not today – for $20 a pop at the usual outlets. I’d been saying that I wanted to keep my Summer concert sched relatively light, but with September shows being announced now, I may have done a little too well. So far I’ve got NOTHING going on in August. I find that unsettling.

MuchMusic has a too-short clip of Arcade Fire’s marching band-powered performance of “Rebellion” at this weekend’s MuchMusic Video Awards. I would have really liked to see this but there was no way in hell I was sitting through any of the show/debacle. There is a torrent of it kicking around already, though I haven’t downloaded it yet. From For The Records.

Stylus embarks on their most ambitious “Playing God” column yet, offering up their own revision of Rhino’s Whatever: The ’90s Pop and Culture Box. I started reading it but was quickly overcome by the noxious fumes of high school and university nostalgia. There is shit there that I simply did not EVER need to be reminded of again. Gawd. I fear that if I ever come within 20 feet of the actual box set, I will quite literally spontaneously combust and never be heard from again.

np – The Radio Dept / Lesser Matters

By : Frank Yang at 8:19 am
Category: Uncategorized
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  1. suckingalemon says:

    is the sufjan info available on the ticketmaster site already? because im wondering if im putting it in wrong but how many different ways can you spell sufjan stevens….

    as for the arcade fire, im sure there will be a YSI link out very soon.

    cheers

  2. Frank says:

    it doesn’t look like Ticketmaster has their shit together – there’s nothing listed for Trinity-St Paul’s, either. I will be doing the Horseshoe thing, anyway.

  3. Marc says:

    Any word yet on a new Loose Fur album?

  4. punky! says:

    Ticketmaster never has their shit together. Nothing listed for the WS either. Never rely on them for anything. And why does .ca show me American dates? Why would I be visiting ticketmaster.ca if I wanted to see a show in the U.S.?

  5. John says:

    I happen to tune in for the Arcade Fire performance while channel surfing on Sunday. Luckly MuchMusic’s talking head did a quick thing and got the hell out of the way. I will say this, I now know that I HAVE to see Arcade Fire because that performance was top draw. The marching band was a cool touch.

  6. suckingalemon says:

    id get my tickets from the ‘shoe or rotate (i hate tm surcharges) but im just worried it’s going to sellout fast and ticketmaster eases my worries, hopefully they will have it up by tommorow.

    cheers

  7. dude says:

    mpeg2 of Rebellion @ the mmvas

    http://…/

    You might need a mpeg2 codec though.

    From the arcadefire.net forums.

  8. jason says:

    though i don’t hate the new pernice album, i definitely don’t think it’s that strong & wouldn’t recommend it to potential new fans. the lyrics don’t hold up as well, and though the melodies are strong, none of the songs are getting stuck in my head as on past albums.

    production-wise, the biggest change i noticed is that he buried his vocals underneath the guitars. it’s a strange choice for a pop band and i think it works against them.

    and, yes, i’ve already bought my tix to see them next month. still a fan :)

  9. new-p says:

    mere feet from the rebellion performance it was so cool to be able to hear them separately singing/yelling their parts and everything. more pics of it on my site later this week…

  10. punky! says:

    Were you the guy tapping his water bottle on my desk? It was indeed a GREAT performance. They sounded and looked great. The set is being torn down as we speak.

  11. Frank says:

    Ticketmaster has their Sufjan page up now: http://…/

    re: Loose Fur – all I know is that there WILL be a second Loose Fur record. When? I don’t know – if they’re already working on the next Wilco album, probably not anytime too soon.

  12. Peeko says:

    Yeah, but the new Golden Smog’s coming out late summer, early fall.

  13. bozairzere says:

    but lets talk about the darling buds!!