We may be experimenting with new ways to bring you the news you need, and next week may (let’s say it will) be the start of our new method: Beginning Monday, we’ll be bringing you DAILY news bits, updating you on all the stuff you need. Along the way, you’ll be able to keep up with our OMD updates and jam to our Weekly Playlist, just as you do now! So enjoy this week’s stuffy, Monday-only Music News, and gear up to get more news for your buck beginning next week!
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I may be a little more invested than most in “indie-rockers-accused-of-being-terrorists” stories (I couldn’t help but mention when Godspeed You! Black Emperor was victim to this unfortunate trope in my news about their reunion dates last week) because I once went through the obnoxious debacle of explaining to airport security what a delay pedal was (“so you plug your guitar into this AND an amplifier?”) and them not believing/understanding me, to the point of me almost missing my flight. Yes, at worst it was an inconvenience and the very definition of a first world problem, but nevertheless has stuck with me over the years. So of course my “oh brother!” detector went off in blaring and ire-fueled fashion this week when I heard that both Matt Berninger of The National and Mark Oliver Everett of Eels were stopped by TSA. Funnily enough, however, neither were stopped because they were musicians and had equipment that only looked suspicious if you were a cast member in a low-budget retro-futurist sci-fi film. No, instead Everett (more often known as “E”, who I had no idea was still making music, by the way) and his morose demeanor and bushy beard just looked like someone they had on a watch list. ID shown and all was well. Berninger, on the other hand, had purchased a Japanese clock that was in the shape of a cartoonish-looking bomb. Even though it was clearly just a clock, he had to turn it over for the same reason a kid would probably have to turn over a water gun or rubber knife. Eye roll to the max. On a positive note, I’m glad that this likely confirms that Berninger isn’t the chronically dysthymic individual his lyric set him out to be after all. I mean, when I think human Wile E. Coyote, I wouldn’t have thought of the man who wrote “Fake Empire” until now. More info available via Spinner.
-Chris Polley
Art-funk mad stars Of Montreal announced the release date for their upcoming album False Priest this week, also releasing the album art (which is awesome), the track list (which is standardly bizarre) and a free download of the lead single “Coquet Coquette” (which is surprisingly rockin’). You can download the song here. Singer Kevin Barnes has been hyping the Jon Brion-produced(!) album as being “very, very funky” and heavily R&B influenced, evidenced further by appearances from singers Solange Knowles and Janelle Monae. It’s notable that Monae is appearing on Of Montreal’s album as Barnes wrote, produced, and recorded a song on Monae’s recent epic The Archandroid, and the resulting song basically ended up being a normal Of Montreal track (I’m not even sure Monae is on the recording, to be honest). Thus, there’s plenty to be excited about when False Priest drops September 14.
-Christian Hagen
Despite what many (including myself) may have believed, James Mercer confirmed in an interview with Pitchfork (*shudder*) that he’s working on new material for The Shins. According to the interview:
“Pitchfork: Are you working on new Shins stuff?
JM: Yeah! Actually, that’s the sort of writing I’m doing off-and-on while I’m on tour with Broken Bells right now. It’s near the recording stages. When I get some time off, I’ll be in the studio working on Shins stuff and trying to figure out what I’m going end up with.”
Exciting for Shins fans, though I can’t help but scratch my head, as I’ve found almost everything Mercer’s done since the last Shins album much better than anything The Shins ever produced. But that’s just one man’s opinion, and hardly strong enough to dissuade loyal followers. Though I am typically loath to link to Pitchfork, you can read the rest of the interview here.
-Christian Hagen
The New York Times recently published a short piece profiling the success of the NPR Music website and its rising stock as a tastemaker for non-Clear Channel music. NPR has indeed done a great job of championing artists that would never be played on mainstream radio: Dirty Projectors, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, Fanfarlo. From the NYT article: “We’re playing to the reputation that we have as tastemakers… helping people find unusual things they may not come across otherwise.” One of the first ways I stepped outside the horribleness that is American commercial radio was listening to Nic Harcourt’s show on NPR called Morning Becomes Eclectic. It was a great show for me at the time, and it exposed me to a lot of wonderful music I otherwise would not have found. As much as I want to rag on NPR for only promoting coffee house music, they are providing a vital alternative for people who don’t read Pitchfork or the thousands of other music zines, blogs, and forums out there. Going through the NPR Music website today, I found it to have a nice cross section of interesting and unique new music. In spite of this, something about NPR and it’s “tastemaking” status rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps because NPR Music feels more like marketing platform for progressive post-30 year-olds instead of a place where great art is appreciated for its own sake.
-Dan Wipert
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Albums up for OMDs this week:
-Monday, June 28: The Black Keys, Brothers AND Band of Horses, Infinite Arms
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And now: OUR WEEKLY PLAYLIST! That’s right, it’s back! Check it out!
Chris P. – I’ve moderately liked The Radio Dept. ever since the flawless Marie Antoinette soundtrack, but for some reason I’m just getting around to really sinking my teeth into their critically acclaimed 2010 release Clinging To A Scheme. At first it just didn’t hook me, but now I’m loving it from beginning to end, possibly because it’s best suited for the beautiful green and golden hues of summer as a visual backdrop, or maybe just because I finally noticed the killer horn section in “Heaven’s On Fire”.
“New Lipstick” off of Denmark’s The Kissaway Trail’s new disc Sleep Mountain, on the other hand, was one of those no-brainers. I kept meaning to check out the band’s new material based on my love of their 2008 catchy-as-eff import single “Smother + Evil = Hurt”, but it wasn’t until of course that very song came up on shuffle once that I checked out the new stuff. Now that they’re more exposed in the states though, unfortunately, they’re being called an Arcade Fire rip-off, which sucks because they’ve actually been around just as long as the Montreal group. Not every track on the new one’s a winner, however, so stick with this fiery gem.
Christian – It was a few years ago, stuck in a college dorm with some friends watching the occasionally wonderful MTVU, that I first saw and heard the adorably fun weirdness of Born Ruffians. The video for “I Need A Life” is funny, dark, and almost hypnotically entertaining. On top of that, the song is damned catchy. Yet somehow, it’s taken me until very recently to try to seek out their debut album, Red, Yellow, and Blue. The album is terrific, and I highly recommend it. Yet, I’d almost recommend more their terrific Daytrotter session, as their live energy, though it translates fairly well to their recordings, is infectious.
To commemorate the glorious return of our beloved Weekly Playlist, I’d like to round out this week’s fun times with one of my all time favorite hip-hop jams from A Tribe Called Quest.
Cooper - “Fresh Hex (feat. Beck)” by Tobacco