A Christmas song befitting 2008

Recommended shows: Oct 6-12

Tuesday, Oct 7
- The Black Kids @ The Entry
- Jamie Lidell @ Varsity Theater
- Robert Pollard @ Turf Club

Wednesday, Oct 8
- Radio K Anniversary featuring Low, Dosh, et al. @ First Ave.
- Silver Jews @ Triple Rock

Friday, Oct 10
- The Magnetic Fields @ State Theater
- Cold War Kids @ Fine Line

Saturday, Oct 11
- Fleet Foxes @ Cedar Culture Center (2 shows)
- Nick Lowe @ Dakota Jazz Club
- Tegan & Sara @ State Theater

Sunday, Oct 12
- Stereolab @ First Ave.

New Releases: Tuesday, Oct 7

- Deerhoof, Offend Maggie
- Marnie Stern, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
- Mt. Erie, Lost Wisdom
- Castanets, City of Refuge
- Antony & The Johnsons, Another World (EP)
- Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series, Vol 8
- Department of Eagles, In Ear Park
- Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life
- Jolie Holland, The Living and The Dead
- Oasis, Dig Out Your Soul

Pointless List #1 - participation encouraged

Without permission, I'm posting this e-mail chain recently begun by CV, a friend of mine in Austin. Since it's music-related and I do love lists, I wanted to share it with the hope that any readers might contribute in the comments.

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From CV:

So here is a list of my favorite songs from five different loosely defined genres. I've picked these genres because I feel that, with some degree of confidence, I can reasonably pick a favorite song from them. Obviously this task would be far too hard without much more thought than I have put into this for a genre like "Rock" or "Pop" or something. But within these cherry picked and ill-defined genres, here is my best attempt at naming my favorite songs:

Electronic: Gamma Goblins - Infected Mushroom

Metal: Revolution is My Name - Pantera

Pop R&B: You Make Me Wanna - Usher

Rap: Bust a Move - Young M.C.

Industrial: Closer - Nine Inch Nails

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From SS:

Here's mine, for now..

Electronic: Barbers Adagio For Strings - (Ferry Corsten Remix)

Metal: I get it - Chevelle

Pop R&B: One More Try - Timmy T

Rap: Jump Around - House of Pain

Industrial: Closer - Nine Inch Nails

Can I make up my own genres?

Piano Rock: Vienna - The Fray

Blues Rock: 3x5 - John Mayer

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From JTM:

I can't resist. I'll give this a shot using the constraints of your chosen genres. I may have to put in more than one song per genre, too. Sorry if that is a violation of the rules.

Electronic:
The Big Ship - Brian Eno
Little Fluffy Clouds - The Orb
Hyper-Ballad - Bjork
Everything In Its Right Place - Radiohead

Metal:
War Pigs - Black Sabbath
Thunderstruck - AC/DC
Welcome Home (Sanitarium) - Metallica
Hangar 18 - Megadeth

Pop R&B:
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
Sign 'O' The Times - Prince

Rap:
Sabotage - Beastie Boys
California Love - 2Pac
Fight the Power - Public Enemy
Adrenaline! - The Roots

Industrial: This is the hardest genre category, since it's by far the most narrow on the list.
Head Like a Hole - Nine Inch Nails


Not sure what to do with Piano Rock, but I'll try:
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Ol' 55 - Tom Waits

Blues Rock. Disclaimer - This could easily get very long and I won't be able to narrow it down by song. Plus, you could easily make an argument that basically all rock is blues rock so again, it's tricky. So I'll just name a few obvious artists instead:
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Eric Clapton/Cream
Rolling Stones
Allman Bros.
The Animals

and more modern...
White Stripes
Black Keys

Phew. That was fun.

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New Eagles of Death Metal video - 'Wannabe in LA'

Eagles of DM are a live favorite of mine and will be in the Twin Cities on November 8 at the Fine Line. I'd consider it a can't-miss show. They're touring in support of the new album, gloriously titled Heart On and in stores Oct 28.

SNL relevant once again as election approaches

I'm a fiercely political person but I am trying my absolute best not to bring up such matters in this forum. And that is no easy task over these last few months. I'll continue to keep things as apolitical as possible. But as an avid consumer and follower of pop culture, there's no harm in acknowledging SNL's sudden relevance this election season. As you've probably seen yourself, this resurgence of quality is primarily due to the now weekly Tina Fey appearances as VP-candidate Sarah Palin. In case you missed it, here's last night's VP debate send-up featuring a pitch-perfect Palin and a fine Biden parody, too. Queen Latifah has some impressive comedic chops herself.

Okkervil River video - 'Lost Coastlines'

I've been catching up on recently released videos, can you tell? Here's a video for my fav track off of Okkervil's The Stand-Ins, featuring former Okkervil member, current Shearwater front man Jonathan Meiburg.

007 Theme video - 'Another Way to Die' by White Keys

Yes, everyone has probably seen this by now but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't post it myself. The video sucks but the song itself is a decent James Bond theme, and could just as easily pass as a White Stripes song in another context (and without Ms. Keys).

Radiohead video - 'Reckoner'

Although Aniboom's animated Radiohead video contest ended up with 4 winners back in August, Thom has gone and singled out the Reckoner video in particular, proclaiming it to be the 'official' video for the track.

Radiohead - Reckoner - by Clement Picon

ACL 2008 - Day 3 in pictures (abbreviated and belated)

Sorry for the delay...we left for on our return trip to Minnesota immediately after Day 3 and didn't arrive back home until early Tuesday morning (2am or so). Only now have I had the time to wrap up this half-ass ACL coverage of mine.  Plus, my memory card ran out of space on Day 3 so pictures were few and far between.

Gillian Welch, my highlight of Day 3, performed with David Rawlings on the AMD stage.


Joined now by (not so) surprise guest Alison Krauss to sing 'Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby' from O Brother.


Neko Case a couple sets later at the AMD stage via jumbo screen.  As always, she put on a great show and this time to likely one of the biggest crowds she's ever performed.


Did I forget to mention it? On Day 3, HAM joined our team for the entire day of fantastic music, heat and the biggest crowds yet. This pic captures the Hankster having just awaken from a long nap during a pre-Foo Fighters set by Band of Horses.

Other acts from Day 3 not pictured here include: The Kills (probably the only new find of the fest), Stars, The Raconteurs (Jack White held up nicely with a slipped disc in his back), the very end of Gnarls Barkley featuring a cover of Radiohead's 'Reckoner,' Band of Horses and Tegan & Sara. We left Zilker Park just as the Foo hit the stage to begin the long drive home.

ACL 2008 - Day 2 in pictures

Fleet Foxes had an early set today on the main AMD stage. My wife found 'em too mellow for the heat of the day. I found their CSNY harmonies just right.


Man Man are a bunch of zany band geeks. That's not a slight, just a realization. Definitely one of the most entertaining shows of the weekend.


Spiritualized win honors for set of the day. Spaceman Jason Pierce stubbornly refused to face the audience but otherwise, I have not a single complaint. Best of all, they played 'Ladies and Gentlemen We're Floating in Space' with a 'Fools Rush In' coda and finished off the thrilling set with 'Come Together.'



Headliners Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. We couldn't get close enough for a decent picture, so I can only offer a shot of the video screen. Best part had to be the reimaginings of Led Zep classics, including 'Black Dog' and 'Misty Mountain Hop.'


Although not pictured above, we also caught partial or complete sets from these other acts: Drive-By Truckers, Les Freres Guisse (from Senegal), Mason Jennings, The Black Keys and Beck from a far distance. Dust was again an issue, as we fell victim to the Mud Booger Plague for the second day in a row.

ACL 2008 - Day 1 in pictures, David Byrne steals the day

View across Zilker Park, early on Friday. Today featured possibly the best weather of all my ACL experiences: low 90s, partly cloudy with a nice breeze.


Mark and my wife smile for the camera during Yeasayer set.

Yeasayer came first on the schedule. Here's bass player Ira Wolf Tuton.

M. Ward put on a bluesy show at the WaMu stage. Yep, that's right, the Washington Mutual stage.

 

David Byrne played the AT&T stage at sunset. How could this guy not have been the Day 1 headliner? He put on a hugely entertaining show mixing new Byrne/Eno tracks with classic Talking Heads songs such as 'Once in a Lifetime.'

Byrne put on a show and I mean this literally. Choreographed (kind of) dancers added a theatrical element to the performance as did the all-white attire. The steely-haired Byrne hasn't lost his herky-jerky moves and frequently joined in with dance moves of his own. The sound was fantatic, the crowd enthusiastic. It was a memorable set that lived up to my lofty expectations. It'll be hard to top over the next two days.

The audience at sunset during the Byrne's performance.



Other bands we saw today but not pictured above include Vampire Weekend, Mates of State, The Swell Season (i.e. those two from Once) and headliner Mars Volta.

ACL Mix

This morning we hit the road on our way to Austin. Before I leave, here's a little mix (via 8tracks.com) for you.

New Releases: Tuesday, Sept 23

Busy week for releases...

- TV on the Radio, Dear Science,
- Cold War Kids, Loyalty to Loyalty
- High Places, High Places
- Blitzen Trapper, Furr
- Brightback Morning Light, Motion to Rejoin
- Thievery Corporation, Radio Retaliation

Recommended shows: Sept 22-28

Monday, Sept 22
- A Place to Bury Strangers @ Triple Rock

Wednesday, Sept 24
- High Places @ Triple Rock

Thursday, Sept 25
- Sigur Ros @ Orpheum

Saturday, Sept 27
- Mogwai w/ Fuck Buttons @ First Ave