Band Most Likely

So on tuesday i had the good fortune to see the band most likely to be used on the Fall 2008 season premiere of Gossip Girl. I'm talking about She & Him of course. Pairing up indie film stalwart Zooey Deschanel and trubador M. Ward was a match made in indie fanboy heaven, and plenty haas already been written about them and their debut album Volume One so i'm not gonna rehash any of that. I will say I'm a huge M. Ward fan and have been since I saw him play the Turf Club in 2004.

So to crib a page from "So How Was The Show?" i will tell you how the show was. The tour was supposed to kick off monday night but was canceled due to an 'illness' and both shows were combined. This meant moving from the intimate Hiro Ballroom to the mid-level Webster Hall. Could somebody say "cheap ploy to sell more tickets yet play only one show?" that's what CPG and discussed over happy hour drinks. Arguably there'd be a better sound system, but who's to say what would be lost given the size and the potential for annoying patrons hanging out near the bar talking like this was the library. Or one of those assholes who go to Barnes and Noble to lay on the floor of the Science Fiction section and yak on their cell phones. Although I can't say i'm much better as B&N is the best place to relieve yourself when you've drank a carafe of coffee and have a twenty block walk before you. But that's not nearly as rude, right?

digressions.

when the band came out Zooey held up a hand-written sign saying "Hello New York", then grinned widely and in a meek voice apologized for losing her voice. A collective swoon passed through the audience. For forty minutes M, Z and Ward's standard 3 piece backing band played the jams off Vol. 1, with only one new track in the mix. Slight pauses between songs and Matt was a man of few words, with Zooey merely glowing at the audience's response, offering new signs and winning over the hearts and minds of iraqi's everywhere.

Any conspiratorial thoughts of the group to double the fun with extra sugar-free gum was merely a theory. CPG asked how it was possible that she couldn't speak yet sounded pitch-perfect through the show (there were a few minor stumbles which can be written off as endearing.) But Stevie Nicks used to be the same way on tour, refusing to speak in order to preserve her voice.

After less than an hour including an encore featuring Ward's "Magic Trick" (the S&H version can be found below, courtesy of the Music for ReadyMakers comp, with altered lyrics, natch) and a cover, it was over. Short and sweet. It was a good duration as the audience got swept up in the moment, but never bored to the point of chatty. One of the most respectful audiences i've been a part of in a club that size.

the highlight of the show was "You really got a hold on me." A lesser track on Vol. 1, Ward this time around sang the verses with Zooey, filling in the duet and warranting his back-up vocals on the chorus. CPG closed the night with the apropos statement "I didn't know M. Ward was such a badass." Yup.

Music for ReadyMakers Vol. 3 You Really Got A Hold On Me
Music for ReadyMakers Vol. 3 Magic Trick

Free Download: The Rosebuds

In our ongoing series of free downloads, Merge Records is currently offering Sweet Beats, Troubled Sleep A remix of the entire Night of the Furies record from the ever delightful Rosebuds (the band not the sled.)

i haven't had time to check it out yet, but with remixes from Bon Iver, Portastic and a bunch of other company i can't claim to have heard of, i'm sure it's worth the few minutes it takes to download. and god bless m. ward and the Merge crew for high quality 320 mbps MP3s and even higher quality lossy FLAC files. eat a dick iTunes!

i'll post an update once i leave work and can actually check the record out and offer a snarky review, but thought i should send out the APB.

andrewsaidthomas.

Download Numero Deuce

Mighty Sparrow: First Flight: Early Calypsos from the Emory Cook Collection

This past Chicago winter was the worst I've experienced during my seven years living in the city. We recently had our first 70+ degree day in over seven months. Seven! I don't want to jinx myself too hard; but I'm going out on a limb and saying Old Man Winter has packed his salt-stained bags for the season.

And what music goes better with dancing on Winter's shallow grave than Calypso? Enter Mighty Sparrow. Typically backed by a guitar, bongos, and a horn section, the Sparrow's sweet-swaying melodies will transport you a nondescript Caribbean island, where you sling back endless ginger beers while watching cliff divers plunge into the sea. Yes, this album has the relaxing groo....

...wait...what did Sparrow just say? Seriously?? Jesus!

While it may be easy to disregard Sparrow's words in favor of his islands grooves, his smart, witty, and oftentimes R-rated subject matter will give the astute listener a new level of appreciation. Whether dealing with social issues like underground arms dealers ("Gun Slingers", or making light of coming very close to date raping a girl ("Stella"), Sparrow will make you think while you move back and forth sitting in front of your computer...as I am right now.

This record is a quality way to welcome warm weather to your neck of the woods.

...did I mention date rape?!?!?!

First April Download

The Teenagers: Reality Check

Listening to this record is like vacationing in a copy of the world's foremost scenester-pretentious publication.

Allow me to paint the picture:

Let's say I'm a modern-day, urban professional Macaulay Culkin starring in The Pagemaster '08.

One eerie night in Wicker Park, my moped breaks down and I get caught in an unrelenting torrential downpour...without an umbrella! Drenched, I seek out the closest storefront do duck into while the storm lets up; but to my dismay, every store seems be closed. My new $200 jeans! Fuck!

Just as I'm about to give up, I see a dim light emanating from an otherwise abandoned-looking building. A bare-bones, handwritten sign that says "Records" is the only item in the window.

I enter and speak with the elderly off-his-rocker owner. Let's call him Christopher Lloyd. As he goes on and on about his days of opening for Peter Cetera, I begin to sift through his magazine offerings. I pick up a copy of Reality Check and the latest Vice magazine when, ZAP! CRASH! A colossal lightning bolt strikes the store and sends me flying through the air. I hit my head on stack of poorly drawn zines and go put cold.

As I come to, I wake up INSIDE the pages of Vice! I go skiing on Cocaine Mountain with Werner Herzog, then buy American Apparel models Rockstar and vodkas all night long at Sonotechque.

Just as I'm about to get punched in the face by some lame graphic designer--whom I offended by calling him Colin Meloy's muse-- KABOOM! WA-ZAM!

I wake up in my bedroom tucked under the covers. It was all a dream! Or WAS it (I roll over to see Werner Herzog, shirtless and sleeping with his moth open. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!)?

Dun dun duuuuuuuuun...

Depending on your opinions of Vice, my little story may or may not have turned you off of The Teenagers. Looking at what I just wrote, I know I would be all "Ewww. No. I hate that type of crap."

But for one reason or another, I really, really like Reality Check. As much as the band members give off the typical "Gross, you read pitchfork?" attitude, their lyrics are just as funny as they are explicit (kudos on working Shannon Doerty and Jared Leto references into your tunes). This London band has a penchant for suburban teenage culture. Talking about anything from fucking a slutty american teen on vacation, to their love for Scarlett Johannson (whom they also want to fuck). The Serge Gainsbourg influence is ridiculously strong. Future dirty old men in the making.

The result is a a group of witty, self-aware yet self-important songs. I doubt I'd ever be friends with The Teenagers in real life. They're probably huge assholes. But I dig their stuff nonetheless.

Next time on Pagemaster Reference Theatre: Pat gets hit by lightning while listening to Boz Scaggs and reading Riding Lawnmower Maintenance For Dummies.

Free Download: Fog

Fog fans, Daytrotter just posted a four song live session. Link. All the tracks are from Ditherer.

Daytrotter continues to be the greatest source of free, new music. At least someone out there understands the way the music wind blows.

andrewsaidthomas.

March Picks: andrew.

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther:
Kinda standard acoustic indie rock. I guess they could be compared to Travis in musical approach and harmonies. The jury is out on this one.
update: I've come to really like this record, quite subtle in it's textures. give it about 3 listens all the way thru.

She & Him - Volume One:
Yes it's M. Ward and Zooey Deschannel making suite music together. It sounds like early 60s girl pop. Zooey definitely ups the ante for the forthcoming Scarlet Johansen record. It's actually quite catchy.

Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue:
A highly diverse collection of sweeping semi-orchestral pop-rock without the typical cringe factors, some swell steel guitar, a funk jam, and other elements that were all the rage in the early 70s.

Bang On A Can All-Stars - Music For Airports:
Brian Eno composed it, so it's like the soundtrack to airplanes on a tarmac. In the quiet, contemplative sense.

Calexico - Ocean Of Noise:
The B-side of Arcade Fire's "Intervention" single, with Calexico's take on "Ocean of Noise." Worth your time.

February: andrew.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
the much hyped release on jagjaguwar. the guy sounds like an acoustic TV on the Radio.

Smithsonian Folkways Sampler
a wide variety of tracks from audio taken from the watergate tapes to soviet lullabies to pete seeger. good for a random playlist just to mix things up. and it was free.

High Places - 03/07 - 09/07
Something tells me i need to stop downloading bands that sound like animal collective. this time with a female singer. good, but maybe more of the same?

Disco Not Disco 1974-1986
a dope sampling of obscure tracks from contemporaries of Blondie, Talking Heads and other bands not ashamed to create disco-influenced rock. "Can I have a lick of your ice cream? Can I eat the crumbs off your table? ... No! Mind your own business!"

Rhys Chatham - A Crimson Grail (For 400 Electric Guitars)
for those of you who wanna know what Sigur Ros conducted by Steve Reich would sound like. three 20 minute drones sans vocals. and it's live. good for background music or for those hour-long stan brakhage screenings.

Rhys Chatham - Two Gongs
ibid, Crimson Grail. this time with 2000% more gong! it's one 60 minute track, it's headache inducing and it's completely fascinating (to me). not for the feint of heart... or ears.

Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill EP
meh, had 3 extra downloads. always good to be a completest. a remix plus two unreleased tracks from the Eraser sessions. if you like that, you'd like this.

...and on another note: i just heard a track from the new mike doughty record (played on the current) and sucks even more than old mike doughty sucked. produced by dan wilson no less. somewhere someone is paging Hear Music (no offense chris)