Today's CDs (2/3)
 

Eamonn Vitt -- Deserted Music
White Stripes -- Elephant
Various Artists -- In the Beginning There Was Rhythm
Boas -- Mansion
Daft Punk -- Discovery
John Lennon -- Imagine
Faust -- So Far
Vibrators -- Pure Mania
Loose Fur -- Loose Fur
Octopus Project -- Identification Parade (This record came out early last year... An Austin band that sounds like a cross between Tortoise and Sun City Girls (i.e. what Out Hud wishes it was). I've been listening to it lots over the past couple of months. Highly recommended!)

Prince - One Nite Alone...Live and It Ain't Over: The Afterparty
Hobex - U Ready, Man?
Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn
Phish - Round Room

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
Q and Not U - No Kill No Beep Beep
Q and Not U - Different Damage

I landed an interview with Q and Not U on Feb. 16, so I've been doing a lot of research, hence listening to their LPs over and over again!!

Q & Not U will be a fun interview. John Davis (the drummer) is a great guy and a great writer. He ran Held Like Sound, easily the best D.C. zine, for several years. Make sure to ask why Mathieu left the band (age was a big reason, from what I've heard; also, they just didn't like him very much). Ask if they feel that the D.C. scene is lacking these days (which, aside from a small but growing post-punk scene it is), although that's a trite question with a way-too-obvious answer that I doubt they will give (since they must defend their territory!!!). Most of all, be relaxed. They seem like they take themselves very seriously (which, being veterans they do to some extent), but they are fun-loving folk (another good question would be why the drop in mood and tone on Different Damage). Who is the interview for?

Oh, one other disc for today:

Adult. -- Anxiety Always

Calla- Televise
Faith No More- Angel Dust
The Cure-Live 1984

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Jayhawks - Hollywood Town Hall
Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun
Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
George Winston - December

So, Yancey, how do you like Elephant? I'm not a huge White Stripes fan, but it seems to me that we'll be bombarded with Elephant-related discussions for the next 4-5 months, so I thought at least I could steal someone else's opinion. ;)

Which reminds me of a cartoon I recently read in the New Yorker magazine. Two couples are sitting around a table in some bar or restaurant, and one of the men, obviously piqued, is saying to what must be his wife/girlfriend, "That's not just my opinion, it's also the opinion of some guy on NPR."

OK, I laughed out loud.

You may now continue talking about music.

Elephant is really, really great. Their best so far, based on a few listens. The aesthetic is similar, but Jack White's songwriting ability has improved greatly. There's a tune where Meg sings lede, which is really gorgeous. I was already a fan, mind you, so take that into consideration.

The new Adult. (also out in April), on the other hand, is really awful. A few good electro cuts, but the duo's gone for a more violent style and falls on its face.

Slint - "Spiderland"
The Notwist - "Neon Golden"
The Kinks - "Village Green Preservation Society"
The Clientele - "Suburban Light"
MP3s of the upcoming Jayhawks album, "Rainy Day Music" (another stinker)

Oh, that's disappointing... but do you say that as a person who prefers "Smile," "Sound of Lies," or "Hollywood Town Hall"?

Joseph Arthur - Redemption's Son
Various Artists - We're a Happy Family (A Tribute to The Ramones)
Pinhead Gunpowder - Jump Salty
The Streets - Original Pirate Material

"Hollywood Town Hall" is definitely my favorite, but I'm a pretty big fan of "Sound of Lies" too. I thought everything about "Smile," from the production to the lyrics, was awful. The upcoming album is somewhat along the lines of "Hollywood Town Hall" musically, but with some of the most hackneyed lyrics I've heard in quite some time. It just seems like a very cold, heartless record.

Yeah, I was definitely going to ask a couple questions related to the bassist's departure. Why and how did it happen? How much has the band's song-writing changed (considering the bass kept the songs grounded while the guitars were very spastic on No Kill No Beep Beep)? I was thinking about asking stuff about their imagist lyrics, but it seems like a lot of interviews have already asked that question. As a closer, I'll probably ask how they feel about the recent Dismemberment Plan breakup.

I have a friend that is in a band being distributed by Dischord (the band is called Paper Dolls - an all girl indie quartet from DC), that has met them and she says they are really nice guys. I'm feeling pretty confident about it; I've been doing a lot of research ever since I got the email from John (the drummer) last night. If I keep going at this pace I'll probably churn out some pretty good questions.

And actually, I'm doing the interview for my own independent zine. I'm good friends with the girl that does booking for the college, so I asked her if there was anyway she could hook me up with an interview. She said that I didn't need her help, just email John (I assume that's who she talked to) and ask him directly. I kicked him a letter saying what I was doing and asking permission, and he replied the next night saying that an interview would be fine.

I also got some more cd reviews today:
1. Massive Attack - 100th Window
2. Aereogramme - Sleep and Release
3. Other Natural Flavors - Drop the World
4. White Light Motorcade - Thank You, Goodnight!
5. Soundtrack Mind - Plastic Dreams

I'm really looking forward to Massive Attack and Aereogramme.

John Wesley Harding - "Trad Arr Jones"
The Notorious B.I.G. - "Born Again"
Plumb - s/t
Black Eyed Peas - "Behind the Front"
Bloodhound Gang - "One Fierce Beer Coaster"
going to my new gym for the first time and I'll probably shuffle through 10 gigs of mp3s (so I won't list any)

Starlover,

I'm glad to see another Cure fan on this forum. I'm actually going to be trading some live Cure cd's with a friend of mine this week. I'm giving her the Texas Stadium show from the Wish tour and the Austin show from the WMS tour. She's giving me a copy of the Hamburg Trilogy show from last year. I can't wait for the DVD to come out in May.

Underworld - "Dinosaur" (CD Single)
Lemon Jelly - "Nice Weather for Ducks" (CD Single)
Soundtrack of Our Lives - Behind the Music
Layo & Bushwacka! - Love Story vs. Finally

Hehe, and I was thinking they had gone more pop! The lyrics are definitely more violent*, but the vocals are less so and extremely melodic in spots -- more singing, less droning -- and the productions are a lot more imaginative to me (love the instrumentals, too). Until I heard the album, I thought they should've stopped after the first or second EP; they seemed to be doing the same thing over and over. And, until now, they had always been a band that I merely respected. That's all changed now.

*Granted, their old subject matter -- furniture, the joys of commerce, etc. -- doesn't exactly lend itself to venting yr spleen.

The third and last cuts do it for me (the disc isn't in front of me at the moment), but the rest is way too same-y. I find the infusion of guitars to be suspect and rather dull. It seems to be used mainly to add more reverb to the production and to <i>suggest</i> a rock aesthetic, which seems like a cheap ploy. The arrangements are layered and fairly intricate, but they don't do anything for me. One other greivance -- of course part of Adult.'s point is to sound detached from their music (and I am a fan of that idea), but listening through it from start to finish (only twice now, admittedly), it was tiring.

Palace Songs - "Hope"
Out Hud - "Street Dad" (Glad they don't sound more like Tortoise :) )
Scout Niblett - "I Conjure Series" (Clearly, Scout Niblett wants me not to like her music. I'm counting on her relenting before I do.)
Will Oldham - "Black/Rich Music"
Beck - "One Foot in the Grave"

Faith No More- Angel Dust
Smashing Pumpkins - Machina

That's wonderful. I've heard great things about that trilogy show. The Cure are one of my favorite bands and very, very underrated.

Travis-The Invisible Band
Queens of the Stone Age-Songs for the deaf
Radiohead-Knives Out EP
Deftones-White Pony

The Ataris - So Long, Astoria
AFI - Sing the Sorrow
Count the Stars - Never be Taken Alive
Unwritten Law - From Music In High Places

my band opened for Count The Stars in August.

anyone know when the mythed CURE "B-Side collection/box set" will or ever will be released?

The Roots - Phernology
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers