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- Video: Ben Folds - You Don’t Know MeSeptember 29
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Today we have a video that falls into the “who on earth thought this was a good idea” camp. There are a lot of whimsical songs on the new Ben Folds album, Way to Normal. You Don’t Know Me really isn’t one of them. Sure, it sounds upbeat enough, but we’re dealing with a couple realising they know sod all about each other here. You’ve also got Regina Spektor floating in and out of the song, giving it a certain dignity.
As such, a video seemingly about nothing more than cross-dressing bandmates doesn’t seem like the most appropriate theme. I have nothing against the video itself, however silly it all is, it’s just about the least appropriate song from the album to use with it. The whole album is surprisingly better than I expected. I was ready not to bother after the whole Silverman snorefest, but it’s a decent attempt to get the feel of the old Five back.
Click here to view the embedded video. - Internet Forever - Break BonesSeptember 28
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A band without any pictures at all. Not the greatest of starts when you want to blog about them.
That said, it’s hard not to take notice when you get an email claiming “equal love for Times New Viking, The Unicorns, Los Campesinos! and Casiotone For the Painfully Alone.” Seeing as I love three and a half of those, I’m inclined to have a listen.
This is the kind of music that makes the likes of Casiotone sound overproduced, which is no mean feat. Everything is incredibly rudimentary, and covered in distortion, yet it’s ultimately adorable for the two minutes that it lasts. Despite the limitations, boy-girl vocals, handclaps and glockenspiels all manage to put in an appearance, giving us a sense of what Los Campesinos! perhaps would have sounded like with only two people.
The ethos of the band seems to be built around the idea of making music in the now rather than thinking it over too much. The band’s first gig will is coming up in a couple of months. Hopefully they won’t rehearse too much.
Internet Forever will play their first gig on December 11 at the The Lexington in Angel. Which is in London.
Website / Myspace - No Age - EraserSeptember 23
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A few years ago, if Pitchfork had given an album a 9.2 rating, I’d be all over it in no time. I wouldn’t necessarily like it, but a high score at least meant it was worth trying. Now I drop in on Pitchfork about once a week, skim read the reviews of bands I already know, and leave it at that. Which meant that No Age slipped entirely under my radar. That is until they were announced as part as Los Campesino’s Shred Yr Face tour.
For some reason, I expected No Age to sound like The Thermals. I have no logical reason to think that, given I had never heard them, or even read anything about them until a couple of weeks ago. Maybe their name suggests a certain urgency or something. Whatever the reason, I wasn’t really prepared for the wall of noise I was hit by. During the first minute of Eraser, it sounds as if it is something big. By the second minute, you start to wonder if it’s little more than an interesting instrumental piece. When the vocals finally kick in, we’re already in the final moments of the song, making us desperate to hear some more. Which I suppose is what makes it so perfect as a promo mp3.
MP3 No Age - EraserClick here to view the - McCarthy Trenching - Wedding SongSeptember 22
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It seems that the older I get, the more I appreciate country music, or at least elements of it. Five years ago I wouldn’t have gone near anything with a twang in it, now I’m listening to singer-songwriters lamenting about lost love and never forming a bluegrass band. At this rate, I’ll be in cowboy boots by the time I’m thirty, and believe me, that would not be a good thing.
McCarthy Trenching a one man band from Omaha, Nebraska, meaning he is signed to one of Conor Oberst’s labels. I’m pretty sure that guy has some kind of racket going out there. Does anyone know a band from Omaha that is signed to a label other than Team Love or Saddle Creek? It doesn’t matter who releases McCarthy Trenching though. I’m just happy that someone did. Gently strummed, thoughtful, with a voice that would make reciting the phone book sound interesting. Perfect music for thinking things over far too much at two in the morning really.
- Panoramic & True - CaliforniaSeptember 21
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Sometimes you discover a new band and something about them doesn’t sit quite right.
Evidence A: Their Myspace location claims they are from France, their bio claims Chicago, which sounds rather more likely.
Evidence B: The only picture I can find of the “band” is the one above.
Evidence C: At this moment, they have a grand total of 14 “friends” on Myspace, despite being there a year.Now I realise that this doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The location thing could be a joke. The picture thing could just be an eccentricity. The number of friends could just mean they are really, really shit at self promotion. The question here is whether or not any of this really matters. Thankfully in this case, it doesn’t.
Evidence D: A wonderfully upbeat pop song that evokes images of slacking off, road trips and long, bright days.