AvoidPeril

My head is spinning round...

2008-04-18T00:52:11Z

Really, Scarlett Johansson, what are you thinking? When I first heard that you were doing a Tom Waits covers record, I thought the idea was kinda cool, admittedly. But now that I’ve heard the title track from your soon-to-be-released Anywhere I Lay My Head, I’m not quite sure what to think. I mean, I appreciate that you love Mr. Waits just as much as we do, but the atmosphere you’re going for just doesn’t quite seem to fit – the whole super-slick electrohipster vibe you’ve got going on seems to me like it’d be better suited for another Sofia Coppola soundtrack than for Waits’ distinctly retro sound. Anyway, feel free to give it a listen here and tell us what you think.

In other not-so-recent news (which, come to think of it, probably wasn’t even news in the first place), the latest Gnarls Barkley is awesome – perhaps, dare I say, even more so than St. Elsewhere (gasp!). As for the latest Destroyer, on the other hand, I wouldn’t be in a hurry to pick that one up if I were you – those of you who were put off by the over-mellowness of Challengers, Dan Bejar’s last record with The New Pornos, will probably feel roughly the same way about Trouble in Dreams. On the bright side, tthough, the warm weather is finally here, which can only mean that summer concert season is just around the corner! If only there were some legendary indie rock bands from Britain touring in...oh, right. GET EXCITED FOR RADIOHEAD!

Who's Going to Radiohead?....Oh, Everyone?

2008-04-09T18:07:32Z

As you should! The last time Radiohead toured, it was amazing -- you should definitely NOT MISS THE SHOW this time around.

RADIOHEAD
AUGUST 2008 DATES & VENUES CONFIRMED

Dates and venues have been confirmed for the second leg of Radiohead's upcoming North American tour. They are:

August 1 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL
August 3 - Verizon Wireless Music Center - Indianapolis, IN
August 4 - Blossom Music Center - Cleveland, OH
August 6 - Parc Jean Drapeau - Montreal, QC
August 8 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 9 - All Points West Music & Arts Festival/Liberty State Park - Jersey City, NJ
August 12 - Susquehanna Bank Center - Camden, NJ
August 13 - Tweeter Center For the Performing Arts - Mansfield, MA
August 15 - Molson Amphitheatre - Toronto, ON
August 19 - Thunderbird Stadium - Vancouver, BC
August 20 - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA
August 22 - Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival @ Golden Gate Park - San Francisco, CA
August 24 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 25 - Hollywood Bowl - Los Angeles, CA
August 27 - Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre - Chula Vista, CA
August 28 - Santa Barbara Bowl - Santa Barbara, CA

With the exception of the festivals (Lollapalooza, All Points West, Outside Lands), pre-sale for the above dates will begin April 9 with general on-sale following April 12.

The Jealous Girlfriends, and another reason to watch reruns of Buffy

2008-03-12T23:39:42Z

Why listen to Vampire Weekend when you can just listen to Elvis Costello?

Or, you could listen to the Jealous Girlfriends, whose slightly shoegazer-y but undeniably lovely music is far fresher. Lead female vocalist Holly Miranda has a deliberate, versatile voice that runs the gamut from airy to edgy (the closest I can get is somewhere in between Leona Naess/Cat Power/Sheryl Crow[!]); the dual vocals with Josh Abbott are friendly and sweet. Interesting instrumentation (trombone, anyone?) and surprising tone shifts (“Something in the Water” is a shocker after the first half of the album) keep this S/T record engaging.

Download: “Organs on the Kitchen Floor”

The Handsome Family are very, very ... zzzzz...

2008-02-19T15:37:29Z

The Handsome Family are a husband and wife duo that tests your ability to maintain a high interest level ... or even moderately active. There are relatively quiet acts that, through lyrics or approach, will keep the listener with the artist through three or even five minutes of song. Bob Dylan, Bright Eyes, Joan Baez and Jose Gonzalez come to mind. The Handsome Family's Brett Sparks has a very soothing voice but unfortunately, after about four songs, the record becomes monotonous with its starkness and simplicity. If one wasn't paying attention, one might believe that there is an epic sixteen minute tune to start the album because the early songs sound very similar. Only until the engaging "Our Blue Sky" does the tempo pick up a little and energy is restored, only for the record to end soon after. It's too bad that the album does not contain more variety like "Our Blue Sky," for it could have saved this release from being a long hohum snore. Apparently the Handsome Family are quite something live, so maybe that is where people should spend their time.

Portishead to Release 'Third' on 4/29/08; Neon Neon's "Stainless Style" drops on 3/18

2008-02-16T15:34:46Z

Wow...Portishead, who have not released an album since 1998's Roseland Ballroom, are set to release their fourth album (cleverly titled 'Third') on April 29. No info on touring just yet (apart from being on the main stage at Coachella on April 26) but I'm sure that tickets will be a rather hot spring commodity.

Tracklisting is as follows:
1. Silence
2. Hunter
3. Nylon Smile
4. The Rip
5. Plastic
6. We Carry On
7. Deep Water
8. Machine Gun
9. Small
10. Magic Doors
11.Threads

Also....

Super Furry Animals are not just rocking Boston next Friday night (at the Paradise; tickets here), lead singer Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip have formed Neon Neon (with some help from Spank Rock, Yo Majesty, and others), a self-described electro-pop-crunk outfit who debut album "Stainless Style" hits stores on March 18. You can check out the first single 'Raquel' on iTunes, or visit their myspace page for more song samples -- my personal favorites are "I Lust U" and "I Told Her on Alderon." I also think they should expand their description to include post-disco, but maybe that's just me....

Cold winters call for even cooler music

2008-02-10T20:16:30Z

Some records I've rediscovered this week that have been getting me through the wintry days of February:

Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
Though more melancholy than its younger brother, Illinois, 2003’s Michigan is one of Sufjan's more ambitious records, combining his mournful acoustic odes to his home state with lengthy, intricately composed songs of midwestern nostalgia. Awash with sleighbells, tinkling pianos, and Sufjan's signature banjo, Michigan is a perfect album for late-night drives through the wintry countryside.

Nico - Chelsea Girl
Upon buying this record, I was told by a cashier that when Nico's producer added the album's now-famous baroque strings to her original demos, Nico hated the final recording. But somehow Nico's unpolished, nasal tenor and the album’s sometimes nauseatingly saccharine violin section, neither of which make for terribly enjoyable listens on their own, work surprisingly well together on Chelsea Girl, especially when accompanying a midday stroll down a snow-covered sidewalk.

Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
Somewhat like Animal Collective on 2004’s Sung Tongs, Grizzly Bear sound on Yellow House like they’re recording in the bedroom of an empty house, trying carefully to play their guitars without waking the neighbors. Though its ethereal, minimal sound isn't always immediately accessible, it still makes a pleasant soundtrack for late-night, blanket-bundled evenings at home with hot tea in hand.

Ladies, ladies

2008-01-31T01:04:43Z

Shelby Lynne, Just a Little Lovin’

Does the world really need an album of Dusty Springfield ‘interpretations’?

No, not really.

P.S. The quiet, minimal version of “Anyone Who Had a Heart” was quite good, though. Maybe this would have been better as a short EP (with reasonably done but boring b-side “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me”).

Kate Nash, Bricks

When my friend Rebecca put “We Get On” and “Foundations” on a mix CD for me, I was smitten with Kate Nash. For their own reasons, both songs are practically perfect in every way – charming music, relatable and cheeky lyrics, and light, tuneful female (British, even!) vocals. I pounced on the album as soon as it was available on iTunes and was shocked, because I didn’t like it much at all. Nothing is as refreshingly revealing as “Foundations,” nothing as clueless and clumsy as “We Get On.” Instead, the album is 70% full of throwaway material, like the cleverly-titled “D******d,” and the irritating and unremarkable “Play” and “Nicest Thing.”

The entire album is not a waste; I could listen to “We Get On” all day, “Merry Happy” has a fun little beat, and “S*** Song,” though tragically titled, is catchy in a Scissor-Sisters-disco kind of way. I just can’t get over my initial crushing disappointment over the general non-brilliance of the record, and accept that it is just 'good.'

"The Proposition" is the grittiest of modern westerns

2008-01-30T22:04:22Z

Although "The Proposition" came out in 2005 and may have gone unnoticed aside from fans of Nick Cave, this is quite the film. Unlike the sparsely occuring yet well-received predecessors of "The Proposition," ("The Unforgiven", "Tombstone", etc) this film shows what in all likelihood is a more truthful depiction of what life may have been like in the 1880s Australian outback. Guy Pearce ("Memento") plays a renegade who is captured by the law and is forced to choose between his imprisoned, younger brother and his psychotic older brother. As he makes his journey to decide on this proposition, you see all sorts of dirt, flies, booze, and blood. Aboriginals run wild, outlaws do what they wish, and the defeated townspeople of a dustball town are at the mercy of the good and the bad (and sometimes both). Ray Winstone ("Beowulf", "The Departed") is an excellent, law-abiding police captain while Emily Watson, Danny Huston, and John Hurt all provide good performances. It also turns out that Nick Cave wrote the film and put together the soundtrack, which fits the mirthless film quite well.

Given the violence and some subject matter, this movie is not a cozy date movie. However, you do need to see this film if you're a fan of the infrequent western genre.

(SteveP: Nice one!)

Dear Cat Power

2008-01-29T01:38:37Z

I’m not really sure where this relationship is going anymore, Chan. You’ve changed so since I first met you almost six years ago, and now I feel as though we’re going in entirely separate directions. Before seeing you last summer, I had heard rumors that you had changed your tune, but I would never have guessed it would have been so drastic. I was certainly glad to hear you sounding more self-confident than usual, but frankly, I miss your old alcoholic, insecure, emotionally unstable self back when you had records like Moon Pix and The Covers Record under your belt.

It felt as though we were beginning to drift apart a couple years ago when you recorded The Greatest, an album that seemed to tell me you were trying to win over more clean-cut, mainstream guys. But now with this record, Jukebox, it’s obvious to me that I was right; not even your attempt to woo me by rehiring your Moon Pix-era band could fool me into believing that I’m still your main man.

]]> Moon Pix’s “Metal Heart” and the newly written “Song to Bobby” – aren’t half bad. But other than that, I’m afraid your renewed love for cover songs has proved to be a bit of an artistic difference in our relationship.

I miss you terribly, Chan. When you get tired of hanging out with Norah and Corinne and those other wretchedly boring friends of yours, gimme a ring and we can get back together and pick up our lo-fi indie rock love affair where it left off.

"The Hottest State" ... haven't seen it, but I've heard it and thus, seen it.

2008-01-26T00:24:54Z

Ethan Hawke directed a movie entitled "The Hottest State" that
came out early last year with mixed reviews, but he also managed to put together a comforting film soundtrack with the help of Jess Harris. Harris, known for his upbeat solo efforts as well as his strong songrwriting, penned every song on this album. Yes, so that is eighteen tracks from this guy Jesse Harris that gets performed by the likes of Norah Jones, the Black Keys, Cat Power, Feist, and Emmylou Harris. Not bad for a man you probably haven't heard of, but what he has accomplished is a soundtrack that easily conveys the film's low key love story between a struggling actor and a songstress through its soft, acoustic songs. There are many pretty tunes you might not otherwise hear from your favorite modern artists, but even if renting the film turns out to be a dollar or two more than you think it was worth, the soundtrack proves to be something you can enjoyably listen to long after the film has left your mind.

An Open Letter

2008-01-25T23:10:46Z

An open letter to the ignorant, mysoginistic, brain-dead miscreant sitting in the aisle across from me and one row back to the left at “Cloverfield” last Friday night:

Dear “Sir,”

Now, I know you might have a hard time taking me seriously because I am a woman. Based on your comments throughout the entire 90-minute feature film last Friday, I get the general impression that you think women are a lower species of human life (such comments as “Shut that b**** up,” “Look at her fine a** hanging out,” and other such verbal gems directed at the screen led me to said conclusion).

However, I would like to take great pains to assure you that although the packed theater of moviegoers did not turn in unison to you and scream “Shut UP!,” we all would have liked to. (Oh, how I wish we had!) We, as moviegoers, adopted the attitude that our parents encouraged us to take as children when being harassed by playground bullies: ignore them. Sadly, you, being dumb, did not understand the cues of silence around you. In the future, please keep your disgusting thoughts to yourself.

You see, you and your filthy, verbally incontinent friend did not NEED to make comments about raping a woman who was passed out in a tumbled-over building. That kind of commentary is entirely unnecessary, being a) criminal and b) shamefully ignorant. Nobody actually LIKES listening to the vile, heinously offensive, vomit-inducing musings of an addle-brained and hideous moron. Just so you know.

Grow some opposable thumbs,

The Editor

The Sugarcubes' Second Album... or When Impulse Buys Go Wrong

2008-01-18T03:00:23Z

I am a sucker for affordable used cds. Just show me an album cover, a cheeky song title, or simply a vaguely familiar band name and I consider purchasing the record. Sometimes it works, as I've inadvertently gotten into Archers of Loaf, the Afghan Whigs and Tugboat Annie through these means. However, quite often it's typical dreck that is best left unheard (and piled somewhere in the corner of my room). I suppose everyone has their thing that makes one effortlessly part with money without thinking all that much. Cheap music is mine, and this past weekend at In Your Ear! in Harvard Square I was on a roll. I had just hit up Planet Records for a few discs that looked appealing and figured I might as well just head around the corner to In Your Ear for a poke around...

]]> I noticed they had a few lengthy $5.99 used cd bins of the typical 90s schlock that made me wince out of memory. I mean c'mon, Smash Mouth's "Fush You Mang" for six bucks? Eeeyarrgh. But yeah, that kind of stuff. However, once I squished towards the back of the store I found a more agreeable bin that held the Who's "My Generation", Tom Petty's grinning debut record, and oh look, the Sugarcubes' "Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!". Hmm, I'd heard of them... knew that Bjork was in the band before she went solo at least. I also knew they were well liked but broke up pretty early on (due to, ahem, Bjork). I figured well, I liked Bjork, their rep seemed good enough, and the album design looked pretty fun. See?

So it was on my maybe list until woah, what's this, a three cds for $15 deal?! SOLD! I figured $5 was a worthy gamble on a credible band that I imagined would be good for a few spins here and there until I filed the record away for a later date.

Awful. Awful decision. If I could return this album and a get a dollar back I would but wow, this record s.u.c.k.s. Bjork does sing nicely on the record when she's given some room and the band does sound like it's having a great time producing poppy, catchy music out of Iceland. However, there's this GUY. The damn keyboardist, of all people, mucked up the whole damn record. Einar Mellax was given license to hoarsely yell over most of the album with what I can only deem as weak attempts at goofy repartee with Bjork. A song starts, he yells some stuff, Bjork sings prettily for a little awhile and then it's him again. Every song. Perhaps the group thought he was hilarious and that everyone else in the world would laugh along at this guy's screeching. No. You were wrong, Sugarcubes, and you cost me five dollars.

I thought it was nearly a sure thing with the evidence I had built up in a minute's time looking at the cd rummaged out of its used bin depths but man, I whiffed on this one. In the future I think I'll just have to use some will power or stick to the proper allowance on impulse cd buys (a buck or two per disc), but in the meantime I am going to stick this asstastic disc underneath a few other misfires, never to be seen again. The Sugarcubes need to send me a refund.

Magnetic Fields go electric!

2008-01-18T01:27:42Z

You'd think that after all the musical experiments Stephin Merritt et al stuffed into their magnum opus 69 Love Songs, The Magnetic Fields would've exhausted every possible idea by now, but their latest album, Distortion (out this week!), immediately lays such suspicions to rest. The sound is exactly what you might think; thirteen tunes drenched in reverb-ified, JAMC-style distortion, which, when paired with Merritt's lovably blase baritone, often brings to mind some of Beat Happening's catchier pop numbers. Free from the thematic constraints of their previous albums, The Magnetic Fields sound like they're having the most fun they've had since their pre-Love Songs days in the 90's, and though the Fields' lyrics on Distortion may not be their cleverest (read: "Too Drunk to Dream"), they're just as dryly witty as always. Distortion might not appeal to the Fields' more cerebral fans, but its upbeat, fun-for-the-sake-of-fun sound still makes it a welcome addition to The Magnetic Fields' catalog.

Also, if you happen to be in town on either February 14 or 15, The Magnetic Fields are going to be playing at the Somerville Theatre! After all, what could possibly be more romantic than an evening with the love song laureate himself on Valentine's Day?

The Queers return to Boston... long live the Queers!

2008-01-12T00:13:47Z

The Ramones are long gone, the New York Dolls are 2/5ths on the reunion road, and who knows what the Buzzcocks are doing these days (recording another one?), but the Queers are still going! Like the Misfits you're not going to get the original group from the "Grow Up" days, but unlike the ghoulish ones you're gonna get a tight show from the original lead man. Joe Queer is still chugging along with the punk rock that started in Portsmouth, NH and has gained the group a popular following due to their quick, banterless sets that resemble the style that the Ramones made famous. With songs like "Ursula Finally Has Tits" and "This Place Sucks", along with a Ramones cover or two, the Queers make for a great show.

Go check 'em out when they swing by TT the Bear's in Cambridge this Friday, January 18th for $12!

Top Ten Albums of 2007

2008-01-06T05:50:54Z

Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
This shamelessly out-there foursome is finally making albums just as unabashedly weird as they are listenable. An unexpected foray into wildly exuberant electropop, Strawberry Jam is full of almost nonstop chaotic energy and blissfully addictive melodies. Check out: "Peacebone," "Fireworks," "Winter Wonderland," "Derek"

Caribou - Andorra
Only when Caribou finally drops the turntables and picks up his electric guitar seven tracks into the album do you finally believe that this album was actually recorded in 2007. Andorra is a record so drenched in psychedelic sunshine that it sounds like it could easily be a long-lost second disc to Pet Sounds or Magical Mystery Tour. Check out: "Melody Day," "Sandy," "Eli," "Sundialing"

Feist - The Reminder
Even if it pains you to listen to "1234" another time after that embarrassingly overplayed iPod commercial, The Reminder is still undoubtedly a songwriting tour-de-force on Feist's part. Jumping between sultry torch songs, heartfelt indie rock, and even a clever reworking of Nina Simone's classic "See Line Woman," Feist proves here that she can just about do it all. Check out: "So Sorry," "I Feel It All," "My Moon My Man," "Past in Present," "Intuition" [...]

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Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Once a shy, heart-on-his-sleeve romantic, Jens Lekman finally embraces his inner casanova and bursts into full-blown blue-eyed soul mode with a full artillery of Supremes-y Motown beats, Barry White strings, and Curtis Mayfield swagger to boot. Check out: "And I Remember Every Kiss," "The Opposite of Hallelujah," "A Postcard to Nina," "I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You," "Shirin”

M.I.A. - Kala
Sophomore slump? Naaww. Listening to M.I.A.'s second effort is like watching The Travel Channel on speed, blending a mix of African drums, cheesy Bollywood soundtracks, and Latin American brass bands that should sound messy and inconsistent, but instead proves even more focused in its sound than her debut. Check out: "Bamboo Banga," "Bird Flu," "Boyz," "Jimmy," "Paper Planes"

Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Once indie pop's perpetually young-at-heart Peter Pan, Kevin Barnes finally shows signs of maturing as a songwriter on Hissing Fauna, and it's a pleasant surprise to hear that his finesse for writing inventive, enthusiastic pop songs still remains intact. Check out: "Suffer for Fashion," "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse," "Gronlandic Edit," "The Past is a Grotesque Animal," "She's a Rejecter," "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling"

Panda Bear - Person Pitch
I’m not 100% sure what a soundtrack to a dream might sound like, but if there ever was one, this is it. Awash with reverb and multilayered sounds that seem to come out of nowhere and then disappear before you even knew they were there, Person Pitch is an otherworldly musical experiment unlike any other. Check out: “Comfy in Nautica,” “Take Pills, “Bros,” “Good Girl/Carrots,” “Ponytail”

Phosphorescent – Pride
Fans of Grizzly Bear, Beirut, and Bonnie “Prince” Billiy will delight in this Brooklyn singer-songwriter’s latest, a collection of eight introspective, sometimes ethereal acoustic numbers perfect for listening to in your room late at night. Check out: “A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise,” “Be Dark Night,” “Wolves,” “The Waves at Night,” “Cocaine Lights”

Radiohead - In Rainbows
Any “Best of 2007” without this album is kidding itself. One of Radiohead’s most down-to-earth album in years, In Rainbows is, even in its darkest moments, an album full of unexpected warmth. Leave it to Radiohead to teach us that even exalted art rock gods can make albums as accessible as this. Check out: “15 Step,” “Bodysnatchers,” “Nude,” “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” “Reckoner,” “Videotape”

Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Random Spirit Lover is an emotional rollercoaster, and frontman/part-time Wolf Parader Spencer Krug doesn’t plan on letting you off until you’ve rode it from the manic, relentless buildup of “The Mending of the Gown” to the final chords of “Child Heart Losers,” an acoustic guitar ballad so adorable it could fit in perfectly on the Juno soundtrack. Check out: “The Mending of the Gown,” “Winged/Wicked Things,” “For the Pier (Dead and Shimmering),” “The Taming of the Hands that Came Back to Life,” “Child Heart Losers”

Honorable Mention: Britney Spears - Blackout (admit it, you know you love it...)