The Big Day

So today's the big day, huh? Can't want to see the results and yell.

Speaking of the election David Byrne emailed me yesterday (???) informing me that I should vote cos he can't. In the mass-email titled "I Can't, But You Can" Byrne divulges that he is indeed "an immigrant with a green card," therefore making him "not eligible to vote in a federal election." However, he notes that he can get drafted and pay taxes. Bully. He goes on to bash republicans, calling them "ignorant, and fucking proud of it."

"We can get out of this mess," he concludes, "and life can be better than it is."

Life will certainly be better once you make your stop on the campaign trail in Northampton, Mr. Byrne. He'll be playing at the Calvin Theatre performing the songs of Brian Eno & David Byrne December 2. Grab a free MP3 from his new record with Brian Eno, which is called Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Orrr take a listen here:









{{{Sunset}}}

Slowdive

Upon listening to Deerhunter all afternoon, I remembered that there were some songs on Atlas Sound's Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel that reminded me of UK shoegaze babes Slowdive. Their Souvlaki record is one of my favorites ever, and I happened to come across a working link. Brian Eno co-produced a couple tracks, "Sing" and "Here She Comes," and it shows. Otherwise it's some real icy cold songs with soaring guitars and dreamy vocals. Pygmalion was Slowdive's next and last record, two years later in 1995, really straying from any Pop sensibilities at all. The textures are spacey and hazy, rolling along in circular motions until they dissolve into each other.

Slowdive - Souvlaki

Slowdive - Pygmalion


P.S. I can't believe Obama + McCain were both just on Monday Night Football with Chris "Boomer" Berman.

P.P.S. Speaking of the election, sad quote in the McCain article in the NYT today:

"During the day he gets almost no exercise, eats the candy and junk food strewn all over his bus, and naps slumped in his seat in the curtained-off front section of his plane. The national reporters he once called his "base" remain banished in the back; aides say he is convinced that they are all rooting for Obama."

I feel bad.. Maybe I'll vote for him tomorrow.

Speaking of which, this is great

Deerhunter

I've been on a continual Bradford Cox craze as of late, and I'd love to share this quote he threw on his blog after seeing My Bloody Valentine in London a while back:

"It was the single loudest thing I have ever experienced. The sound moved my face. My balls retracted. It was like standing in front of the mouth of hell or a nuclear holocaust. If this sounds like fun, you are like me and FUCKED UP. It hurt."

Jealousy is me. Perhaps I, too, will be honored to have MBV melt my ears off.

You really need to check Microcastle and/or Weird Era Cont. as soon as possible if you haven't already. You can peep my review of those records tomorrow when they're printed on the Collegian's music day (Tuesday).

Edit: here it is

Crystal Stilts

Listening to the new Crystal Stilts record Alight of Night (Slumberland). It's interesting, of course, there's got to be some sort of catch for a band like this to get so much hype on sites like stereogum.com where they caught on way back in July and posted a few tracks, namely Alight of Night tracks "Prismatic Room," "Crystal Stilts," and "Shattered Shine," all of which lend themselves to a sort of gloomy, hazy mope possibly in the vein of Galaxie 500, some random 80s shoegaze crew, or fuzzy modern folks like Vivian Girls (whom Crystal Stilts robbed of a drummer, Frankie) or Deerhunter (similarities arise in the vocal effects and eerie hiss). "The SinKing" bops along, almost like a Hives song but drenched in layers of see-through textures. "Departure" boasts a crisp guitar tone and a tight bassline as more textures float above the mix. "Crystal Stilts" has this great retro organ, very appropriate for Halloween this past weekend. I've played "Shattered Shine" on the show a while back, its guitars sounding almost tropical in the context of the album's dark tones while a harmonica weeps underneath guitars as folded into each other and muddy as any found on a My Bloody Valentine record.

I'm not convinced on this being relevant a few months from now, but it's a solid listen for the moment. Not as easily accessible as cousin band Vivian Girls, not necessarily lacking in pop sensibilities but in straight forward approach. The Vivian Girls record comes and goes as if it didn't exist in the first place, like it already happened in the past, like you've already familiar. Crystal Stilts do not give the listener that much leeway, opting for a more churning, cryptic haze to wrap the listener in. "Verdant Gaze" actually sports some fly flute jamming which I can totally get into, while the following track "Bright Night" is more of a rocker, stomping what really only needs to be a single drum and tambourine, pounding behind Brad Hargett's deadpan croak and guitar jangle. Most lyrics are indecipherable upon the first listen, but one could imagine they're sappy pleas for a way out of despair or whatever. "Spiral Transit" tones it down, possibly to 50s high-school-prom-slow-dance speed, before finishing the record with another shambling track to drift off to, tinkling away into abrupt nothingness.

Check em out.

P.S. Speaking of Deerhunter and Vivian Girls, the two of them plus Times New Viking will be playing at the Paradise Rock Club November 10th. hollarr

Weekend Wit Jens

Friday saw no Sesame Street Bandaids, unfortunately, but did see the super-hyped Hampshire Halloween extravaganza while our pre-recorded show played.

Note: Hampshire Halloween happened extremely underwhelmingly and if it weren't for the overwhelming amount of MDMA and jellyfish costumes it would've totally flopped.

So Jens Lekman played in nearby Northampton last night, which was so great. You can read about the event here, an article I totally wrote Thursday afternoon before Pitchfork picked up on it. Take That.

Here's a setlist of the show, a photo up there, and a review in the Collegian tomorrow, which I'll post once it goes to print.

Edit: here is my review.

Sipping on the Sweet Nectar
A Postcard to Nina
Kanske Är Jag Kär I Dig
Black Cab
Shirin

INTERMISSION/BAKESALE/RAFFLE

It Was a Strange Time in My Life
A Sweet Summer's Night on Hammer Hill
The Cold Swedish Winter
I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You
The Opposite of Hallelujah

ENCORE:

You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon Cover)
Your Arms Around Me
Pocketful of Money

Best wishes to Clara Gardner



Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band will perform Thursday Nov 6 at the Northampton Music Academy in Northampton with Ben Kweller and Rig 1. Supposedly sold out, but it should be a great show. The new C.O. record is great, highlights = Sausalito; Get-Well Cards; I Don't Want to Die (In a Hospital); NYC -- Gone, Gone; and Souled Out!!! The record reads like a Tom Petty tribute, generally, with some fun flares woven in like the Elliott Smith-sounding guitar tone of Lenders in the Temple and the wicked stomp of NYC -- Gone, Gone. Moab goes directly the way of Petty, but thats a-okay. Maybe not one of the top of the top records of the year but it sure kicks. P.S. It's definitely not a Bright Eyes record, think more of a grown up Oberst breaking out of a sappy shell and into his own just playing county songs and having a lot of fun.







Asobi Seksu ["Me & Mary" 7" is solid: a-side is some of the best Asobi Seksu I've heard, deep and vast and thick and bouncy. b-side sort of Pink Floyd territory, spacey and delicate and dreamy. chex it out]