Cutting through the hyperbole often associated with popular unpopular music.
Friday, May 02, 2008
The Hold Steady Announce Tracklist, Release Date of LP Number Four (Or: The Art of Stay(ing) Positive)
Out of the two bands to make a unique fansmile (the other being the Drive-By Truckers), only one is putting out a record this upcoming summer. And, even though this news has been broken by P4K and Billboard , it's still too exciting (for those of us who spend sad times with Boys and Girls alike) not to share: The Hold Steady have announced the tracklisting and release date of their fourth LP, Stay Positive.
Last year was the only year to not have seen a new Hold Steady record since the band's inception. One can only hope that the extra time spent on the LP was worth it. Based on the new songs they played on their tour with Art Brut, we can say it was. But on July 15th, we'll known for sure, as that is the date on which Vagrant will release the 11-track opus. Here's what made the cut:
01 Constructive Summer 02 Sequestered in Memphis 03 One for the Cutters 04 Navy Sheets 05 Lord, I'm Discouraged 06 Yeah Sapphire 07 Both Crosses 08 Stay Positive 09 Magazines 10 Joke About Jamaica 11 Slapped Actress
Glad to see "Lord, I'm Discouraged" make the list. Here's the video we uncovered of the track, taken from a show last fall:
Gnarls Barkley and The Raconteurs may not have much in common musically, unless you were either pleased or disappointed with their respective debut albums (although, the Racounteurs did cover Cee Lo and Danger Mouse's smash hit at the 2006 Lollapalooza - video of which you can watch at the top of the post). Business-wise, however, both groups are embracing the Radiohead/Stars/Nine Inch Nails/Atmosphere/Anyone-Who's-Using-That-Thing-Three-Feet-Above-Their-Ass model of releasing new music, which is to release your work directly to your fans with little in the way of the traditional hype express build-up. Both groups have announced in the past few days that the physical copies their highly-anticipated follow-ups to their debuts (Consolers of the Lonely and The Odd Couple) will be available in six days--March 25th, 2008.
From the mouths of side projects:
The Raconteurs are happy to announce that in one week's time their second album, entitled Consolers of the Lonely, will be available EVERYWHERE Tuesday, March 25th.
"'Album' meaning: full length vinyl, CD and digital formats; and 'everywhere' meaning: local mom and pop Indie retailers, corporate superstores, supermarkets, iTunes, Amazon, the band's own website and any other location that could get the record up and going this quickly (some places couldn't move this fast, so they will join in as soon as they can)...With this release, The Raconteurs are forgoing the usual months of lead time for press and radio set up, as well as forgoing the all important 'first week sales'. We wanted to explore the idea of releasing an album everywhere at once and THEN marketing and promoting it thereafter. The Raconteurs would rather this release not be defined by its first weeks sales, pre-release promotion, or by someone defining it FOR YOU before you get to hear it.
In additional Consolers news, Pitchfork announced earlier this afternoon the tracklisting to the album. Here it be:
Consolers of the Lonely:
01 Consoler of the Lonely 02 Salute Your Solution 03 You Don't Understand Me 04 Old Enough 05 The Switch and the Spur 06 Hold Up 07 Top Yourself 08 Many Shades of Black 09 Five on the Five 10 Attention 11 Pull This Blanket Off 12 Rich Kid Blues 13 These Stones Will Shout 14 Carolina Drama
But all of this is not to make Gnarls Barkley look like slouches. Indeed, while The Odd Couple was originally set to be released on April 8th, the duo decided to move the date up to...right now!
From The Mouths Of Side Projects, part two: "With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing. People need to be soothed and inspired now." (via Pitchfork
Those of you who didn't pick up Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago during its original, self-released pressing finally have the opportunity to head down to their local record store and pick up what is widely regarded as a fantastic, auspicious start. In addition, you can listen to an interview that the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire radio station with Mr. Justin Vernon himself here. Thanks to reader AJ for the tip.
