Video: My Bloody Valentine Playing "Only Shallow" For The First Time In 16 Years

(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)



(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)



(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)

Being the huge shoegazer freak that I am, the My Bloody Valentine reunion is a prospect for which I've been frothing at the mouth for quite some time. As the band slowly began their warm-up gigs for their first tour in 16 years, I was naturally interested in finding clips of the band at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, located in London. What I've found are three clips of the band performing "Only Shallow"--the first song the group has performed together live in 16 years. It's more than an apt choice, seeing how "Only Shallow" is the opening song of their magnum opus, the monumentally influential Loveless. The first clip at the top is of the best quality, in terms of audio and video together. The one below it has best video quality, but is the worst in terms of sound; the last is adequate on both fronts. Watch all three at the top of the post.

Check out the set-list and more details over at Stereogum.

(Jonathan Graef)

The Replacements Turned Down Coachella Reunion Offer...But Hint At Future Possibilities

Download: The Replacements - "Color Me Impressed"

With the band's entire Twin/Tone Catalog set to be re-issued tomorrow, the inevitability of future generations discovering the music of legitimately legendary indie-rock (version 1.0) quartet The Replacements is perhaps at its highest. Further cementing that opportunity for music fans not around for the band's 80s and 90s heyday would be if the group had made the decision to re-unite at this year's Coachella Festival, set to begin on April 29th. The band, whose original line-up is largely intact (founding guitarist Bob Stinson passed away in 1995), revealed to Billboard Magazine that the group rejected what were reportedly large offers to reunite at Coachella, amongst other major festivals, because "At the last minute, it just didn't seem like the right thing to do...".

Founding band member Tommy Stinson explains more to Billboard:

"We actually talked about it again this year, and I think there was a consensus that, you know, maybe it wasn't the right time (to reunite), or maybe it is the right time," Stinson says. "Paul and I were kind of in cahoots talking to them [and] talking to (his manager) Darren (Hill). There were some things thrown out, and there were other festivals that wanted it too, if we were going to do it.

"At the last minute, it just didn't seem like the right thing to do, so we didn't do it. But I think Paul and I have something to offer each other still. I think that's pretty obvious when we get together."

At the same time, principal songwriter Paul Westerberg explains to the magazine that "I'm very hesitant about dragging the name out there and what damage we could do to the legend. Whatever we did, someone would want something else...So if I was ever going to play, I'd like to play once the whole shooting match is out, because I don't think I could physically get up there and bellow these 18 songs (from) that first record..."

Read the rest of the article here


If the Replacements were to reunite, I don't think there'd be a single soul out there who wouldn't be interested in watching "the band" live. But the reason "the band" is in quotation marks is because two of the band members are not participating: one due to shuffling his aforementioned mortal coil; the other, Chris Mars, retired from music to focus on painting. So this would be a reunion in the same sense that the Smashing Pumpkins getting back together was a "reunion".

Still, personally speaking, I can't count how many personal organs I'd be willing to give just to hear any essential Replacements cut performed live. Since the article mentioned that the band also turned down offers from major festivals, I'd assume that we're not going to hear Let It Be performed in its entirety at Pitchfork, or can expect the quartet magically show up at Lollapalooza. But there's a chance of the band getting back together. The Sire catalog will be re-issued in the fall.

Maybe then will be the right time? Perhaps. But ay any rate, Replacements fans have been shiftless when idle for 17 years, with regard to a reunion. Waiting for another couple of months won't hurt.

(Jonathan Graef

Jawbreaker Playlist -- Plus Reunion News

Download: Jawbreaker - "Chesterfield King"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Boxcar"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Want"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Shield Your Eyes"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Do You Still Hate Me?"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Save Your Generation"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Fireman"
Download: Jawbreaker - "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault"

From Punk News comes some information about second-wave emo band Jawbreaker sort-of reunion that happened while a documentary about the influential trio was being shot. From the Punk News article/Adam Pfahler's blog post about the reunion:

Yes, the documentary is still on, still being made. The hold up is that Keith and Tim have yet to find a distributor who is willing to pony up the closing costs to finish this thing (flights, editing time, blowing it up to 35mm. etc.). So they are doing this as a labor of love in between their regular gigs and family time. I trust this love bodes well for the finished product.

A few months back they came to SF and we got some really great footage with all three of us and Billy Anderson (who worked on Bivouac, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and a couple one-offs as a producer/engineer). We even played together, but didn't roll footage out of both respect for the sanctity of the moment and fear that we'd suck. Anyway, I have audio of it. Maybe I'll post that some day.

Speaking of audio, up top you'll find a selection of MP3s from Jawbreaker's four albums--Unfun, Bivouac, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, and Dear You--all of which brought complex melodic structures and literate lyrics (songwriter Blake Schwarzenbach wrote heartbreaking, funny, and utterly truthful lyrics on subjects like break-ups, punk poseurs and life woes in general) to a punk template, a combination that has served as the foundation for many future pop-punk bands.

Read more about the band here.

(Jonathan Graef)

The Kinks To Maybe, Possibly, Reportedly, Conceivably, Feasibly, Reunite In 2008

Download: The Kinks - "20th Century Man"
Download: The Kinks - "Complicated Life"

2008 is barely underway, but it would seem that another essential British band who appropriated some aspects of the blues--one that doesn't rhyme with Schmed Schmepplin--will also be reforming and touring.

NME is reporting, via the British tabloid Daily Mail, that The Kinks--one of the major players of the 60s British Invasion, though they frequently, and unfairly, take a backseat to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones--will reunite for a tour which will most likely coincide with the release of The Kinks box set Retrospective.

Despite potential health concerns--such as guitarist Dave Davies' stroke and bassist Pete Quaife kidney troubles--Ray Davies said that:

I spoke to Quaife about a month ago and he dearly wants to make another record with me...I think Dave's getting better and Mick's still playing. It would be great to get back together just to see what musical ideas we had and what would happen."

Now the question is whether or not the brothers Davies can keep the fisticuffs to a minimum.

Read the rest of the NME story here and listen to a couple of Kinks songs at the top of the post.

Or check out this video of The Kinks performing "All Day And All Night":



(Jonathan Graef)

Slowdive: The Videos

Download: Slowdive- "Alison"

With all the talk surrounding My Bloody Valentine's "new" album, I got to thinking about other shoegaze bands from that era, such as Ride and Slowdive. I've already written about Ride before, more specifically their fantastic album Nowhere, so I'd thought I'd write about Slowdive this time. Their second album, Souvlaki,, has some of my absolute favorite songs of all time, including the euphoric "Alison", the ethereal "Machine Gun", and the e-transcendent "When The Sun Hits".

The band formed in 1989 and broke up in 1995. During that time, they put out three albums: Just For A Day, in 1991; the aforementioned Souvlaki, (which contained two tracks that were co-written with Brian Eno), an album that was released in the UK in 1993 and in the US in 1994; and Pygmalion, a widely misunderstood album, and, as a result of its commercial failure, a rare, collector's album, in 1995. All three records were re-released in late 2005, with the first two albums being given bonus disks and the third merely being put back into print.

To read a more detailed biography, go here. While you're reading that, check out the numerous videos posted below. You'll find both versions of the video for "Alison" - one has a more "party" style atmosphere to it; the other is a narrative video with much more footage of the band - and a whole slew of live videos, many of which are taken from the band's last gig they played in Toronto. All videos are for songs from each album Slowdive had released. My favorite is the clips of Fantasia set to the song "Slowdive", which you can find at the very bottom of the post.

Enjoy!



(Slowdive, "Alison", Version 1)



(Slowdive, "Alison", Version 2)



(Slowdive, "Shine")



(Slowdive, "Catch The Breeze")



(Slowdive, "Ballad Of Sister Sue")



(Slowdive, "Avalyn", Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "When The Sun Hits, Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "40 Days", Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "Souvlaki Space Station", Live In Hamburg, 1994)



(Slowdive, "She Calls", Live)



(Clips from Fantasia set to Slowdive's "Slowdive")

MySpace Tribute Page
Buy Slowdive Albums here

(Jonathan Graef)

My Bloody Valentine To Release "New" Album This Year

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Loomer"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Never Say Goodbye"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "The Things I Miss"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Glider"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Off Your Face"
Download: My Bloody Valentine- "Come In Alone"


Check it out at the Daily Swarm. In sum, My Bloody Valentine are back together and may release an album as early as this year.

These are the two key quotes from the piece (well, one would be a quote of a quote in this case). First, from Kevin Shields himself, in an video interview that's due to air Monday on Soft Focus (which is quoted in the TDS piece):

We were making a record in the 90s, around when the band broke up in 1995…and I continued with Belinda. We kinda made we made most of an album….It’s going to be this ‘96/‘97 record half-finished record finished, and then a compilation of stuff we did before that in 1993–94, and a little bit of new stuff.

I pretty much know what the one that’s going to come out this year is going to sound like because its already pretty much 3/4’s done already…it sounds like what we sounded like – different but not radically different. People will go, “Yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine.”

So the first "new" record isn't really new, per se. Having said that, I don't think there's a single soul on the planet who doesn't want to hear this material.

The second key quote comes from the TDS piece itself:

While Shields claims a My Bloody Valentine album is due this year, he gives no indication of exactly when or how it will be released. When the group split up in 1995 they had already left Creation Records and signed a legendarily ill-fated deal with Island, but it is unlikely that the contract remains in effect after all this time. The band recently activated (the official MBV website) and Shields’ manager confirmed the the site is being built by Debbie Goodge, the band’s bass player. It is possible that the album will see an independent, Internet-only, Radiohead style release, and a release date could be announced at any time.

As for My Bloody Valentine’s return to the stage and possible appearance at Coachella 2008, we have no new news to report (the subject does not come up in the Soft Focus interview). According to sources close to the band and the festival, discussions are ongoing and no final decisions have yet been made.

So there you have it. It would seem to me that any material by MBV - whether its "new" or new - would be analogous to Dinosaur Jr's reunion album Beyond, which was released earlier this year. That is, the record would find the band picking up where they left off, as if there had been no delay, break-up or hiatus at all, and expertly continuing their sound. In other words, well-received, but not groundbreaking. But really, how could it be? Loveless, like all genre-defining masterpieces, is both timeless classic and huge albatross. The best thing the band could do is pretend 1995-2007 never happened.

One last quote, from a typically restrained Pitchfork:

So what did we learn today? That My Bloody Valentine are indeed back together in some configuration or another. That they've recorded new material. That they have at least two releases on the way, one of which may very well come out this year. And, last but not least, that Loveless has a follow-up and IT WILL SOON TOUCH THE EARS OF HUMANKIND.

Wooooooooooooo!

(Jonathan Graef)

First Verve Demo In Ten Years Posted On NME

Download: The Verve - "The Thaw Session"

Regarding giving away free music on the internet, it would seem that more and more artists are following in Radiohead's footsteps everyday. Add Brit-pop propagators The Verve, who are legends in the UK, but, due to the sole success of "Bittersweet Symphony," are one-hit wonders in the US, to that mix. The band, who reunited last June after singer 's stalled solo career, has chosen to give away its first recording in ten years via NME . The idea is more interesting in theory than in execution - the "song" in question is really a 14-minute jam session called "The Thaw Session," which is an apparent reference to the final bonus track off of "Urban Hymns", the band's breakthrough album. However, as an insight into the band's creative process, it's pretty interesting, though very free-form and definitely jammy.

Click here to read more about the Verve and NME's free music giveaway. You can download the track at the top of this post.

(Jonathan Graef)

Guided By Voices 2007 Reunion

This is footage of Guided By Voices reuniting over the weekend to play in a BBQ in Dayton, Ohio. Pretty awesome, if very brief.

(Jonathan Graef)