Is it me, or does the title track of Kelly Clarkson's new album, "All I Ever Wanted," sound an awful lot like Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On"? But, ya know, a step and a half lower. Let me know what you think.
Video Digest: The Bad Plus (Live on Conan), Cat Power's AOL Sessions, Modest Mouse, School of Language, Spoon
(The Bad Plus - "Thriftstore Jewelry" - Live on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (3/14/08))
With a tip of the hat toward one April Wright, whose idea this is, MFR has put together a video digest of noteworthy new vids. Here, you'll be able to indulge your jones for both the audio and the visual in one place.
First off, we have MPLS-based trio The Bad Plus performing "Thriftstore Jewelry", from their newest release, the wholly self-financed and released Prog, on the "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" show. To see behind-the-scenes photos from their taping, head on over to More Cowbell.
(Cat Power - "Ramblin' (Wo)Man (Hank Williams cover) - Live on "AOL Sessions)
The sultry sounds of Cat Power's latest record, the mostly covers album Jukebox (the second such album that she's done), seem like they would best translate in a small club with an intimate ambience, particularly the lounge-pop arrangement that Ms. Chan Marshall gave standard "New York", or the soulful countrypolitan stylings of "Ramblin' (Wo)Man". So it should be no surprise that Cat Power dropped by the "AOL Sessions" studio to record renditions of various Jukebox selections. Check out those videos, plus a Q&A here. But before you do so, take a gander at "Ramblin (Wo)man" from the sessions, which is posted above.
(Modest Mouse - "Fly Trapped In A Jar)
The latest video from Modest Mouse's effort from last year, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, "Fly Trapped In A Jar" makes an immediate impression on the viewer with its psychedelic visuals and surreal plotline. This video may be more Seussian that Horton Hears A Who!.
We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is out now.
(Spoon - "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb")
Speaking of animation, this new clip from Spoon for "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" makes the most out of its "stop-motion animation of paper cutouts" which were then sequenced on the computer. Even though its the most obvious reference point, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" does, at times, resemble the herky-jerky nature of Peter Gabriel's classic video for "Sledgehammer", which also made legendary use of stop-motion animation.
Rockism is a school of thought that suggests that some genres--usually rock music from whenever the person espousing this philosophy was 12 years old--are better than others. School of Language, an offshoot of Field Music and headed by that group's David Brewis, satirizes the concept of rockism in its new video for "Rockist Part One". If there's a part two, one cannot be entirely sure that it can be effective due to the fact that Brewis and company do a pretty good job mocking most of the rock music that's come out in the past few years. Check out the video posted above, as well as a MP3 of the song which has been made available by Chicago-based indie label Thrill Jockey (hometown love!).
"I have been a soreheaded occupant of a file drawer labeled 'science fiction' ever since, and I would like out, particularly since so many serious critics regularly mistake the drawer for a urinal." – Kurt Vonnegut
I've always been a sorehanded attendee of the all-ages show because it's so often used as a urinal.
Wednesday night was Wilco. Wilco was amazing, as per usual. But they feed off of the closeness of the crowd and the excitement of those who really love them. I bet you can guess what I'm going to say next. The seats killed the atmosphere. If you want to know what Wilco is really like, see my review of the Duluth show.
And on top of it, unlike every other venue on Earth, Northrop lists the show time and not doors on their ticket, so I (along with everyone I know) missed Andrew Bird.
The Ponys opened and were exactly what I needed. Sometimes you need early '90's style garage rock to lift you up. There's something about hearing your own misery played out in someone else's notes that never fails to fix everything that ails you. And The Ponys played out my saddest, most desperate moments with the greatest of fuzz and power.
Maybe The Ponys aren't miserable. Maybe the lead singer is so reminiscent of Kurt Cobain that it hurts to look at him. But maybe that's what you need sometimes. They weren't too original, but they had presence and power and they reminded me of being a teenager. I appreciate that.
And then Spoon came on. Just as I was uplifted, they had to come on stage and fucking phone it in. I understand that all ages crowds are kind of obnoxious, but is that a reason to put on a bad show? Spoon is a great studio band, but a lot of the effects on their albums don't translate well to a live show. Having no stage presence and not speaking much to the audience doesn't translate well to a live show. If I wanted to hear a direct translation, I would look at a still of the band while playing Gimme Fiction (and for all they moved and acted exciting and fun, I might as well have been looking at a photo).
I don't know if they were better at the 21+ show, but if they're normally so boring, skip 'em when they come to your town.
Spoon, the Austin, TX, band who is in the middle of a tour supporting their MFR approved fifth album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, stopped by Studio 8H to perform a few tunes on Saturday Night Live. Those videos have shown up on YouTube and you can watch them for yourselves.
Also worth noting is that Spoon will be playing in Minneapolis twice, once this coming Wednesday, the 10th, and a second time on Thursday the 11th. Both shows are at First Avenue. The Wednesday show is 21+ and doors open at 8 p.m. The Thursday show, however, is all-ages. Buy tickets either at the venue or through Ticketmaster.
Tomorrow, as you most likely know, marks the release of Spoon's excellent new album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. To promote it, the Austin-based group are going to play a series of "secret" shows - one of which is in San Francisco, the other is this coming Friday (July 13th) at Chicago's very own Schubas nightclub. There are three ways you can win tickets. The first way is to check the Schubas website. The second is to check in with radio station WXRT and listen to win tickets. The third, and final, way to get your paws on these sure-to-be hot tickets is to march down to Reckless Records in Chicago and buy your copy there. Once you do, you will be eligible to win a pair of tickets to the show (provided you give certain information, of course).
As far as the San Francisco show is concerned, the show will be at the awesome Cafe Du Nord. You can get tickets either from radio station KFOG or by buying the album at the incredible Amoeba records.
Or, if you just want to see the band from the comfort of your home, tune in to "The Late Show With David Letterman" tomorrow evening (July 10th) to see Spoon play.
Finally, to see what the fuss is all about, stream Ga Ga Ga Ga Gahere .
If you had told me that Spoon would be adding a horn section to their sound for the new record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, I would have made the face I make after tasting grapefruit, an expression somewhere between disgust and disappointment. In his article about Spoon in the June 11 issue of The New Yorker, Sasha Frere-Jones notes that Spoon "shows the rewards of restraint." Which is exactly it, isn't it? Britt Daniel's songs are basically fleshed-out sketches, with guitar and piano parts that emphasize the beat more than anything else.
So it is with great satisfaction and delight (equivalent facial expression: eating a Golooney's mushroom and onion pizza) that I report to you that Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, despite its stupid title, is a remarkable piece of work. The first song, "Don't Make Me A Target," is vintage Spoon. It's bare-bones, with fierce, pulsating guitar work. In fact, the first indication that something different is going on comes with the third track, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," a Motown-like stomp with Britt Daniel using that well-loved falsetto to complement the low-end horn section. It's a hell of a track, and it alludes to greater things to come, including the Jon Brion-produced song "The Underdog," which is a propulsive, upbeat number in the vein of "Sister Jack" and "Take The Fifth." Horns ring, acoustic guitars jangle, and you sing this song all day because it won't leave your head. That's just how it works, and there's no sense avoiding it.
Now, it's easy to exaggerate the different sound of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - this is still a Spoon record, after all, and this is no reinvention. It's merely a welcome broadening of their established sound, one that retains the good ol' Spoon style we've come to know. Some songs, like "Rhthm & Soul" and "Don't You Evah," sound like they could have come from slightly tweaked versions of Kill The Moonlight and Gimme Fiction. Daniel's songwriting remains great; he still trusts his instincts to hold things back and keep you on your toes. This, of course, is all very, very good news.
Grade: A
