Nick Cave, Burt Bacharach, Irma Thomas And More Head-Up Best Pop Montreal Lineup of All-Time
By Liz Louche on 08-26-2008
I'm going to start off this story with a bold statement: Pop Montreal is the best festival I have heard about all year. The city is beautiful, historic, and happenin', with a thriving music scene and enough Francophile splendor to make me wish I could afford to attend grad school again, this time in Canada. And the festival lineup and the activities surrounding it? Well, let's just say I am already trying to think of a good way to bring up taking time off of work at my new job. Of course, since I'm being bold with my statements, I might as well be honest and admit that I wrote this story in hopes that in some way, somehow, it would convince a higher Pop Montreal power that they should extend a li'l financial assistance in the form of a press pass my way. Yes! This is a great idea, men and women of Pop Montreal! Just you wait and see!
And now without any further ado/self-promotion, let's discuss the incredible rating of this lineup. It's very high, due in no small measure to the selection of artists like Nick Cave, Burt Bacharach, Irma Thomas, Wire, Silver Apples, and The Persuasions. And there's more. In fact, there's -- ok, deep breath -- Dan Deacon, Hot Chip, Beach House, Black Kids, Dark Meat, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Crystal Castles, Vetiver, Cori Bishop (a.k.a. Elyse Weinberg), The Veils, Socalled, Evangelicals, Julie Doiron, United Steel Workers of Montreal, The Dodos, Cex, Liam Finn, Jason Collett, Wintersleep, Headlights, Playdoe, Dabaaz, Kim, Eric Bélanger, Great Lake Swimmers, St Catherines, Thomas Function, Chad Van Gaalen, Wedding Present, Dominique Grange & Jacques Tardi, Katie Moore, Jana Hunter, Woodhands, Sam Shalabi, Gatineau, Chocolat, Teeth Mountain, Teki Latex, D'Urbervilles, Michie Mee and T. Raumschmiere.
But like any good festival worth its salt, Pop Montreal is not just about booking my personal favorite bands. There's more! There are also Kids Pop, where artists and young'ns can explore the cultural richness of Montreal's arts scene through workshops, demonstrations, and shows. Another exciting portion of the festival is Puces Pop, a sort of hats-off to creating stuff independently. You'll find a craft market, workshops on arts and crafts, a fashion show, and a short seminar on business skills for those of us who are self-employed or who want to be. All this, plus a gear swap and record show! The list goes on with the addition of Art Pop, a celebration of the visual arts that promises vandalism, activism, and -- what I'm really excited about -- cute kitties. There's also the symposium section of Pop Montreal called Talk Music to Me!, with artist-driven talks, interviews, workshops, and more. And Film Pop has Vincent Moon presenting his thoughts on All Tomorrow's Parties, workshops on writing music for films, and -- yes, you guessed it -- more. Last but surely not least, you can catch original commissioned pieces from composers like Socalled, performed live in porn theatre Cinéma L'Amour.
At last now, I will stop drooling over your amazingly sexy festival, Pop Montreal organizers, and let readers know the low-down on attending. Ticket prices are in Candian dollars and are as follows:
Early Bird tickets until August 31st : $175+tx
After August 31st : $225+tx
After September 30th : $275+tx
Pop Pass : $70+tx
You can also get tickets for individual shows. Visit Pop Montreal for more.
Goodbye 21st Century Geffen: Sonic Youth Leave Longtime Major Label for “Indie” Label
By Mango Starr on 08-26-2008
"For the first time in eighteen years, Sonic Youth are a full-fledged indie-rock band again," starts a recent article in Rolling Stone. Yes, friends, lovers, delegates, transvestites, people who watch Jon and Kate Plus 8: since the release of Rather Ripped in 2006 fulfilled the group's contract with Geffen -- the major label they've been signed to since 1990's Goo -- Sonic Youth are now apparently heading back to the world of indie (the picture above shows what Sonic Youth look like as an indie band).
So, which label have they decided on? "There’s one label we are certainly going to go with at this point," Thurston Moore told Rolling Stone. "But I don’t think I’m allowed to disclose that right now. I don’t want to risk having a shit storm." He later goes on to say that the "last four or five records we did were just so compromised by that [major label] situation. But that’s the way it goes."
Sonic Youth are currently writing new tunes for their next INDIE album, with the hopes of releasing the new INDIE album next spring. And now that they're back in the INDIE world, you can call them an "indie" without me rolling my eyes. Lucky you!
Catch Sonic Youth at the final McCarren Park Pool show August 30, and then spot Moore at the MBV All Tomorrow's Parties fest at Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, NY, where he will perform Psychic Hearts in its entirety.
RIAA File-Sharing Lawsuit Victim Exhibits No Signs of Stockholm Syndrome, Turns to Free Culture Activism
By Heidi Vanderslice on 08-26-2008
When I first read this story about Brown University student Zack McCune, I was surprised to find that college and university students are still being randomly selected by the RIAA to receive hefty lawsuits. Nonetheless, McCune was one of those unlucky students, but rather than delving back into obscurity after the RIAA contacted him, he went on to do the unthinkable: he made good of the situation!
Instead of throwing a tantrum or quietly paying the fine, McCune questioned the relevance of today's copyright laws in part of a This American Life-esque series of podcasts documenting his ordeal, which can be found here. The short films were produced during his internship at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, part of the Harvard Law School that encourages debate on copyright reform and the ways in which laws can be changed to accommodate the digital age. McCune is now the leader of a Free Culture chapter at Brown.
Indeed, McCune came up against an obstacle that threatened the way he lives his day-to-day life, but rather than rejecting the RIAA as an institution, he began to work towards a creative, yet practical solution to the problem. He did not, in fact, continue to throw himself against a brick wall and refuse to change, getting arrested and fined even more in the process. Does this sound familiar? Adapting to a changing or adverse environment with new strategies? Record industry, meet the internet (again), and all of the fine people behind it. If you can't beat 'em...
Murs Makes a Run at Obama, Plans 36-City Fall Tour
By J.E. Williams on 08-26-2008
West Coast-based rapper Murs has announced a 36-city tour in support of the upcoming release of his latest LP, Murs For President, set to drop September 30 on Warner Bros. Clearly, the politically conscience artist and presidential hopeful has been busy on the campaign trail and in the studio, as the new album will be Murs’ second release of 2008. The first was the artist’s collaboration project with acclaimed producer 9th Wonder, Sweet Lord, which was released in mid-July. And if the new album is anything like Sweet Lord, Murs may have a shot against Barack Obama and John McCain in November. You heard it here first.
Murs For President Fall tourdates:
Score! Merge to Release Subscription-Only Box Set
By Mango Starr on 08-26-2008
One score and minus one year ago, Merge Records formed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance. A lot has changed since then. The label has since relocated to Durham, North Carolina, actually charts on Billboard now, has a new beautiful logo (pictured), and word has it that the label was really founded by Win's butler and retailer Montgomery Ward.
Despite the fuzzy history, Merge is in the celebrating mood, and starting September 8, you can pre-order a special subscription-only box set, titled SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years. How many the label makes depends on how many pre-orders are made from then until January 2009 (which will also mark when the first volumes get shipped out), and that will of course depend on how much money you have left from your stimulus checks, where you're at on your home foreclosure, the price of gas at the pump, and how much the cost of rice will be at the time.
But if you're privileged like me, just pre-order, sit back, and wait for exclusive goodies to plop down on your four-season porch throughout 2009. This includes 14 custom-curated Merge compilations with original artwork, as well as "additional exclusive content." Curators for the first several volumes include Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Phil Morrison (dir. Junebug), and The Upright Citizens Brigade. And according to Merge, "Curators for future volumes will include Amy Poehler, David Byrne, author Jonathan Lethem, artist Marcel Dzama, Momofuku chef David Chang and many more to be announced."
The cool part? The whole shebang will benefit charities picked by the curators. Wonder what Amy Poehler will pick!
