Comprised of two graphic designer dudes who went to the Maryland Institute College of Art (Bruce and Nolen) and a Perry Hall native (Denny), Baltimost's Double Dagger have become the latest band from the city to be added to the Thrill Jockey roster.
Double Dagger formed sometime in 2002 and released their self-titled LP on local label Hit-Dat Records (Sean Gray, in the house!). Finding inspiration from their MICA days (okay sorry, I’m watching Puppy Cam, and these two puppies are playing, and one was rolled over on its back and got stuck; it’s so fucking cute), Double Dagger’s songs were about, like, art school, art history, weird chicks, and graphic design and stuff. In 2005, there was a drummer switch-up, and then they released their next record, Ragged Rubble, on Stationary (Heart) Recordings.
Double Dagger’s 2009 plans are to record a new record for Thrill Jockey.
Yes, it's true! _Death Sentence: PANDA!_'s tour begins _today_! Hitting up cities like _Bologna_ and _Basel_, this tour should be _yummylicious_. But despite how _yummylicious_ it'll be, it's expected to be _noisy_ too, because _Death Sentence: PANDA! sound like Melt Banana eating Teenage Jesus' liver!!_.
_Death Sentence: PANDA!'s_ latest album is _Insects Awaken_, which was released or is set to be released _September 29, 2008_ via _Upset the Rhythm_. The funny part? Well, did you know that _SOMETHING AWESOME WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN_?? HAHA!
Anyway, here are the tourdates for _Death Sentence: PANDA!_, which again, starts _today_ and hits up cities like _Bologna_ and _Basel_. Just don't be surprised if _SOMETHING AWESOME WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN_, like I said in the second paragraph!
I love Eluvium. If I had the space, this article would just read “I love Eluvium” over and over. Talk Amongt the Trees (TMT Review) might be my favorite ambient work, EVER, but quality doesnotdrop to anything below great on any of his works.
So this little nugget of news is especially titillating to yours truly, as it has been announced that pretty much every piece of music Eluvium has ever put out will be released in a very special seven-disc set. Aptly named Life Through Bombardment, the set will be available in a very limited format: a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies on wonderful 100% virgin black vinyl. Also included will be a code for high-quality MP3s and some fantastic artwork by Jeannie Lynn Paske. Those hungering for this ambient treasure can find it through Eluvium’s label, Temporary Residence.
Life Through Bombardment tracklisting:
SIDE A:
1. The Unfinished 2. Under The Water It Glowed 3. There Wasn't Anything
SIDE B:
1. Zerthis Was A Shivering Human Image 2. I Am So Much More Me That You Are Perfectly You
SIDE C:
1. An Accidental Memory 2. Genius And The Thieves 3. Perfect Neglect In A Field Of Statues 4. Nepenthe
SIDE D:
1. In A Sense 2. The Well-Meaning Professor 3. An Accidental Memory In The Case Of Death
SIDE E:
1. New Animals From The Air 2. Show Us Our Homes 3. Area 41
SIDE F:
1. Everything To Come 2. Calm Of The Cast-Light Cloud
SIDE G:
1. Taken 2. We Say Goodbye To Ourselves
SIDE H:
1. One 2. Swallows In The Bath
SIDE I:
1. I Will Not Forget That I Have Forgotten 2. As I Drift Off 3. All The Sails 4. When I Live By The Garden And The Sea
Long ago, when a pastor could deliver his or her words of fire and brimstone to a crowd of thousands of suburban SUV-drivers with clear and crisp confidence, no one dared to imagine that these portentous words would come to haunt the little ear mic thingies lodged in the auditory canals of preachers all over America: “Static, static, static, we’re on a video rage... This is the static age we live in.”
With the FCC’s approval of the Google- and Microsoft-backed plan to open unused portions of the airwaves to wireless devices once U.S. television broadcasts make the switch from analog to digital transmission in February 2009, Glenn Danzig’s song of shaky reception has become the rallying cry of a nation. Or the voice of a really weird amalgamation of lobbyists, including preachers from megachurches, Disney, Dolly Parton, and a few other groups that I will just assume are steamed by the deal, such as car salespeople announcing big blowout sales over their lot’s loudspeakers, boy bands that have fallen from glory and now perform for bored parents on their way to the Dippin’ Dots at mid-sized theme parks, and small-town new reporters demonstrating the art of grape-stomping.
Preachers, Dollywood employees, people dressed up as Sleeping Beauty at Disneyworld, and other really important people are speaking out against the FCC’s recent decision, because they fear that opening up the soon-to-be vacant airwaves to new wi-fi devices will interfere with the reception of wireless microphones used in sports and entertainment broadcasts. Religious groups are already expressing concern that such interference will cut into the budget to send their youth groups to witness spring-breakers at Myrtle Beach.
But leave it to the drug-addled, unstable FCC and wireless companies to endanger the most holy time of the week in their frenzy for their next convenient, wireless, cost-efficient high, as FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein explained, “Let's hope it's not just Wi-Fi on steroids but Wi-Fi on amphetamines."
Oh, why stop there, you godless technology companies? I want my wi-fi underage, hyped up on meth, and trespassing in the residents-only pool at Pinecrest Condominiums. Then I want it to put on a little lipstick and dance. But, most importantly, I want it to interrupt the mic feed for Dollywood Express.
Shortly before the wonderful world of mashups, groups like New Jersey's Dälek were really doing mashups. That is to say that Dälek's previous effects, such as 2005's doom-saturated brain-burner Absence, mashed disparate genres such as shoegaze, noise, and hip-hop into something entirely new, something that didn't quite fall in to both the aforementioned classifications or the contemporary definition of a mashup. Indeed, Dälek remain one of the most diverse hip-hop collectives in existence, and they're probably still the absolute loudest to boot.
So it's no surprise in knowing that the forthcoming Gutter Tactics, out January 27 on Mike Patton's Ipecac label, is probably packed with surprises. However, the production half of Dälek, okt0pus, recently offered up some hints, saying "Gutter Tactics is more about us continually doing some early hip-hop shit but with the attitude of the Melvins or Black Sabbath," so you can still expect the socio-political lyrics, headphone-decimating swells, and cavernous beats.
Two new tracks, "2012 (the Pillage)" and "No Question," are currently available at Dälek's MySpace page, showcasing a slight decrease in volume, but a more intense, haunting mood.
They featured a psychotherapist on bass, appeared at Live Aid, wrote the 1981 hit "Vienna," and starred a debonair mustache-rockin' frontman before that guy from The Killers and that guy from Gogol Bordello were even a glimmer in the NME's eye. One of their members co-wrote and provided a little producing pizazz for the perennial Lite FM holiday favorite, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by the 1984 all-star megagroup Band Aid. Their name originally had an exclamation point in it, which is commonly regarded as an indicator of exciting awesomeness.
I am talking, of course, about Ultravox, the new wave/post-punk group originally formed in the late 1970s, who are -- you guessed it -- now reunited and it feels so good.
Details are limited, but my trusted informant (the Ultravox website) has told me that all four members of the 1980s Ultravox -- psychotherapist Chris Cross, violin/keyboard enthusiast Billy Currie, lord of the drums Warren Cann, and the once bemoustached Midge Ure -- are joining their awesome powers for this most recent excursion on the nostalgia reunion train, set to make stops throughout Wales, Scotland, and England.
These will be the group's first live performances since 1985.
