Beck to Reissue 1994 K Records Release One Foot in the Grave in a Last-Ditch Effort to Pull One Foot of His Career Out of It

By Nobodaddy on

Remember the ’90s, when gas was $1.09, cell phones were for emergencies, and Beck was BECK? Well, Beck remembers too, and he’s apparently aching to remind us all that he wasn’t always an aging caricature who had to try incredibly hard to make it seem like he, you know, wasn’t trying hard. Back in the ’90s? He just straight-up WASN’T trying hard, and when you listen back to those early amateur moments, it’s clear that he was an expert at it.

Thus, the sadly overwrought Beck of 2009 plans to capitalize big-time on his devil-may-care debut with the reissue of his 1994 slacker-folk album One Foot in the Grave on April 14th, with reportedly 16 additional songs tacked onto the original tracklist. Although this out-of-print beauty (which was recorded before — but released after — Beck’s breakthrough major label debut Mellow Gold) was originally released on K Records, it looks as though Interscope Records will handle the reissue.

The news of the reissue first appeared in Japanese paper Daily Yomiuri, which interviewed Beck before his Japanese tour this month. “Well, it’s been out of print for a few years, so it’s something we’ve been planning, but I knew that we had these extra tracks. I’ve actually been working on this for the past two or three years,” Beck tried hard to not try hard to tell the paper. “[On] the original tapes there were an extra maybe 30 songs that weren’t on the record and I picked the best… and added them on there, so it’s got about a little over a dozen extra tracks that no one’s heard before.” So there you have it: the best of the worst of the slacker’s expertly unhappy-proletarian junk folk... wait, what?

Anyway, in addition to the original One Foot, the three-song It’s All In Your Mind EP (that’s the original, not the Sea Change version, son) is also reportedly included, as is a batch of unreleased songs that have appeared only on bootlegs and/or songs that have only previously existed in Beck-lore but never heard (”Teenage Wastebucket,” “Piss On the Door”). So this whole is pretty exciting/confusing/meaningful/sad/awesome/ineffectual/essential, basically, depending on your point of view. Hey, kind of like how Beck himself is at this point!

No More Nothing: 2009’s First Quarter Passes with No New Platinum Albums

By Mike McHugh on 04-03-2009

In an age when corporate treasure holds are ever diminishing, music executives may now join their banking brethren in bereaving the loss of another piece of self-indulgent booty: the platinum record. Since no albums released in 2009’s first three months got even close to the one million mark, the RIAA won’t be doling out a single platinum record so far this year. In fact, only 39 releases sold more than 25,000 units in their opening week. Ouch.

The lack of platinum releases stands as a pale reflection of the sorry state of CD sales in general, which have dropped 20.3% from this time last year. While dwindling CD sales are nothing new by this point, labels now have to deal with store closings by credit-crunch ravaged retailers like Circuit City (RIP), Virgin Megatore, and Borders. Coupled with the ever increasing digital market (both legal and ehhh not so legal), I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that music industry may be in a bit of trouble. And as long as I’m making wacky theories, I don’t think newspapers are doing that great, either.

Jens Lekman to Tour West Coast, Most Likely to Swoon, Croon, and Force Women into Pre-Marital Cahoots

By Emceegreg on 04-02-2009

Ever since my virgin ears heard "All That She Wants" by Ace of Base playing eloquently on Casey Kasem's "Long Distance Dedication," I knew that Swedish music was on the rise and that ABBA, I mean Europe, had found their successors. Oh, how naïve I was.

More than a decade later, after a tirade of meaningless music fads and that one song by The Cardigans that was on the Romeo & Juliet soundtrack, Sweden's own Jens Lekman has taken center stage to win back the hearts of people who thought the Swedes went sour. Lekman has showed us that sounding similar to Kermit the frog is something sexual and intriguing, and after two delightful wingdings of recorded material, he will tour the unappreciated West Coast of the United States.

There's no word yet on whether this small tour will be with a full band or not, but you can bet your knickers it'll be appropriately intimate and Swedish. Opening for Lekman will be comedian Tig Notaro (Last Comic Standing 4, Sarah Silverman Show). Sounds tastier than ketchup on spaghetti!

Tourdates:
05.26.09 - San Diego, CA - The Loft
05.27.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
05.28.09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
05.29.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Velvet Jones
05.30.09 - San Luis Obispo, CA - SLO Art Center
06.01.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of the Hill
06.02.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of the Hill
06.03.09 - Eugene, OR - WOW Hall
06.04.09 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
06.05.09 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
06.06.09 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
06.07.09 - Vancouver, WA - Richards on Richards

Share Torrents on Facebook! What’s the IPREDator? Pirate Bay Investigator Gets Hacked! Yar!!! News from The Pirate Bay This Be

By Kat Gardiner on 04-02-2009

The following stories were found washed up on the shore in Cambodia. Three sheets of paper stuffed in a Japanese sake bottle, written in Swedish. The man who found it (we'll call him King Kong) then loaded the bottle onto his computer, zipped and uploaded it onto a server site, made it into a .torrent, and dispensed it throughout the internet through a popular torrent sharing site that will go unnamed.

Upon uploading the file myself, I cracked the bottle open and distilled these news updates regarding the notorious and/or glorious internet BitTorrent site, The Pirate Bay. Now, just weeks away from the much anticipated verdict on the copyright infringement case against the four Pirate Bay associates at Stockolm district court, here's the latest:

- Torrents on Facebook

A small icon started appearing in The Pirates Bay's search results over the weekend. An "f" in a little blue box, and an option to share. That's right, The Pirate Bay has made it that much easier to share your intellectual found objects to your friends and internet family through popular social networking site, Facebook. With roughly three clicks, you can now share a link found on The Pirate Bay's site openly with the world. Some people may be sketched out by the sheer lack of anonymity inherent in this potential violation of copyrighted law, but by making it easy and giving it the legitimacy of mob mentality, it may just overwhelm the opposition and give BitTorrent sites more widespread acceptance and legitimacy.

- Paid Privacy Service IPREDator

For those unconvinced, (or just more careful), The Pirate Bay also began beta-testing out a new privacy service called IPREDator. It's a virtual private network (VPN) software that would enable a file-sharer to use the BitTorrent tracker without leaving a trace and costs about $7 a month (€5 to be precise). The IPREDator, named after IPRED (Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive) -- the EU's attempt to beef up the enforcement of anti-piracy laws in place -- is not to be confused with Apple's new iPredator, the chic new tiger-making device.

- Hackers Hack Pirate Bay Investigator

And finally, Jim Keyzer, the cop who led the investigation against The Pirate Bay, seems to have gotten attacked by one of the unseen uncontrollables that his investigation is seeking to control. And they attacked through his girlfriend, too. Harsh. A hacker under the name "Keyzer Defender" posted a torrent titled "Where did the money come from?" exposing some of the officer's passwords, account details, news of a newly purchased house, and whatever else this hacker dude dug up on his girlfriend's Hotmail account. Personally, I bet the whole hacking event looked a bit like that scene in Hackers when Angelia Jolie, Matthew Lillard, and their cyberpunk friends stand on top of a building and hack into the cities powergrid using what appears to be a PDA running exclusively on florescent DOS software. The reason for the dramatic headline of the torrent comes from the fact that Keyzer started working for Warner Bros. before The Pirate Bay investigation was closed, stayed there for a short while, and then left. The hacker is implying that this gave him the money to buy the new house. That has been yet to be proven, but one thing sure has: You don't mess around with these hackers and expect not to be messed with.

Iron and Wine to Tour this May and Release 2CD/3LP Collection

By Burke on 04-02-2009

On May 19, Iron and Wine will release a 2CD or 3LP collection of rare tracks, entitled Around the Well. Around the Well features tracks spanning the history of the group’s catalogue, from the basement tapes that eventually formed Sam Beam’s debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle (TMT Review), to the fully orchestrated affair that was The Shepherd’s Dog (TMT Review). It also includes a cover of The Flaming Lips’ “Waiting for Superman.”

Presumably, the band has chosen to release this collection to tide fans over while they record material for their follow-up to 2007’s The Shepherd’s Dog, which is due in Spring 2010.

Iron and Wine has also planned nine dates in support of the forthcoming album. Setlists are composed of fan favorites chosen online, and each venue was chosen for its intimacy. So, take your loved one and listen to Sam Beam whisper beautiful nothings to the tune of a plucked guitar.

Around the Well tour:
05.04.09 - Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
05.05.09 - Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
05.06.09 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord
05.07.09 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe du Nord
05.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
05.09.09 - Hollywood, CA - Troubadour
05.12.09 - Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theater
05.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
05.17.09 - New York, NY - Abrons Arts Center

Around the Well CD tracklisting:

Disc 1

1. Dearest Forsaken
2. Morning
3. Loud as Hope
4. Peng! 33
5. Sacred Vision
6. Friends They Are Jewels
7. Hickory
8. Waitin' for a Superman
9. Swans and the Swimming
10. Call Your Boys
11. Such Great Heights

Disc 2

1. Communion Cups & Someone's Coat
2. Belated Promise Ring
3. God Made the Automobile
4. Homeward, These Shoes
5. Love Vigilantes
6. Sinning Hands
7. No Moon
8. Serpent Charmer
9. Carried Home
10. Kingdom of the Animals
11. Arms of a Thief
12. The Trapeze Swinger

RIP: Duane Jarvis

By Shane Mack on 04-02-2009

From the LA Times:

Duane Jarvis, a stalwart of the Los Angeles roots music scene whose lead guitar work landed him stints playing with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, John Prine, Michelle Shocked and others when he wasn't recording and touring as a respected singer-songwriter in his own right, died Wednesday after a long bout with colon cancer. He was 51.

Jarvis died at his home in Marina del Rey, where he was receiving hospice care after stopping treatment that in recent months had included two major surgeries and three rounds of chemotherapy, according to Kevin Jarvis, a drummer who performed frequently with his older brother.

"Duane passed away this morning at 1:30 a.m. with a smile on his face," Kevin Jarvis wrote in an e-mail sent Wednesday to family members and friends. "We knew time was short by the way things were going that day, although Duane surprised us a little by leaving us quite so soon."

- Duane Jarvis MySpace

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