Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot Members Discover How to Generate More Cash: Side-Project Discovery to Release Debut Album This Summer
By Annapocalypse on Jun 18 2009
If you’re a member of one of the freshest-sounding indie-pop bands out there today, what else is there left for you to do besides start a side-project? Not so surprisingly, that is exactly what Vampire Weekend keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot singer Wes Miles did with Discovery, the duo’s latest endeavor. Discovery’s debut album, LP, is due out July 7 on XL. Of course, no debut album would be complete without a bunch of guest appearances! LP features Vampire Weekend singer Ezra Koenig on the song “Carby,” and Dirty Projectors singer Angel Deradoorian on “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.” LP also has a cover of The Jackson 5 song “I Want You Back,” which is intriguing enough on its own.
Hot New Tracklisting:
1. Orange Shirt
2. Osaka Loop Line
3. Can You Discover?
4. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
5. So Insane
6. Swing Tree
7. Carby
8. I Want You Back
9. It's Not My Fault (It's My Fault)
10. Slang Tang
Let’s Face It: No One Reads Books Anymore! Oh Wait, Spoon and Arcade Fire Fans Still Love Reading Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five Every Other Week, Don’t They? Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records Gets Release Date
By Jon Lorenz on Jun 18 2009
I guess some people do still read books, especially when there isn't a movie adaptation. And since there isn't yet a movie documenting Merge, one of the greatest indie labels today, it'll be in the best interest of you and your community to go seek out Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label that Got Big and Stayed Small.
John Cook, the author of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, first saw Superchunk back in 1994 and has since followed members Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance and their famed Merge label. The book tells the story of Mac and Laura's evolution from being 20 year olds putting out records in their rented home in Durham, NC to now having 13 employees, an office, and putting out records by some of indie music's top names.
The book includes "photographs of] the life and times of the label and its bands, as well as concert memorabilia, record label art, and a link to a streaming Internet soundtrack for the book." So, if you can put down [Slaughterhouse Five for a few days, go out and buy Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records on September 15. Then you'll be able to spout all sorts of information about the early days of Arcade Fire and impress your friends at the lunch table! Yay!
Reminder: Stephen Merritt-Related Musical Playing in New York; 69ing on Stage Not Permitted
By Kid Midnight on Jun 18 2009
Earlier this month (June 1 to be exact), a new musical interpretation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, featuring new songs by Stephen Merritt, made its debut. The show took its first bow at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in lower Manhattan, and here I am, reminding you that the show is scheduled to run through July 5 just in case you forgot about it.
Coraline, already widely digested as both novella and film, made the switch to musical theatre, and playwright David Greenspan couldn’t be more satisfied with his musical collaborator, stating that Merrit is “a wonderful story-teller. He is able, in song, to not only develop character and advance plot, but to create moments of emotional expansion.” Coraline, a story about a young girl who discovers an alternate reality, contains all the usual gloominess that Gaiman laces the majority of his work with; accordingly, Merritt attempts to heighten the tone of the story by including a score that consists mainly of minimal, atmospheric piano and voice combinations. Merritt’s overall musical presentation is further described as “stripped-down,” “simplistic,” and possessing “creepy ambiance.” Sounds spooky!
Merritt, who is no stranger to composing and adapting musical material from other mediums, retains many of the musical stylings that he is known for with his primary musical project, The Magnetic Fields. His songs, and more specifically his lyrics, “retain the wittiness that has lined his work in the rock worlds, but also add a new dimension to the play.”
Sadly, no plans have been announced to release any recorded material from the musical, although samples of Merritt’s work can be heard at the MCC Theatre website.
RIP: Clark Sabine, from Statehood (featuring ex-Dismemberment Plan members)
By Shane Mack on Jun 18 2009
From Statehood's MySpace:
We are deeply saddened to tell you that Clark passed away on Tuesday evening at a hospice in Arlington, VA. He was first diagnosed with melanoma in February of 2008, and after a series of surgeries and treatments, we thought he was in the clear. In the fall the cancer returned and spread to other parts of his body. Experimental treatments were in the works, but we needed chemotherapy to shrink some of the tumors before beginning this treatment. In May, we found out that the chemo was not working and that the condition was terminal. Clark was 33 years old.As a band, we had 10 songs in line for a second Statehood record, and we'll talk about where we go with that in weeks to come. While Clark was in hospice care, he did some additional tracking with our friends Nikhil and Jason, and we listened to newer recordings to sort out details in the songs. Music was insanely important to Clark, and it gave him comfort to keep working on songwriting until the end.
Playing in a band with Clark was extraordinary and something to look forward to week in and week out. Often at practice we'd be laughing until we couldn't breathe from Clark's wild sense of humor and adventure. Anyone who knew him, even in passing, knows exactly what we mean. To say that he will be missed is an absurd understatement.
Thank you to everyone who gave Clark and the band support through these trying times. We will come back with more information as soon as we have it.
- Statehood official website
- Statehood MySpace
- Stitches and Staples MySpace
Castanets Bring Their “Old, Weird, Kinda Creepy America” to New Album, Summer Tour
By Liz Louche on Jun 17 2009
I first saw Castanets several years ago, in a preternaturally quiet little room on the opening afternoon of SXSW. Frontman Raymond Raposa effortlessly held sway over the audience, his voice rising above the steady whir of the cooling system, the backing band emitting unsettling country chords and creeping noise. It was spellbinding — and not just because my friend and I had driven 20 or so straight hours from Minneapolis to Austin and were barely managing to fight off collapse through an unholy combination of Sparks (the now sadly illegal caffeinated malt beverage), vodka, and enchiladas (although this did possibly play a very magical part in it.)
Over the years, Raposa and co. have continued to make some of the eeriest Americana this side of a noise band fronted by Faulkner, and they've done a darn good job of it. So it is with great excitement that I announce to you the upcoming release of Castanets’ latest, Texas Rose, the Thaw, and the Beasts, coming September 22 on Asthmatic Kitty. The band has some very special guests this time, rounded out by the likes of David J (Bauhaus), Jason Crane (Rocket from the Crypt), Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession), Andy Robillard (Gogogo Airheart), new Asthmatic Kitty artist DM Stith, Gabriel Sundy, Chris Cory, and frequent contributors Henry Nagle and Suzanna Waiche. Word is that the latest material has the expected experimental angle, alongside a little something known in pop music circles as “catchiness.”
Castanets are heading out on tour this summer, so you’ll be able to judge for yourself.
Texas Rose, the Thaw, and the Beasts tracklisting:
1. Rose
2. On Beginning
3. My Heart
4. Worn From The Fight (With Fireworks)
5. No Trouble
6. Thaw And The Beasts
7. We Kept Our Kitchen Clean And Our Dreaming Quiet
8. Down The Line, Love
9. Lucky Old Moon
10. Ignorance is Blues
11. Dance, Dance
Tourdates:
06.30.09 - New York, NY - Central Park Summerstage*
07.03.09 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's **
07.04.09 - Detroit, MI - Garden Bowl**
07.05.09 - Bloomington, IN -Russian Recording**
07.06.09 - Cleveland, OH - Skylab/The Shelf**
07.07.09 - Buffalo, NY - Soundlab**
07.08.09 - Boston, MA - Middle East**
07.10.09 - New York, NY - Cake Shop**
07.11.09 - New York, NY - Silent Barn**
07.13.09 - Baltimore, MD - Talking Head**
07.14.09 - Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar**
07.15.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight**
07.16.09 - Charlotte, NC - Mileston**
07.17.09 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light**
07.19.09 - Nashville, TN - The Basement**
07.20.09 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree**
07.23.09 - Houston, TX - Rudyards**
07.24.09 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk**
07.25.09 - Lubbock, TX - Bash Riprock**
07.27.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts**
07.29.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah**
07.30.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland**
07.31.09 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern**
08.01.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Crepe Place**
08.03.09 - Portland, OR - Worksound**
* Explosions in the Sky, Constantines
** M.A. Turner
![of] the life and times of the label and its bands, as well as concert memorabilia, record label art, and a link to a streaming Internet soundtrack for the book." So, if you can put down [Slaughterhouse Five](http://www.squishedfrog.com/images/asshole.jpg){kind=link}