Founding Velvet Underground members Lou Reed and John Cale have filed a lawsuit against the Andy Warhol Foundation, claiming trademark infringement over the usage of their iconic banana. The foundation recently licensed the recognizable The Velvet Underground and Nico cover image for use on iPad accessories, such as cases, sleeves, covers, shells, wraps, dust jackets, shoulder bags, and skins.
According to the suit, “[The Velvet Underground]’s use and application of the design to symbolize the group and its whole body of work has been exclusive, continuous and uninterrupted for more than 25 years.” In 2001, Reed and Cale upheld this exclusivity streak by licensing the image for use in an Absolut Vodka ad.
Consider this: The original The Velvet Underground and Nico cover was designed by Warhol, reproducing a public-domain image of a banana. Could the usage of this image on iPad skins be, in fact, a great work of reappropriation art? That is to say, perhaps the image appearing on various consumer products is not a copy of the iconic album cover, but a new work in and of itself. Perhaps the designers are truly great, progressive artists in the vein of Sherrie Levine or even Andy Warhol himself. The “Warhol Book Jacket” for iPad 2 is available from Incase for $79.95.
Stefano Scodanibbio has died in Mexico at 57 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
A close friend of Luigi Nono’s, he also worked with many other modernists — Bussotti, Donatoni, Estrada, Ferneyhough, Frith, Globokar, Sciarrino, Xenakis — and composed much of his own. His website is here. A longer Italian report here.
Since The Decemberists are now pretty sure that they’ve always been an indie/alt-country/college-radio/jangle pop combo and have no idea what you’re talking about when you bring up things like proto-metal, Tolkien, and rock operas, it’s only fitting that they do things that successful alternative bands do. And upon noticing that Wilco had already put out their live double album like six years earlier, frontman Colin Meloy figured he’d better step on it.
Accordingly, on March 13, The Decemberists are releasing a double-disc (and triple-vinyl) live album on Capitol. The album is called We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11) and includes 20 live tracks culled exclusively from the band’s 2011 North American tour supporting The King Is Dead (if you’ll remember, that album sold whatever couple handfuls of copies are required to “top the charts” these days and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Something-or-other). Luckily though, the album seems to include a pretty even spread of songs from each of the band’s records (there’s even that one from that opera album that Kanye liked!), featuring performances at 12 different shows. Who knows what listener demographic these guys might crossover into next??? Ahhh! Decemberists! #1! USA!
We All Raise Our Voices to the Air (Live Songs 04.11-08.11) tracklisting:
Disc 1:
01. The Infanta
02. Calamity Song
03. Rise to Me
04. The Soldiering Life
05. We Both Go Down Together
06. The Bagman’s Gambit
07. Down by the Water
08. Leslie Ann Levine
09. The Rake’s Song
10. The Crane Wife 1, 2, and 3
Disc 2:
01. Oceanside
02. Billy Liar
03. Grace Cathedral Hill
04. All Arise!
05. Rox in the Box
06. June Hymn
07. Dracula’s Daughter > O Valencia!
08. This Is Why We Fight
09. The Mariner’s Revenge Song
10. I Was Meant for the Stage
I’m not entirely sure how the members of Tortoise decided on their name, but as far as animal representations go, it seems surprisingly congruous with the type of music that they create. Stop for a moment and think about your general perception of tortoises and their behavior; without referencing National Geographic or some other knowledgeable organization, I imagine tortoises spend their days moseying along at their usual pace, not giving a shit, but completely focused on the task at hand. Whether the task is munching on some delish greenery or circumnavigating a giant boulder unfortunately placed in middle of the desert, tortoises do what they need to, and they do so with subtle, but obvious precision. The point being… wouldn’t it be totally awesome to be a tortoise!?
An alternative point: the human members of Tortoise deserve some recognition for their decidedly consistent, precise, and influential take on the post-rock genre. And as it turns out, the Chicago-based record label with which they’ve had a long-standing relationship, Thrill Jockey, is in total agreement on this point, as they’ve just announced that they’ll be reissuing on vinyl all of Tortoise’s major releases, with the exception of a remix album, which I honestly didn’t even know existed. Here’s a list of the relevant albums: Tortoise (1994), Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996), TNT (1998), Standards (2001), It’s All Around You (2004), and Beacons of Ancestorship (2009). According to The Wire, the six vinyl reissues are a part of Thrill Jockey’s upcoming 20th anniversary plans, and each edition will come with free digital download codes. There aren’t any release dates at the moment, so keep your bulging reptile eyes on the Thrill Jockey website for any updates.
Don’t bother asking post-rockers Disappears what year it is. Each year their calendar just says the same shit on on it anyway: “PUT OUT ALBUM. TOUR IT SHITLESS.” Following 2010’s Lux, last year’s Guider (TMT Review), and the ensuing tours with Sonic Youth’s worst guitar player Steve Shelley on drums, the band members presumably hung out at home for a few days, hugged a few friends and family members, got into and then over Kinect Sports, and then headed back to the studio.
This time with Shelley fully involved in the proceedings, they went to Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon West studio in Hoboken New Jersey to hit the next one. And right on cue, the new Disappears record, Pre Language is ready to be toured shitless. According to some press release poetry, the thing is all about…”love,” featuring “direct allusions to Philip K. Dick, James Baldwin, and Joan of Arc.” Alright, I totally know who at least one of those people are. But anyway, the album comes out via Kranky on March 1 and was mixed with John Congelton, and although they don’t seem to be touring shitlessly quite yet, I’m sure things will rev up in a bowel-voiding way soon enough.
Pre Language tracklisting:
01. Replicate
02. Pre Language
03. Hibernation Sickness
04. Minor Patterns
05. All Gone White
06. Joa
07. Fear of Darkness
08. Love Drug
09. Brother Joliene
Tourdates:
02.18.11 - Vancouver, BC - Biltmore Cabaret
02.19.11 - Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
02.20.11 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
02.22.11 - San Francisco - Bottom of the Hill [Noise Pop Festival]
02.23.11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
02.24.11 - Pioneertown, CA - Pappy and Harriets
02.25.11 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
A likely recipe for whatever The Flaming Lips and Bon Iver have in the works:
- one cabin in the wilderness of Wisconsin
- enough confetti to thoroughly pollute the atmosphere
- all stars that have fallen to the ground
- four CD players
- five skulls
- a pinch or two of Autotune
- jagged vacance, thick with ice
- one giant plastic bubble
- snow
- swarm (herd? pack? gaggle?) of pink robots
Directions:
Stuff all ingredients into the cabin and see what happens. Gather other Lips’ concoctions (with Death Cab For Cutie, Nick Cave, Ghostland Observatory, Yoko Ono, Neon Indian, and maybe with Lykke Li, Erykah Badu, and Ke$ha as well). Let simmer until April (Record Store Day-ish).
