Can a song be interesting with only one chord? “Power-ambient” band Chord seem to think so, and they’ll sell you an album that proves it
By Kid Midnight on Aug 30 2010
Chicago-based band Chord, which features Trevor Shelley de Brauw of Pelican and Phil Dole of X-Bax, have announced that their second album, Progression, will be released through Important Records this fall. If you’ve never heard of Chord, well, I must admit that they have a pretty interesting vision driving the band: The band spent its debut album exploring the possibilities of single-chord songs by selecting one chord and making it the focus of the entire song. Each member played a separate note from the chord, and through the magic of “experimenting” and “jamming,” bada-bing bada-boom: a song was composed.
The new album is keeping the past model of “one chord per song with each member playing a separate note,” but this time around, the band is getting more experimental with the composition and structure. The band selected its preferred chords and then charted out how the song would be played; one composition is free-form and tone-driven, one is controlled by shifting “intensity of performance,” and the third is dictated by a “grid-like chart where each players’ note continually shifts, though the combination of voices continue to maintain the chord.”
In addition to the experimentation with composition, structure, and chord selection, the band has also assured me that, despite the CD and LP having a similar internal structure, both formats are designed to be “played concurrently, forming the full six chord arc of the total piece.”
SOUNDS PRETTY BORING!!! But you can find out for yourself here.
Progression tracklist:
CD:
01. EbMaj9 (descent)
02. Gm11 (pelagic)
03. D6 (codal)
LP:
01. EbMaj9 (ascent)
02. Dm11 (pelagic)
03. G6 (codal)
• Chord: http://chord.atomicmouse.co.uk
• Important: http://importantrecords.com
For all you fans who thought you had it all: Bob Dylan announces new rarities collection
By Kid Midnight on Aug 30 2010
You’ve just bought that Japanese import version of Blood on the Tracks, and you finally scraped together enough money for the vinyl version of volume eight in Dylan’s Bootleg series. As you lovingly place them on your Dylan Shelf in the perfect spot (for accessibility and presentation), your husband and/or wife wipes a tear of joy from his/her North Country eye, and you mumble to yourself: “That’s it… I’ve got it all….”
WRONG, motherfucker! Because Bob Dylan has just announced that on October 19 he’ll be releasing volume nine in his Bootleg series on Columbia, titled The Witmark Demos: 1962 - 1964. The two-disc set serves as the first official collection of 47 songs Bobby recorded for his two earliest song publishers, Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons. The collection includes early versions of classic tunes like “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as well as session-exclusive numbers like “The Death of Emmet Till” and “Ballad for a Friend.” All of the music was made with just voice, acoustic guitar, and a dash of piano, and was recorded before Dylan was 24.
The deluxe set also includes a booklet of photos from the recording sessions and in-depth liner notes by Colin Escott. I know that you’ll be buying the deluxe version, because you need to have it all. All of it.
The Bootleg Series Volume 9 — The Witmark Demos tracklisting:
Disc 1:
01. “Man on the Street (Fragment)”
02. “Hard Times in New York Town”
03. “Poor Boy Blues”
04. “Ballad for a Friend”
05. “Rambling, Gambling Willie”
06. “Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues”
07. “Standing on the Highway”
08. “Man on the Street”
09. “Blowin’ in the Wind”
10. “Long Ago, Far Away”
11. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
12. “Tomorrow Is a Long Time”
13. “The Death of Emmett Till”
14. “Let Me Die in My Footsteps”
15. “Ballad of Hollis Brown”
16. “Quit Your Low Down Ways”
17. “Baby, I’m in the Mood for You”
18. “Bound to Lose, Bound to Win”
19. “All Over You”
20. “I’d Hate to Be You on That Dreadful Day”
21. “Long Time Gone”
22. “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues”
23. “Masters of War”
24. “Oxford Town”
25. “Farewell”
Disc 2:
01. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right”
02. “Walkin’ Down the Line”
03. “I Shall Be Free”
04. “Bob Dylan’s Blues”
05. “Bob Dylan’s Dream”
06. “Boots of Spanish Leather”
07. “Walls of Red Wing”
08. “Girl from the North Country”
09. “Seven Curses”
10. “Hero Blues”
11. “Whatcha Gonna Do?”
12. “Gypsy Lou”
13. “Ain’t Gonna Grieve”
14. “John Brown”
15. “Only a Hobo”
16. “When the Ship Comes In”
17. “The Times They Are A-Changin’”
18. “Paths of Victory”
19. “Guess I’m Doing Fine”
20. “Baby Let Me Follow You Down”
21. “Mama, You Been on My Mind”
22. “Mr. Tambourine Man”
23. “I’ll Keep It with Mine”
• Bob Dylan: http://www.bobdylan.com
• Columbia: http://www.columbiarecords.com
You fool, you’ll ruin everything! Warpaint announce debut record The Fool
By E. Nagurney on Aug 30 2010
You fool, get out of the way, you fool! What you’re doing, what you’re doing right now, is ruining everything. Stay out of the way of the laser and, gah, get away from that catapult, and for chrissakes, keep your hand away from that button. I swear, you’re only here to give me a headache. But I guess even you, even you would be interested in knowing that L.A’s Warpaint are releasing a debut full-length through Rough Trade on October 26. And, hey, hey, you pitiful little toadie, they’re even giving it a title you can relate to. It’s called The Fool, that’s what it’s called. It will be their first recording since last year’s Exquisite Corpse EP. You didn’t know that? Of course, you didn’t know that; now get over here before you set off that tripwire.
Not that it matters, since I’ll be sending you off to duty down in the mines (where you surely won’t be able to break, destroy, or in any way inadvertently foil my plots), but Warpaint are also going on tour this fall. Most of their dates will be with heads of hype class 09, The xx. Yes, yes, I do think that’s an awfully odd pairing too — one band deafeningly loud, the other whisper-quiet. I see you’ve got some brains up in there. Now don’t touch that lev…
The Fool tracklist:
01. Set Your Arms Down
02. Warpaint
03. Undertow
04. Bees
05. Shadows
06. Composure
07. Baby
08. Majesty
09. Lissie’s Heart Murmur
Warpaint dates:
09.04.10 - Los Angeles, CA - FYFest
09.22.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium &
09.23.10 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre &
09.24.10 - Portland, OR - Holocene &
09.25.10 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre &
09.28.10 - Chicago, IL - The Chicago Theatre &
09.29.10 - Toronto, ONT - Massey Hall &
10.01.10 - Montreal, QUE - Place Des Arts Maissoneuve &
10.02.10 - New York, NY - United Palace &
10.04.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Merriam Theatre &
10.05.10 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club &
10.06.10 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle &
10.08.10 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater &
10.10.10 - Austin, TX - ACL Festival
* Royal Bangs
& The xx
• Warpaint: http://www.myspace.com/worldwartour
• Rough Trade: http://www.roughtrade.com
[Photo: Lauren Dukoff]
Bear in Heaven announce fall tourdates at the US’s tiniest clubs, because they’ll probably be down to a duo by then
By Nobodaddy on Aug 30 2010
After coming out of relative obscurity (i.e., I hadn’t heard of them) and releasing a pretty darn well-respected album — last year’s annoying-to-type-but-more-annoying-to-say Beast Rest Forth Mouth — tribal Brookllyn rockers Bear in Heaven immediately got to work doing what most formerly-obscure bands do best: losing members and then pretending like the “lean line-up” was the plan all along.
With that timeless strategy of hamfistedness in mind, the recently minted three-piece band have just announced their return to the US (following a slew of UK and European dates this summer) that will include stops at Austin City Limits and Pop Montreal, a handful of dates opening for Crystal Castles, their own headlining stint, a lot of pre-recorded parts, and some snazzy in-ear monitors. Who knows, they might be down to a two-piece by the time they roll into your city! Then… maybe just a karaoke show! Then… if you catch them at the tail-end of this tour, maybe a lone iPod with their record on it will show up on stage at your venue. Exciting!
Oh, and speaking of their record, perhaps you’ve heard of a little remix album that the band recently put together, featuring the likes of The Field, Justin K. Broadrick (a.k.a. Jesu, Godflesh), Studio, and High Places. The remix album will be released September 14 on Hometapes (August 23 in the UK) and will come packaged alongside Beast Rest Forth Mouth. Also, their press release assures me that it “builds new sonic terrain.” Huh… a remix album that sheds new light on the original recordings? Naw, they’ve gotta be exaggerating there.
Bear in Heaven fall tourdates:
09.07.10 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom *
09.08.10 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade Music Hall *
09.09.10 - Orlando, FL - Club at Firestone *
09.11.10 - Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Music Festival
09.12.10 - Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
09.29.10 - Ithaca, NY - Castaways
09.30.10 - Montreal, QC - La Salla Rossa
10.09.10 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits
10.26.10 - Pittsburgh, PA - Brillobox
10.27.10 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
10.28.10 - Bloomington, IN - The Bishop
10.29.10 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall
10.30.10 - Grinnell, IA - Grinnell College
11.02.10 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile
11.03.10 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
11.05.10 - San Francisco, CA - The Independent
11.07.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
11.09.10 - San Diego, CA - Casbah
11.10.10 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
11.13.10 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
11.16.10 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
11.17.10 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
11.18.10 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Downstairs
11.19.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
* opening for Crystal Castles
• Bear in Heaven: http://www.bearinheaven.com
• Hometapes: http://www.home-tapes.com
Jim Jarmusch sets his lens on Iggy Pop’s old, writhing body
By Kid Midnight on Aug 27 2010
If there’s one thing that I’ve always wanted to see more of, it’s gotta be Iggy Pop. Whether Iggy is playing a suburban dad (Adventures of Pete and Pete), acting like an alien (Star Trek: DS9) or just writhing across a stage covered in his blood and broken glass (the late 1960s), I just can’t get enough!
So, imagine my face (it was pleased as punch) when I heard that my favorite film director, Jim Jarmusch, was getting ready to make a new film with Iggy in it! “It’s something Iggy [Pop] asked me to do,” the cool-as-shit director said before elaborating on his love of Pop. “There’s a rule in my household that if Iggy is playing anywhere within 90 miles, we go. It’s going to take a few years though. There’s no rush on it.”
Well, Jim, not to sound like a dick, but you better rush it because I want to see Iggy in another one of your movies!
The project is planned as a “long-term documentary project” where Jarmusch will most likely film a couple shows, follow Iggy around for a handful of months, provide an insider look into the rock and/or roll lifestyle, and ultimately end with an existential crisis wherein Iggy will either travel to Florida to discover America or head west and become an unwilling gun-fighter. Regardless of subject matter, I can guarantee that there will be plenty of long, uninterrupted, static shots of Iggy sitting in sparsely decorated hotel rooms.
• Iggy Pop: http://www.iggypop.com
