Google Assembles 90+ Orchestra Through YouTube Auditions
By Brom on 03-11-2009
It was inevitable really. Google has appointed the first-ever YouTube orchestra, with over 90 musicians being selected based on video auditions uploaded to the video-sharing website. Over 3,000 people submitted applications, with selections based on online votes and the opinions of classical specialists from renowned orchestras. The winning contestants, representing nearly 30 countries, will come together April 12 in New York City to take master classes from a variety of music experts. They will then perform at the Carnegie Hall on April 15 under the tutelage of Michael Tilson Thomas.
In many ways, this is merely the next step from the likes of American Idol and The X-Factor in the U.K. Classical music has always had a higher barrier to entry, mainly because of the sophistication required to play a cello, violin, trumpet, etc. But Calvin Lee, one of the lucky few to be selected for the YouTube orchestra, admitted that he had “barely played his violin for the last 15 years.” This is compared with the months of preparation typical classical music auditions entail.
The winners are clearly adept at their instruments and undoubtedly have much more talent than the Kelly Clarksons and Leona Lewises of this world. But when you have Timothy Lee, Google’s product marketing manager (ah, now we understand), arguing that "classical music is hungry for innovation,” is this really what we should be expecting? Music has become so dull for us we need big corporate marketing gimmicks to reinvigorate our interest? That’s not innovation! That’s making a quick buck!
San Franciscoites Unite! Papercuts And Vetiver Team Up For Tour
By Annapocalypse on 03-11-2009
Several things popped into my head while writing this news story:
- Is San Franciscoites even a real word? San Franciscoeons? San Franeons?
- Vetiver are finally touring North America in support of their latest album, Tight Knit (TMT Review), out now on Sub Pop.
- What’s the deal with Papercuts? Do they have a new album or somethi—oh snap, they do. You Can Have What You Want will be released April 14 via Gnomonsong.
Papercuts' You Can Have What You Want tracklisting:
1. Once We Walked In The Sunlight
2. A Dictator's Lament
3. The Machine Will Tell Us So
4. A Peculiar Hallelujah
5. Jet Plane
6. Dead Love
7. Future Primitive
8. You Can Have What You Want
9. The Void
10. The Wolf
San Franciscoites In Your City:
04.24.09 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord *
05.02.09 - Arlington, VA - Lota #
05.03.09 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
05.04.09 - Petersborough, NH - Glass Museum #
05.05.09 - Winooski, VT - Monkey House #
05.06.09 - Allston, MA - Harper's Ferry #
05.07.09 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House #
05.10.09 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop #
05.11.09 - Athens, OH - Union Bar and Grill #
05.12.09 - Chicago, IL - AV-aerie #
05.13.09 - Pontiac, MI - The Pike Room at The Crofoot #
05.14.09 - London, ON - Call The Office #
05.15.09 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern #
05.16.09 - Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit's Soundlab #
05.17.09 - Pittsfield, MA - Copperworks #
* Cryptacize, The Finches
# Vetiver
Damien Jurado Begins Tour April 1; Don’t Be A Fool, It Ain’t No Joke
By Shelley Su on 03-11-2009
Surprise! Damien Jurado's tour starts on April 1, the day for pranks, hoaxes, and shenanigans. But this is no joke. The Seattle-based indie folk rocker will be promoting his latest album, Caught In Trees (TMT Review), released on the Secretly Canadian label. With a solo career that's lasted more than a decade, Jurado's willingness to experiment with recording techniques and his intense, Raymond Carver-like lyrics have kept him on a veritable Who's Who list of indie rockers.
Check out the still frame to his "Caskets" video here. This guy's serious, even in suspenders. Damn, Damien!
Tourdates:
04.01.09 - Spokane, WA - Empyrean Coffee House
04.03.09 - Boise, ID - Neurolux*
04.04.09 - Provo, UT - Velour*
04.05.09 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive*
04.07.09 - Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room*
04.08.09 - Iowa City, IA - The Picador*
04.09.09 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club*
04.10.09 - Chicago, IL - Schubas*
04.11.09 - Bloomington, IN - Russian Recording*
04.12.09 - Ann Arbor, MI - The Blind Pig*
04.14.09 - Toronto, ON - The Drake Hotel*
04.15.09 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore*
04.16.09 - Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's Place*
04.17.09 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House*
04.18.09 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Chapel*
04.19.09 - Vienna, VA - Jammin' Java*
04.21.09 - Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle*
04.22.09 - Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree*
04.23.09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl*
04.24.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe*
04.25.09 - Nashville, TN - The Basement*
04.27.09 - Norman, OK - The Opolis*
04.28.09 - Denton, TX - Dan's Silverleaf*
04.29.09 - Austin, TX - Cactus Cafe*
05.01.09 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress*
05.02.09 - San Diego, CA - Casbah*
05.03.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Spaceland*
05.04.09 - Santa Barbara, CA - Muddy Waters*
05.05.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill*
05.07.09 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge*
05.08.09 - Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe*
* Laura Gibson
Grab Your Doobies and Twist Your Baseball Caps Backwards – Cypress Hill Are Back!
By Kat Gardiner on 03-10-2009
Upon hearing that early-’90s THC-laced hip-hop quartet Cypress Hill are coming back with their first new album in five years, I took a mad bong rip. How else can a person possibly celebrate such news? I asked my dealer, Little Mike (he's actually quite large), and he started telling me how he saw them live once in ’98 on their IV tour, "...and there was this, like, giant inflatable raft man. No, it was a monkey, man, but inflatable, and sitting on a large, like, golden throne, man. Haha, it was totally, like real gold, too. And the monkey was smoking this phat joint, man! It was awesome! And they had a big gong on stage that they hit sometimes."
The new album is slated to be released this fall on Suburban Noize Records. It hasn't been named yet, presumably because they keep forgetting the title they had settled on the previous night.
Fleet Foxes Can’t Stop Touring, Or People Might Stop Talking About Them
By Nobodaddy on 03-10-2009
Ah, the sophomore year of the buzz band! Why, I remember waaaay back in aught eight, back during the days of the Bush Administration and all of its economic prosperity, when the world was first introduced to the young, fresh, clean-cut, short-haired stylings Fleet Foxes. Yes sir, those were the salad days for frontman Robin Pecknold and his proud folk-rock combo, taking the public by storm with the stirring one-two punch of the Sun Giant EP and its interrelated Fleet Foxes (TMT Review) LP last spring. All glory was theirs in the ensuing summer (and fall and winter) of love, their cups overflowing with festival dates, media coverage, women, and year-end-list-mania. Mark my words: 2008 was the year of Fleet Foxes!
But now its 2009. The honeymoon is over, and Robin’s rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle has aged severely, causing many to look away. Hard times have hit the U.S. and world economies, and what are Fleet Foxes doing with themselves now, you ask? Why, they’re playing a handful of spring dates around the west coast of the U.S., just like how your band is. Ain’t that showbiz for you? Oh well; I wonder when that Pains of Being Pure at Heart band is coming to town?
“Handful of dates” Tour 2K9:
04.12.09 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
04.13.09 - Arcata, CA - Arcata Community Center
04.14.09 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
04.15.09 - San Francisco, CA - Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
04.16.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre
04.18.09 - Indio, CA - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04.21.09 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
05.25.09 - George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival
