I don't know about you guys, but doesn't it seem like Julian Koster of The Music Tapes has... I don't know... changed? Ever since the acclaim for last year's Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes (TMT Review), Koster has seemingly adopted a slacker attitude. Sure, 2008 was a great year for him -- Clouds and Tornadoes landed at #5 on our Favorite Albums of 2008 list; the E6 celebration he organized was a huge success; his caroling tour in support of The Singing Saw at Christmastime was met with rave reviews -- but his new claim to fame has definitely effected his creative energy in 2009. First off, he hasn't released any new music this year. C'mon, musician, do your job! Second, he's just announced a tour, but he only booked 19 shows! That's just downright crazy. (Why is that crazy? SHUT UP, that's why.)
But perhaps most alarming are his new musical inventions. While his live performances up to this point have shared the stage with fantastic self-made band members like The 7 Foot Tall Metronome, Orbiting Human Circus Tapdancing Machine, The Clapping Hands Machine, and Static The Television, his newer toys are simply uninspired. Don't believe me? Here are exclusive looks at a couple inventions he plans to bring on his upcoming tour:
They're named "Amplified Hamster In a Wheel Thingy" and "Blender Machine Something Something." Like I said, uninspired
02.10.09 - Austin, TX - Mohawk
02.11.09 - Norman, OK - The Opolis
02.13.09 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture Gallery
02.15.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
02.17.09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
02.19.09 - Seattle, WA - The Vera Project
02.20.09 - Anacortes, WA - Department of Safety
02.21.09 - Portland, OR - Backspace
02.24.09 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th Street Entry
02.25.09 - Chicago, IL - AV-aerie
02.26.09 - Ann Arbor, MI - The B-side
02.27.09 - Toronto, ON, Canada, Lee's Palace
02.28.09 - Buffalo, NY - Big Orbit's Soundlab
03.01.09 - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
03.02.09 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs
03.03.09 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bellhouse
03.04.09 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church - Basement
03.05.09 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
03.07.09 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt
