Wake Up, Europe! The Hold Steady’s Coming And You’ve Got Drinkin’ To Do!
By Mike McHugh on Aug 1 2008
Yeah yeah, Europe. I know you think you know how to drink. Yep, I see your pubs, Britain. Uh-huh, nice vineyards, Paris. Oktoberfest? That’s cute, Munich. With all your hoity toity drinking traditions, I bet you think us Americans are just a bunch of Miller-swilling, Hee-Haw-watching amateurs. You don’t think we’re ready for the big leagues, do ya?
Well, let me introduce you to a band of our’s. They’re called The Hold Steady, and they grew up in cold-ass Minnesota drinking pints of whiskey and listening to Thin Lizzy. The Hold Steady look at a bar the same way a Viking looks at a monastery. But luckily for you, The Hold Steady wish you no harm. The Hold Steady want to be your friend. They want to party with you on their European tour, where they’ll be supporting their new album Stay Positive (TMT Review).
Their pond-jumping jaunt starts August 16 after a series of dates in the American South, so just remember this: When you keel over shortly after ordering your eighth lager, look over at your new buddy Craig Finn (he’ll be the one finishing his second handle of Old Crow) and just accept that you have been bested.
Tourdates:
The Music Tapes’ Julian Koster to Release Singing Saw Christmas Album
By Mr P on Aug 1 2008
Two young boys, Nigh and his older brother Will, were spending the night at their grandparents' house a week before Christmas. Grandma cooked a big hearty meal, and Grandpa helped them make Christmas cards for relatives. Fun was had by all. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers.
In a soft whisper, Will closed his eyes and began praying for some Christmas presents. "I'd love a new bike, Santa. And maybe a guitar, too... I've tried ever so hard to be a good boy this year."
Nigh, on the other hand, began praying at the top of his lungs: "SANTA, I PRAY FOR JULIAN KOSTER'S FORTHCOMING CHRISTMAS ALBUM, THE SINGING SAW AT CHRISTMASTIME!! MERGE RECORDS IS RELEASING IT OCTOBER 7, AND IT WILL FEATURE CHRISTMAS SONGS PERFORMED ON -- YEP, YOU GUESSED IT FAT BOY -- SINGING SAWS!! OH, AND JULIAN KOSTER USED TO BE IN NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, JUST IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW!! HIS SOLO PROJECT THE MUSIC TAPES IS FINALLY RELEASING A NEW ALBUM AUGUST 19, AND IT'S AMAZING!! (TMT News)"
Will, confused and agitated, leaned over and nudged Nigh. "Why are you shouting your prayers?? God isn't deaf." To which his little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is!"
Funny enough, Nigh's shouting was useless. Grandma died later that night.
The Singing Saw At Christmastime tracklist:
No Age, Dan Deacon, Tacos, and Whiskey? Must be F Yeah Fest 5
By Petey V on Aug 1 2008
As I packed up my stuff and got ready to drive to Chicago for Lollapalooza yesterday morning, I read the details of Los Angeles' F Yeah Fest 5 and promptly smacked myself. Why, you may ask? Well, I'm going to spend this weekend trying to sneak food into a park overrun with corporate interests and sweaty, mostly uninteresting people, and I might get to see a dozen or so great bands play short sets on huge, unwieldy stages to apathetic crowds. Oh yeah, and Radiohead will be there.
Yet if only I'd saved my money for a plane ticket to head to L.A. August 30-31 for the F Yeah Fest's modest price tags ($16 the first day, $15 and $7 depending on which show you attend the second night), I'd be chillin' with acts from No Age to Negative Approach (!) to Dan Deacon to Trans Am. I'd also probably be winning the taco-eating contest.
Yes, that's right. The lineup includes a full crop of awesome bands, including high-profile locals like No Age, Abe Vigoda, and Mika Miko as well as hardcore punk pioneers Negative Approach and the omnipotent Fucked Up. But there's also a taco-eating contest. And 15 comedians. But most importantly, a taco-eating contest.
But that's only the first day. The second day includes a massive scavenger hunt leaving from Echo Park Lake at 2 PM and regrouping at an undetermined location at 7 PM, where the winner will receive $500 in cash and "the largest bottle of whiskey known to man" (or a keg of crystal clear Pepsi, depending on the winner's legality). By comparison, the closest thing to a scavenger hunt at Lollapalooza will be trying to find a single food or drink item under $4. The prize will be still being hungry.
After the scavenger hunt, F Yeah attendees will be able to choose between Polvo and Trans Am at one show, and a special guest headliner plus Hit Me Back and Final Fight at another. Oh right, Dan Deacon is playing a secret show at an undisclosed location at the same time, too. Best music festival ever?
Yahoo Music to Reimburse Customers for “Terminated” Music… Somehow
By Heidi Vanderslice on Aug 1 2008
People were pissed when Microsoft first announced its abandonment of its DRM service, which would've caused MSN Music files to become useless (TMT News). After a big backlash, however, Microsoft of course backpedaled wildly and offered to support DRM for three more years. Nice gesture, I suppose. Luckily, Yahoo! Music, the next to leave their DRM files out in the cold, have got an exhaustively researched, well thought-out plan: "You'll be compensated for whatever you paid for the music," says Yahoo spokeswoman Carrie Davis. "We haven't said exactly what we will do, but we will take care of our customers."
I'm starting to sound, appropriately enough, like a broken record. Once again, if you bought songs from Yahoo! Music, they won't play on your computer or transfer to others after September 30. While you'll apparently see compensation for the lost files, it's, uh, great to know that Yahoo Music thought everything through before making the decision to pull the plug. Maybe you'll get a check in the mail. Maybe you'll get a year's supply of dog biscuits in the mail. Who knows! Keep 'em guessing, Yahoo! People LOVE it when you fuck around with their money... just ask Microsoft and Sony (TMT News).
It's like all of the DRM digital music services got really wasted one night and thought it would be the BEST IDEA EVER to make all of their customers as angry as possible... sort of like throwing down a gauntlet for their lowly customer service reps. Or maybe DRM was just the result of a coke-fueled three-day bender in the first place, because it's making about as much sense in the music industry as a Hannah Montana Greatest Hits album.
By Nobodaddy on Aug 1 2008
Last night, like I always do after Fraiser, I called my dear mother out in the suburbs to catch up a bit:
Me: Hey mom. It’s me. Just checking in.
Mom: Oh... hi, Dan. What time is it?
Me: It’s just after 10. Sorry to be calling kinda late. But... you know... Fraiser...
Mom: Oh, Frasier, huh?
Me: Yeah...? So? What’s wrong with--
Mom: Daniel, please! Why don’t go spend your evenings doing something constructive instead of watching that damn TV for 8 hours every damn day! When are you gonna get a job? When are you going to go back to school? When are you going to start going to church again? When are you gonna ask that girlfriend of yours to--
Me: Mom! Alright! I get it; look, just please don’t do this now. I told you; I’m going to be a professional musician some day.
Mom: Professional musician!?!? Ha! Watching TV sure isn’t gonna get you there! You wanna know how hard a real musician works? Just look at Jonny Greenwood, for God’s sake!
Me: Jonny Greenwood? From Radiohead? Why? What’s he doing that’s so spectacular?
Mom: Oh, only having the West Coast Premiere of his string orchestra piece “Popcorn Superhet Receiver” at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco on August 21st!
Me: Wow. Really? I mean, isn’t he touring with Radiohead and stuff this summer, though??
Mom: That’s the point, Dan! While juggling that highly successful career, he has also managed become involved in the world of composition. I mean, Radiohead are playing at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco the very next evening! Talk about busy! In fact, the BBC Concert Orchestra premiered that "Popcorn" piece of his back in 2005! The BBC! Then, the Wordless Music concert series brought it stateside, where it debuted in New York City last January. Oh, and then the Alabama Symphony played it in April! Your Cousin Andrew lives there, remember?
Me: Yeah, yeah, mom. I know.
Mom: Oh, well then, Mister! Did you also know that Benjamin Shwartz, the resident conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, will be conducting that Magik*Magik Orchestra that night?! And that you can buy tickets starting next week at cityboxoffice.com? And, and that other works will include music by Arvo Pärt, Fred Frith, Mason Bates, and John Adams?!?
Me: Oh, so it’s all kinda minimalist stuff, huh mom?
Mom: Oh, don’t be such a smartass! No one likes a smartass! Now, why don’t YOU start doing productive things like that, huh? You never get anything done, even at that snarky internet music magazine that you supposedly “work” for!
Me: Hey! I do work there! I just... haven’t written anything... lately... hey wait a minute!
Mom: Oh, what is it, now??
Me: Nothing! Got an idea for a story! It’ll be cute! I’ll have to call you tomorrow! Love you, mom...
08.21.08 - San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theatre:
Arvo Pärt - Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
John Adams - Shaker Loops
Mason Bates - Icarian Rhapsody
Fred Frith - Save As (Joan Jeanrenaud, Cello)
Jonny Greenwood - Popcorn Superhet Receiver
