An Asthmatic Kitty DVD Featuring Sufjan Stevens, Castanets, and Others Means It’s Always Six O’Clock and Tea-Time!
By David Nadelle on 02-13-2008
“'All right,' said the Cat; and this time it vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail, and ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of it had gone.”
Lewis Carroll's famous passage about the sly existentialist Cheshire Cat is well known; his one about the Asthmatic Kitty is less so (apparently it was due to appear in the aborted Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sequel Alice: Back 2 Wunderland, Yo!):
“‘Achoo,’ said the Kitty, and this time it slowly exited the room chronically convulsing and coughing up colloid and some uncooked macaroni, a Hershey's Kiss wrapper, and a string of used dental floss that he had scavenged out of the kitchen garbage earlier in the day while his master was cooking up grilled cheese. It dragged its inflamed bronchial airway and arse out the door first, like it was getting ready to keel over and croak. Its departure was marred by a long stop for rest and water, some spasming, and a couple of puffs on its broncho-dilating inhaler. Finally, it disappeared from the room; upon leaving, it tried to muster up the effort to smile, but all that resulted was a rank and rancid kitty fart that was anything but cute and coy and that remained waaaaaay too long for anyone’s liking.”
Ah yes, pity the storied Asthmatic Kitty of yore, but do not for one minute turn a sympathetic eye toward the superb label that shares its peculiar moniker. Asthmatic Kitty -- home of Shapes and Sizes, Castanets, Half-handed Cloud, and “someone named Sufjan” -- would never put on such a degrading display. The imprint spins class, as evidenced from its super strong vinyl and CD releases -- and now its DVDs. The first-ever Asthmatic Kitty DVD is called Encyclopedia Asthmatica, Volume 1, and as you would expect, it is cobbled together with the care and love that is synonymous with the close-knit group of musical friends.
The visual compendium has box art and stop-animation menus designed by do-no-wrong fine/video artists Zack and Gala Bent, a performance by the think/dance collective to the music of Half-handed Cloud, stop-gap music arrangements by the truly talented Rafter (Roberts), and videos and live performances featuring appearances by a good amount of the AK roster of bands, artists, friends, hangers-on, and most certainly a YouTube video contest winner thrown in for good measure too.
The DVD is set for release March 4 but is available for a limited, slightly cheaper pre-order price through Secretly Canadian here.
Aaaccchhhoooooommmeeeooowww:
1. Bunky - “Hippopotamus (live, SXSW 2005)”
2. Bunky - “Baba”
3. Bunky - “Space Alien”
4. Castanets - “A Song Is Not the Song of the World”
5. Castanets - “Smallest Bones”
6. Castanets - “Good Friend, Yr Hunger (live, SXSW 2007)”
7. Half-Handed Cloud - “You Wouldn’t Embarrass Me Would You?”
8. Half-Handed Cloud - “Tongues Possess the Earth Instead”
9. Half-Handed Cloud - think/dance collective performance
10. Liz Janes - “Jesus Is a Dying Bed Maker”
11. Liz Janes - “All the Pretty Horses”
12. My Brightest Diamond - “Freak Out!”
13. My Brightest Diamond - Live at Northsix
14. My Brightest Diamond - “Dragonfly”
15. My Brightest Diamond - “Gone Away”
16. My Brightest Diamond - “Magic Rabbit”
17. Rafter - “Adventurers”
18. Rafter - “ZZZPenchant”
19. Rafter - “Gentlemen”
20. Rafter - “Hope”
21. Rafter - “Monsters”
22. Rafter - “Encouragement”
23. Shapes and Sizes - “Teller/Seller”
24. Shapes and Sizes - “Jinker/That Fat Hand”
25. Shapes and Sizes - “Can’t Stop that (Sinking) Feeling”
26. Sufjan Stevens - “Jacksonville (live, Calvin college 2007)”
27. Sufjan Stevens - “Palm Sunday Tornado Hits Crystal Lake”
28. Sufjan Stevens - “The Undivided Self (for Eddie & Popo)”
29. Sufjan Stevens - “The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies”
30. Sufjan Stevens - “Put the Lights on the Tree”
31. The Curtains - “Go Lucky”
32. The Curtains - “Spinning Top”
Radiohead, Ever the Masters at Carrot-Dangling, Confirm North American Venues for May; August Dates Forthcoming
By Mango Starr on 02-12-2008
The coolest thing about Radiohead is how they announce their tourdates. First, they announce the European leg. Second, they announce just the cities they will play in North America. And now, they're only announcing May's North American venues, with the August venues still unannounced! Damn, they are so forward-thinking!
Expect artists like NIN, Blur, and the newly reformed Stone Temple Pilots (hey, they have a song called "Creep" too) to follow suit, but before then, you should get your Radiohead tickets. The pre-sale happens this Thursday, Valentine's Day. No pre-sale time has been announced -- nor are they expected to (again, so forward-thinking!) -- but we do know the tickets will go on sale here.
According to At Ease: "It has now been confirmed that the shows in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver will all take place in August 2008. Dates and venues for these cities will be announced later on."
Thom just re-posted the "Videotape" video here. And I'm posting the newly refreshed tourdates here:
Warner Music to Buy Now-Defunct Death Row Records, the Latter of Which Are Regretting That Name Choice
By Heidi Vanderslice on 02-12-2008
Remember when we were scared of the major record labels forming one huge conglomerate and sucking the life out of every profitable recording artist? These days, it's more like a melting blob, eating little people as it flails around the city, trying to survive. (I watch a lot of bad horror movies.)
For example: Warner Music has announced its intent to purchase the remaining assets of Death Row Records, which went under once the CEO spent a little too much time in the clink. Death Row filed for bankruptcy after Marion "Suge" Knight's excessive absences, and Warner swooped in on the upcoming auction with an initial bid to the tune of $25 billion. Want a 2Pac-alicious back catalogue for your very own? Beat that bid by a million or more on April 11, and you're all set. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre can also be your very own for this nice price... come on, you know you want to. Besides, all Warner Music is gonna do is milk the shit out of these new assets until too many people start protesting the 2Pac Beanie Babies in Wal-Mart. You laugh now...
The Friz’s 50th TMT News Story Celebration Special Featuring Special Guest Jose Gonzalez Tour Info
By The Friz on 02-12-2008
For my 50th TMT News Story Anniversary, we initially had a whole party planned – cake, noise-makers, those pointy paper hats with garrote wire elastic chinstraps. That was until the TMT Central Planning Committee voted down the “ungreen” idea. Sending 50+ paper invitations by mail would have been kind of expensive, and plus no one had time to go to Party City for supplies. It was tentatively decided to put all events on hold, at least until the whole Tijuana fiasco blew over. Plus Mr P said that if Jose Gonzalez could figure out a way to make his upcoming North American tour bodaciously green, then why not us.
But Scout Leader Kyle (whose TMT legacy was celebrated a few weeks prior), Petya Romanov (whose legacy includes, but isn’t limited to, the various strands of the herpes virus currently circulating the office (TMT News), and I decided to go for it anyway.
Using inconceivably complex Google-like metrics to triangulate the closest rendezvous point, we met in Claysville, Pennsylvania at Allum's Family Restaurant off I-70. We managed to scrape up enough money from the TMT Petty Cash box for a decorative cake and some thruway trinket party favors.
Ordering round after round of dribbly black coffee in the coal-mining bosom of rural Appalachia, the meal could have been described as peaceful, even serene, by most standards. I picked at the remnants of my fried egg and cheese as we discussed Dreamcast, tourdate formatting, and titty bars.
“I mean, not to get too technical, but isn’t this really your 53rd story?” said Petya nervously eying his bike locked outside.
“Yeah, but this whole ‘green’ thing turned out to be such a hassle,” I responded. “It took a week to get my VW converted to bio-diesel. And stopping at the Cracker Barrel in Wilkes-Barre to fill up on fryer grease was such a hassle.”
“I don’t mind eating off biodegradable plates, but having to wipe with that brown paper bag TP? I’m not so sure,” chimed in Scout.
“I think this whole ‘green’ thing is all just a marketing ploy. I don’t buy it,” said Petya.
Silence rolled over the group in tacit agreement, already thinking of ways to make the next batch of tour news interesting and/or self indulgent.
Gail, who’d been dutifully replenishing the coffee all afternoon, came back to deliver the check.
“Why is this cake in the shape of a boner?”
$ Mountain Stage TV Taping
@ Mia Doi Todd
The Release Date for The New Boris Album Smile Is As Sound As A Bell
By Scout Leader Kyle on 02-12-2008
Boris have always been as strong as an ox, and being a metal band from Japan makes them as sweet as sake. The new album, Smile, is as tight as a drum and will be released like a snug bug in a rug April 29. Hopefully it's not dry as a bone.
The band is also releasing a limited 7-inch single February 26, and it'll include "Statement" from the album and a B-side called "Floorshaker," which if their past music is any indication will hopefully sound as bold as brass.
