No Date for Valentine’s Day Yet? Matt Pinfield Wants You!
By Annapocalypse on Feb 13 2009
Every year around Valentine’s Day, singles join together across the country to commiserate their pain of not having a significant other with which to share Hallmark’s biggest manufactured holiday. If you’re one of those singles, Matt Pinfield -- former host of MTV's 120 Minutes -- wants you to know that he feels your pain. In fact, he feels your pain so much that he’s willing to go on a special Valentine’s Day date with you!
Time Out New York is running a “Dating in NYC” feature right now, where you can choose from a list of “Hot NY singles” and solicit them for a date. Basically, it’s a giant list of random New Yorkers who are lonely and have nothing better to do than, uh, date other random people from the internet. But, if you happen to like historical movies, eating out, and the arts, then Matt Pinfield may just be the man for you! Although, I think I just found the perfect man for me. Sorry, Matt!
Give the Gift of Music You Can All Agree On; Go See Meg Baird
By Kat Gardiner on Feb 13 2009
Don't know what to get your girlfriend for Valentine's Day? Have you been searching for that perfect musical gift that they would truly love and won't drive you insane like that new Sara Bareilles song? Good news for you; Meg Baird is going on tour. With her debut album Dear Companion released in 2007, Baird, dreamy and talented, seems to have proved old Ricky Nelson wrong -- you can please everyone. More famous for being a lead vocalist of psyche-shoegazing band Espers, Baird's solo music seems to almost channel John Fahey and Nick Drake, producing less pure psychedelia and more ethereal vocals than she does with her band. In fact, I have yet to find anyone who likes singer/songwriters and who hasn't been pleased with her (especially among the ladies). Listen to "The Waltz of the Tennis Players" and you'll know what I'm talking about. Oh, and did I mention she's not Norah Jones, yet?
Here are her tourdates (with James Blackshaw):
03.02.09 - Philadelphia, PA - Kung Fu Necktie
03.03.09 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
03.04.09 - New York City, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
03.05.09 - Boston, MA - Brattle Theatre
03.07.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Issue Project Room
03.08.09 - New Haven, CT - BAR
New Sonic Youth Album Details, We Haz Them; Producer Agnello Weighs in on the Album
By Heidi Vanderslice on Feb 13 2009
Sonic Youth are back with their 384,204,489th album, and I am more than okay with that, and you should be too. Titled The Eternal, the album marks Sonic Youth's triumphant return to the indie world, as it's set for release on Matador. It also features the chops of veteran rock producer John Agnello, who worked on 2006's barn-burner, Rather Ripped.
Laid down during November and December of last year in Hoboken at Echo Canyon West Studios, The Eternal breaks more creative ground than your average bear, almost as if saying “sayonara” to Geffen made ’em let their hair down more than usual. Kim, Thurston, and Lee sing together for the first time in recorded SY history, and well, shit -- considering their gigantic stack o' records, I'd say that's pretty significant. We've also got the first tracks ever recorded in a studio by former Pavement/Dustdevils bassist Mark Ibold, who's only been a live component until now.
I spoke briefly with producer John Agnello, who seems in awe of his (and the band's) own handiwork, saying, "This is the record I wished I could have made with them throughout the nineties. Which proves all things come to he who waits. The magic they created in the studio together tracking was unparalleled to anything I've seen before. Some of these songs are already SY favorites to me." Which is a pretty bold statement, as Sonic Youth have created about a zillion masterpieces in their 28-year career. But hey, he's heard the record and I haven't, so I trust him.
The Eternal drops on June 9, but you can get it sooner with a special Buy Early Get Now deal, which Matador will be announcing down the pike.
In the meantime, SY fans in Germany and Brooklyn should be totally stoked about shows in their areas, but if that's not your jam, you can read about some of the many (many, many) projects they're working on here. Quantity AND quality, you betcha.
The Eternal tracklisting:
1. Sacred Trickster
2. Anti-Orgasm
3. Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso)
4. Antenna
5. What We Know
6. Calming The Snake
7. Poison Arrow
8. Malibu Gas Station
9. Thunderclap For Bobby Pyn
10. No Way
11. Walkin Blue
12. Massage The History
Iron and Wine to Release Rarities, Let You Pick Setlists
By Kasia Galaxy on Feb 13 2009
For their upcoming Major Cities and Tiny Venues Only tour, Sam Beam and co. will let fans decide what they play. That means 10 different setlists that you can vote for on their official site starting next month.
The tour will wrap up right before the release of their new double-CD, triple-LP album Around the Well May 19 on Sub Pop. Songs will hark back to their earliest, lo-fiest releases, all the way up to their latest, clappiest full-length The Shepherd's Dog (TMT Review).
You might also note a Garden State-free "Such Great Heights" on there.
Disc 1:
1. Dearest Forsaken
2. Morning
3. Loud as Hope
4. Peng! 33
5. Sacred Vision
6. Friends They Are Jewels
7. Hickory
8. Waitin' for a Superman
9. Swans and the Swimming
10. Call Your Boys
11. Such Great Heights
Disc 2:
1. Communion Cups & Someone's Coat
2. Belated Promise Ring
3. God Made the Automobile
4. Homeward, These Shoes
5. Love Vigilantes
6. Sinning Hands
7. No Moon
8. Serpent Charmer
9. Carried Home
10. Kingdom of the Animals
11. Arms of a Thief
12. The Trapeze Swinger
05.04.09 - Seattle, WA - Vera Project *
05.05.09 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door #
05.06.09 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall *
05.07.09 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall $
05.08.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Masonic Hall at Hollywood Forever Cemetery #!
05.09.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour *
05.12.09 - Chicago, IL - Lakeshore Theatre %
05.13.09 - Chicago, IL - Schuba's
05.17.09 - New York, NY - Abrons Arts Center ^
05.18.09 - New York, NY - Abrons Arts Center +
* Yogoman Burning Band
# Alela Diane
$ Magic Leaves
! DJ Small Town Talk
% Katie Stelmanis
^ Lia Ices
+ partyface
