Welcome Back, Turn-of-the-Century Minneapolis: Lifter Puller Reissued

By Kid Midnight on

Ah, 1999, what a year, right? Y2K was only a year away, Clinton was still in office, Korn and The Backstreet Boys fought for supremacy on TRL, Prince was partying like the year it was, the San Antonio Spurs won the NBA Championship, and, of course, Lifter Puller was still a band.

Don’t know who Lifter Puller was? Can’t understand how the Spurs won the Championship? Don’t worry, I’ll explain. The San Antonio Spurs won the Championship because the twin towers of David Robinson and Tim Duncan were an unstoppable scoring machine and their seamless meshing on the court, along with the welcome aid and skills of -- oh... you were just interested in Lifter Puller? Okay. Lifter Puller were a rock band from Minneapolis who counted as members Craig Finn and Tad Kubler who would both eventually move to Brooklyn and form The Hold Steady. During their existence, the band released three LPs, an EP, and played a bunch of shows.

Their whole catalog has been pretty tough to find the last couple years because most of it is out of print, and the people who have it don’t really want to get rid of it. But the times are changing, my friends: the band has announced that not only will its entire catalog be reissued digitally for the first time via The Orchard, but two of the albums will receive “Deluxe Reissue” treatment. There will also be a new odds ‘n’ sods collection of singles, non-album tracks, and live material, plus a book, titled Lifter Puller vs. The End Of, which will contains lyrics, photos, and an oral history of the band.

What does this “Deluxe Reissue” business mean? Well, sophomore LP Half Dead & Dynamite will feature live tracks from a 1998 performance at Minneapolis venue 7th Street Entry; The Entertainment and Arts, the band’s only EP, will also feature bonus tracks from the 7th Street Entry show. Fiestas & Fiascos, Lifter Puller’s third and final album (and debut with Frenchkiss Records) will feature live tracks from a reunion show in 2003. Meanwhile, the new rarities collection, titled Slips Backwards, will feature 17 tracks of singles, non-album material, and two live songs from a 2000 performance in Washington D.C. All of the albums are available for download today, December 1.

NIN Done Touring, Having Garage Sale

By Aaron Norman on 12-01-2009

After 20 years, NIN is done touring forever, at least
according to their website. It's not a claim to be scoffed at, considering a more recent announcement that a large portion of their touring gear is going up for sale at eBay. Stated in the post, "Hundreds of items will be listed over the next several weeks such as guitars, keyboards, amplifiers, drums, staging, anvil cases, cables, rack/outboard gear, guitar effects, and pedal boards." So if you're in the market for overpriced used instruments and random equipment, none of which will be autographed, you should keep your browser pointed here; as of this writing, there are 20 items -- all guitars -- up for auction.

While it might seem like a novel idea for communicating to the masses now that NIN is really, really done touring, this shouldn't come as a shock to the internet-savvy fans of the group. Trent and his collaborators seem to have a penchant for using technology in ways that are atypical, at least when
compared to other big names in the music industry. It's no secret that NIN are quite savvy themselves when it comes to e-trends. In fact Mr. Reznor could very likely be reading this right now.

P.S. I'm a big fan of Trent.

Flaming Lips to Perform Dark Side of the Moon on New Year’s Eve in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Blow Raspberries at Rest of Nation

By Heidi Vanderslice on 12-01-2009

Ooh! Ooh! Guys, I've TOTALLY been to Oklahoma City and the Cox Convention Center, where The Flaming Lips are going to play Pink Floyd's magnum opus Dark Side of the Moon on New Year's Eve! I'm so glad I left love notes all over the place for Wayne Coyne, because, man, I just knew that place was special, even though I was attending the American Choral Directors' Association National Conference for work and actually had no idea the Lips were coming and uh... okay, I can't keep that one going. But still! Oklahoma City is going to be the absolute jam for both closeted hipsters and lovers of classic rock, a nice truce considering OK City receives more visits from Journey and AC/DC than can possibly be healthy.

Those of us stuck in places like New York and can only see dumb ol' Patti Smith and the Detroit Cobras on New Year's Eve can be comforted by a Dark Side of the Moon joint release sometime next year from the Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs (TMT News). Pitchfork points out a good preview of Pink Flaming Floyd here on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, on which they covered Dark Side's ending track, “Eclipse.”

Ted Leo Announces Brutal New LP, Considers Ripping A Swine In Half To Celebrate, Rips Soy-Based Swine Substitute In Half Instead

By E. Nagurney on 11-30-2009

Ted Leo, patron saint of hooky guitar-pop, has the worst luck with labels. The guy released three LPs on legendary pop-punk label Lookout Records, then the label got in all kinds of legal trouble. Jumping over to legendary Chicago punk label Touch and Go probably seemed like a stable move, until that label went belly up. Jeez! Thankfully, the man has once again found himself in the employ of a legendary label, that being Matador this time around. Which is great and all, but, um, please don’t kill Matador, Ted.

Even if Leo does turn out to be the record label reaper the third time around, he’ll at least be able to put out his new record, The Brutalist Bricks, out on Matador. The new collection will be available on CD, LP, and digital formats on March 9. Do you like yellow and/or bees? Then check out the album’s cover. Do you like songs? Then check out “Even Heroes Have To Die,” the first released song from the record. Do you like seeing Leo’s shining visage in real life? Then good news: he’s touring in December

12.02.09 – Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
12.03.09 – Washington DC – The Black Cat
12.05.09 – Cambridge MA – Middle East
12.06.09 – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom (sold out)
12.10.09 – Madrid, Spain – Primavera Club ‘09
12.11.09 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Club ‘09
12.12.09 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Club ‘09
12.14.09 – Brighton, UK – Engine Room (with Dillinger Four + Hard Skin) *
12.15.09 - Canterbury, UK – Bramleys *
12.16.09 – London, UK – Brixton Windmill *
12.17.09 – Kingston, UK – New Slang *
12.18.09 – London, UK – Grosvenor (with Wat Tyler) *

* solo dates

Tom Waits Reissues Special Vinyl Edition of Orphans, Talks Spider Romance

By Liz Louche on 11-30-2009

In the few years I’ve been writing for this website, my love of musicians who look/sound like olde-tyme drifters has been well-documented. If an artist sings about hard-livin’ and seems like they could’ve spent several years traveling with the circus through the backroads of Depression-era America, I’m into it. So you can imagine my delight when I heard about this new limited-edition vinyl release of Tom Waits’ Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, and Bastards.

Scheduled for a December 8 release on ANTI-, this reworking of the 2006 collection of covers, rarities, and new tracks will feature 62 tracks over seven LPs on 180-gram vinyl. There’s also a fancy new booklet plus six tracks more than on the previously released version of Orphans. Robert Christgau deemed the album “definitive,” and fans agreed; the original Orphans was one of Waits’ best-selling releases. New offerings on the vinyl edition include covers of Fats Waller’s "Crazy ‘Bout My Baby" and Kurt Weill & Bertolt Brecht's "Canon Song.”

In other Waits news, the two-disc collection Glitter and Doom Live was just released on vinyl and CD. The first disc holds the live tracks recorded while on tour in Europe and the U.S., annnnd the second disc “holds nearly 40 minutes of Waits' quixotic ruminations on topics ranging from romantic spiders to injured vultures.” Alllllright! (Now that I think about it, I honestly really would like to hear Tom Waits’ thoughts on romantic spiders.)

This winter, Waits will also be appearing on the silver screen in Terry Gilliam’s upcoming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, alongside Johnny Depp, Christopher Plummer, Jude Law, and the late Heath Ledger, as well as in The Book of Eli with Denzel Washington.

Modern Radio Record Label Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary; Regular Radio Celebrates 118-Year Anniversary

By Kid Midnight on 11-30-2009

Modern Radio, the fan-favorite Twin Cities label, has finally hit double digits and couldn’t be prouder. The label, a fixture in the Twin Cities indie scene, was started in 1999 by Tom Loftus and has slowly been gaining acclaim and cultural importance over the years after releasing a bevy of records by bands like The Plastic Constellations, Deerhoof, Mirah, STNNNG, and Vampire Hands. The label was started with the goal of supporting a burgeoning indie scene but soon developed into a local institution and trend-setter; the label was even named “Best Record Label of the Twin Cities” for 2006 by local weekly newspaper City Pages in 2006.

Modern Radio is so proud of its achievements that it wants to share the celebration with its fans, as it should, since the label was founded on the cornerstones of “friends, community, and music.” The label is putting together a couple shows that will highlight some of its’ current roster and give you plenty of great music to accompany cake-eating (cake not included)

01.22.10 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club

FT (The Shadow Government)

Daughters of the Sun

The Chambermaids

Double Bird

Sheridan Fox (His Mischief)
01.23.10 – Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural

The Plastic Constellations

Skoal Kodiak

Vampire Hands

STNNNG

and more!

In other news: radio is 118 years old this year and still knows how to get the party started.

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