Belle and Sebastian/New Pornographers to Tour, Radiohead Coming to US this Summer

Two quick bits of news to report here. First off, the word from both the New Pornographers' (http://www.thenewpornographers.com/) and Belle and Sebastian's (http://www.belleandsebastian.com/) websites report that the two bands will be joining together for a US tour sometime this winter. Given that Belle and Sebastian has dates booked through February 10th in England, I have a feeling that the tour likely won't start until after that. There is no word on whether or not there will be a DC date, but this may be a show worth travelling for. For those who may not know, Belle and Sebastian have a new album coming out on February 7th entitled The Life Pursuit, their first full album of new material since 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress.

In other, more vague news, (from www.ateaseweb.com) Radiohead's new album looks like it's being pushed back at least into the Spring, as they're heading back into the studio in February to continue work. They are not working with longtime producer Nigel Godrich, who has produced every Radiohead album from The Bends on, this time around, and are instead working with Mark "Spike" Stent, who has worked with Madonna and Bjork in the past. Guitarist Ed O'Brien said that the band will be touring the UK and Europe in May and plan to come to the US this summer. Once again, no dates have been announced, but if they are anywhere on the east coast, I will be there.

2005 Recap, Part 3, Albums of the Year

Here we go, the coup de gras of year-end recaps, the top 10 albums. I had a lot of trouble this year and there were a lot of excellent albums that got left off, but I like what I've come up with, and I hope you do too.


1) The Decemberists - Picaresque - I'd never been a big fan of the Decemberists in the past as I'd always felt like there was something missing in their music. Certain songs would hit, but so many of them seemed incomplete. Well, apparently they read my mind and filled in all the pieces because this is a complete and brilliant album. The band's sound has gradually evolved over the last few years peaking with Picaresque. It's got it all: catchy pop songs ("The Sporting Life," "Sixteen Military Wives"), heartwrenching ballads ("On The Bus Mall," "Of Angels and Angles") and an amazing epic ("Mariner's Revenge Song") that brings it all home. Colin Meloy's lyrics have always been the strong point of The Decemberists and adding them to a collection of songs so strong makes this an impossible album to beat this year.


2) The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema - I've found that it's pretty rare these days that one of my favorite bands actually releases an album that lives up to my expectations, but to exceed them and blow them out of the water is a phenomenon that occurs only once every few years. The New Pornographers made two albums of delicious pop diddies (Mass Romantic, The Electric Version), but with this album they added the one element that had been noticeably absent from those two, emotion. In the past, the band seemed to be exactly what they were, a collection of musicians who would get together every couple of years to have fun and write some catchy tunes. Well, this time around they sound like a real band and all the pieces gel just right. Now don't get me wrong, the pop is still there on the title track and songs like "Use It" and "Sing Me Spanish Techno," but never before have the New Pornographers been able to give me chills like they do on "The Bleeding Heart Show." And having Neko Case sing the ballads, including the unbelievable "These Are the Fables," instead of the decided pop hits was a brilliant change of pace move by my boy Carl Newman.


3) Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary


4) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - I'm not sure exactly what these guys were doing putting such an atrocious song as "Clap Your Hands"at the start of the album, but I beg you all, just skip to the next track and you'll understand what the buzz behind these guys is all about. Every song after that, from the "true" opener "Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away" to one of the year's best songs "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth," to "In This Home On Ice" at the end of the album, is sheer indie pop brilliance. The influences are clear, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc., but these guys write such catchy and off-beat songs that it doesn't matter. My only concern is that Alec Ounsworth's head gets too big before the next album comes around and the band implodes on itself, but for the moment, feel free to get up, dance and, ahem, clap your hands.


5) The National - Alligator


6) The Clientele - Strange Geometry


7) M.I.A. - Arular


8) M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us - 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts had some excellent moments and set a dark, intense mood, but at times I felt a distance between myself and the music. Two years later, after losing partner Nicolas Fromageau, Anthony Gonzalez returns with an album that builds on his previous work, adding more guitars, more sonic layers and a newfound pop sensability that makes this album much easier to digest. The mood is still dark, but there are more vocal samples smattered throughout the album which keep things interesting, plus "Don't Save Us From the Flames" and "Teen Angst" are amazing singles which stand out, yet don't take away from their surrounding tracks. The electronic My Bloody Valentine comparisons are still valid and I can't wait to see where Gonzalez goes next.


9) Sufjan Stevens - Illinois - There is one reason that this album is not higher on this list than it currently is, and that is that Sufjan needs to learn that sometimes less is more. This album runs through a bevy of emotions and broadens his range much farther than he's ever gone for the first sixteen tracks. Then, right around track 17, this album starts into a distinct tailspin and there is nothing in those last six songs that even touches what the first sixteen brought. That is not to say that I don't like this album, because I do, it is fantastic. Songs like "Casimir Pulaski Day" and "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." tug on your heartstrings while "Chicago" and "Come On! Feel The Illinoise!" are exceptional pop songs. My favorite song though, is "Decatur," a simple tune featuring Sufjan singing over a banjo, acoustic guitar and accordion in which he includes every possible word that remotely rhymes with Decatur (alligator, operator, aviator, debater, emancipator, congratulate her, etc.).




10 (tie) Stars - Set Yourself on Fire & Vitalic - OK Cowboy

2005 Recap, Part 2, Disappointments and Surprises

I feel like this year, more than any other, I was disappointed by a number of albums that I was really looking forward to, so I thought a section about disappointments would make a worthy addition to my Year in Review series of posts.

Disappointments:

1) Daft Punk - Human After All - 2001's Discovery is one of my all-time favorite albums, 1997's Homework was one of the first electronic albums I ever bought and is the only one from that era that I still listen to regularly, so my expectations were rather high for the long-awaited third album this year. Suffice it to say, I was shocked when I finally heard it. For an album that was four years in the making, it sounded surprisingly rushed and unfinished, plus many of the songs sounded like rehashes of Daft Punk songs from years' past. My anger is not as strong as it was when I first reviewed this album, so I'm going to give them a mulligan here. Daft Punk revealed that they actually were "human after all" (teehee) by making a very mediocre album, but I expect all the negative press will whip their butts back into shape and get them to make their next album so good that we all forget this ever happened.

2) Weezer - Make Believe - Now, maybe I'm in the minority here, but I really liked Maladroit and when I heard some of the demos that were being considered as possible songs for this album, I got really excited. Unfortunately, two years on and off in the studio combined with Rivers heading back to Harvard derailed this album, making it Weezer's worst-to-date by a longshot. Maybe I've just grown out of them, but this does not like the same band who recorded brilliant back-to-back albums in the mid-90s. I think Weezer's time in the sun may be over, Rivers just has nothing new to contribute as a songwriter and what is he writing just keeps getting worse and worse. They should stop now before they forever taint their legacy.

3) Coldplay - X&Y - I loved Coldplay back in 2000 when Parachutes came out and continued to love them through A Rush of Blood to the Head, but I started to worry a bit when I noticed that Rush didn't have nearly the same staying power as Parachutes did. I found myself tiring of the album very quickly and not really ever feeling the desire to put it on the old stereo. X&Y continue Coldplay's decline, and yet somehow they've gotten even more famous than they were before because of it. I'm not going to go off on a Coldplay rant, because they're not an awful band, they're just extremely overrated. This album had some highpoints like "Talk," "Fix You" and the meant-for-Johnny Cash "Kingdom Come," but so much of it sounded like retreads of old Coldplay songs (see "Speed of Sound") and there weren't any songs that had the power of "Clocks" or the emotion of "Don't Panic." I'm sure Coldplay will continue to release mediocre albums for many years and maintain their popularity, but this is probably the last one that I buy.

4) Beck - Guero - Beck makes this list for a combined disappointing album/live performance. His short, unspired concert at the Patriot Center this fall was one of the only shows I saw this year where I felt like I just didn't get my money's worth, and Guero was maybe the worst of Beck's career to date. Until now Beck had made a career of redefining himself (disco on Midnite Vultures, acoustic ballads on Sea Change) a la David Bowie, but on this one, he seemed to want to make an album that summed everything to date up into a nice little package. Unfortunately, at least in my humble opinion, he failed quite miserably. Guero really is a pretty decent album, but it just is not nearly up to the standard that Beck has shown us he can produce albums at. Also, the surprise of "what will the next album be like?" has always kept me on my toes, and frankly, I found myself a little bored with this one. Been there, done that, c'mon Beck, get back in there and give us something new, and hopefully you haven't hit the wall like Bowie did in the early 80s.

Pleasant Surprise

Return to "Goodness" - Exciter, ULTRA, Heathen Chemistry, Republic, Get Ready. What do those five albums have in common? They can all be found in your local record store's used bin. I swear, go check right now, they'll all be in there, and they're also the last few albums from Depeche Mode, Oasis and New Order. All three bands released albums this year that proved that they can still, in fact, write good songs and play good music. None will likely ever return to the hey-days of their careers, but given where they were at one time or another, it'd be almost impossible to ask of them. Playing the Angel, Don't Believe The Truth and Waiting For the Sirens' Call at least gave me hope that old favorites can still give me some good tunes that remind me of the old days instead of covering my ears and begging for those days.

2005 Recap, Part 1, Concerts of the Year

I'm going to begin my recap of the year in music with my favorite concerts of 2005. I went to about 30 shows or so, so I feel like I can make a pretty good determination of what was good and what wasn't. Hey, I'm only one man, and one man who works 40 hours a week no less, I can't see them all, but hopefully this list will be comprehensive enough for you guys.

1) M.I.A. at Coachella - In each year of my Coachella experience there has been one performance where I've felt as if I was witnessing something truly special. Last year it was the Pixies, and this year it was a little Sri Lankan girl by way of England named M.I.A. Now, I know I probably didn't need to introduce her, but you must remember, this was the end of April, and her album had only recently been released in the US, not to mention that this was only her second show in the United States, EVER. The crowd had no idea what to expect, but they were out en masse for a mid-afternoon show in one of the side tents, and I could feel the anticipation growing as we waited for M.I.A. to take the stage. When she did, the crowd went absolutely insane and she fed off the energy, sending her performance through the roof. The mutual love between M.I.A. and the crowd created one of the best concert environments I've ever been a part of, and it took only a few songs for me to understand that I was watching a superstar being born before my eyes. (to read more about the performance see my Coachella wrap-up in the May, 2005 archives of the blog)

2) The Decemberists at the 930 Club (October 2nd) - When The Decemberists came to town in the Spring, I hesitated about going and by the time I'd made my decision to go, the show had sold out. When they came back a few months later, I had had some time to digest their new album, Picaresque, a bit more, as well as delve further into their back catalogue and had become a full fledged Decemberists fan. (something I couldn't have said in the Spring) They opened the show by playing their five-part opus The Tain in its entirety, complete with acting out scenes and instrument-switching galore. They continued on playing note-perfect renditions of Picaresque songs as well as throwing in a few songs from older albums here and there. The regular set closer, "The Mariner's Revenge Song" was absolutely brilliant with the audience being asked to participate by screaming like they were being eaten by a whale. Multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk ran around the stage with working giant wooden whale head as the audience went crazy. What made this show so spectacular wasn't just the excellent music or the performance aspect of the show, but the band's energy and excitement to be performing for us. Colin Meloy had repeated looks in his eyes that almost said, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." Some people may love bombastic rock stars, but when artists have this humble attitude towards peforming, it makes me feel like I'm witnessing something personal and it brings the audience closer.

3) Depeche Mode at the Patriot Center (December 9th) - I'm just going to throw this out there right now, there is no better frontman in music right now than Dave Gahan. Even at the age of 43, the man has just as much, if not more, energy than he had in Depeche Mode's late 80s hey-day, and he still has the body to take off his shirt and get the girls screaming when shakes his ass. Though they may have played one or two too many songs from the new album (not that it's bad, there were just countless old songs I wanted to hear that didn't get played), everything they did looked and sounded spectacular. Their elaborate stage set featuring a giant robot, several screens and futuristic looking keyboard stands was about as visually pleasing as any I've ever seen. But in the end it came down to the music and the energy. By the time they launched into a blistering version of "I Feel You," (a song I was convinced I didn't like until right then) the crowd was putty in Gahan's hands and anything he asked for was given to him by the crowd with pure joy, from handclaps to singing to swinging their arms from side to side. After that, the hits just kept on coming, climaxing in a version of "Everything Counts" that seemed to be right off the 101 live album and had the crowd going wild. I would've liked them to play for another hour or two, but I guess leaving a show wanting to hear more isn't the worst feeling in the world. I wasn't sure what Depeche Mode would be like after all these years, but damn, they definitely still have it.

4) Sigur Ros at Strathmore Music Center (September 11th) - I think anything I had to say about this show I said in my review of it back in September which you can read here: http://mattstarr.blogspot.com/2005/09/finally-real-update.html
Let me reiterate, this was an intense experience, one I definitely recommend having if you get the chance. (That is, of course, saying that you like Sigur Ros, if not, you might not enjoy the show nearly as much)

5) LCD Soundsystem & M.I.A. at the 930 Club (June 12th) - Now, I hesitated before putting M.I.A. on here twice, but the strength of this double bill was just too hard to ignore. Between when this show was scheduled and when it actually occurred, I think M.I.A. may have actually eclipsed LCD Soundsystem in popularity, but they kept to the plan and M.I.A. remained the opening act. The crowd for her wasn't quite as intense as at Coachella, especially early on as the late-comers were still filing into the venue, but about halfway through, the audience started to get their collective bounce on and the energy level in the 930 Club skyrocketed. I almost felt bad for LCD Soundsystem having to follow up such an intense performance, but James Murphy and company were more than up to the task. They only played about 9 or 10 songs, but each one veered off into some sort of dance-punk tangent, kinda like a jam band, only much much cooler and with music you can actually dance to and don't need drugs to enjoy. Murphy went wild when he wasn't singing, shaking his bevy of tambourines, banging on a small drum set and playing whatever other instruments were untended at any particular moment. I'm not going to go off on any sort of emotional tangent here, because I was never brought to the verge of tears at any moment, but dammit, I had some serious fun and danced my fucking ass off.

I Promise, I'm Going to Update More Often

I'm going to begin this with a list of upcoming shows, after that there should be plenty of new stuff to read in the coming days, so stay tuned.

Prefuse 73 - Friday, December 30th, Black Cat, $15
Supersystem w/Ris Paul Ric - Saturday, January 7th, Black Cat, $9
The Travis Morrison Hellfighters - Tuesday, January 10th, Black Cat, $7
Unlimited Sunshine Tour (featuring Cake, Teegan & Sara and Gogol Bordello) - Saturday, January 21st, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Robert Pollard (formerly of Guided By Voices) - Saturday, January 28th, 930 Club, $15
Colin Meloy (of The Decemberists) - Saturday, January 28th, Birchmere, $17.50
Deerhoof - Saturday, January 28th, Black Cat, $10
The Hold Steady - Wednesday, February 1st, Black Cat, $10
Low - Saturday, February 4th, Black Cat, $13
RJD2 - Saturday, February 4th, 930 Club, $15
Brit Pop & Indie Rock Valentine's Day (presented by How Soon Is Now? Productions (which is me and Ian)) - Saturday, February 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $5
Feist - Tuesday, February 7th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door
Feist - Wednesday, February 8th, Black Cat, $13
Nada Surf (w/Rogue Wave) - Thursday, February 9th, Starr Hill (Charlottesville)
Fiery Furnaces - Saturday, February 11th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville)
Supergrass - Sunday, February 12th, 930 Club, $20
Wu Tang Clan - Monday, February 13th, 930 Club, $50
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (w/ Elefant) - Monday, February 20th, 930 Club
Stars - Friday, February 24th, Black Cat, $12
Of Montreal - Wednesday, March 1st, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $10 adv/$12 at door
Mogwai - Saturday, March 4th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville),
Queen - Thursday, March 9th, MCI Center
Metric - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Early Show)
The Pogues - Thursday, March 9th, 930 Club (Late Show) (Sold Out)
The Pogues - Friday, March 10th, 930 Club (Sold Out)
Silver Jews - Thursday, March 16th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $16 adv/$18 at door
Animal Collective - Tuesday, March 21st, Black Cat, $13
Stereolab - Tuesday, March 21st, 930 Club
The Books - Wednesday, March 29th, Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville), $12 adv/$15 at door