M.I.A. & Cool Kids @ Showbox Sodo

After her last Seattle show, opening for LCD Soundsystem two years ago (ok, not her last Seattle show, but the last time I went to a concert involving Gwen Stefani for the purpose of seeing the opening band was when the Faint opened for No Doubt at the Paramount [side note: Gwen Stefani picks kind of rad opening acts]), the conventional wisdom on M.I.A. was that her albums and artwork and fashion are all brilliant, but that her performances are kind of lukewarm. At that show, people seemed stoked enough to be finally seeing M.I.A. after scheduled Seattle debut at Chop Suey was cancelled months before that everyone was willing to forgive a not totally thrilling set (it wasn’t helped any by LCD Soundsystem’s overpowering live show). But her show last night erased any doubt—M.I.A. is the real fucking deal.

First, a few words about opening act Cool Kids. I called it American Apparel rap, Zwickel dubs it hipster hop, but under the gaudy dollar sign t-shirt aesthetic, it’s just good, old-fashioned party rap. So old-fashioned, in fact, that more than a couple people griped about how glaringly obvious all their ‘80s samples were (I didn’t actually spot anything, though, other than the lyrical drop “if your friends don’t then they’re no friends of mine”). They seemed fun, people who’d seen them before said they were good, but they were up against a big room and a slowly gathering but mostly apathetic crowd. Their attempts at a call and response resulted in their “whoo”s being answered by aweak, mostly inaudible “yeah”s, and a lot of their rhymes just got lost in the room. Someone said, “They seem really bored,” and it was hard to tell if the comment was directed at the band (who did seem a bit, well, cool) or the crowd. Their set ended suddenly, with no fanfare or goodbye, just the last song stopping. They seemed as awkward on that big stage as M.I.A. had been back at the Showbox, but I get the feelin they could rock a good party at a smaller venue like the War Room or Chop Suey.

After a too-long break, Low Budget finally took the stage behind the turntables, followed by white-spandex clad hype-girl Miss Cherry and then M.I.A., in frantic-patterned leggings and flat, oversized shades. M.I.A. owned the stage, exerting a cool confidence that was sorely lacking from her last Seattle appearance, and the crowd was stoked, dancing and pumping fists and screaming. Early hit “Sunshowers” started off a little weak, but Low Budget picked things up, dropping a new four four beat midway throught the song. “$20,” which sounds stoned and stunning on Kala came off a little weak live, but it was energized by this mixing in the synth beat from “Blue Monday” (from which “$20” takes it’s three note melody).

Later, the bass hits on “Bucky Done Gun” vibrated the whole hall, all the way back to the bar—it was some deep tissue sound waves. The sound was excellent throughout the set, and contrary to what I’d heard, the Showbox Sodo actually has a pretty nice ambiance for a room of it’s size and shape. For “Bird Flu,” M.I.A. pulled up the people, filling the stage with audience members—it was girls only at first (righteous shades of Bikini Kill), but a some dudes got in on the act (which I guess is also shades of Bikini Kill). The crowd held up lighters and cell phones for the woozy smash “Paper Planes,” some pointed finger pistols in the air for the gunshot-riddled chorus (for more in depth “Paper Planes” analysis, check here). On the video projection behind M.I.A. (which was a dazzling, techno-color explosion throughout the show), 8-bit neon paper planes flew and folded around paper rad Super Mario clouds. The song was a definite highlight from a thoroughly killer set. M.I.A. not only earned the sometimes dubious honor of most improved live show, she put on one of the best shows of the year period.

^{(all photos by Justin Dylan Renney)}

Last night in Tokyo. The end.

This is the Yen
It’s not my friend
The Yen
I wish I had more of them
The Yen
I’ll never eat sea urchin… again

I used to have elaborate plans, the Yen
Ocean view and a cleaning staff, the Yen
Platinum card surprise, the Yen
I’ll never sit in a luxury box…again

Lost on a side street in Tokyo
Wilderness of similar looking Kanji
Walked around in a circle for an hour and a half
I’m now insane

Drink the Sake
The sake it’s warm
Seven little cups
Waiting for the rescue taxi, yeah

The American awoke before dawn
He had slept with his boots on
He took an Alka-Seltzer from the first-aid kit
And he walked on down the hall
Still hungover as hell

He went into the room where the guitar player lived
And then he
He thought he was going to yuke, all over the elevator floor
But he didn’t and walked on out of the hotel
And then he came to a door, it was another Sake bar
And he went inside

Sake, yes Sake, I want to kill you
Sake… I want to … have another

And drink you all day long baby
And miss my blue plane
Back to the blue states
To cook with a blue flame
Yeah

“The Bedlam in Goliath”: The Mars Volta video game to be released in January.

“Matter of fact, my next single, I’m going to start it [with], ‘It’s Britney, bitch!’ “: 50 Cent calls out double standards of censorship.

The man behind the creepy banana-and-strawberry thing: Deerhoof team up with Milk Man artist Ken Kagami.

“Lost and Found”: Daniel Johnston’s 2006 UK album getting released in US.

Jack White and Bob Dylan collaborate: finish up long-lost lyrics of Hank Williams

Johnny Depp and the musical: Actor turns singer in Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd”

Don’t get rid of your band shirts: You’ll regret it later when they’re selling for $4000.

The new Fall Out Boy record won’t be folk: Damn.

You should listen to Setlist. Here are nine reasons why:

The Quiet Ones - “Girls & Uniforms”
Pleasureboaters - “Elliptical Realism”
Police Teeth - “Is That Because You’re Adopted?”
The Tallboys - “Track 7” (We don’t know the real name; they didn’t tell us.)
Imperial Legions of Rome - “Troubador”
Suicide Jack - “Dirty Old Nancy”
Tart - “California”
Johanna Kunin - “Fireflies”
Sera Cahoone - “Couch Song”

Click!

Ouch.

Another record that I recently discovered while digging through crates and crates of records at a local record store, was an original copy of Samba Soul’s 1979 classic disco LP Do It. This record does a good job in pushing a nice blend of latin and bossa funk percussion mixed with disco grooves and vocals. Some of my favorite cuts include “Keep your eyes on the Sparrow”, “Black Coco” and the Peter Frampton(Yes, that Peter Frampton) cover of “I’m in You”. If your into the more latin percussive side of erotic disco, then I highly reccommend this LP. You can say that this was another nice find in a long day of digging for rare gems.

Samba Soul - I’m In You
Samba Soul - Keep your eyes on the Sparrow

I only got to see the last few songs of Philly’s The A-Sides, which is too bad because I liked what I heard. They played energetic indie pop with a dancy beat and a hint of 60s Invasion Rock, which wasn’t mind-blowing, but they managed to do it in a tasteful way. Most importantly, the band looked like they were having a great time playing, which always makes a performance more enjoyable to watch.

There’s been a lot of changes for the Velvet Teen over the last few years: original drummer Logan Whitehurst died of a brain tumor, bassist Josh Staples left to focus on his other band the New Trust, and every album the band has released has been a complete stylistic departure from the album before it. 2004’s Elysium had no electric guitar, only piano, and was comprised mostly of sweeping ballads. 2006’s Cum Laude used strange computer noises and distorted vocals to compliment amazingly crafted, guitar-driven indie rock songs. Singer/guitarist Judah Nagler is now the only original member, but he has found himself some impressive company to fill out the rest of his band. After unsuccessfully looking for a new bass player, he decided to take the spot himself and acquired Matthew Izen from Nor-Cal band Polar Bears to play guitar. He also enlisted Casey Deitz, drummer of the Chico band the Americas to drum (Deitz plays on Cum Laude, Izen joined after the album was released). Deitz is an amazing drummer, the kind who steals away a lot of the attention from the rest of the band when he is playing. His addition to the band gives them an explosive quality that they lacked before, but probably didn’t really needed before they started playing fast rock songs.

Their set was mostly numbers off of Cum Laude with a few older tunes from Out of the Fierce Parade sprinkled in. In several songs the band switched up the tempos and rhythms from the recordings making the songs sound like new tunes with the old lyrics: “Noi Boi” was slowed way down, the drum line in the verse of “Building a Whale” was switched from a blaring onslaught to a dancy hi-hat beat. Deitz bangs the drums like an absolute monster. He is one of the most impressive drummers in any band I’ve seen. Seeing him with the Velvet Teen is especially satisfying, as I am a much bigger fan of their songs than the Americas. New guitarist Izen was spot on, and Nagler’s voice was as strong and commanding as on the albums. The only frustrating part of the set was that it wasn’t long enough. The band played for less than 40 minutes, which is good etiquette for an opener, but they were the only band I really came to see.

Part of me wanted to just leave after the Velvet Teen’s set because the headliners have got to have one of the stupidest names in music. Say Hi to Your Mom? Are you serious? That’s what you decided to name your band? I stuck around to check them out as I’ve been positively surprised by things that seemed stupider than their, stupid, stupid name. I wasn’t surprised. They played mediocre power-pop, with the singer appearing to struggle out every phrase into the mic. He sounded like if Conor Oberst lost that lispy thing he does, but really had to go to the bathroom. The whole band appeared to be going through the motions, completely uninspired. It must be frustrating them to have to follow the Velvet Teen every night on tour, headlining over an obviously better band. I gave them a few songs, then I gave up.

Snarktastic music blog and longtime Friends of Line Out^tm Idolator today announced their 2nd annual alternative to the New Times/VVM curated Pazz & Jop poll. You may recall something of a critical stink last year when crusty old Dean of American Rock Critics Robert Christgau, curator of the poll for the last 33 years, was ousted from his post (which I guess makes Rob Harvilla the prank-pulling frat boy that teaches the school to loosen up and hit the keg).

A few Idolator readers who write about music may have noticed an invitation in their inbox today; still others will be receiving one soon. We’re proud to announce the 2007 Idolator Pop Critics Poll (Idolator Pop 07 for short), our continuation of last year’s Jackin’ Pop survey. (Of course we changed the name. You didn’t think we’d call it that twice, did you?) But the early invite doesn’t mean the deadline is early: we’re asking for ballots no later than Friday, December 21 at 5 p.m. EST.

Chances are if you write about music regularly we’ve already got an invite on its way to you, but if you want to be considered, email poll@idolator.com and include your name, your email, links to your blog and/or some pieces you’ve written during 2007. (If you primarily write for print, the name of your outlet[s] and a short list of recent work would be great; URLs to web-available work is even better.) We’re proud of last year’s poll and expect good things from this one as well. So should you.

For music nerds, list-makers, and other obsessivess, this truly is the most wonderful time of year.

One of the Boredoms’ three drummers, Muneomi Senju (a.k.a PARA), played two solo sets at Shibuya O-Nest in Tokyo yesterday, Thursday. The event was called Bionic Pudding Night Point.1 with Avengers in Sci-Fi, Head Like a Kite, Oak, the Primrose, and Senju.

Senju chatted and showed the effects he runs his kit through. God it sounds liquid. I love it when it’s liquid. We all need triggers like that.

Where the art be at?

Like all cultural objects, a work of hiphop is made up of two parts: one that is artistic, and one that is not artistic. A hiphop work that is dominated by the non-art part has commercial interests; one that is dominated by art has creative interests. This year, the local hiphop record that has the most art in it is Silas Blak’s Silas Sentinel, which was released this summer and is hard to find. But if you go to this Zulu Radio Live hiphop event, which happens tomorrow and features Silent Lambs Project (Blak and Jace), you will certainly find the purest hiphop record of 2007.

Where? When? And how much? Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW. 8:30, November 17. $10.

I will now ignore the taboo about writing about one’s own dreams because this dream is too weird and hilarious and musical to ignore.

I’m on my brother’s sailboat in South Florida and there’s Two Gallants, one of my favorite bands and a pair genuinely good guys. The Gallants, my brother, and I are all really happy to be there, floating along, basking in the South Florida sun, until the band realize they forgot the words to the song they were about to play.

“Don’t worry,” I say. “You can just sing ‘Paul Revere’ to the tune of ‘Iko Iko.’ We all know how it goes.”

So we start:

Here’s a little story I got to tell
About three bad brothers you know so well
It started way back
In history
With Adrock, MCA, and me, Mike D

We had a little horsie named Paul Revere
Just me and my horsie and a quart of beer
Ridin’ cross the land
Kickin’ up sand
Sheriff’s posse on my tail because I’m in demand

Talkin’ bout hey now! Hey now! Iko iko inay
Jackamo fina
Ana nay
Jackamo fina nay

I woke up sing-rapping this freakish mash-up and it totally works. You can go on with all the lyrics and they synch up perfectly to “Iko Iko.” I must’ve known this unconsciously but I’d never put the two together before. Man, my brain is fucked up/awesome.

The realm of the three kingdoms…
…will be represented during The Program, a five-day hiphop festival curated by the Blue Scholars.

If Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland made even a little effort, the three cities could be experienced as one urban realm. The Program is a kind of hiphop expression for that desirable connection, the linking of the three into one idea, one consciousness, one movement. Swollen Members, Dyme Def, Sirens Echo are some of the many regional acts that will rock the one reality in the dead middle of December. To read more about The Program, go to its website. There’s lots to see; lots to think about.

This is the new dreaming.

The show is sold-out, but you can try to get into the official afterparty at Sing Sing (just get there early).

Elliott Smith the Rastafarian basketball player: The late singer-songwriter once involved in a P. T. Anderson film?

Band of Horses never sold out after all: Bridwell nixed Walmart commercial after seeing fans’ reaction.

Regina Spektor collapses: sever inner-ear infection causes vertigo, shows rescheduled.

Radiohead album art revealed: although Sam Machkovech’s might have been better.

The Covers Records to end all Covers Records: Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Love as Laughter rumored to be covering each other for a split LP.

While record shopping this weekend, as I seem to do every weekend, I came across a few hidden rare gems. One of those rare disco LP’s was Southern Exposure’s Headin’ South. This 1979 RCA release was produced by Ian Guenther and Willi Morrison which are better known as THP (Three Hats Productions). This four track LP was also arranged by Pete Pedersen who was behind many great disco releases like Sticky Fingers 1978 self-titled LP, THP’s solid 1979 LP Good To Me, and The Duncan Sisters 1979 self-titled debut. Overall, this record which features both male and female vocals, amazing percussion and strings, and long epic instrumental breaks, is worthy of any disco collection. Definitely a nice find!

Southern Exposure - Headin’ South
Southern Exposure - Love Is

Singer Robin Pecknold just recorded a cover of Boat’s song “Clogged Castle” for Boat’s Month of Covers.

You can hear it at his MySpace, and it’s really, really great.

Reptile Boy!

Paris Is Burning tonight at the Harvard Exit!

After party at Pony featuring a runway show and full on vogue to beautiful disco provided by American Athlete (aka TJ)! Very Special Guest: Hector Extravaganza.

Work!

Fleet Foxes have just posted four new songs on their MySpace. Get ‘em while they’re hot.

They reveal the band’s continued infatuations: the Beach Boys, crash cymbals, reverb, nature and natural things, ethereal harmonies, childhood memories that may or may not be true. This is beautiful stuff, weirdly pastoral and wintery. File these new songs between Jim James’ solo material and Midlake—more fleshed-out than the former, less analog-electric than the latter. The songwriting on tracks like “Blue Ridge Mountains” and “Ragged Wood”—the upcoming album’s namesake—is at once familiar and invigorating, all gilded vocals and shuffling drums. “Red Squirrel Sunrise” and “Oliver James” are sparser, just guitar and voices, folky and intimate.

I’d take Robin Pecknold’s majestic croon over Ben Bridwell’s nasal yelp any day—vocally, the similarity is definitely there, though BOH rock far harder that the Foxes. More than Band of Horses or Midlake we have My Morning Jacket to thank for this pastoral rock resurgence, and if you want to take it even further back, it’s all about Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood Mac. I had to type that a few times to believe it.

Yeah, me too!

Here it is, straight from The Office Convention in Scranton last month.

(Thanks for the link, Colin, and hat tip to Stereogum.)

I really should’ve just paid the parking tickets when I first got them. I almost never pay for anything on time. I have no good reason, really, I just… forget.

This morning, while on the phone with the company who is telling me I should pay or they’re gonna have to take me to court or something, I was put on hold. A lot. It would’ve been annoying if it weren’t for this New Order song that made my morning:

And remember Frente? Remember the album Marvin the Album? It has a great version of “Bizarre Love Triangle” too:

It’s weird. I’m a total muso-geek, but sometimes you see something and think, “Next time. Not today. I’ll see it again.”

That’s what I thought years ago when I first saw these remixes of U2’s New Years Day/Two Hearts Beat As One by disco progenitor Francois K. What a strange meeting of talent, but I’ll see it again, it can wait.

In 1983 Francois Kevorkian had ended his job as a mixer, engineer and A&R guy for Prelude records, a job he’d held for nearly five years. He was looking to get into more pop music, using his connections to do remixes of artist as varied as Arthur Russell and Yaz (or Yazoo as they were called in Europe). He was also DJing at some of the biggest, craziest, renowned clubs in New York—Paradise Garage, Studio 54, The Loft. As he grew tired of the nightly grind, he looked to friends in the record industry to throw him some remixing work. He wanted to be in the club, not working the club.

In 1983 U2 was ready to put out their third album, War. Already a success in the U.K., they were beginning to break on our shores after the first album, Boy, but had stalled out with its follow up October and it’s disapointing sales. Island Records execs were looking for ways to expand the market for a band they thought deserved more attention, especially on the eve of a new “landmark” album which would raise their visibility in a time of the burgeoning MTV era.

Some person at Island (were they on acid?) thought it would be good to do some dance remixes of two of the singles from the album. One can only have imagined the dread of U2 band members at the time, who were already very disappointed in their contract with Island. A contract that left them without the rights to their songs, and paid them very little upfront to create their music. But what are you going to do when you’re at the mercy of your label.

Thank god it was Francois K. who got the job. The man behind Yaz’s “Situation” and Dinosaur L’s “Go Bang” was an inspiration. The mixes—especially the opening of “New Year’s Day” with it’s piano line and reverbed guitar before the drums crash in with a less known four-on-the-floor beat and remixed vocal—are great. They hold the tenuous line between rock and disco tightly. One can only imagine pogoing on the floor at Studio 54.

Of course, U2 went on to become “U2.” Francois K. went on to produce, mix and arrange amazing, classic work by Kraftwerk (Electric Cafe, Tour De France), Depeche Mode (Violator), Jody Watley (Don’t You Want Me) and more recently LCD Soundsystem (Disco Infiltrator)

The single is probably not a “rare” find to U2 fans, but to disco lovers, who may pass up on their chance to own a copy, like myself, it is a jewel.

The songs can be found here.

Say Hi, the Velvet Teen, the A-Sides
(Crocodile) “A Captive Audience” from the album Elysium is by far my favorite Velvet Teen song. It’s a captivating and gorgeous orchestration of piano and strings—it’s gentle but bittersweet at first and then it bursts into a cathartic bomb of emotion and distortion. It’s beyond all my words, and it stops me in my tracks every time I hear it. As beautiful a song as it is, it isn’t the best representation of the Velvet Teen’s catalog. The band can mend the heart as well as they can break it with songs that tug on hips more than heartstrings. The band’s 2006 release, Cum Laude!, harnesses a bigger, louder energy that’ll make you dance instead of weep, and it’s the perfect balance of both sides that will get you through the impending winter. MEGAN SELING

Click here to listen to “A Captive Audience.”

As for openers the A-Sides, there’s a CD review in this week’s issue on their new album Silver Storms:

The A-Sides
Silver Storms
(Vagrant)
***

“Epic” isn’t easy to pull off in indie rock. You’ve got the slacker-noise-jam school of thought, where bands hammer away endlessly at out-of-tune guitars to produce a second-rate “Teen Age Riot.” You’ve got the Sufjan-championed glorious orchestral mode, which too often collapses under its own ostentatiousness.

So, the fact that the A-Sides’ Silver Storms pulls off three songs in the six-minute range (plus several others that sound like they should be) is impressive.

A Philadelphia band with lapsed British Invasion tendencies, the five-piece begin their sophomore album with an airy string quartet, easing into the chimes and thumping rhythm of “Always in Trouble.” Singer Jon Barthmus wails over key changes and minor sevenths, drifting in the ebb and flow of his bandmates’ sound until the feisty double-time coda. It’s a big intro, but the band are hardly spent. Later, “Sinking with the Ship” dissolves the record into a wash of cello and cymbals. The A-Sides keep their scope big, but never self-consciously so. Even when “Diamonds” leans painfully Coldplay in its slow-burn pacing and lyrical cheese (“let’s just shine, shine, shine/all day and all of the night”), there’s no delusions of grandeur. The song’s screaming Ebow-and-feedback crescendo is populist, not pandering—the sound of five guys playing as loud as they can and managing to make something transcendent. JOHN VETTESE

This fake “Italian Spiderman” trailer, complete with a back story about the original lead actor dying of a spear fishing accident in 1965…well, it’s obviously better suited for Line Out than Slog. Check out that drumming action at 1:22!

This clip hits a particularly soft spot in my heart, seeing as I’m a fiend for ’60s and ’70s go-go/exploitation flick soundtracks. And, of course, the paunch.

Good Weather For Airstrikes has a live recording of Girl Talk’s legendary, balls-out Seattle debut at Chop Suey from January of this year. That show was insane. I haven’t seen Girl Talk since (I missed out on the Neumo’s riots during Block Party), but I can’t imagine him killing it much harder than he did that night. Here’s the setlist (as spotted by GWFA):

Girl Talk Murders Seattle:
01. “Give me like, three minutes.”
02. (Crowd Noise)
03. “Girl Talk” (Radio Chatter Intro)
04. “SPOON MAN!” (Introduction)
05. “Ring The Alarm Once Again”
06. “What It’s All About”
07. “Stuntin’ By The Lights”
08. “Doin’ It Bossy”
09. “Pump This Party”
10. “Work It”
11. “Need You To Set It Off”
12. “Loving Changes, Hating Changes”
13. “What A Fool Know About That”
14. “Kryptonic Train Ride”
15. “Whoomp Wit It, Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” [Alternate Link]
16. “Digital Hustlin’” [Alternate Link]
17. “Run This Motherfucker”
18. “Just Need To Stay Fly”
19. “Galang-nologic”
20. “Ain’t No Other Love Triangle”
21. “Bounce That”
22. “Smash Your Head”
23. “I finally feel like I’m Spoon Man!”
24. “Nuckin, Buckin, Gettin’ Some”
25. “Lay It Back And Drop It”
26. “Pump That Pussy, Don’t Back Down”
27. “Peak Out”
28. “From The Muddy Banks Of Seattle”

(Thanks to hot tipper Sam)

Tokyo has weird shit. In a grocery store, next to the fruits and vegetables, there was a gimp-ball section. You know, the red ball that is strapped into your mouth that you wear when you put on your black leather gimp suit? Well, this is where they come from. The gimp ball has less nutrients than an apple though. Then there were these:

Sushi in the Shibuya district rolls out on conveyer belts everywhere. You can not fathom how tender and perfect it is. I have the salmon rolls on auto feed. This morning, a conveyer belt hydraulically ejected out of the wall in my hotel room and deposited three salmon rolls into my mouth before I was even awake.

From Chris DeLaurenti’s column The Score:

Wed 11/14 MONKTAIL BENEFIT

Cellist/composer Paul Rucker, Stephen Fandrich of the Seattle Harmonic Voices, and Wayne Horvitz lend their talents in this benefit for the Monktail Creative Music Concern (MCMC). Unlike mainstream arts organizations which boast a paid staff, an office, and (if tactically savvy) an endowment, the MCMC is but one of many local art instigators who operate “without portfolio.” In lieu of a visionary millionaire, these organizers of the Sounds Outside series need your support. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, 322-1533, 7 pm, $10—$25 sliding-scale donation.

I have yet to visit Gallery 1412 so I’m psyched to check the place out tonight. Haven’t seen Wayne Horvitz in Seattle aside from a sit-in with Skerik’s Illuminasty Trio back in March. And I’ve only seen Paul Rucker once, at Sounds Outside in Cal Anderson park, and he floored me. It’s a great lineup of extremely forward-thinking jazz and should make for a great night.

Celebration, Kill Me Tomorrow, Dead Science @ the Crocodile

Celebration’s latest album The Modern Tribe is a vast tonal departure from their self-titled debut. Where the latter was all edges— frenzied manouche rhythms and a sonic palette reminiscent of a chandelier in a hurricane— their latest is lush and reflective with organ tones reverberating from a rotating Leslie cab and Katrina Ford’s vocals settling into a subtler and richer range of expression. Last night’s show at the Croc started off a bit tepid with the song, “Evergreen” before steadily picking up momentum as the band and Ford’s vocals had a chance to warm up. By the time they hit “Pressure” and lit into an audience requested “New Skin,” the band had fully entranced the crowd with dense rhythms and Ford’s dizzying vocal presence.

The highlight of Celebration’s set was a frenzied, family-jam version of, “War,” one of the starkest and most striking songs from their debut album. With members of the Dead Science, Kill Me Tomorrow, and the Blood Brothers joining them on stage— the glassy menace of the song was transformed into a pulsing, convulsing old time revival. The band left the stage briefly before being goaded into an encore and I can’t help but think that the audience ruined what was a perfect end to their set with their greed for more band for their buck. Whatever prompts compulsive encore-seekers in this town will forever mystify me. (The encore for the record was fine, but underwhelming after the dramatic climax of “War.”)

Eric missed openers, The Dead Science who are easily my pick for under-appreciated-local-band-most-deserving-of-your-attention. Even if I didn’t consider the band my friends, I would have no hesitation in lauding their formidable talents. High-minded but never without a sense of groove or melody— the Dead Science craft music that incorporate the improvisational spirit of jazz with the fractured catharsis that rock music can promise. Apparently the boys are in talks with some different indie labels to release their forthcoming album and I hope that the band gets the distribution and attention they truly deserve.

I found Kill Me Tomorrow’s set to be just o-kay. This is a band that I’ve seen a number of times in support of other bands that were my main draw. Their dark rhythmic vibe reminded me of other bands I liked (the Fall, tourmates Celebration, et al.) but never matched those other bands’ sense of menace, dread, tension or more extreme distillations of mood. While I wasn’t super stoked on their set, I have to say that many of their circular riffs and repetitions resonated in my head for the rest of the night in surprising and pleasing ways.

A few weeks back I did a post about the Celso Valli produced project, Azoto. However before they cut their name back to “Azoto”, this early italo project which also featured Allan Goldberg and Sandon was called Lucrethia And The Azoto 14,008, and in 1978 they released the classic LP Dance Skinsation. This record, along with Giorgio Moroder’s LP From Here To Eternity could be considered by many as the birth place of italo disco. With classic cuts like “Delicate Jan”, “It’s The Way”, and “Hey There”, it’s evident that this record had a huge helping influence on the creation and development of italo disco.

Lucrethia And The Azoto 14,008 - It’s The Way

Should be a stonerrific good time at the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome this evening as Tacoma psych-soulsters Mono in VCF host a listening party for their self-titled debut.

The songs on the band’s MySpace reveal a whole lot of potential, and I’m anxious to hear the rest of the album. The music is expansive psychedelic pop, burnished with Mellotron-ed strings, big drums, and a Grand Canyon’s worth of reverb. It’s very much in a Lee Hazelwood/Phil Spector vein, as noir as the night, which is why the band brought singer Kim Miller on-board. Miller’s voice is so, so close to being a knockout that the tiny degree to which she falls short becomes glaring. With music as cavernous as Mono in VCF, the vocals have to be equally massive, and though Miller’s got a sensuous purr, there’s not enough there there. At least in my headphones—maybe blown up in the Laser Dome that voice will fill the room. The stuff is still crazy hypnotic in a near-Portishead kinda way.

BTW, Mono in VCF won that contest sponsored by Jarvis Cocker to open for his Seattle show this past spring. So there you go—a band for the common people.

The listening party costs $5 and starts at 8 pm, with a pre-party at the EMP starting at 6. All paid entries receive a voucher to download the album free from the band’s website. The afterparty is at—where else?—Hazelwood.

Celebration, Kill Me Tomorrow @ the Croc

I almost didn’t go out at all last night. I was feeling low, stressed out about work, and not at all in the mood to rock out. Thankfully, a friend of mine was having none of that, and demanded I get my ass down to the Croc because I was already missing Kill Me Tomorrow, damn it. I got there in time to see their last few songs, and from what I saw, a lot has changed about this band since they came through here with Dance Disaster Movement (I know, who?) a few years ago. Their sound is still a mess of reverberating guitar, percussive noise, bass gristle, and vocal drones, but it’s not what I remembered. This may be more the fault of my memory than any actual change on the band’s part, though. What I either missed or forgot or ignored was how Kill Me Tomorrow’s wierdo no wave is often propelled by some seriously tribal drum circling, how their choruses can easily transfrom into guttrual throat chants with enough people on stage singing (as when they were joined by some of Celebration for their final song).

I’m probably not going to get Celebration right the first time here either, but I’ll try. Celebration are pretty amazing live, and they completely melted my low mood. Katrina Ford’s voice is incredible, a tricky balance of PJ’s Harvey freak soul and Karen O’s ecstatic wail. On stage, Ford holds a microphone in one hand and bangs a drum with the other. While she dances and belts and pounds up front, the rest of the band—one agile, bony drummer, one keyboardist brooding with his back to the audience, and another hunched and rocking back and forth like a shock victim—easily keep up with her. There’s a little of the Get Hustle’s vaguely gothic cabaret here, but there’s more uplift and wonder to Celebration. Some songs were tense battles between instruments, others were perfectly harmonious, all were totally entrancing. I can’t believe I almost missed it.

Flaming Hamster Wheel of Panic: Neko Case writes for Poetry Magazine.

The new Oasis album won’t be free: Gallagher says it would be over his “dead body”. So I guess we’ll all go… buy… the new Oasis album… Right.

Jay-Z ties with Elvis: American Gangster becomes tenth album to reach Number One.

“Conquest”: The White Stripes team up with Beck for new B-sides.

Gibson launches robot guitar: Limited edition Les Paul has six preset tunings.

In the Charts: Band of Horses top the CMJ Radio 200.

The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever: Blender made a bizarre list for their December issue.

Fog, Bad Dream Good Breakfast
(Crocodile) Fog’s latest album finds lead songwriter Andrew Broder moving from lo-fi sound collage and folk into basement-rattling rock, incorporating significantly more electricity and ’70s acid than on previous releases, and growing from a mostly solo project to a full three-piece band to back it up. The album features guest appearances from Mount Eerie’s Phil Elverum, Low’s Alan and Mimi Sparhawk, and Why?’s Yoni Wolf, but they all disappear effortlessly into the band’s sound, and Broder’s dark, lyrical moods hold the spotlight throughout. Live, the band pull off both subtler moments and straight-ahead, amplified rock with ease. ERIC GRANDY

Isis, These Arms Are Snakes
(Neumo’s) Isis push their sound. It’s metal that expands and experiments. They are perfectly suited for Mike Patton’s Ipecac label. They play heavy, lengthy songs that hinge on repetition and evolution of structure—growling vocals and punishing low end blend into sections of atmospheric keyboards and swelling abstract harmonics. The Isis bomb explodes in the distance and from miles away, the red-orange blur is eerily serene and beautiful. You are lulled, seconds pass, and then the bomb’s seismic shock waves reach you and destroy. Vocalist and guitarist Aaron Turner says he wants to make Isis an entity. He wants rock to be art, without forsaking the tidal, niche brand of music they’ve been playing for 10 years. An entity? Your call. TRENT MOORMAN

The Roches, Lucy Wainwright Roche
(Triple Door) Before Mouldy Peaches, before Ani DiFranco, there was the Roches. A trio of New Jersey sisters boasting fierce musical independence that spoke to both punks and folkies, ignited by those close, odd harmonies siblings seem genetically predisposed to conjure from their pipes. Assisted by folks like Paul Simon and Robert Fripp, their herky-jerky “Nurds” and a cappella reduction of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” gave voice to outsiders in a way Madison Avenue could never co-opt. And they have endured with the tenacity of their namesake, recently regrouping after an 11-year hiatus. There have been some subtle evolution in their sound—they played most of their own instruments on the new Moonswept—but when Maggie, Terre, and Suzzy lift their voices in harmony, this rotten world becomes a better place. KURT B. REIGHLEY

Head Like a Kite to Tokyo here. We are playing a couple shows for promoter Shoko from Kyodo Tokyo. The shows are in Shinjuku and Shibuya at the O-Nest. I will bust fat trans-oceanic beats. Konnichiwa, biatches. Translation of gangster. Cookie Snake rides again.

Head Like an International Flight. 65 mph headwind. Two kilometers in, band mate leader, Dave Einmo was calling for scotch. The uncrossed Pacific Ocean on the screen in front of his face was not what his fear of flying wanted to see.

Cruising altitude brought thought, and three rights: Savage is right, the bathroom has more room than the sardine section. Megan is right, criss-crossing planes are not what you want to see pre-flight. And Dominic is right, that IS Jimi Hendrix on the Alaskan Airlines planes.

Before we left, I asked Kaz from PWRFL Power for some things to say in Japanese. I wondered if people would be offended if I joked about Sumo wrestling. Kaz said:

Noboday will be offended even if you say something harsh about Sumo. You can say, “Sumo shiyouka.” - Let’s Sumo.

It was 68 degrees when we landed. Clear sky, sunset drive into Tokyo. The scape and shapes of the city unfurled. Unreal to be here. Real time anime. Gargantuan cement Kanji jaws are open.

Place we are staying is called Shibuya. It’s a maze, but quaint. Like a Smurf village with neon. Boomboxes kick from shadows in the corner. Everyone is hip-hop. They have hip-hop shops. I think JZ said you can’t be more hipster than a Japanese hipster. He is right.

Toilets here have many buttons, lights, and settings for heated seats and bidet streams. The future of shitting. Dave sat and needed a little less heat. He pressed the wrong button. Pressure cleaner. Welcome to Japan.

Sumo for all. Sayonara. Smurf off. I Smurf you. Let’s Sumo.

As Levislade points out in the comments of this post about Wu Tang Clan’s just announced Dec 30th show at the Showbox Sodo:

today is the anniversary of ODB (AKA Ason Unique, The Bebop Specialist, Big Baby Jesus, Dirt Dog, Osirus, The Man of All Rainbows, Prince Delight, The Professor, Rain Man, Super Bastard, Peanut the Kidnapper, RJ Tha Mad Specialist, Dirt McGirt, Freeloading Rusty, Joe Bananas)’s death.

ODB passed away just three years ago today. Pour one out (or whatever it is the kids are doing these days for their dead homies) and please enjoy this timeless classic (with a kind nod to Idolator):

This is too freakin’ rich.

The most recent episode of South Park centers on Guitar Hero, and there are a bunch of hilarious bits throughout the show: Kyle and Stan are signed to a record deal based on their virtual version of “Carry on My Wayward Son;” Stan’s dad, who plays actual guitar, is scoffed at by Cartman—“Real guitars are for old people”—and discovers he’s awful at the game; after hitting the bigtime, Kyle succumbs to the pressures of rockstardom and moves on to the game Heroin Hero, a “first person shooter,” with two outstretched arms and one hand clutching a syringe as a pink dragon—who you chase but never catch—taunts the player in a cartoon voice.

The four clips above are pretty much the whole episode. Watch ‘em while you can before Viacomm takes them off YouTube.

Alec Costandinos was one of disco’s most active and greatest song writers and producers. This Egyptian born musician had a knack for producing some of disco’s most epic compositions. After Costandinos co-wrote Cerrone’s classic LP Love In ‘C’ Minor in 1977, he was offered a contract with the French label, Barclay Records. Shortly after signing, Costandinos wrote and produced Love & Kisses self-titled LP. This record consisted of two 16-plus minute tracks in “I’ve Found Love (Now That I’ve Found You)” and “Accidental Lover” which showcased his ability to write complex disco anthems. This LP was also significant to the disco scene because it introduced the world to writer/producer Don Ray who helped arrange and conduct the Love & Kisses record, as well as introducing “The Birds Of Paris”, as Costandinos like to call them, which was a vocal group featuring Sue Glover, Stephanie DeSykes, Sunny Leslie, Vicki Brown and Joanne Stone. This record helped jumpstart Costandinos solo career which consisted more Love & Kisses records, along with some amazing concept records including Sumeria’s Golden Tears LP. After listening to a just a few of Costandinos’ compositions, it’s easy to see how he was one of disco’s most brilliant minds.

Love & Kisses - I’ve Found Love (Now That I’ve Found You)

Wu-Tang Clan are playing Showbox SoDo Sun Dec 30th with Dyme Def, Cancer Rising, and Furious Styles. Tickets are $37.50 at Ticketmaster (they go on sale this Saturday at 10 am) and the show is 21+.

With only two days left, I just now find out about Boat’s month of covers. Great. No one tells me anything. Anyway, since October 15th, musicians have been submitting their covers of their favorite Boat songs to the band, who are then turning around and posting them on their blog.

Most recently, Jay Cox of the Sea Navy covered “Last Cans of Paint.” The band’s also posted new versions of “Remember the Romans,” “(I’m a) Donkey For Your Love,” “After All,” “The Ferocious Sounds of Lobsters and Snakes,” and “Come With Me, We’ll Win” (which is actually pretty great, listen to it here).

And yeah, maybe there’s only two days left (the fun ends November 15), but grab your guitar and lay something down. Someone should do “Period, Backslash, Colon.” It’s one of my favorites and I’d just butcher it.

Cold War Kids Again!? Expect re-runs on late night shows as the Writers Guild of America strike postpones TV performances.

Burger with a side of Pop: Wendy’s and Rhapsody join forces.

False Imprisonment: Why you shouldn’t go over to Boy George’s after meeting him on the internet

Thom Yorke turns down Paul McCartney collaboration: Thank God.

Better than Guitar Hero: iPod game that can program itself?

Wycelf is named roving ambassador to Haiti: Pledges to lobby for support.

Justin Timberlake named PGA host: Plays to a 6-handicap

Ultimate Reality: Dan Deacon on tour forever. With everyone.

Yesterday, Youtube user 4thcity posted this video, allegedly showing a Poster Giant employee destroying posters for upcoming shows not posted by their company (after a blurry first minute or two, it gets clearer):

Animosity towards Poster Giant is of course old, old, old news. But what do you think? Do you poster? Do you do it yourself or via a postering company? Is this fair competition? Good capitalism? Bullying? Is this video sour grapes from second place? Creepy Stalking? Street justice?

Celebration and Kill Me Tomorrow
(Music) Celebration, a trio from Baltimore, marries sultry and spacey vocals to subdued rhythms, flowering guitars, and bright organ melodies. Their songs range from wide-eyed paeans like “Evergreen” to the more carnal rites of “Pony.” Kill Me Tomorrow is the opposite—a trio whose brooding, paranoid art rock is street-dirty and racked by guitar twitches, broken drums, and menacing bass. With Seattle’s Dead Science. (Crocodile Cafe, 2200 Second Ave, 441-5611. 9 pm, $8, 21+.) Eric Grandy

I heard this song the other day on my college radio station, and was transfixed by the archaic creepiness. Thrown in among the usual mix, the dark, backwater gospel conviction definitely caught me off guard.

I investigated, and upon wikipedia-ing, discovered that the record features Mark Lanegan on 8 of their new album’s 11 tracks. As in, Screaming Trees!?

Apparently I missed the whole solo-project thing of the past ten years.

Blow-out: Off with a new tire and extended warranties, Sears waiting rooms, coffee-stained Field & Stream magazines, Buffalo, NY. Runny noses and snow in our mouths. A couple of shows that fell off with a thud, where instead of putting on the safety we would’ve been better off just shooting ourselves in the foot because there’s at least some HUMOR in that. Know what I mean?

I don’t believe in the end of the world and hopefully this is merely a funny freckle that you’re supposed to keep an eye on, call it cute, or believe that maladies breed “character” and all’s-well-that-ends-well. I told Mr. Howrey (bass player) that shaving his mustache after our first few shows would be bad juju and now I feel like I was only half joking. Gotta get out of the mojo vacuum. Heave-ho.

This is not meant to be a sad-sack letter to friends and strangers, so sorry if it sounds like it. We’ll figure it out. The answer is blowing in the wind. What was the question? How is the tour going? Really, much better than it sounds. Got good friends at arms length and we get to open for a band that makes our heads wag every single night. But we could talk about more important stuff if you wanna. Feel free to call me at 291-4089 if you’d like more. Honestly. Hope things are going well for everybody.

Take care!

Your friends,
Arthur & Yu

How to be the Coolest Kid in the Caf: Tv on the Radio, Cat Power, Kanye, others design lunchboxes for hunger relief.

Just doing music is lame: Norah Jones is now an actress. And Xzibit is now an actor.

Vampire Weekend hates you: They didn’t set another Seattle date, but the record’s got a trackslist.

“Album Six”: Weezer set a date

Pete Wentz makes ‘Unsexiest Man’ list: Because you didn’t see that coming.

Gene Simmons the author: Because you really want to read about his personal experiences with prostitution?

Emo boys get Woodies: Gym Class Heroes, Academy Is, Boys Like Girls win mtvU awards. Who the hell are Boys Like Girls?

While checking up on the video confirmation of the much-anticipated My Bloody Valentine reunion, I couldn’t help but watch Ian Svenonious’ conversation with Fall frontman Mark E Smith on his VBS show Soft Focus. Behold, the clown prince of agit-prop punk takes on the OG of mumblecore:

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Lydia Lunch scares the crap out of me. Because she is not afraid to be bad.

Not bad in the transgressive sense – although that is part of her mystique. If her brutal “predator’s diary,” Paradoxia, is to be believed, Lydia has never met a person or a taboo she wouldn’t violate. No, her work impels me because she is fearless about creating, and then sharing (inflicting? expelling?) her