Brooklyn’s The Men, which recently got my seal of approval for their new album, Open Your Heart, are playing Bottom of the Hill on Sunday, June 24. From what I’ve heard about them live, you should probably just think about taking that Monday off of work right now.
I’m wondering why’d you buy an advance ticket to Outside Lands without knowing the lineup? It’s gotta take a lot of faith in the organizers. And yet, the three day, discounted Eager Beaver tickets for this year’s full festival are already gone. In March. For an August festival. My question: What if Creed turns out to be the headliner, performing all of their incredible albums back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Are all you guys still down to go? Because you’ve already bought tickets.
Do what you can to check out Grime‘s new album, “Visions.” It’s a dancey pastiche of experimental pop perfect for whenever. Grimes is playing Rickshaw Stop Feb. 22. You should go.
When I listen to the new Destroyer album, I feel like a stoned casanova, sitting alone at a wooden table in some smokey downtown bar, wearing nothing but an astronaut’s suit. Some jazzy funk band with a retro-70′s soul sound is playing onstage.
I make my way backstage and stay up all night doing cocaine, dancing, swigging Scotch and chasing women with blue eyes. I’d be sniffing lines in the back room like I was prepping for some concert I was never going to play, walking outside to smile at the sun.
The eventual grinding of my teeth would lead to a walk around the streets of San Francisco, passing others on their way to work, probably downtown somewhere near Union Square. I’d get breakfast at some half-filled dinner, sip coffee as briefcases and purses move at quick strides.
Yes, I had spent the night high out of my mind and trying to hook up, still I’d be sitting at this breakfast table alone again. The food would be serviceable, more grease than nutrition. The check would come all too fast. I couldn’t possibly pay.
I’d leave and it’d start raining. I’d get stoned on my way to Chinatown. Stumbling through some dusty gift ship displaying oven mitts emblazoned with the Golden Gate Bridge, I’d purchase some green stress balls marked with a Chinese character I’ll never understand.
“It must mean something to the effect of ‘strength and happiness,’” I’d say to the store clerk, pointing to my chiming round souvenirs.
“You’ve got it all wrong,” the clerk would say. “You’ve got it all backwards.”
No one would question me about the astronaut suit.
Destroyer plays Great American Music Hall Monday, March 21. Tickets are $16 and available here.
Since Arcade Fire have no local dates lined up and we’re nowhere near Madison Square Garden, the Internet is going to meet you halfway tonight (Thursday).
Beginning at 7 p.m. PST, Arcade Fire will be webcasting their MSG show via YouTube. In a strange twist, the webcast is supposed to be directed by the great Terry Gilliam.
Anyways, Arcade Fire’s new album, The Suburbs, is pretty great and the band is incredible live. If you’ve got nothing going on tonight around 7, check it out.
The webcast even has a overly dramatic trailer to go with it, so hopefully it’s nothing like that.
SF Music Blog’s favorite female singer has teamed up with 826 National, the expanded version of our city’s own 826 Valencia, for something as awesome as its name: “Mercury Cougar-Rama Muscle Car-’Splosion.”
Neko is going to be auctioning off her ’67 Mercury Cougar— as seen on the cover of her latest album, Middle Cyclone. All proceeds go to 826 National, which fosters tutoring, reading and writing programs for kids across the country.
SF Music Blog has absolutely no chance at winning this auction, which is good, because hopefully it’ll raise some serious cash for 826. All we have is a ton of credit card debt and a hangover.
If you don’t feel like making a run at the car, you could buy a t-shirt with a design hand-drawn by Neko for the auction, with all proceeds going to 826. The shirts are $25 and we’ll probably pick one up. (If they take credit cards.)
It’s probably better to just let Neko and the kids tell you, anyways, but, you know, it’s a blog…gotta post…
We live out by the park, so it’s pretty much been cloudy and foggy in our neighborhood for the past month or so.
Summer!
Here’s 10 songs from this year for when blue sky is scarce.
- The National, “Terrible Love”
- Ariel Pink, “Round and Round”
- Broken Bells, “Your Head Is On Fire”
- Anais Mitchell, “When The Chips Are Down”
- Frightened Rabbit, “Swim Until You Can’t See Land”
Admiral Radley, featuring Jason Lytle (formally of the revered Grandaddy), will be at Bottom of the Hill Friday.
The band recently released its debut, I Heart California, and the title song doubles as a great summer jam.
AdRad will be playing with Sea of Beas and Built Like Alaska. $12 in advance, $14 at the door— which opens at 8:30. Tickets!
For a while, whenever I was enthusiastic about a new album, it would always bum me out when I read reviews that didn’t feel the same way.
I’d immediately place some distance between myself and that record. After all, if a professional music reviewer couldn’t enjoy the object of my audible affection, what hope did I have? This got complicated when my job was to review music professionally.
It wasn’t so much that I thought the album I enjoyed was any worse than before. I just felt as though no matter what I told people, there wasn’t a consensus to back me up. I could evangelize a band’s work to someone, but eventually that person would go online and read a bunch of contrary opinions by others. (This is also known as the “Plight of the Insane Clown Posse Fan.”)
This kind of thing can certainly challenge credibility. But who’s cred is on the line if you’re just being honest?
The New Pornographers released an new album earlier this year called Together and it’s fucking great.
It’s a nice continuation from the band’s last album, 2007′s Challengers, which a sizable section of the group’s fanbase seemed to hate. Longtime fans of the New Pornographers had grown accustomed to the punchy power pop display on 2005′s Twin Cinema.
Not me. I didn’t care for Twin Cinema back in 2005 and I’ve only mildly let it into my heart since. It’s not a bad collection of songs, but the New Pornographers sound is different on that record.
Sometime between 2005 and 2007, the New Pornographers went from loud, propulsive, hyper-rock to a more mellow, folky, melodic sound accented by thick, rich harmonies.
The New Pornographers are led by principal songwriter A.C. Newman, the second most famous redhead in the band. Between 2005 and 2007, Newman fell in love and got married to Christy Simpson, who works at the band’s label, Matador Records.
Challengers is an unabashed, upbeat, warm, sweet, doe-eyed album about falling in love. The title track details a couple preparing to embark on a relationship they can’t control, against the odds. It’s a beautiful sentiment that echos throughout the 12 tracks.
If Simpson was the muse for Challengers, you can probably guess how the follow-up, Together, advances the narrative. Since Challengers was released, Newman and Simpson relocated from New York City to upstate NY. The first song on Together is called “Moves” and has a fading refrain of “you and I move” towards the conclusion. The closing track is titled “We End Up Together.” You see where this is headed.
Since getting into Challengers back in 2007, I’ve gone through the band’s back catalogue: 2000′s Mass Romantic, 2003′s Electric Version, and 2005′s Twin Cinema. For my money, Newman’s work with the New Pornographers has never sounded more focused or inspired as between 2007 and 2010.
Challengers and Together are two fully realized albums with equal parts weight and joy, and we probably have Christy Simpson to thank.
Yet both of these records received weak to tepid reactions from critics. I’m not sure if it was the group changing its vision or just a matter of taste, but that means people will be less inclined to give them a listen. And that’s probably the biggest bummer of all.
The New Pornographers are playing Oakland’s Fox Theatre tomorrow night. I’m going to be there, singing my face off, and I wish you were too.
After a long delay, Outside Lands announced its official dates: August 14 and 15.
The festival has been scaled back this year, eliminating Friday. Here’s hoping that means a tighter festival all around.
The official lineup won’t be announced until June 1, but organizers have been dropping hints on the festival’s site.
We already know Kings of Leon have been thrown out there as possible headliners for Sunday and Consequence of Sound is keeping a running probable artist list going with My Morning Jacket and Phoenix both rumored.
Here some other names that Outside Lands needs to have on its lineup when its announced on Tuesday, June 1.
Must Haves:
Locals:
Pop thoughts:
Some are floating Lady GaGa out there as a possible headliner. Although her schedule is still open for that weekend, she’s already going to be playing San Jose on Aug. 16 an 17. If she did play Outside Lands, it might work well for Saturday the 14th. Is that too much GaGa for the Bay though?
Wouldn’t be too surprised to see Katy Perry land on the bill either. She’s got a new album on the way and she fulfills the popstar quota should GaGa not show up.
