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May 5, 2006
Shorties
Moops Music has the Mountain Goats' tour EP, Babylon Springs, in stock. Unfortunately, it will be the last item to be stocked as Moops is closing its virtual doors, along with its record label, 3 Beads of Sweat, by the end of the year.
From 3BOS's Tim Adams:
This will be the last item to be stocked at Moops, too, as I have decided to close down both Moops and 3 Beads of Sweat by the end of the year. I spoke briefly with John (Darnielle) tonight to let him know about the label decision, and John will get the rights to do whatever he wishes with the 5 tMG CDs on 3 Beads, which may or may not include being repackaged/reissued on 4AD, or just going out of print (I honestly don't know).
Singer-songwriter Nicolai Dunger talks to Harp.
“It’s like when you hear artists like Bob Dylan or Van Morrison, they do different things but they have the same voice,” he says from Stockholm. “Even the crappy stuff Van did in the 1980s, when you hear the voice, you say, ‘Aahhh, it’s Van.’ Everything I do is about trying to retain the integrity of my individual voice, fighting to hang on to it.”
Ben Curtis of Secret Machines talks to Inside Bay Area about a famous fan of the band.
"To see David Bowie's face smiling down on you while you're playing is definitely ... I dunno ..." stammers Curtis, momentarily at a loss for words. "It's just beyond surreal, really. But it's one of those things that happens, where you're on tour, people start saying that Bowie's into you, and after a while you realize that people are paying attention to this, like 'Oh, Secret Machines are that band that David Bowie likes.' And next thing you know, he's hanging out, shooting the breeze at a gig. And I guess that's how these things happen — kind of gradually."
Pearl Jam talks to the Times Online about their new album.
While their debut album, Ten, sold more than 12 million copies in America alone and led to Vedder being lionised as the voice of a generation, the one before Pearl Jam, Riot Act (2002), sold “only” 500,000. “On that album, radio played our songs for only a minute,” says the guitarist Mike McCready. “And I have an ego to satisfy — I want to hear my band on the radio again.”
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer interviews author Ha Jin.
Writing in English as a second language puts you in the company of writers such as Nabokov and Conrad, who, as exiles, wrote about their homelands but did so in their adopted language.
Those writers form a tradition in English that allows a lot of people, like myself, to join. That is the beauty of English. Those writers showed the way; they showed that it was possible.
Popmatters reviews the first week of New Orleans' Jazzfest.
Stylus lists the top ten "unlikely sex moments on film."
He has no plans to take the show on the road: "It would be too expensive, and I can't bear things like synthesised strings." Instead, the release of The Drift is accompanied by the broadcast of a documentary, with input from long-time fans such as David Bowie and Brian Eno.
In the Guardian, Walker talks to Alex Petridis.
"I don't own any of my records," he says. Mention of 2004's In Five Easy Pieces box set, which bravely attempted to thematically link his entire oeuvre, from the Walker Brothers to Tilt and Pola X, prompts another baffled expression. "I don't have a real curiosity that way. I don't have an objection, I don't think it's bad music or anything like that. If it's playing somewhere, I'll stop and listen to it. I'm sort of like Don Quixote, I don't want to see what's going on."
Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day, befriend your local comic book guy.
The Hollywood Reporter reviews a recent Drive-By Truckers show.
What an 85 minutes it was, led by the triple threat of singer-guitarist-songwriters Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell. Each easily could front his own band, but it wouldn't be one-third as good. They traded lead and backing vocals, lead and supporting guitar -- and when all three let loose, it invoked the noisiest Neil Young and Southern rock while carving out a pummeling yet grounded sound all their own.
The Guardian lists the top ten sci-fi films.
The always excellent Scandinavian music blog It's A Trap has released its second CD sampler, unsurprisingly titled Reader's Companion, Volume 2. The first volume (released in 2004) introduced many people to talents like Jose Gonzales, Kristofer Åström, and David & the Citizens. The second volume is equally impressive, you can order copies through the site.
The San Francisco Chronicle listed the top 25 Bay area songs.
Singer-songwriter Emmy the Great is interviewed by Drowned in Sound.
Which is your favourite wall... Tilly's, Pink Floyd's or China's?
I listened Pink Floyd once. It was long.
I’d probably choose Tilly’s over China in an immediate sense but if I go to space and I can’t see them, I’m gonna be pissed.
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats and Extra Glenns lists a "dirty dozen" songs for eMusic.
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs discuss "music you should hear" for Amazon.
