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March 31, 2007
Shorties
Added yesterday to the 2007 SXSW downloads page, performances (in mp3 format, courtesy of KEXP) by:
The Stooges
Okkervil River
Under Byen
Beirut
Peter Bjorn & John
The Holloways
Fujiya & Miyagi
Apples in Stereo
The Early Years
Ghostland Observatory
Earl Greyhound
Mew
Harp profiles Daytrotter.
Bands love the Daytrotter concept, which combines John Peel spontaneity and field-recording immediacy, and often drive hours out of their way to record a session. The Hold Steady has twice attempted to visit, although logistical constraints prevented the sessions—but they’re still trying. The site’s almost instant popularity resulted in Moeller being invited to the Sundance Film Festival and South By Southwest for field recordings. He declined the Sundance offer, preferring to work in the more music-focused SXSW in Austin this March.
Minnesota Public Radio has an in-studio performance from Low.
Chuck Klosterman is keeping a Final Four blog for ESPN.
The Nauroscopy record label is being auctioned on eBay.
I Like Music interviews Midlake frontman Tim Smith.
The Chicago Maroon interviews Nathan Jerde, drummer for the Ponys.
CM: It seems like I can’t read a review of you guys without bringing out comparisons to other bands in a sort of spot-that-influence game. How do you guys try to get a unique sound while still getting meshed into the post-punk revival movement?
NJ: I think we all have a wide variety of influences, and most of the influences kind of connect in one way or another. I don’t think it comes down to the music we’re listening to at any point in time. We were all in bands before, and when we met each other, we really dug what we were doing. So we met each other, started doing songs, and it kinda developed on its own. I’ve never been like, “I really like this cut, it reminds me of some other band.”
Billboard squashes the false Neutral Milk Hotel reunion rumors.
Seattlest interviews singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes.
Between the gorgeous instrumentation and your own distinctive voice, Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter has always been something of a dual showcase. Has there ever been any conflict in reconciling the two during the songwriting or studio process?
Phil [Wandscher], the guitarist, and I have been together for nine years and I think we’re twins on some weird interior level. I mean, pretty intense people and just, so similar. Sometimes it’s like the vocals and the guitar are these two life forces co-mingling together. On the front end it’s what made me go wow, there’s something really cool about our energy together, and now it’s something I fully accept. Now, when I show him a song, he just instinctually knows where to take it. No dialog – it just kind of happens.
The Australian reviews Steven Hall's novel, The Raw Shark Texts.
Yet despite being a hideously cliched and limited writer, Hall is a surprisingly talented pattern-maker. He has an impressive ability to make narrative devices connect. And therein lies the book's appeal as an inter-textual pulp thriller for the online generation.
AM New York picks the smartest celebrities.
The Washington Post spends a night in New York's Library Hotel.
According to management, the most requested room is 800.001, Erotic Literature. "Yes, the books in that room would include the Kama Sutra," confirms Yogini Patel, the hotel's marketing director and honorary librarian. On the other hand, some guests, such as those on mother-daughter weekends, specifically ask not to be booked into Room 800.001.
Chicago's Metromix interviews John Stirratt of Wilco about his other band, the Autumn Defense.
Is Wilco now a supergroup in reverse?
That's interesting. Yeah, it's really funny. [Singer] Jeff [Tweedy]'s touring, and [the band's other projects are] all so different. Even Jeff's performances, they're for people that kind of really enjoy some of the more arcane Wilco songs. It's funny; that's a good way to put it.
Drowned in Sound recaps its SXSW experience.
The Moonbabies are streaming their new album, Moonbabies At The Ballroom, on their website.
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