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August 17, 2007
Shorties
Former Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins talks to the Guardian about his return to music after a stroke.
Perhaps most surprising, though, is a complete absence of anger or frustration. He speaks of his stroke with pragmatic acceptance and of the future with an unflappable optimism. Rehearsals have already begun for a handful of shows in the autumn to promote Home Again, and he strongly believes that "in a couple of years" he'll regain the use of his right arm so that he can play guitar properly. "I hope so," he says. "Well, I'm praying." In this respect, his spirited determination to overcome all that he's been through is humbling to witness. "The show must go on," he beams.
LAist remembers Charles Bukowski on the writer's 87th birthday.
Author Dave Eggers talks to Australia's the Age.
The Guardian interviews Scout Niblett about technology in music.
Gothamist interviews singer-songwriter John Vanderslice.
Tell us a little about the "blog tour" you've been doing?
Well, I decided to film the record live in HD and give a video to one of our favorite music bloggers. The recording was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be but it came out very nice. We had Stereogum, Gorilla vs. Bear and Brooklyn Vegan and some other fantastic bloggers involved. We did this because:
1. it seemed like an original idea
2. it was a nice way to give something to sites we like
3. we are lazy, it seemed easier than actually touring
Stylus lists the "top 10 alt-country greats not recorded by Uncle Tupelo."
Pitchfork interviews Aesop Rock about working with John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats.
Pitchfork: Did working with the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle change your approach to the new project? How'd that go?
Aesop Rock: John's a great dude. He's so prolific and productive that it's too a point of being intimidating. He's such a nice guy. He had put Bazooka Tooth on some best-of list, and I had been a fan of his since like 94, which was the first time I heard the Mountain Goats. He knows more about music than anyone should know about music [laughs]. Sometime in 2003, he was in Brooklyn and came over to record some stuff with me. He had written a song earlier, and I told him to give it to me and I'll make a rap song out of it. He recorded it, gave it to me, and a year passed. Then I called him and told him I couldn't do shit with it [laughs].
Candy Addict lists the top 10 candy jingles.
IGN lists the top 10 Madonna songs.
KEXP features a streaming in-studio performance from the Magic Numbers at 3 pacific this afternoon.
Vancouver's Georgia Strait profiles Au Revoir Simone.
Presenting themselves as vintage-synth fetishists, band members prove themselves equally obsessed with lo-fi new wave, indie-flavoured electronica, and Carpenters-brand pop. It's insanely infectious stuff. The almost-orchestral "The Lucky One" unfolds like a summer-camp version of the Polyphonic Spree, "Dark Halls" updates "I'll Stop the World" for the riot-nerrrd set, and "A Violent Yet Flammable World" sounds every bit as synthtastically '80s as the collected works of Yaz.
Author Richard Ford talks to the Scotsman.
Former Jayhawk and Creekdipper Mark Olson talks to the Minneapolis Star Tribune about his latest album, Salvation Blues.
Olson even sounded prouder of this one than any of his Jayhawks efforts.
"Most of the records I've done in the past, I'd always been working with a very strong partner," he recalled. "First, there was Gary, and then Victoria. I had never really done something on my own."There's the simple side of music that I love where, 'Oh, we're just sitting around playing guitars.' But once in a while you have to do the work and come in prepared."
see also: Olson's Largehearted Boy Note Books essay
The Independent Weekly interviews Dark Meat frontman Jim McHugh.
What can people who haven't been to see a Dark Meat show before expect?
Well, I would say volume. You know, it's funny because it's like a lot of our songs are pretty seriously lyrically downtrodden. I'm the lyricist, and the things I'm kind of naturally concerned with are kind of like the apocalypse. But then you add a bunch of horns and people, and it's kind of like a f*cked-up carnival onstage. That's kind of one of the things that makes it interesting, is kind of this collision of sentiments, kind of like we're having a party for the end of the world.
Sound Check interviews Mobius Band frontman Ben Sterling.
Wilco guitarist Nels Cline explains the band's inspirations for its latest album with Vancouver's Georgia Strait.
"Actually, you know, Bill Withers performing 'Ain't No Sunshine' on The Old Grey Whistle Test was a huge inspiration for the new Wilco record although I don't know if I should say that," he reveals. "And also watching the Edgar Winter Group do 'Frankenstein'. For me that's funny, because I'm the old guy. I saw them do that live and always thought it was really silly, but now it stands out as being remarkably committed, eccentric, and rather virtuosic, in a strange way. It's very fever-pitched, so I think that's one of the things they must like about it. It's so in-your-face."
The Soul Strut board has a post about MF Doom mailing in a show (actually having an inposter lip-sync) in San Francisco,
The 2007 Bonnaroo downloads page has been updated with an mp3 download of Damien Rice's set.
Pattern Is Movement is recrding their next album in Charlotte with Scott Solter, and blogging the experience.
Minnesota Public Radio's The Current features an in-studio performance by the Rentals.
The BBC Collective features an interview and live performance by Animal Collective.
The A.V. Club reviews recently released graphic novels.
Drowned in Sound interviews members of the Bad Brains.
WXPN's World Cafe features former Cranberries singer Dolores Riordan with an interview and in-studio performance.
also at Largehearted Boy:
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
this week's CD releases
