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August 18, 2007
Shorties
The New York Times recaps the wedding reception of New Pornographer Carl Newman.
Billboard interviews Pink Floyd's Rick Wright about the band's Pipers at the Gates of Dawn album, to be reissued in a special edition September 4th to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
Q: Does this album represent Syd Barrett at the height of his powers?
A: "('Piper') was his creative period, although I have to say there's some pretty amazing stuff on his two solo albums. He had an incredible way of looking at things. I remember sitting down with him one day and he wrote a song in 10 minutes. As an aspiring songwriter, I couldn't believe it. The chords weren't in time, because he was thinking only of the rhythm of the words and the melody. They were not in 4/4 time or 3/4 -- they were all over the place."
IGN lists the top 25 soundtrack albums.
The Wall Street Journal examines hybrid music genres, and how they are named.
Wilco's John Stirratt talks to the Edmonton Journal about the band licensing its music to commercials.
"Everything that kind of happens to Wilco is controversial. I hate to say it, but I don't know why we're judged to the point where we can't even license our songs to a company like that when people are writing original material for Coca-Cola? Come on. Then Pitchfork (an Internet music site) writes about it and I can't even read the article because of all the (animated) advertising right next to the article. Why are we held to such a higher standard?"
Stirratt also talks to the Vancouver Sun.
In the Wall Street Journal, Oliver August lists the five best reliable guides to China and its history.
BlogTO, Xtra, and the CBC review author Douglas Coupland's Toronto art exhibit.
Wired examines the online novel writing phenomena in China.
BlogHer lists strong women characters in graphic novels.
NPR's All Things Considered reviews the National's fifth album, Boxer.
Home Theater News interviews RIAA president Cary Sherman.
Jaunted offers a short history of LA's Troubadour club.
Author Hari Kunzru gives insight into his daily life at the Telegraph.
Most played album: When I'm working I listen to minimalist music without lyrics and the CD I've played most is Persian Surgery Dervishes, a 1972 recording by the American minimalist composer Terry Riley. He used to hold all-night concerts and the recording I have is from the same period I was writing about in My Revolutions.
The New York Times reviews John Leland's book, Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of ‘On the Road’ (They’re Not What You Think).
Paul Smith of Maximo Park puts his iPod on shuffle for the A.V. Club.
WXPN's World Cafe features Tegan and Sara with an interview and live performance.
The A.V. Club lists 15 masters of onstage banter.
WXPN features live performances by Neko Case and Rufus Wainwright.
Rilo Kiley is streaming the band's new album, Under The Blacklight, on the band's MySpace page until its release next Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Times and IGN review the album.
The Los Angeles Times also interviews Jenny Lewis, and also profiles the band.
"Under the Blacklight" is the sonically richest Rilo Kiley record yet, but its thematic unity also gives it a literary feel. Did any books influence you in writing these songs?
"The Day of the Locust" [the classic Hollywood novel by Nathanael West] was something that I continued to refer back to while writing a lot of these songs. Particularly the idea that California is a place where people come to die, but the terrible boredom and bitterness keeps them alive. Although I consider myself a native, I have often found myself in a rut similar to what West describes as "without the mental equipment for leisure nor the money or physical equipment for pleasure."
The Line of Best Fit interviews singer-songwriter Jens Lekman.
You’re one of very few artists that have shunned the myspace phenomenon. Choosing instead to create a fake page that’s totally blank. Is there any particular reasoning behind this? It was obviously some kind of statement as you posted a link to it on your online journals..
I tried. I really tried to like Myspace, and I tried to do something with it. I put up an audio diary and stuff. But it’s just such an insult to everything I love about pop music. I want to be personal, and I want to communicate with people who like my music. But the communication I had with people on Myspace was just so dumb and meaningless. And I can’t help but feel that it’s designed for that purpose, you just fill in blanks… I mean you don’t sell cellphone signals to people who discuss something creative and intelligent. In the end the whole thing made me feel like a stocktrader rather than a human. Just clicking on that add button, watching strange faces flicker by…
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers is holding an online poll to choose his entry music.
also at Largehearted Boy:
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
this week's CD releases
