Rolling Stone featured M83 as a "breaking artist" this past week. It's probably a little past due, but so is my interest in him. We Own the Sky is worth the entire download of Saturdays = Youth, mostly because it reminds me of my youth.
As promised, here are the purchase links for Duncan Sheik's new album Whisper House.It can be broken up into small, digestible pieces — the ten tunes are either delicate folk numbers or surprisingly sprightly pop tunes — and it can be appreciated as a concise collection of catchy straightforward songs that build upon each other. Indeed, among Sheik's albums this ranks among the best, showcasing his subtle skills and sense of quiet adventure in ways his sometimes fussy earlier records never did.Related: I had the privilege of seeing Spring Awakening at the Des Moines Civic Center this weekend. Duncan Sheik wrote the music for this musical, which went on to win 8 well-deserved Tony Awards. The 19th century German coming-of-age story was appropriately melodramatic to warrant its own rock musical. Sheik (along with lyricist Steven Sater) ably created the sonic masterpiece that could hold the weight of the material while being accessible enough to have it resonate on such an intimate and emotional level. The music teeters from ethereal folk pop to punk as the mood fits, the range of which is well handled by the cast of kids with an obscene amount of talent. Christy Altomare and Kyle Riabko are especially brilliant as the leads (and are both already somewhat accomplished musicians), but judging from the abilities of the other players, seemingly any one of them could step it up and fill in at any given time. The amount of talent represented on that one stage was staggering. I highly recommend you see Spring Awakening given the chance.
Fifty years ago on 2/2/59, Buddy Holly played his last gig at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. The tragic story of what happened after is well documented. To commemorate the Day the Music Died, the Surf Ballroom is hosting a series of events this week they've collectively called 50 Winter Later. It all culminates with a sold-out concert featuring - among many others - Too Poppy favorite Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens.
Last summer, Paul McCartney performed in an LA record shop, which was evidently a first for the Beatle. Now, you can own Amoeba's Secret digitally (iTunes, Amazon MP3) or plasticky (Amazon).
IMHO, I don't think they ever equaled the greatness of their debut Neopolitan, but they certainly gave it a run with albums like Bedbugs, Good Weird Feeling, and Nest. Seemingly out of nowhere, they released an album last year (originally as The New Odds - blech) called Cheerleader. Despite my belated discovery of Northey Valenzuela, the Odds were simply not on my radar for anything new.
How great is 14 Forever by Stars? A universal theme set to music that could've originated from the brilliants minds of Lightning Seeds, Postal Service, or The Changes. Beautiful.Duncan Sheik is taking his success with his highly acclaimed musical Spring Awakening (which I'm seeing soon here in Des Moines - can't wait) with a new album that serves as a collection for an "upcoming theatrical release:"
Whisper House marks the first solo album since White Limousine (2006) and comes on the heels of the success of the Broadway musical Spring Awakening. On Whisper House, Sheik employs a narrative approach to songwriting, combining elements of the chamber pop that first brought him critical and commercial acclaim. Much like Spring Awakening, which the New York Times praised as a deft blend of straight-up rock, folk and melodic pop, Whisper House is just as much a pop record as it is a musical theatre composition. Structured as a melodrama, each of the 10 songs on the album weave together to tell the story of a childs grief and spinsters longing as seen through the eyes of the ghosts that haunt the remote, World War II-era Maine lighthouse where they live. Singer-keyboardist Holly Brooke plays a prominent role alongside Sheik on several of the songs.The album comes out 1/27 but you can pre-order via Amazon.com or get an autographed version via FYE. Come back next week for download links.
After a long wait, Modern Skirts have finally released the follow-up to their outstanding Catalogue of Generous Men. All Of Us In Our Night is available digitally via iTunes & Amazon MP3 as well as plasticky via Amazon.com. Read more about the tunes here or stream here. With the release comes the following stellar news:We are planning on going back to the Big Easy for more recording in February... there are already enough songs written for another album, many of them just need a lot more work.Proliferrific!
Killers are waging a killer tour with M83. Killer. North American dates below:01-16 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre *Been enjoying Spaceman on XM lately. I really need to pick up Day & Age. Need to pick up M83 too - listen to We Own the Sky. Talk about killer!
01-17 Denver, CO - Magness Arena *
01-19 Minneapolis, MN - Northrop Auditorium *
01-20 Chicago, IL - UIC Pavilion *
01-22 Ypsilanti, MI - EMU Convocation Center *
01-23 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre *
01-25 New York, NY - Madison Square Garden *
01-26 Boston, MA - Agganis Arena *
01-28 Fairfax, VA - Patriot Center at George Mason University *
01-29 North Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues *
01-30 Atlanta, GA - Atlanta Civic Center *
01-31 Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry House *
02-02 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theater *
02-03 Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center *
02-04 Grand Prairie, TX - Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie *
04-16 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theatre
04-17 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
04-19 San Jose, CA - San Jose Event Center
04-22 Seattle, WA - Wamu Theatre at Qwest Field Events Center
04-23 Victoria, British Columbia - Save on Foods Memorial Centre
04-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - UBC Thunderbird Arena
04-26 Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
04-27 Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
04-30 Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Club
05-01 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
05-02 Bonner Springs, KS - Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
05-04 St. Louis, MO - Fox Theatre
05-05 Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion
05-06 Cleveland, OH - Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre at Tower City
05-08 Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
05-09 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena * with M83
Eclectic and energized, the band's new release is their most dazzling and diverse album in decades. Recorded in Santa Barbara and New York, Depeche Mode returned to using a lot of vintage gear, from analogue synthesizers to drum machines, in order to conjure up the retro-futuristic arrangements featured on the album. Lyrically the release contains many of the group's enduring obsessions plus more overt black humor than any of their previous collections.DM is cool and so are their sounds - not as cool as they were in the 80s and early 90s, but still worth an automatic listen out of RESPECT.
Get on your boots
I'm late to the Raveonettes bandwagon, but what a delightfully poppy and noisy bandwagon it is. I first heard Lust Lust Lust while browsing in Barnes & Noble - how often does that happen? I even asked what it was to make sure I didn't miss the goodness. The comparison to Jesus & Mary Chain is inevitable, although strictly speaking I do find the Raveonettes to be more in the Too Poppy vibe than JAMC.Had a great creative talk with Sharin today and we’re so ready to make the best album to date! It’ll be released in September and we wanna do a proper studio album with a genius producer. There’s only so much you can do in your living room and let’s face it, whenever you pull out one of your favorite albums, it’ll stand the test of time because of a timeless sound, excellent production and songwriting. Now’s the right time for us to step it up…And don't miss the few live dates they're playing before they hide themselves away to make their best album to date.
1.15.09 Boston, MA Paradise Rock ClubDelicious.
1.16.09 New York, NY Webster Hall
1.17.09 Washington, DC Black Cat
1.23.09 San Francisco, CA Bimbo's 365 Club
1.24.09 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater
The Pop Project has digitally re-released its 2002 album Life is Life. I haven't heard it, but if it's half as good as last year's Stars of Stage and Screen, it'll be twice as good as most of the shit you hear these days.According to a newsletter sent to fans, Wilco will play "a handful of gigs" in the southern U.S. in April, to be followed by an extensive tour of Spain in May and then "the usual summer hijinks with a new record and gigs everywhere imaginable."
