Sir Richard Bishop // Whitechapel Gallery // 26/02/10

So, Sir Richard Bishop. Knighted for services to improvisatory guitar compositions. Although I had never heard SRB "go electric" - rather than cries of "JUDAS!" someone shouted "make it gnarly!", much to the puzzlement of both audience and performer. The rest of the evening was then spent evaluating whether each piece was "gnarly" or not. As SRB himself said, gnarly-man "ruined it for everyone".

A blend of brilliance and over-long self-indulgence, I found Sir Richard's playing more monotonous both on electric guitar and a live setting. Too close to music-shop guitar demonstrations for Chris' tastes, I enjoyed Sir Richard in doses. Furthermore, I had never heard him sing - his lyrics, although amusing, were sometimes questionable and were set against quite standard chord progressions.

More work needed, Sir Richard. But a pleasant evening nonetheless. Check out his website to listen / watch / learn more.

Sir Richard Bishop: Solenzara

Last word on irony

I am willing to budge an inch or two and accept that there may be other items of ironic clothing out there.

That being the obvious classic.

Livin' next door to Alan #2

Taken from Main Source's classic Breaking Atoms, Live at the Barbeque also features an appearance (debut, no less) from a young Nas. Recipe (ahem) for success.

Main Source : Live at the BBQ

Livin' Next Door to Alan

Rooting around in my local record shop, I keep getting tempted by a Freddie Foxxx LP and it got me wanting to revisit some classics. So, one by one, keep checking for a few of my personal favourites. It's no secret that Pharoahe Monch ranks fairly high on my list so what better place to start than this.

Organized Konfusion : Bring it on

Microphone Mathematics

Q: Given that Beat x+ Vocal y = Caribou's Odessa, solve for x and y.

Reference: [Caribou : Odessa]

A:

x =


y =



Homework: Are there any other solutions for x & y? Chris Martin jokes are welcome.

Taxi Taxi!

All hail Taxi Taxi! (it took me ages to think of that). We mentioned them briefly before, but I've been listening to them a bit recently and... and they are kinda cute. Their album Still Standing At Your Back Door came out in Europe on Fierce Panda last October and totally escaped my radar but it is probably the best album from 2009 that I didn't hear. Here are a couple of tracks, but you should buy the album here. They will be playing Upstairs At The Garage, London on March 23rd.

Taxi Taxi! : Oh My Darling Clementine
Taxi Taxi : More Childish Than In A Long Time

Irony // Hip Hop

I suspect that irony is overused. And I do mean the word, not the concept. Ben mentioned ironic eyepieces. I don't really know what that means. Is it possible for an eyepiece to ironic? Can one wear clothes ironically? I dare say that in most cases the answer is no. After some consideration, I think ironic glasses look something like this:
ie, made entirely of plastic/not glass and actually impede vision. That's ironic... right? Perhaps when people use the adjective ironic, they are actually searching for 'rubbish'. Catching MRSA is probably ironic. Far be it from me to say.

Not many chances to see hip hop in London, so take advantage of these:

DOOM - Roundhouse, March 5
Brother Ali - Cargo, March 17
Method Man - O2, April 7

Brother Ali : Truth Is
King Geedorah : Fastlane
Viktor Vaughn : Let Me Watch

Upcoming Releases

My realisation that I have a long way to go as a blogger hit home at Spoon on Tuesday. The large, checked-of-shirt and horn-rimmed-of-glasses man next to me dutifully wrote down the setlist on a crumpled piece of paper, no doubt well-worn from the countless gigs he had attended during the course of the week. He took photos, probably evaluated the performance critically.

I stood and watched and particularly enjoyed the song with the lyric "egg and soldiers".

This does provide the enticing possibility of a "reality blog" of sorts, a la "Pop Star to Opera Star", "Faking It", etc. Through my posts you will witness the evolution of a fully fledged blog hipster, as I replace my current clothing with retro wear, ironic eyepieces, skinny jeans and innumerable checked flannel shirts. A 21st century Bildungsroman.

More to the point: three new releases which I think may well cause some excitement in certain spheres:

Joanna Newsom: Have one on Me (Drag City, 1/03/2010). '81

Titus Andronicus: The Monitor (Merok, 8/03/2010). A Pot in Which to Piss

The Besnard Lakes: Are the Roaring Night (8/03/2010). Like the Ocean, Like the Innocent pt.1: The Innocent

Efterklang // Magic Chairs

Danish group Efterklang's new album Magic Chairs out on Feb 22nd. They will be playing London @ Shepherds Bush Empire on 21/4 with Esben and the Witch. Tickets here. Update: And Heather Woods Broderick!

Efterklang : Modern Drift
Esben and the Witch : Marching Song
Heather Woods Broderick - Behind Doors by sonic pieces

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And because Scandinavian music is almost universally awesome (Hellacopters RIP), on Efterklang's own Rumraket label...

Taxi Taxi : More Childish Than In A Long Time

Art // Resistance

At some point in the formative years of many a young hipster they will probably have shouted "Eddie Argos for PM!" And everyone will have cheered and laughed and and gotten down to the gritty business of singing along with 'My Little Brother'. Sadly, those days are behind (most of) us but it is reassuring to know Mr. Argos is back in the form of Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now! It's not exactly new, but we can forgive that.

Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now! : GIRLFREN (You Know I Got A)

Local Natives // Tautology

If you were trying to describe the word 'tautology', you could do a lot worse than start with Local Natives. Superfluous adjective, and, possibly superfluous band. Blog-hit 'Sun Hands' has been kicking around for over a year now and is a stand-up, decent pop song like the best of them, no doubt. But Grizzly Bear of the West Coast? Don't think so. Sure, there are Fleet Foxes/GB-harmonies but it is all a little too structured. I am certain I am the only one thinking this but listening to 'Shape Shifter' another band popped into my head...

Local Natives : Sun Hands

Local Natives are playing London on March 2 @ (at?) Heaven. Stream the whole album here.

Spoon - Electric Ballroom 16 Feb 2010

How can we tell the spoon from the spork? More to the point, what is that strange dualistic implement with prongs at one end and a concave scoop at the other?

Only one way to find out: Spoon at (@?) Electric Ballroom tomorrow. White Rabbits supporting. The new record has many of the fundamentals of previous Spoon releases, whilst trying to probe around the edges of the band's established sound. Much like a spork questions notions of "spoon" and "fork."

And for those of you who enjoy puns, I'm sure there's some sort of play on "Pitchfork" to be made here.

Spoon: Written in Reverse (from Transference, out now on Merge)

Wild Beasts // Video

New Wild Beasts video for the Ennio Morricone-esque We Still Got The Taste Dancin’ On Our Tongues. Catch them on 3 March or 22 March in London, with the wonderful Esben and the Witch. Details here.

Valentine's Day

A little lovin' from Music on the Sea:

MOTS : Valentine's Day Anthem

Damn, Funk // Love!

What better way to see in Valentine's Day then to catch Dam-Funk in Brixton this 13 Feb. He's even, um, recorded a special Valentine's Day song. With red velvet curtains. And everything.

Great Escape line-up thus far includes the following:

"Ellie Goulding, Broken Social Scene, Delphic, Marina and The Diamonds and Chase and Status all top the bill in a classic initial line-up of amazing acts.
Plus Crystal Fighters, Slow Club, Cold Cave, Esben and The Witch, Hurts, Japandroids Real Estate, Timber Timbre, Darwin Deez, Best Coast, The Cheek, Wild Palms and The Ruby Suns have also been confirmed to appear."

Nice to see the girls that started at Neon Gold doing well, and an otherwise promising line-up...

Ellie Goulding : Black and Gold
Real Estate : Black Lake
Best Coast : When I'm With You

Ben Steiger Levine vs Drake

So, we've written about him before, but if you are still not up to date with Ben Steiger Levine, you might have caught his new video (the Drake Sprite Ad) before the Super Bowl if you are in the US... If not, there is a slightly shitty version here:

If I 'm honest, not my favourite thing he's done, but with this and the recent Grammy nomination, this boy is on the up...

If you are still not sated, here is an alternative version to the original The Most Serene Republic Video:

Most Serene Republic : Heavens to Purgatory

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In the otherworld, John Talabot remixes Glasser (he also remixed Delorean... new album out soon)..

Glasser : Learn (John Talabot remix)
John Talabot : Sunshine

A Few Bits And Pieces

I've been meaning to mention them for a while, so here goes:

Class Actress. From Brooklyn. Nice. EP is out on Tuesday on Terrible (label from Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, so you know, it must be cool) . Buy it here.

Class Actress : Careful What You Say
Class Actress : Journal of Ardency
Class Actress : All the Saints

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Still wanting more from Lykke Li at the moment but having to tide myself over with this (download the mp3 here, sign up required):


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And Fader posted this outtake from Mos Def album 'The Ecstatic'. Not great, but better than a lot of what comes out these days. When is Pharoahe Monch going to hit us again?
Mos Def : The Tournament

Eddy Current Suppression Ring // New Album

So the best band in, like, a bit, Eddy Current Suppression Ring are releasing a new album in February. But my question is, why no UK dates yet? I don't know what an eddy current suppression ring is, but it must be geek chic.

Video for 'Which Way To Go':

Goldhawks // Surfer Blood

Some day I'll be in a bar in a small town somewhere and I'll finish the last of my beer, and I'll sing this on karaoke and I'll believe it was Bon Jovi, and I will love every single second.

Goldhawks : 1996

[hosted by A Certain Romance]

Free download here. Goldhawks will be playing again on Feb 9 @ Borderline and Feb 18 @ Cargo.

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If you've missed Surfer Blood in their shows so far, catch them FREE at Puregroove on Monday night (8th).

Guilty Simpson // Ain't No Sunshine

Stones Throw producer Oh No (really this time) remixes label mate Guilty Simpson's Pigs. Via @stonesthrow

Guilty Simpson : Pigs (Oh No remix)

****

Elsewhere on the blogosphere and altogether more relaxing, a cover of classic Ain't No Sunshine, by Equatics.

Equatics : Ain't No Sunshine

Pantha Du Prince // Black Noise

Listen to a sneak preview of Pantha Du Prince's minimalist skull and bones (yeah alright, I made that up) album 'Black Noise' album in full, via Rough Trade.

The Middle East // Blood

Very nice video for Aussie folkers The Middle East, whose EP is out on Chess Club (the folks who brought you Mumford and Sons and Local Natives). No London dates as yet, but will definitely be worth the wait. Cutesy, no? Buy the EP here.




The Middle East : Blood

[Mp3 via Neon Gold]

Oh No Ono // Mixtape

No, it's not Stones Throw producer Oh No, oh no it's not, it's Oh No Ono, presumably named after some second hand Paul McCartney quote. Probably. Still good mixtape, courtesy of 'Sup Magazine, as featuring, and I quote, "Gary Numan! Owen Pallet! Kate Bush! Lightening Bolt!". So there you go.