video of the week no. 2 | animal collective “peacebone”

Visually gorgeous yet completely fucked-up, we’re all about this new video from Baltimore-based Animal Collective, ever since we learned that CU-friend and actor/singer/songwriter — Sarah Nischwitz — is featured throughout.

Nice grille, girl. Gotta give it up for the redheads before they all go extinct.

Animal Collective’s new album — Strawberry Jam — drops September 10th, with NYC tour dates:

[TIX] :: Sep 30 :: Webster Hall
[TIX] :: Oct 01 :: Webster Hall
[MP3]: Animal Collective  ”Peacebone”

Click through for a CU-exclusive production still from the video shoot.

Read the rest of this entry »

Beach volleyball + dislocated shoulder = morphine

The Mercers | 05.31.07 @ The Knitting Factory

Austin natives The Mercers pop their NYC cherry next Thursday night at the Knitting Factory. CU and friends will be there getting in on the action, so be sure to grab your tickets and come join us.

Picking up where the late Choking Ahogo left off, The Mercers bring a fresh sound to the table, serving the better flavors of indie rock and brit-pop with a strong side of alt-country twang. Front man Peter Wagner’s wavering-yet-strong vocals anchor every song while the brothers Ray (twins Brian and Eric) alternate between catchy guitar hooks and country-western chord progressions. Ethan Herr rounds out the four-piece from behinds the drums.

Referencing such seemingly-disparate bands as Guided By Voices, The Psychedelic Furs and The Gourds, listening to The Mercers brings CU right back to Austin without having to leave the five boroughs. Now if only this place would open sooner…

Be sure to check out CU-favorite track By Mistake at their MySpace. Then head on over to CDBaby and grab their new full-length release, Pretty Things Walk. Read the rest of this entry »

Massive Attack | Roseland Ballroom 10.03.06

image courtesy MusicSnobbery.com

The boys from Bristol — Massive Attack — returned to NYC for the first time in nine years this week, playing three not-so-sold-out shows at the Roseland.

I was pretty stoked to see these guys live, having cut my trip-hop teeth on their early albums Protection and Mezzanine. And I was especially interested to see how well their more down-tempo, studio-centric sound would translate to the live stage.

Notsomuch.

Backed-up by a massive LED light installation and floor-mounted Jenny Holzer-esque scrolling message boards, Massive Attack’s live setup consisted of two flanking drumsets, a central synth/soundboard and a bass and rhythm guitarist, personnel unknown (not sure it really matters, though). Front and center, vocalists Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) and Grant Marshall (aka Daddy G) took turns lining up on the mic, but never doing much in the way of audience interaction or crowd control. Stand and deliver, basically.

Unfortunately, the vocal talents of Tricky and Tracey Thorn (Everything But the Girl) weren’t available for this tour, limiting the overall vocal range of the show (always one of Massive Attack’s strongest suits) and forcing them to cut many of their most popular songs (Protection, Eurochild, etc.) from their setlist.

Bust.

So — all in all — a decent show and a nice stamp to have in your concert attendance passport of life. But the best parts about Massive Attack’s sound just never translated live up on stage. Plus, the venue sound (as always) sucked.

While I’m sure the hardcore fanboys got all hype re-living their early-90s musical glory days, the $50+ ticket price was a little much for me.

Massive Attack (official site)

United 93

First, a warning: Do not see United 93 unless you want to be reduced to a crying, slobbering, emotional mess.

Otherwise, go because it’s fucking amazing.

Only two other movies have reduced me to honest-to-god free-flowing tears, the kind where you have no control over yourself: Schindler’s List and Dancer In The Dark, and those films did so only at their end, after the filmmaker had his way with me for 2+ hours and the entirety of the emotions involved had finally set in.

Instead, I cried through almost the entire second half of United 93. I cried for the people on that plane and their families on the ground, connected for the last time only by a crude cell phone call. I cried because — sitting there in the theater — I also felt trapped in that flight’s tiny cabin, helpless to do anything but choose how and when I was going to die.

But I really cried because this movie was the first time I actually understood 9-11 first-hand. I wasn’t in New York or even in the country on that day almost five years ago. Accordingly, I experienced the horror and tragedy of the attacks and the months following in the third-person, trying to somehow comprehend them through the black-and-white newsprint of the International Herald-Tribune or the tiny blurred video clips on CNN.com. I knew nothing of the fear. Or the anthrax. Or the smell. I could only sit and stare vacantly at the many candle-lit memorials that had sprung up in each European city I visited. I could only blankly accept the countless condolences of the people I would meet, who would all repeat: “We’re all Americans now.” Except I didn’t feel very much like one.

Because when I came home, I still felt like a tourist in my own country. Because “everything had changed”. Because “nothing will ever be the same”. And — most of all — because I wasn’t there, and I’ve always felt guilty about it. Like I was somehow less of an American. Like I was no longer part of the club. Like I was in the bathroom for the most important and harrowing cultural experience of my generation, and completely missed it.

Seeing United 93 was my way of regaining that missing piece of my cultural identity, and it wasn’t easy or comforting. But I’m relieved that I did it.

So, I implore you all: Go see it. In the theater. And — no — it’s not too soon.

CrackersUnited presents FRICTION: 02.07.06

The Art of Shooting [mp3]
“These dynamic tuned, jerky rhythmed, acerbic tongued, goth tinged, two girl/one boy Brooklyn art punks might’ve fit right in on Rough Trade in 1980, or opening for Siouxsie a few years later.”
[The Village Voice]
“The vocal interactions between Kelly and Amy are perilously infectious…”Lost in Boredom” makes our list as one of the best songs of 2005 and The Art of Shooting are a band not to be missed.”
[churchofgirl.com]

The Go Station [mp3]
“Locals love them and the world is waiting for them. But this is not your typical word of mouth story, and this is not your typical band. In fact, it just may be the beginning of the best success story yet.”
[Underrated Blog]
“For a debut release, Quiet Zone is damn sophisticated. There’s a buzz brewing around this band, and for once you can believe the hype.”
[Sellout Magazine]

Up The Empire [mp3]
“Formerly known as Kilowatthours this four-piece has stepped it up a notch and this time pulled out some high quality tunes. At times they take a shoegaze direction, but only in a dark and euphoric kind of way, bringing to mind fellow NYCer’s Calla. Check out song #2 on the EP as it will hit you will mesmerizing guitars right away.”
[Crashinin.com]

Emma La Reina [mp3]
“Brooklyn’s Emma La Reina draws from the sounds of the early 90s, playing brooding indie rock tinged with female vocals. They blend the perfect concoction of UK shoegaze and DC emo with swelling walls of sound broken up by down-tempo vocals. Think Mogwai, only with vocals. The band is returning after a few months off with two new live demos, ‘Estuary Estuary’ and ‘The Snow Song’ are available for download on their MySpace page.”
[Crackers United]

KEXP 90.3 FM [mp3 feed]
For those of you that aren’t familiar with this Seattle-based radio station, it’s the nation’s best independent radio station. Well, at least in our book. Be sure to tune into John in the Morning’s playlist everyday at 9AM (EST) and listen for songs from past and present FRICTION bands and other great independent artists. If you miss John’s show or any other KEXP program, KEXP’s streaming archive allows you to hear anything from the past two weeks in both Windows Media and Real format.

Redheads Aren’t Pussies

…says this New York Times article.

[inside joke] Screen Print this, Neal. [/inside joke]

We now return you to our regularly-scheduled music blog…