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And, I would like to NOT thank the Giants’ defense for making me throw up in my mouth a little and making Bret Favre look 10 years younger…
I think they all could use a rest, but I can’t see them burning this bridge, just yet. Leave the old & new fans wanting more & come back with an encore in the (hopefully near) future. I hope this old newbie didn’t just jinx it!
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45640-spirit-if”>http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/r … -spirit-if
"Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew". The phrasing is clunky and opportunistic, with BSS co-founder and leader Drew cashing in on a beloved brand while also putting his name on the album cover in big letters. But, as exhaustive as it may seem, it’s accurate. With its shaggy grace, love-is-life proclamations, and lengthy guest list (23 people, mostly BSS regulars, play or sing on the record), Spirit If… could pass for a relatively low-key follow-up to 2005’s blown-out Broken Social Scene. But with Drew taking sole songwriting credit for half of the album’s toned-down tracks and covering lead vocal duties on nearly every song, there’s also a strong solo vibe. So, in essence, we get Kevin Drew’s break-up record, as played by Broken Social Scene; it’s a savvy compromise only a collective as familial as BSS could pull off.
While the popularity of Broken Social Scene skyrocketed over the past four years, Drew remained something of an unknown thanks to the group’s all-for-one nature and its more magazine-friendly female talents, Leslie Feist and Metric’s Emily Haines. But to know Spirit If… is to know Kevin Drew: One-time teenage burn-out, current 31-year-old master of scruff, and lifelong romantic. He hugs audience members during shows, and once described his band’s objective to the New York Times Magazine with all the quixotic wonder of a wide-eyed Bono: "We want to affect audiences’ hearts and minds with honesty." He’s not afraid to include "the kiss in Winnipeg" and "the man who taught me love is free" in his album’s laundry list of thank you’s. He’s a modern hippie, though instead of growing up listening to the Grateful Dead and the Doors, Drew worshiped idols that fall squarely within the classic-rock-subverting indie canon: Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Dinosaur Jr. Consequently, Spirit If… offers jams that don’t really jam, acoustic ballads about fights and lies, and lushly orchestrated songs that come together effortlessly while cracking up hopelessly.Toying with the idea of stops and starts, the record begins with a send-off and ends with a beginning. Alarm-clock opener "Farewell to the Pressure Kids" is a red herring: At first, its blasting intro (stuffed with vibes, avalanche drum fills, stacked guitars, and unintelligible vocals), seems to pick up right where Broken Social Scene’s epic closer "It’s All Gonna Break" left off. But, after two minutes of organized chaos, the song– a cryptic exorcism decrying those who "love to hate"– settles into a homely, quiet groove more indicative of the record’s unplugged amibiance. It’s the sound of Drew deflating his own bombast in favor of a style that’s more personal and direct.
The singer once said 2002’s You Forgot It In People "was made with hope" while Broken Social Scene "was made with fear." Spirit If… was seemingly made with pained desperation. On the album, when Drew isn’t pining over a "fucked up kid" amidst images of violence and death, he’s confessing his sins while lamenting someone who’s "too beautiful to fuck." His words can be frustratingly obtuse: "Cats and Christ put you in a tiny box that’s filled with all victims," goes one especially head-scratching line. But Drew’s random imagery is often translated through straightforward hooks that wisely cut through the dense murk. So while the enlightenment-themed stand-out "Bodhi Sappy Weekend" includes boggling lyrics like, "With our clothes on fire/ I guess we both can wait/ I built an ark for sure," the pleading refrain ("please don’t scratch me out") is crushing in its bluntness as it ties the tune together.
The lucidity of Drew’s musical influences also lend Spirit If… an understood universality (within indie rock circles, at least): Much of the album could double as an early 90s our-band-could-be-your-life cassette mix. But there’s a key difference to, say, Spirit If…’s Dinosaur Jr. tribute "Backed Out on the…" compared to every other Dino-aping rip-off out there: Drew actually recruited J Mascis to spew scalding distortion all over the track. The same first-hand method is employed on the album’s only other out-and-out rocker, "Lucky Ones", which boasts some twisting Spiral Stairs-style guitar work from (yep) Spiral Stairs. The indie-star guests are just another example of Drew making the anything-goes BSS collective philosophy work for him– and a great way to beat name-that-influence critics at their own game.
"The whole idea of starting or finishing something is one of the scariest things in the world to me," Drew told Pitchfork in 2005. Recorded in a hotel room in Norway, the country-style ditty "When It Begins" is a fitting, clear-headed capper to the album that finds Drew facing his fears head-on. "It’s gonna be really hard when we get to the end/ Well, you love the start but really it’s just to begin," he sings, accompanied by a little strumming and just a few singing Scene-sters. The song’s circlular logic is an apt summation of it all– the album, relationships, bands, tours, etc.– at once almost naively common and, within the context of the record, disarmingly personal. Then there’s the tattooed-heart kicker: "But don’t forget what you felt." Confounding yet emotionally bare, derivative yet singular, profane yet child-like, solo yet not so solo, Kevin Drew doesn’t shy away from his contradictions on Spirit If…. He revels in them.
-Ryan Dombal, September 17, 2007
Sebadoh Do Bubble and Scrape for Don’t Look Back (Pitchfork Media)
They must’ve shown Lou Barlow one hell of a time at his last high school reunion, as these days, the guy’s all about reliving the past. Following the unprecedented success of Dinosaur Jr.’s don’t-call-it-a-comeback record and tours, and this spring’s detente betwixt Lou and the rest of the original Sebadoh lineup, Lou, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein are set to perform Sebadoh’s 1993 Sub Pop no-fi classic Bubble and Scrape in its entirety. It goes down May 7, 2008, in London as part of All Tomorrow’s Parties’ Don’t Look Back series.
Yep, from "Soul and Fire" all the way through the "Flood", the original trio will unpack one of their many mini-masterworks in full in the UK, marking the first time the classic Sebadoh bunch has performed in England for a decade and a half. This is also the first Don’t Look Back event of 2008; I guess looking forward is permitted.
Apologies if this was posted earlier elsewhere…
http://www.livedaily.com/news/12782.html”>http://www.livedaily.com/news/12782.html
Built to Spill balances albums, shows
By Christina FuocoSome bands can’t wait to hit the road to promote a new record–the shows are fresh, the songs are brand spanking new and the good vibes are renewed.
Not indie-rock heroes Built to Spill.
"We are never that attached to an album," Built to Spill frontman Doug Martsch said in an interview with LiveDaily. "In fact, when we finish an album, we usually are kind of burned out and don’t want to play any of the songs. But on this tour, we do a few songs off the new record [2006’s ‘You in Reverse’]. We do a pretty good balance of all the records.
"When we record, we listen to the songs a bunch. We just get burned out on even hearing them at all. When we finished [1997’s] ‘Perfect From Now On,’ we didn’t … play one song off that record on tours for three to four years because that was one on which we were especially burned out. There’s probably some magic there still, but you’re completely immune to it."
It’s coming around to that time again for Built to Spill. Martsch said he’s written a few songs for a forthcoming album. He’s not quite sure, however, if he’s happy with them.
"I’d almost say we’re ready to make a record, except almost everything is kind of slow. I haven’t quite been able to figure out if that’s just what it is and we’ll do it, or if we need to put more upbeat songs into it."
Martsch explained he’s unsure what inspired the slower tunes.
"I don’t really know why that stuff happens. Lately, whenever I write a song, I write something really pretty and soft," he said.
Martsch has been writing alone lately, but "You in Reverse" was the opposite. It was a collaborative effort amongst the different band members and even Martsch’s wife Karena, a poet.
"Different records are different. [The band] will get together and just jam for hours at a time and just record it. The jamming serves the purpose of trying to come up with parts and ideas of songs," Martsch said.
"It’s not jamming like we’re all noodling around. We’re just trying to come up with interesting parts. That might be about half of the material. Maybe half of it is stuff I just wrote by myself. I put the parts together. For example, ‘This jam part fits well with this part that I wrote myself. … These two jam parts go together. … Change the key of this one or the tempo of this one and it’ll fit with this one.’ Then I write the lyrics, and my wife sometimes writes the lyrics," Martsch said.
"She’s a poet. She’s just sharp and has the same sort of sensibilities as me and sense of humor. We work different methods. Sometimes I’ll use things she said without it being a lyric suggestion. Sometimes she’ll jot down a bunch of stuff. Sometimes I’ll have the song and I’ll just record myself playing it and just mumbling words. Or she’ll listen to it and write down what she thinks I’m saying or what I should be saying."
In the meantime, there’s still more touring left to do. The US tour wraps with a three-night stand in Seattle Oct. 4-6. Then it’s off to Australia. For now, there are no future plans to tour the US.
"I don’t think we’re going to be doing any more touring in the US until we’ve got some recording done," Martsch said. "We might do a handful of things here and there, like if someone wants to play a festival or something. Then we’ll go to Europe again next summer. I think, with the US, we’re going to try to lay low after this tour. We’ve been out so much in the last two years."
Willard: They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound.
Kurtz: Are my methods unsound?
Willard: I don’t see any method at all, sir.Willard: Hey soldier, do you know whose in command here?
Soldier: Ain’t you?Classic.
http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2386640″>http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/2386640
Excerpt:
And you’ve got J Mascis on there, too, playing on ‘Backed Out On The…’ How did you find working with him, and it’s quite clear that you’re a fan?
You can’t glorify these things, but it was great. We went to his house and hung out for a few hours, and I think he did two takes. That was it. He did two solos, and he asked if we wanted anything else. I was like, “What are we asking you for?â€Is it me or does the injury rate seem to be climbing at an alarming rate? 300-lb guys who can run 4.6 40s are doing major damage out there more and more. What’s the answer? I don’t know…
Hey, tonas, I figured out who should be next coach of the Giants – – BILL COWHER! Take it to the bank!
Saw the Heartless Bastards earlier this year. An excellent trio out of Cincinnati, O. At times, it seems like Erika Wennerstrom is channeling Joplin & Plant. She has big talent and will find her own way. Mike Lamping (bass) & Kevin Vaughn (percussion) are superb musicians, as well. Go see them, if they’re in your vicinity!
Sep 7 Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, O.
Sep 8 Southgate House Newport, Ky.
Sep 10 Blueberry Hill St. Louis, Mo.
Sep 11 Proud Larrys Oxford, Miss.
Sep 12 One Eyed Jacks New Orleans, La.
Sep 14 Austin City Limits Austin, Tex.
Sep 15 The Parish Austin, Tex.
Sep 18 Zydeco Birmingham, Ala.
Sep 19 Tasty World Athens, Ga.
Sep 20 Blue Cats Knoxville, Tenn.
Sep 21 Grey Eagle Music Hall Asheville, N.C.
Sep 22 The Dame Lexington, Ky.
Oct 7 Hardly Strictly Bluegrass – Goldengate Park SF, Calif.
