Coming from a life-long Christian who's also a musician and indie rock dude (and who has played Hillsong tunes at churches countless times throughout my life), I can confidently say there's practically no good Christian indie other than Sufjan and pre-agnostic David Bazan/Pedro the Lion. There is a surprisingly rich Christian hardcore and metal scene: Zao, Underoath, Living Sacrifice, Extol, Norma Jean, and probably like 1,000 other bands since I stopped listening to that stuff in 10th grade. I'm still trying to figure out why Christian content and good music seem to be mutually exclusive.
Pitchfork and Lollapalooza had better have some awesome line-ups this year, because I live about 10 minutes from both of them. It would seem ridiculous to make the effort and investment in going to any other festival when two of them happen so close to me. That said, all of these fests so far look so good! Come on, Chicago fests, please please don't suck. I'm stuck with you.
I apparently saw Of Montreal in 2003, yet I have zero recollection of the show. I don't remember what the music sounded like, what the stage set-up looked like, how many people were playing instruments, nothing. How is this possible?
Awesome to see Reggie Pace on the teevee (the trombonist/auxiliary percussionist/backup singer in Bon Iver). He's a great musician in his own right and a cornerstone of the surprisingly happening Richmond, VA jazz scene.
Sharon did some guest vocals on a very under-the-radar album by a Chicago free-jazz group called My Silence, which is led by drummer Mike Reed, perhaps better known in these parts as the guy who presents the Pitchfork Music Festival. Check out the album on Spotify; it's pretty awesome. http://open.spotify.com/album/3FsYBidAkYYg4yAK7Wl4zp
Bob Lefsetz on Tattoo:
"Nerds have inherited the world, with their software and gadgets. But in one fell swoop Van Halen has taken it back.
THAT'S THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL!"
Might be the straw the breaks the me-unsubscribing-from-the-Lefsetz-Letter camel's back.
Questlove said D'Angelo's new record is almost done. But who knows if that'll be out before 2013. But, if that is coming, shouldn't that really be #1? I mean, he left us with Voodoo, and it's been ELEVEN years since that slice of genius.
+1 for Bazan. P4K doesn't review him anymore since wrote that "Selling Advertising" song. "Wolves At The Door" is one of my favorite tracks of 2k11. Also seeing him live was a highlight of the year.
I secretly (but not at all secretly) hope that our ears will undergo some weird dramatic change and in 2020 we'll call Lulu the best album of the decade. I mean really, wouldn't that actually be kind of rad???
A month ago my brother was like "Lucas you should listen to Destroyer - Kaputt. It's sooo good. It came out a long time ago but it's probably going to be P4k's album of the year." And I was like "No way brother! The only time I ever hear ANYONE talk about Destroyer is in the context of how he's the posterboy for flaccidity in rock music. What r u talking abt???" Turns out he was a prophet. Er, almost.
If I spend this week reading about and listening to every one of these tracks does that make me an informed and committed listener or a sad little lemming?
I think there were just sound issues at the particular show I was at. She seemed really annoyed at the whole situation. I'm a huge SV fan and have just as much of a crush on her as every other dweebie indie dude, so I was going in to it with expectations of greatness. I just think it was an off night. Glad to know your show was mindblowing.
I really liked Strange Mercy but it's kind of tainted because SV's show at the Metro in October was really lackluster. Sound was bad, Annie didn't really ever let loose, I was almost bored.
On the other hand, whokill is a good album but the tune-yards live show was nearly life-changing, therefore the album is made even better in my mind. Same thing with Battles.
Oh, and I'm just gonna say it again: Deerhoof is one of the best bands in the world right now, and nobody's talking about Deerhoof Vs. Evil, like, at all. It was good, wasn't it? I thought so.
Also, the great jazz drummer/composer/band leader Paul Motian died today http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/arts/music/paul-motian-jazz-drummer-is-dead-at-80.html?_r=1&ref=music Not to be too negative or anything, but I find it a little weird that the indie blogs are covering the death of a one-hit wonder/porn star but not one of the greatest American musicians of all time (yes, for real). I didn't know y'all were THAT out-of-touch with the jazz world.
So meta: There's a Chicago band called "Big Science" http://bigscienceband.com/ Named after a Laurie Anderson album http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Science_(album)
Definitely. And the melodies kinda sound like Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. If you're gonna be not-entirely-original, those are two pretty damn good albums to sound like.
Not to be that guy again (http://stereogum.com/838651/paul-simon-plans-graceland-tour-box-set/news/), but that's a marimba, not a xylophone.
Also: starting to wonder if the only people who actually hate LDR are Carles and Chris Weingarten?
It might be misleading to say Paul Simon is "reuniting" Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They've been making records and touring since long before Graceland and have continued to be very musically active in the 25 years since.
Has anyone seen these dudes live? I saw them in Chicago and was super excited from the tunes I'd heard online and all the Refused comparisons (one of my all-time favorite bands). But their performance was so loud and feedback-laden it was pretty much unintelligible. I could tell the drummer was working hard, but otherwise, I wasn't sure what I was hearing. Oh and also they sound nothing like Refused and have stated in interviews that they don't even like Refused, so, yeah. Dig the new track though.
I know I'm late to the party, but I just wanna go on the record as a Gloss Drop fan. It's not as mind-bendingly mindbending as Mirrored, but it's still a fun, unpredictable album that merits many repeated listens. Listen to Sweetie and Shag! How could you not like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ky2uuj70c
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