Watch it here.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Eleanor Friedberger - "Heaven" (Music Video)
Watch it here.
Friday, January 27, 2012
WLFY SXSW 2012: ?
SXSW is a dream week for music fans as thousands of bands and music fans invade Austin, Texas. This will be my fourth year attending the festival and something I noticed two years ago is that a lot of the showcases are exactly the same. Last year we put on a an acoustic show by the lake, early in the morning, that featured Mother Mother, Ben Sollee, Joey from The Henry Clay People, Candy Claws, and Lohio. We had complications locking down an actual location to send out and its attendance was pretty low. The people who took the chance were treated to what I consider one of the better string of bands and moments of SXSW 2011.
This year we've put in over six months of work to find an actual location and curate a five band showcase that I believe is top notch. The reason none of the bands will be revealed is we want to foster a sense of adventure for the extreme music fan...the reward will be given to those who take a chance on a show devoid of buzz or sponsors. The showcase is called ? and here are the only details I can share:
The show will be EARLY. It will run 11:00AM-2:00PM. You will be hungover or tired. If you don't think you can get out at the proper time, do not RSVP please.
The show will be all acoustic.
Five Bands. (Love the list).
Secret Location. Could be inside, could be outside.
Only 100 RSVPers will be accepted. The first 100 e-mailers are in. Everyone else is wait listed in order.
You will receive an e-mail asking to re-confirm with more details a few weeks before the show. Those who confirm will receive the address of the location the week before SXSW. The bands will only be revealed as they play at the show.
We've worked very hard on this showcase and look forward to sharing a unique music experience with you.
We will tweet hints leading up to SXSW starting with...
Hint #1, our poster above is a blurry photo of one of the bands playing.
RSVP: WLFYSXSW@GMAIL.COM
Thursday, January 26, 2012
From The Cedar Box: Allysen Callery
From The Cedar Box
Janurary 2012
Allysen Callery - Winter Island
Written by Marissa Nadler
In the spirit of winter, I’d like to write about one of most unique songwriters that I know, and her new album Winter Island. It’s a coincidence that both musicians showcased thus far in From The Cedar Box have been from Rhode Island. Next month, we will be leaving the Ocean State, but Winter Island is a record that must be heard before the crocuses poke their heads up for the springtime.
Winter Island is a record that could proudly sit tall next to Sibylle Baier’s Colour Green and Leonard Cohen’s Songs From A Room. It's impossibly delicate, gorgeously written, and emanates a timeless quality. Callery’s nylon string guitar playing is beautiful, and her voice is indelibly in service of telling each song's particular story. It’s refreshing to hear such an unpretentious vocal delivery and such carefully honed lyrics.
I sat down next to Allysen to conduct my first proper interview about the content and impetus for her songs. I learned, in this interview, that “to die” meant to “orgasm” in Victorian times, according to Allysen. (see further research in interview section).This gives my first three records an entirely different meaning, and now I am looking for codes in all of her songs.
M- In the last song on Winter Island, the wonderfully titled song "Muse Me,"
you wrote that it is "your take on Perseus and Medusa as told by the dutiful daughter Andromeda." What is it in this myth that appeals to you? Do you see people in your life as fitting into these archetypes? You are Andromeda in this song, right? I ask because you sing these words in a way that hits very close to home and I wonder what the inspiration was behind it.
A- One of the things we did as a child was to visit the RISD museum a lot.
There was a fantastic painting of Andromeda on the rocks. It fascinated & repulsed me. I was Andromeda in my 1st (14 year) marriage. At 23 I'd dutifully married someone who later I felt chained me, but instead of freeing myself, I waited for someone to rescue me. That of course, doesn't work in the real world. I did eventually rescue myself~ & I am now happily married to my second husband. My joke was that Andromeda doesn't outright complain about her predicament- naked & chained to a rock to be eaten by a monster- she just says she's "all right" but her eyes burn from searching the horizon for her savior.
M- You make no secret of the fact that you have some serious life experience under your belt. You are a beautiful woman, with a full grown daughter. I really respect that fact that you are able to not only be a great mother but also continue to set a good example for her by following your dreams as a musician. You even toured Europe for the first time last year. I find your story really inspiring, because it breaks down a lot of the misconceptions and stereotypes about being a musician.
In the song "One Eyed Cat," It seems you are talking about growing older. The lyrics are simple and there is a certain amount of acceptance. Do you think that, over the years, you have achieved the "power of now.” I know that songwriting can me a meditation. Do you see this song as a statement on contentment and acceptance?
A- In many ways I am very content. I love my life, & I was so proud of myself last year for achieving my dream of working with a little label, & touring Europe- it was incredible! My only child is now 17 & about to leave home for college- so this is an interesting, bittersweet time for me. That song is about putting dreams on hold because someone has got to stay home & feed the cats, you know? Someone has to comfort an old friend. Pay the mortgage. These things will always be more important to me than touring, though I dream of touring, & long for it.
M- Are you being literal in "Favorite Son" when you write, "I watched you die, all night long." What inspired this song? Is this a love song?
A-It is in part a love song, inspired by my blond husband's tan hands ~ though in the song I made the character into a kind of stalker. To 'die', in the Victorian sense, was to orgasm...the little death. Sex with someone who wouldn't acknowledge her in the daytime.
M- I did a little research and sure enough, the concept that orgasms could cause death was prevalent in Victorian times. This explanation is from the Oxford Companion To The Body. “The nineteenth century saw much bile spilled over the concern that people were excessively spending their energies on sexual gratification. Many Victorian physicians, enamored of a conservation-of-energy approach to physiology, warned that frequent orgasms would only drain the life from the body and leave the other systems wanting. (A far less happy sex-and-death link.) This essentially constituted a new version of the old bodily-economy trope. Inventors designed devices to discourage erections (these tended to involve sharply-barbed clamps), and many physicians recommended clitorectomies for ‘hysterical’ women, particularly those who enjoyed too much sex or sex with other women. Even well into this century, versions of this dire belief — that one's bodily supply of energy could be squandered by sexual emissions — hung on. Most male athletes are familiar with the aphorism which prohibits ‘spending’ oneself before a match.”
M- What would you like to tell the readers of WLFY about Steeleye Span?
A- I grew up listening to the albums my pretty cool parents had ~ we didn't get new records very often. Steeleye Span's "Now We Are Six" & "Parcel of Rogues" were on heavy rotation. I loved Maddie Pryor's amazing strength & range. I am a huge fan, & got to see them two years ago for my birthday~ one of my top concerts, ever.
M- I think you may remember this. When I first heard you named your song "Snow Pony" I couldn't help but envision a coked out horse. Anyway, that was before I heard how gorgeous this song was.
We have both lived in the icy winters of New England all of lives. I chose to write about your record, Winter Island, now rather than in a few months. I think it is a quintessential winter album. “Snow Pony” is a winter song, if a song could ever be specific to one season. What inspired this song?
A- I love the books by the author Tove Jansson, especially her Moomin series. The Snow Pony is taken from a story in Moominland Midwinter, when the “Lady of the Cold” comes. I am pretty much just singing my take on what happened. These books are written for children, but I love fairy tales & all ages can enjoy these books. I highly recommend them to anyone, especially people in the US who may not be familiar with her amazing work. ( Hobgoblin's Hat was another song taken from her stories.)
M- "Winter Island" is my favorite track on this record. I find your guitar playing, throughout the entire album, to be stunning. The amount of restraint, taste, and delicacy you use in your music creates stunning and refined works of art. Your playing reminds me of Nick Drake sometimes. Do you ever find it frustrating that the guitar playing of women is not often touched upon unless it is of the “in your face shredding” variety?
A- Thank you so much! I kind of feel like a voice is something that you are gifted with, I didn't work hard for this voice~ my mother gave it to me.
But in the guitar playing, I did work hard to develop a style that I feel is all my own. I don't think anyone else uses my picking patterns, most of that came from being so completely isolated for a very long time.
M - When I put on the album Winter Island I feel like reality drifts away from me. I feel like I am free and floating in a haze of nylon strings and whispered lyrics. Do you intentionally set out to make healing music, or does it heal you to write it?
A- It heals me, most definitely. I think I am a gentle person, but my insides are often roiled up & troubled, music helps me to clarify my feelings & distill them into poetic words. I need to write, sometimes it's like a pressure cooker. If I can help heal or soothe others, that would make me incredibly happy.
Bio: "Allysen Callery (September 25, 1967) is a musician from Bristol, Rhode Island. After years of obscure & solitary music pursuits, she was helped by many friends to self- release two cds, Hopey (2007) & Hobgoblin’s Hat (2010). In May 2011 she released "Winter Island", on the tiny Berlin based label Woodland Recordings, http://www.woodlandrecordings.com, touring Germany & Switzerland in it's support."
Purchase Links:
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
REVIEW: Cheyenne Marie Mize - "We Don't Need"
Cheyenne Marie Mize
We Don't Need
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Record Label: Yep Rock
When Cheyenne Marie Mize appeared at the Zanzabar last summer, I was surprised to see her take to the drums right off the bat. Mize had made her first imprint with the elegant Among the Gold, an EP of Civil War era folk songs sung with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. While her last LP Before Lately followed the introspective tone of many singer-songwriters, Mize's latest EP, We Don't Need, is far less hermetic and subdued.
Appropriately, Mize returns to the drums as she did at Zanzabar with opener "Wishing Well" -- an infectious and spare bit of songwriting where rhythms coalesce under Mize's soulful vocals. Skillfully merging that ellipse where the Venn diagram between soul, folk, and blues meet, "Wishing Well" heralds Mize's new sound -- expansive, robust, moving from self to the world through song. The difference is mostly clearly heard in "Going Under" a blue-eyed soul track with a rambunctious piano line and clap track. As in Among the Gold, Mize shows off her ability of adaptation. On We Don't Need she takes this ability to the next level transfiguring her persona from a shy nostalgic into a throaty chanteuse.
Even the most quiet moments on the album as on "Call Me Beautiful" bristle. The slow tolling of bells rolls in as uneasy instrumentation underscores this act of self-declamation. As the off-kilter rhythm rolls forward, Mize's voice reemerges from static as melody and harmony work against one another. It's a brutal, slow-burner. "Keep It" and "It Lingers" are more straight-ahead rock tracks. The prior rolls around a fuzzy rhythm lick while a keyboard keeps time until the drums bash in. While "It Lingers" rollicks around in its laid back wa, Mize's voice takes on new qualities, drawling out from the back with a visceral disdain. When she demands "Let it go / Oh, let it go," you can tell that no matter what you do, she never will.
No matter how far ranging this EP moves, it's consistently grounded. Mize is clearly experimenting here. The record begins with the subtle simplicity of "Wishing Well" and by the time we've moved the hazy instrumental track "Back Around," you seem to have a clearer picture of Mize -- moving effortlessly and breathlessly from style to style, she emerges as the headmistress of adaptation making every form and style her own.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Sparklehorse Reissuing "It's A Wonderful Life"
If you're a fan of both Sparklehorse and vinyl, you know how hard it is to land a copy of what some would argue is their best album (including me) , It's A Wonderful Life. On Ebay, an original and only pressing of the record goes from $99-$199 depending on condition. Fans can get excited as It's A Wonderful Life and Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain will get the 180 gram deluxe gatefold reissue treatment. I haven't seen any news for this because an official statement hasn't been released or details like the company reissuing revealed. It is, however, up for pre-order on several sites like Sound Stage Direct and on Ebay, noting a release date of March 21st, 2012. Be on the lookout and we'll update this post when more details roll in. Until then, get ready to finally own this rare record on wax.
REVIEW: Bro. Stephen - "Baptist Girls"
Bro. Stephen
Baptist Girls
Release Date: January 24th, 2012
Label: Crossroads Of America
Baptist Girls was minimally recorded at a converted chicken
coop in Indiana. Throughout the
album, the listener is treated with moments of creaking wood or soft rainfall
audible in the depths of the mix, the unconventional atmosphere peaking into
the recording process unplanned.
The vocals are bare.
Occasionally a guitar is plucked out of tune. But the songs have a sharp sense of honesty, a closeness not
felt in too many albums these days.
The listener might as well be sitting in that chicken coop, tucked in
close to him, as most of his small crowds would be if they saw him live on his
travels. On the first spin, it’s
this intimacy that immediately stands out.
Bro. Stephen’s voice will undoubtedly be a polarizing issue
with those who give the record a chance. His vocals have great warmth and
personality, but there are moments where his vocals wobble a bit in the highest
moments of emotional output. It’s
reminiscent of Phil Elvrum (The Microphones / Mount Eerie) or early Connor
Oberst. His voice might be unique to some and a bit jarring to others, but Bro.
Stephen never once questions his vocal choices. The result is a complete album
that is clearly his own audible imprint as a unique songwriter.
The imagery that Bro. Stephen presents through his lyrics is
what makes Baptist Girls breathe life into song. On “Bare Wood” Stephen sings, “It was on the bare wood floor
in the upper apartment, you laid your body down…to soak up all of its coolness.” Later he matches this
line with, “It was when I bared my arms, like I wanted to fight you. You laid your body down, to soak up all
my bruises.” The album is filled
with these kinds of introspective turns, as Bro. Stephen examines his
relationships in a way that feels both honest and haunting. The other half of the record speaks to
his long travels through strange lands, and the emotions of being in
transition. On “Jacob”, Stephen
sings "In this gray-day winter, I know…I’m so far from home.” The song drops off, and he almost talks
the line “I’m so far from home.”
It’s a confession, a stripping of defense mechanisms. Where most of us would romanticize such
long journeys, Stephen highlights the pain, fear, and loneliness. His record is better because of it.
REVIEW: Cloud Nothings - "Attack on Memory"
Cloud Nothings
Attack on Memory
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Record Label: Carpark Records
In the past three years Cloud Nothings have released as many albums. While the first two Turning On and Cloud Nothings twinkled with an adolescent sheen, Attack on Memory -- with it's brooding title in place -- is obviously an attempt (in one way or another) to grow up. Accordingly, the Cleveland-based group travelled to Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studios in Chicago to work with the famed producer and Big Black frontman. And while Albini's expertise isn't as the sort of guru producer made famous by Rick Rubin, his sonic footprints are clearly evident on Attack on Memory where Cloud Nothings, appear desperate to rip the pop out and settle on the "post-punk."
Opener (with the typical anti-sentimental title) "No Future No Past" does its best to cast off Cloud Nothings' other albums. The tinkling piano throbs into a undulating bass riff reminiscent (not surprisingly) of Surfer Rosa. But we're without the electric rage here, and the song spends most of its droning, apathetic 4 and a half minutes working up to the screamed (a la Frank Black) "No Future / No Past!" Listening back to the opener off Turning On, "Can't Stay Awake," it's clear how much Cloud Nothings seem desperate to shed their older image. "Can't Stay Awake" is indicative of most of the band's early work -- tinny, lo-fi, musicianship sacrificed for sound -- the infectious melodies as saccharine as they are frivolous and catchy. Contrast this with track two off Attack on Memory which begins with a giant blaze before going on for almost NINE MINUTES (almost a third of the whole album), not to mention a pretty big bass solo. Cloud Nothings' brainchild Dylan Baldi spawned the band out of the lo-fi craze that created groups like Wavves. But, as Baldi explains it, Attack on Memory is an attempt to do something different. Baldi's pop acumen is still on display with tracks like "Fall In" where Albini's production grounds the power-pop sentimentality to render the best track on the album. It's in this fusion that the album really soars as well as on "Stay Useless," a ballad about not doing fuckall.
In the hurry to define this lo-fi movement that Cloud Nothings and Wavves (among others) have begun, people have slapped the label "post-punk" onto the groups, for what reason I can't seem to fathom. Most of the classic "punk" bands from the United States -- Fugazi, Minutemen, etc. -- are in fact, "post-punk." Bands that we are now at least two if not three steps away from. Lumping Cloud Nothings in there seems haphazard and ridiculous. In fact, the most "post-punk" thing on this album is Albini's production, which is hardly noteworthy given that the man defined the sound of post-punk in the 90s. Though I love Albini, I'm not sure if his presence here is entirely worth it. Too often, Attack on Memory feels like a forced throwback -- the way you wear your brothers shirts to school appear cool. At it's weakest, this album sounds like a recreation of the post-punk sound rather than growing from it. While this record may be something new for Baldi, it runs the risk of being rather old for the rest of us. Really, how many times have we been subjected to this sort of light-nihilistic apathy? A lot. Attack on Memory feels like a belabored rehash of most of it. I'm not sure if Baldi & co. did themselves any favors by enlisting Albini, even though his production does add layers that Cloud Nothings hadn't even approached on their earlier records. Certainly when a synchronistic middle ground appears like on "Fall In" or "Stay Useless" the record appears to be embarking on new ground musically, not just for the band.
The joyous and quirky aire of previous records becomes angst in Attack on Memory, and this, for me is probably the most damnable aspect of the album. Baldi's pop sensibilities may be strong, but his angst is just that -- angst and overwrought. Perhaps I'm getting old, but men in their early 20s groaning about a futureless present just don't do it for me. Why not tackle something else, not just for you, but for us?
The joyous and quirky aire of previous records becomes angst in Attack on Memory, and this, for me is probably the most damnable aspect of the album. Baldi's pop sensibilities may be strong, but his angst is just that -- angst and overwrought. Perhaps I'm getting old, but men in their early 20s groaning about a futureless present just don't do it for me. Why not tackle something else, not just for you, but for us?
Oscar Nominee: "Man or Muppet" (Music Video)
Proof that no one is better than Flight of the Conchords (and in this case Bret McKenzie) at parodying genre from the inside, the incredibly hum-able, endlessly catchy, utterly hilarious and gorgeous "Man or Muppet" has been nominated for an Oscar. If this doesn't win, I'll be slightly less pissed than when Elliott Smith lost. (By the way, this is the ONLY reason to watch the Oscars)
My Morning Jacket to Headline/Curate 10th Forecastle Music Festival
Huge news for Louisville music fans today as Forecastle Festival announced that for their special 10th anniversary show, hometown heroes My Morning Jacket will not only headline the festival, they will also have a hand in curating the lineup.
The official statement:
January 24, 2012
Dear Forecastle Travelers ~
Dear Forecastle Travelers ~
The Forecastle Festival is thrilled to announce that My Morning Jacket will headline and assist in curating the festival’s 10th Anniversary. The 3-day event will take place July 13 – 15, 2012, at Louisville’s scenic, award-winning Waterfront Park.
My Morning Jacket, whose original members hail from Louisville and currently reside in the city, will headline Saturday night, and will collaborate with producers on festival sights, sounds and experiences, as well as charitable aspects of the event. Celebrating its tenth year, the festival will pay homage to its past, present, and future, highlighting Forecastle’s maritime theme while celebrating the very best of Louisville and Kentucky.
Over 75 additional artists will be announced in the upcoming weeks, including the Friday and Sunday night headliners. Separately ticketed late-night events will take place aboard The Ship (Belle of Louisville) as well as at the newly renovated Ice House.
Over 75 additional artists will be announced in the upcoming weeks, including the Friday and Sunday night headliners. Separately ticketed late-night events will take place aboard The Ship (Belle of Louisville) as well as at the newly renovated Ice House.
Tickets will go on-sale January 27 at 12pm (EST), including a limited quantity of specially-priced, $100 weekend passes. They can be purchased online at forecastlefest.com. Once this quantity is sold out, tickets will continue to be available at the next level ticket price. Travel packages will also be available, including accommodations at The Galt House – the festival’s official, waterfront hotel. For those who wish to dock up for the weekend, VIP “Captain’s Club” boat slips will also be available.
The event will mark the second partnership between The Forecastle Festival and AC Entertainment, producers of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Moogfest and more than 750 concerts and events throughout the country.
The Zookeepers - "Radicle Majesty Pt. 1" (Music Video)
Legos were so much cooler when they weren't all Star Wars and stuff but were regular and you had to make shit out of them with your imagination. Sometimes I worry that the kids aren't thinking for themselves enough, but then I go back to what I'm doing.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Real Problem With Lana Del Rey
As I said back in September on the WLFY Soundcast (Episode #10),
the biggest problem with Lana Del Rey has nothing to do with the singer
herself. The debate has been
furious and SNL only poured more gasoline on the fire, but while others talk
about authenticity, plastic surgery, and talent (all valid conversations) the
real problem in my mind is clear and simple...yet, it's never part of the
discussion.
Lana Del Rey has received more coverage from independent
music websites than any other artist in recent memory, all before even
releasing an album. This is
not a think-piece – we've all done them. This is a simple matter of statistics.
PITCHFORK
LANA DEL REY
Posts before album release (one week to go)
24 posts with Lana Del Rey in the title (more with her mentioned).
2 tracks / 5 remixes / 2 music videos / 1 Rising Post - Interview / 1 Think-piece /
What artists should we compare these stats to? How about Bon Iver who created Pitchfork's #1 album of 2011.
BON IVER
Six months leading to his 9.5 BNM Album of Year record release
10 posts (being generous, counted a few on day of release).
2 tracks / 3 live videos / 2 music videos / 1 interview
STEREOGUM
LANA DEL REY
Posts before album release (one week to go)
32 Posts with Lana Del Rey in the title. 66 posts where she is mentioned.
Using the same idea, Stereogum's favorite album of 2011 came from the band Girls.
Girls
8 Posts before record release with Girls in title. 15 mentioned.
These numbers are insane. I can't even begin to hypothesize why these two giants of
independent media would dedicate more coverage to Lana Del Rey than to their
favorite acts of 2011. One might
argue that Lana Del Rey had more pre-album output then Bon Iver or Girls, but consider
this: Lana Del Rey has two official singles and two music videos. Let's say you throw in the SNL
performance and one of the European live videos... that's six reasons to post –
if you like her. Now, throw in two
remixes and an interview. You know
what, I'm feeling generous, throw in a think-piece. With all that, our total of reasons to do Lana Del Rey posts
peaks at ten. Ten. The amount Pitchfork dedicated to Bon
Iver and two more then Stereogum gave to Girls. It's embarrassing.
"Pickin' & Trimmin'" a Documentary about Bluegrass and Hair Cuttin'
A real barbershop seems about as rare these days as a genuine bluegrass hootenanny made up of locals by locals and for locals. Drexel, NC has both as this short documentary Pickin' & Trimmin' shows. Directed by Matt Morris, it's a kind reminder of what music should be -- community making, community defining, singular to one place and time. This old locality is at once quaint and refreshing.
Andrew Bird - "Eyeoneye" (Track)
Andrew Bird likes to put words together about as much as he likes to put sounds together. This one seems akin to "Anoanimal" as we begin with something that sounds totally out of place before the xylophone, the whistling, and the steady upbeat bring you back to Bird.
Break It Yourself is out March 6 on Mom + Pop.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Vanaprasta - "Nineequalsnine" (Live Video)
When we threw a day party for CMJ last year, we had a band drop out last second and asked if Vanaprasta could fill in at the opening spot. They played very early set on a rainy day, for about ten people. Nobody seemed to tell them that this wasn't Madison Square Garden, as Vanaprasta blew the lid off Pianos and put on one of the best shows of the entire festival. Their professionalism and talent blew me away and made me a fan for life. They recently shot four live videos for the Look Sessions and like the band, each one is charming and perfect glimpse into a band that has a very bright future.
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