Lizzyville

Edward Droste Quits Twitter

Video | Morrissey Gets Hit With Drink, Walks Offstage

[Via the Music Slut]

Morrissey was hit with a drink container -- an eyewitness and commenter on Spinner says it was a water bottle with the lid off -- at a concert in Liverpool, prompting him to leave the stage in the middle of the second song.

Full story on Spinner.

Link Love | Rihanna Interview Teaser Part Two, Blur Drummer Going Into Politics, Sleigh Bells Interview, Kings of Leon's Love Songs, Norah Indieana Jones & More

Link Love | Rihanna's Honesty, Owl Service v. Postal City, Jim O'Rourke Interview, the Bono Wall & More

Jim O'Rourke

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Owl City has to talk about the Postal Service for at least three questions. Cue joke about Harry Potter's Owl Post.

Link Love | Gaga's Favorite Music Is Her ... Fans, Is Chris Owens for Real?, Baditude, Some Songs Considered & More

Let this be the last time you have to look at this image.

CMJ Day Four | Photos & Show Recaps of Glasser + Cymbals Eat Guitars + Phantogram + The xx + School of Seven Bells

See more of my CMJ photos on Flickr.

Photos | CMJ Day Four: The xx - Music Hall of Williamsburg - 10.23.09

CMJ Day Two Recap: Lia Ices + Beast + Think About Life + Cymbals Eat Guitars

Think About Life (Photo: Richmond Lam)

Day 2 of CMJ I chose to catch the first set at the Windish Agency showcase at the Mercury Lounge, where Lia Ices started the night, followed by Javelin's boombox-stacked stage and goofy, tropical jams and The XX's bedtimey pop. After Lia, I headed down to Arlene's Grocery to catch the "M" for Montreal Showcase, then went to Santos to see upstairs headliners Cymbals Eat Guitars. I was using a little Lumix, and it died about five photos into Lia Ices' set. It came back for Beast's set at Arlene's then died completely. It turned out to be a blessing, because taking pictures of Think About Life with a point-and-shoot would have been virtually impossible, and there was too much dancing to care about photos. So here's a recap of the shows, with links to photos by a few talented photogs.

Photos | CMJ Day One: Laura Marling - Music Hall of Williamsburg - 10.20.09

Link Love | Village Voice's Sassy Guide to CMJ Panels, Animal Collective Model for PETA, Pandora's Humanity, Flavorpill CMJ Guide & Will Fleet Foxes Ever Be America Big?

The Guardian expounds upon its own theory that Fleet Foxes "will never be as big as America." I really thought they were talking about the country sometimes referred to by the second word in the name of the continent on which it is located. But no, the band.

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Rob Harvilla's "Unnecessarily Sassy User's Guide to Tuesday's Slate of CMJ Panels." A list of the actual panels with brief editorial attached. Example: "Hey Man! I Know My Rights! The Future of Intellectual Property. You have none/there isn't any."

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Animal Collective support PETA by, among other things, modeling the above adorable Save the Seals t-shirt. And here's something enjoyable to go with this something adorable. [via @gorillavsbear]

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Rob Horning delves into the New York Times piece on Pandora's alleged taste-prediction technology in his PopMatters blog Marginal Utility. (WARNING: article contains Žižek reference.)

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Sometimes, in life, people are going to try to tell you what to do. Sometimes, you should just take their goddamn advice, even if they tell you to do two things that are happening at exactly the same time in two distinct boroughs.

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A new and very poignant and gross and seasonal installment of "Letters to the Editors of Women's Magazines."

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Think About Life's new album, Family, is un-get-over-able. Stream it on Lala or visit the band's early, early performance at MHoW tonight at 7 pm. I will be there, trying to photograph rapidly moving objects in low light conditions.

Link Love | Shakira Applauds Music Piracy, Trent Reznor Marries His West Indian Girl, Ringtones Are Not Performances, Penn Badgley Buys Music, Male Music Writers Can Be Funny

Shakira told the UK's Sky News that she thinks illegal downloading has "brought me closer to my fans." Norah Jones and Nelly Furtado joined Shakira in this sentiment. "I like what's going on because I feel closer to the fans and the people who appreciate the music," Shakira said. "It's the democratisation of music in a way, and music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift."

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Trent Reznor quietly married former West Indian Girls singer Mariqueen Maandig over the weekend, according to tweets from bandmate Danny Lohner. 

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Ringtones are not performances, according to a federal court, except if you assign a certain ringtone to a certain hot girl and she calls you and people are there to hear it.

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Bono continues to opine on faintly political things he knows nothing about, to the delight/disgust of 400-odd New York Times reader-commenters.

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Penn Badgley recently purchased (!!!!!!!!!!) music at Other Music during a "Night Out With" experience with the New York Times. His selections included some RZA and Toumani Diabata. Something tells me Fake Boobies will draw a blank on at least one of those picks.

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A hilarious review of a Secret Machines show in Phoenix. "I stood in blissful repose, hundering [sic] madness all around, forgetting I was in a half-empty warehouse surrounded by Kia salesmen, drinking lukewarm Budweiser, with a giant robot looming over my shoulder..."

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In a Vice magazine account, Jeff Fox discusses accidentally making a popular zine about Evan Dando (pictured above).

Link Love | Oprah Interviews Jay-Z, CMJ Survival Kit, Goodbye to Gourmet, Early Joan Baez Footage Found in a Freezer & More

Salon published a eulogy to Gourmet yesterday that's quite lovely. If it makes you feel sad and helpless, subscribe to Bon Appétit, which is also a Condé Nast title and is quite impressive, if its Thanksgiving '09 issue is any indication. I just did. It's only $12 a year. Says Salon's Alex Van Buren of Gourmet,

"[Editor-in-chief] Ruth Reichl was not a snob, but -- at her best -- an egalitarian badass. She is a lover of food in all its sensuous, unruly glory. She put haute French chefs like Daniel Boulud in line for a food cart on the street. She ran features about politics and poverty -- the life of a tomato laborer, a brilliant Chinese cook serving $7 entrées in Toronto, the travails of a restaurant parking valet. She asked novelist Junot Diaz to wax poetic about the authentic Dominican food of Northern Manhattan, and the result was so fantastic it sent readers from all corners of Gotham scurrying onto the 2/3 train to eat crunchy arroz con gandules (rice and pigeon peas)."

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Oprah interviews Jay-Z in the October issue of O Magazine. It's a pretty incredible glimpse into the, well, spiritual side of the artist. In the print edition he provides a list of his favorite books (including Seth Godin's Purple Cow, nice) and at the end of the interview (page 10 in Web terms), Jay-Z explains his work ethic (culled a little from his favorite books, I think). It's simple but searingly memorable:

"There’s the gift, there’s the spirit, and there’s the work—all three have to come together. If one of those things is off, it can stop you from becoming who you were meant to be.”

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The New Yorker's Alex Ross, the music critic and author of The Rest Is Noise, has started a blog at the New Yorker website. It's called Unquiet Thoughts.

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Speaking of the New Yorker, Sasha Frere-Jones sat down with Karin Dreijer Andersson at Webster Hall a couple of weeks ago ahead of her madly tweeted two-night light show. Weird venue, weirder music, wonderful interview.

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Early Joan Baez performance footage found ... in a freezer.

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New events site SuperGlued is making it a whole lot easier for badgeholders to survive CMJ without crying, missing opportunities, or going it alone (Twitter doesn't count as a plus-one). SuperGlued is far more than just a CMJ survival kit. It catalogs shows past and future, has artist profile pages, and lets you link up Flickr, Facebook and Twitter so that you, friends and stranger-fans can remember the shows you've been to.

Musician Reactions to Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Win

Well, many people have privately and publicly remarked on just barely President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Most musicians appear to be keeping mum (i.e. not tweeting) about it, but over the weekend I trawled the feeds and found a few nuggets.

Alicia Keys said, "I'm proud of our Pres 4 receiving the Nobel Peace Prize!I feel he is a good man who will continue 2have a major positive impact onthe world!"

M.I.A. feels differently. "Obama winning the nobel peace PRIZE? he should give it back like john Lennon sent back his MBE."

Asher Roth's opinion spilled over into several tweets. "Didn't know you could win the peace prize by just talking shit...," he said, adding, "I'm all for "hope" and "progress" but people have been dedicating their lives for peace - actions speak louder than words - my opinion only." And later, "Has nothing to do with "Obama" and everything to do with the "Peace Prize" - change starts with us, the people - who's gon wake up first?"

Finally, the fiery Matthew Good called the award a "popularity contest" on his blog. "The President was inaugurated less than two weeks before the February 1st deadline for nominations, his name added to a list that included 204 others, among them Hu Jia. How he could be seriously considered, given that he’d only been in office for less than two weeks, is beyond me."

Link Love | Miley Quits Twitter and Hopefully Rapping, Kanye Does 'Eat, Pray, Love,' James Murphy Slams the Internet via the Internet & More

Miley has quit Twitter via a YouTube video in which she raps over a beat that sounds distinctly like "Idioteque," "minus the synthesizers," notes The Rawking Refuses to Stop (via Twitter). "Remix?" (The beat can actually be found on Garage Band, along with that little synth loop that comes in intermittently). Are you ever going to impress us, Miley (except for that time four years ago when I watched your show and found you quite a charismatic little tyke?)

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Speaking of which, James Murphy aka LCD Soundsystem has published a beautiful rant about the Internet on his MySpace blog. (Via Pitchfork.) 

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Jay-Z says that George Michael was at one point his idol. George was "really strong in the neighbourhood, he penetrated urban culture really strong," Jay-Z told NME in an interview. "I don't know if it was just the tracks or the melodies." 

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Kanye West is conducting his very own "Eat, Pray, Love," according to some British tabloids and NME.

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Passion Pit was recently victimized by David Letterman. Kinda.

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Ahead of a BBC 4 doc on synthesizers, The Guardian's Simon Reynolds writes: "'Electro' in the early-90s meant cutting-edge, the future-now; nowadays "electro" refers to the kind of sounds that lit up hipster bars in east London through this past decade and then went mainstream this year with La Roux and Lady Gaga, which is to say synthetic pop that doesn't use the full capacity of the latest digital technology, and is therefore almost as quaint as if it were made using a harpsichord."

Link Love | Radiohead Shall Record Again, The Marriage of the Critical and the Digital, Matthew Good Mad About Vancouver 2010, Pinkety Pink Pink, NoEcards, Hipsters Become Area of Intellectual Study, A Justice Video

 

Pareles actually makes me wish I had gone to the Pink show last night. But um I kind of hate MSG.

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Matthew Good released his new album Vancouver yesterday. He is taking the opportunity to talk about why the Vancouver Olympics this winter are going to ruin everything. And I love him.

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THIS ONE NEEDS TO BE IN ALL CAPS. Radiohead will head back into the studio this winter to record another album that will likely be released in 2010, says Ed O'Brien in NME, according to At Ease.

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Wired's Epicenter discusses the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in D.C. and particularly, yesterday's discussion of the future of music journalism. What comes out here (it is Wired) is that the writing "should live on the same devices where we listen to our music — be that a computer, cellphone, MP3 player, tablet or home entertainment center." I'd love a Pitchfork app where I could just scroll through reviews by grade. I'm serious.

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Apple has rejected SomeEcards' application to the App Store because Some(of the)Ecards inflict cruel and unusual verbal punishment on proposed health care bills.

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Another big old piece of writing about hipsters. I like this one.

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Justice remixed Lenny Kravitz's "Let Love Rule" a few months ago. Now there is a video featuring quite original integration of film credits that nonetheless evokes the should-I-really-stay-and-watch-all-these feeling you get in the theater. It's directed by Keith Schofield (CSS's "Move," Death Cab's "Jealousy," loads of commercials).

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Nonsense sharpens the intellect. Does that include Gossip Girl?

Link Love | How Paper Magazine Has Survived 25 Years, Tribute to a Brooklyn Arts Maestro, Are There Startups in NYC?

In the first of a series of blog posts, Elie Seidman, a veteran startupper who just started Oyster Hotel Reviews, gives some background on her career and lists a series of provocative questions and statements about startups for future posts, including, "Choose your market carefully" and "Are you building an asset or a company or both?" (Thanks to friend, co-worker and travel writer Sarah Amandolare for tweeting!)

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Forbes does a nice analysis of how Paper Magazine has survived in the magazine industry for 25 years. (Thanks F.A.Y.)

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Zach Baron of the Village Voice pays touching tribute to Suzanne Fiol, who founded the Brooklyn (once itinerant but no longer itinerant) event space/series Issue Project Room and just passed away after a battle with cancer. Issue Project Room just secured more than $1 million in funding for its new venue at 110 Livingston Street from the Brooklyn borough president. 

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Breakups! It's a sad day for Jay. Or is it? Not sad for the band, that's for sure.

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The Financial Times on smoking employees. Sure, they may eventually pass on due to complications from their grimy pastime, but my, they're a nice lot (via PopMatters).

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Attend the Future of Music Coalition Policy Summit in D.C. remotely.

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Spinner counts down "Rock's Biggest Quitters: 20 Musicians Who Walked Away From Fame" (from September but I just noticed it today).

Link Love | Lindsay Lohan as 'Artistic Adviser,' The Art of Sampling, Letters to the Editors of Women's Magazines Part 2, Regretsy, Is Thom Yorke Any Good?

This is a new series I'm doing. Starting Thursday, I'll officially be a full-time freelance writer, so you can expect it to be daily. Let's put this blog to work.

So I guess I was too distracted last week by this whole thing to read this whole thing: Edith Zimmerman, a fellow Wesleyan Class of '05 creative writer who writes like Miranda July with a splash of aftershave, a shot of whiskey and some instrumental Bacharach playing in the background, is doing what I hope is a monthly column called "Letters to the Editors of Women's Magazines" for The Awl. Edith used to have a very excellent blog at The L Magazine. Now, she haunts bars for Metromix. She also makes food come alive.

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This website brings tears to my eyes. It's called Regretsy and it's the stupid shit one heroic blogger finds on Etsy, then illustrates and writes about.

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The Guardian has published an Idiot's Guide to Sampling, basically an FAQ on the creation, evolution and impact of sampling (thanks, RA, for the tipoff).

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Pal and fellow PopMattersite Rachel Balik wrote a smart piece on how the media might get out of the recession alive by just being, well, kinder.

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Thom Yorke performed The Eraser in its entirety in L.A. on Friday, plus some new tracks and hangers-on from Amnesiac and In Rainbows days. But the ever-discerning Reddit community got me asking, is it any good? Or is Yorke, as I suspected slightly on In Rainbows, verging into veritable Coldplay territory? Let's ask Ian Cohen. (Or you can ask me and I will tell you, "Yes, but I don't really care.")

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Lindsay Lohan as artistic adviser for Emanuel Ungaro? The Times thinks it's gross. So does most of France, apparently. What stands out (what the author draws out by its ponytail) is Lohan's whimsical, uneducated approach to fashion. The industry has a reputation for being a ball of fluff, and people like Lohan are only obscuring the hard work and artistry committed by trained, talented professionals. Or as a commenter on The Awl (which contends that couture is fluff to all but "800 people") put it, "People give Lindsay Lohan tons of money to do things she is bad at. This gives me heartburn." I agree with The Awl in the sense that: What is the point bemoaning the cold hard fact that stupidity is employable?

Frequently Asked Questions About Pitchfork's Top 20 Albums of the 2000s

Illinoise?!?!?!

At least it's not in the Top 10.

Person Pitch above Merriweather Post Pavilion???

"At its core, Merriweather Post Pavilion is very ordinary. The lyrics read like stuff you'd talk about around the grill." - Chris Dahlen

Is This It at number 7??????????????

Don't you remember the feeling? The feelings? Don't you remember "the romantic notion of pre-Giuliani New York"? Don't you remember how sad you were that The Strokes never recovered from this album? That's why.

Should Discovery really be at number 3?

Something revolutionary was happening here, it just wasn't immediately clear because every song on the album was rammed into the United Kingdom's brain via the radio/Topshop's loudspeakers. No one actually bothers to listen to anything on the radio.* Also, it's easy to forget that this album was released in this decade.

I Hate Wilco.?

Hate is perhaps too strong a word.

I think you owe an apolog(ies) to the Queen Mary.

These guys have eight other bands. They'll be fine.

Shouldn't Funeral get its own separate, one-entry list, a trophy, and a crown?

No.

Sound of Silver lower than Illinoise?!?!?!???????????????

The mind boggles.

So can I describe PMS as Silent Shout-ian?

Maybe on your Tumblr that nobody reads.

What was 2003's problem?

2003 was just okay, okay enough for the Top 50, but not the Top 20, apparently.

What was 2004's problem?

2004 was the year of yes, Funeral, but what else? Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Franz Ferdinand's Franz Ferdinand. Need I go on?

Aren't you forgetting something?

No, Ys is at number 83.

The Top 20 Albums of the 2000s according to the Gospel of Pitchfork.

What questions do YOU have about the list (any part of it)? Comment below!

*I do remember being all "What is thiiiiiiiiis?" when Cher's "Believe" first reached my ears.

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS | Roundup of 'Album' Reviews

So the twood (mood on Twitter) this morning was pretty funny. Peeps were seemingly blindsided by the late-breaking Girls onslaught in the form of Pitchfork's trotting out of the gate on a Friday morning with a Tom Breihan-curated Best New Music for the San Francisco band's debut album, Album.

Self-Titled magazine told Breihan it agreed with him and wanted to put them on its next cover waaaay before FADER (ahead of the curve on a lot of things) decided to do so.

Rob Mitchum wished he had come out disliking Girls "before Girls Backlash Day."

Chris Weingarten (@1000TimesYes) said the album is "just pretty good," reminding his twaudience of the 7/10 he gave it in one of his 140-character reviews.

Breihan replied, "Bring it on, kids!," adding that he tried to give Separation Sunday a 9.2 back in the day.

Mitchum clarified: the bad on Album outweighs the good.

I said the three great songs carry the weight of the bad ones.

Weingarten replied: Or the one great song.

Burn.

Meanwhile, PopMatters doesn't care about Album.

Tiny Mix Tapes doesn't care either UPDATE: a 4/5, but not really enough actual words to do it justice.

Coke Machine Glow digs it 81 percent.

Rolling Stone (who cares?) gave it its favorite designation ever, a 3.5. Yawn.

And finally, I gave it a 4/5 over at Baeble.

Thanks to Idolator for inspiring this format of blog entry (a revue of reviews).

Photo: Nicole Leighton via Girls' MySpace.

Photos | Animal Collective - Prospect Park - 08.15.09

Photos by me. See more on Flickr.

See also: Flavorwire's post featuring some of the pics.

For a pair of Animal Collective shows at Prospect Park -- the final Celebrate Brooklyn events of the summer -- the first night featured Black Dice and the second XXXCHANGE (with DJ sets by Dam-Funk both nights). Saturday's (above) was a lengthy and flawless set (isn't it always?) under a cloudless sky. The crowd was intoxicated, some more than others, and thankfully the humidity had dissipated by 8 pm.

They may have saved the best for last: "My Girls" came late in the set and "Lion In A Coma" and Panda Bear's "Comfy In Nautica" came in the encore. The set decoration was stunning and rather kid-friendly (Panda Bear is a father, after all), except for the shark that ranged through the waters every few songs.

Here's a setlist compiled by an anonymous Brooklyn Vegan commenter:

01 - Grace
02 - Summertime Clothes
03 - Leaf House
04 - Guys Eyes
05 - Slippi
06 - #1
07 - Also Frightened
08 - What Would I Want Sky
09 - My Girls
10 - Fireworks
11 - Brother Sport

12 - In The Flowers
13 - Comfy In Nautica
14 - Lion in a Coma

Woodstock 40 Years On

AP

[via findingdulcinea]

My piece today for FD on Woodstock. Why so important? What historical events surrounded it? How do the founders feel today? What do the critics say? Includes links to some cool old articles.

Video | Modest Mouse - "King Rat" (Directed by Heath Ledger)

[Via The Masses]

This video is Heath Ledger's harrowingly honest critique of modern whaling practices. Marine animals and humans switch roles: a fish becomes a stubbly, pipe-smoking fisherman; a cigar-smoking whale is the captain of a ship staffed with other marine animal minions. The catch of the day are humans, and no gory details are spared. Proceeds from iTunes sales of the video go to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for the first month.

Get the deets from my post on Spinner.

Kings of Leon in Oddly Timed Press Frenzy as Ancient Single Climbs Charts

For major-label bands, working with the press is a science. It's incredibly organized and for years has been dictated by albums and their little workhorses, singles. The calendar is pretty standard: go on tour to promote soon-to-be-released album, go on television in weeks surrounding album release. Release single, promote single. Go on tour again. Release second single, promote second single. Ad infinitum until you find yourself back in the studio. But KoL almost didn't: drummer Nathan Followill, who counts Thom Yorke among his fans, told the BBC last fall:

"Basically we got to the point where we realised that we can be known as a band that hit it hard for three records and disappeared, or be a band that was smart enough to realise that not very many bands get to make four records, so let's make the most of this."

After that, things happened a little differently, defying the press calendar. Only By The Night, their fourth studio album, came out in September. The first single, "Sex On Fire," was promoted accordingly. The album stayed on the charts for many weeks, but its position was modest, considering that in the U.K., the album sold more copies in 2008 than any other release save for Coldplay's Viva La Vida: 220,000 in its first week. "Sex On Fire" was the country's top single as well, outselling the second-place contender (Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl") by 50%, according to this BBC article.

Then what happened? In the winter and in the midst of more touring, the band released "Use Somebody," their second single. But in the U.K., the single started as a digital hit a few days after the album was released - in September, recall. Throughout the fall it climbed in the ranks. By December, it was #2 on the singles chart and remained there for another 13 (nonconsecutive) weeks, according to the song's Wikipedia entry.

More than half a year later, Only By The Night is listed as a "sales gainer" at #8 on the Billboard 200. It reached platinum status for the first time the week of July 22. "Use Somebody" first became a hot digital track on the U.S. chart, and is now listed as a "digital gainer" on the Billboard Hot 100; it sits at #5. The album and single's stats on the digital, genre and European charts are equally or more impressive than the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 stats.

Slow clap. The boys are on a major label, but their fans have taken control, effectively saying: "You can't tell us what to like and when." It's no surprise that the seed of this success was planted online.

"My whole life is performance," Lady GaGa Says While Wearing Several Kermits The Frog

and being interviewed by a German TV station. AMAZING.

"Endless" Unreleased Michael Jackson Songs Coming to a Store Near You

The Michael Jackson stories just keep coming. Not surprisingly the musical savant reportedly has hundreds of unreleased songs stashed away at Neverland. They apparently are part of a "contingency plan" for his children "in the event of bankruptcy," The Telegraph says. Let's just hope they get out to the public in some fashion that MJ would be okay with! Says AP:

"Michael Jackson had a mountain of unreleased recordings in the vault when he died — music that is almost certain to be packaged and repackaged for his fans in the years to come. The material includes unused tracks from studio sessions of some of Jackson's best albums, as well as more recently recorded songs made with Senegalese R&B singer and producer Akon and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am. Read the rest.

A public affair?

In other MJ news, The Washington Post says that Jackson put his "multimillion-dollar estate in a trust for his children and mother." The Post also suggests that Jackson's funeral and/or memorial service will likely be big, public affairs that will allow fans to participate in the farewells. The funeral will apparently not take place at Neverland, according to MTV.

Video | The Commercial for "The Girls' Guide to Rocking" by Jessica Hopper

[Via SFJ's New Yorker blog.]

Jessica's blog

"Falling Down a Shit Spiral" | Chris Weingarten a k a @1000TimesYes at the 140 Characters Conference

No explanation required, except what Rob Harvilla said:

his "brief remarks on the future of music criticism (it has none) are vivid, sardonic, and incredibly profane, to the crowd's unending delight. Indicative phrases: "gilded geekazoid," "falling down a shit spiral," "people have awful taste," and "Fleet Foxes fuckin' sucks." During that last bit Chris ascends to Bill Hicks/gospel-preacher heights of divine fervor. Love the hat, too."

"Crowdsourcing killed indie rock...you know why? Because crowds have awful taste. People have awful taste."

He is basically saying that Twitter is all about the WHAT. Critics provide the WHY, but seem to think that Twitter leaves no room for whys.

"That's what we're missing in a world without music critics...the because."

AMEN.

Here is Chris on Twitter.

Learn more about what he is doing here.

One Day Only, One Day Only, That's All Live Nation Has to Spare*

Look at that face! Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino

According to Billboard, Live Nation is unveiling a one-day mega-sale in which all service fees will be eliminated from tickets to amphitheater shows it produces. Says Billboard, "The 24-hour sales event is being billed as the biggest ticket promotion ever, which would be hard to dispute."

Upon further inspection, Live Nation is actually offering some sort of similar sale every Wednesday for the rest of the summer. Live Nation staff explained that service fees are usually about one-third of the ticket cost. But it feels like so much more.

So on June 3, buy tickets via Live Nation and cry a few less tears once you reach your shopping cart.

*UPDATE: According to CNN, Live Nation is still charging fees on its inaugural no-fee Wednesday. Learn about the b&#@^it fees that are still being charged here. Thanks @writesites for the tip.

"Idiot Heart" Is Neither Here (Sunset Rubdown) Nor There (Wolf Parade), Just Amazing

Photo: Anna Bauer for Fader

Sunset Rubdown's Dragonslayer will be released on Jagjaguwar on June 23, about a year after Wolf Parade's inconsistent but primarily addictive At Mount Zoomer. Zoomer felt far more Dan Boeckner than Spencer Krug, and Boeckner just released one of 2009's best albums with Handsome Furs' Face Control, the most Boecknery of all. Sunset Rubdown's music is often quieter, its structures more organic and fluid, and its lyrics more poetic and cryptic. But on "Idiot Heart," the first single off Dragonslayer, something stunningly different is happening.

As the second track on the album, "Idiot Heart" suggests the rest of the album will be similar: bold, energetic, adventurously rocking (guitar-heavy), with sharp but sparse vocals and maybe more of the tinselly keyboard that appears in this song's chorus. The guitar's melody is the centerpiece here. It's melodically innovative, with curling little phrase-end accents and a sturdy, powerful rhythm that holds the experiments in line. The lyrics are straightforward, if metaphorical, with standouts like "I've never been much of a dancer / but I know enough to know you gotta move / your idiot body around" and the kicker:

I hope that you die
in a decent pair of shoes
you got a lot more walking to do
where you're going to

Sunset Rubdown - "Idiot Heart" (via Pitchfork)

They only gave it a 6/10 but this is a rare, rare occasion when I don't agree.

Gwyneth Paltrow's GOOP Features the 10 Most Predictable DJ Playlists Known to Man from 10 "Super Cool Music Experts"

GOOP - Nourish Your Inner Affect

I hate to jump on the Gwyneth Paltrow-hating bandwagon, but hell, anyone who names their child Moses and has a husband with a song that imagines him in the (burlap) shoes of the son's namesake is worth scoffing at. Then you have GOOP - the throne of Gwyneth resentment. In the latest edition of the newsletter, ten music "experts" provide ten DJ playlists of ten songs each. I'm not sure who these playlists are intended for, but it certainly isn't me, or anyone with an imagination. Example:

“House of Jealous Lovers” – The Rapture
“Paper Planes” – M.I.A.
“One More Time” – Daft Punk
“We Are Your Friends” – Justice
“What We Do” – Beanie Sigel, Freeway & Jay-Z
“Hey Ya” – OutKast
“L.A. Woman” – The Doors
“Feel Good Hit of the Summer” – Queens of the Stone Age
“Heartbeats” – The Knife
“Juicy” – The Notorious B.I.G.

Are you serious? DJ's name withheld to protect their ego.

Gwyneth also calls Samantha Ronson "America's best-loved and most well-known female DJ." "America" of course refers to "Hollywood" which is of course the only part of America that matters. Publishers of magazines such as US Weekly have certainly convinced their readers that this is true.

Someone bring back Gwyneth the actress. She seemed far less obsessed with the shallow social content of an actor's life. In fact, she seemed above and beyond it.

Is Record Store Day a Total Waste of Time?

Record stores are about more than just records. They also happen to be the seat of some of the most unique and exciting musical events, especially on April 18, when this year's second annual Record Store Day is held. Surprising groupings of musicians band together, as Beck and Sonic Youth are doing by "covering each other," Stereogum reported in February. Limited editions of merch and music are sold and general revelry takes place. The old hat independent music store is put up on a pedestal. For one day, revenue models are forgotten.

What some people might find surprising is that, according to Nielsen SoundScan, more long-players were sold in 2008 than in any other year. Admittedly, the club scene around the world is strong. (Would you believe there are other DJs in the world than Samantha Ronson? Well, yes, you would, because you are a Dear Reader of Lizzyville and you are smart and snobby and never read People magazine.) But people are also realizing or remembering that LPs are the purest form of recording there is. CDs are utter crap, but of course they slightly edge out mp3s because their digital quality can be tailored by the user. But don't forget about "Imperfect Sound Forever." LPs are collectors' items and they are wonderful to listen to. Joanna Newsom discussed the simple, organic process of listen to an LP straight through in a Wire interview awhile back. (And it's online! Go read it now!)

The independent record store of legend, I argue in today's Record Store Day feature on findingDulcinea, is a place staffed by attentive and knowledgeable music enthusiasts, curious patrons, listening booths and limited-edition offerings alongside anticipated releases, all encouraging leisurely exploration and education.

But browsing a music store is no longer the preferred purchasing method. Amazon routinely offers deep discounts and free shipping, the blog Technologizer points out. Affordable subscription plans from retailers like eMusic also entice users away from the tactile but more time-consuming process of visiting a physical store. If one digital music store doesn’t offer what a consumer wants, another likely will.

And if a store doesn't, a torrent does.

An interesting discussion on the matter is circling the Web. Idolator and NME's Luke Lewis both argue that, hey, maybe it's not such a bad thing for these stores to die out. Don't we need better representation of artists in organizations like the ERA, record labels, PR firms and (evil) tour companies? Is this a futile cause?

In The Telegraph, the ERA's Kim Bayley called record stores "a heady mixture of unofficial youth club, cultural centre, recruitment agency for musicians and music education centre. They recommend new music and they nurture new artists.”

Guess what? The Internet can do all those things. If influential Web sites such as Pitchfork are any indication, music fans still turn to others—critics and music bloggers—for curated views of new music. We arguably don't need record store employees anymore. Also, some of them are virtually unapproachable, which Luke Lewis kind of hints at. Wired reported extensively on the “Pitchfork effect” in 2006, citing the Toronto band Broken Social Scene as just one band whose success has been significantly bolstered by Pitchfork’s praise. It certainly doesn't hurt that Pitchfork and others organize mega festivals to help boost artists' incomes--and their own, so they can keep paying writers to curate the large promo pile.

“[M]ost listeners still find their music with the assistance of a filter: a reliable source that sifts through millions of tracks to help them choose what they do (and don't) want to hear,” Wired’s Dave Itzkoff said.

I believe the live music scene will be huge, and clearly I'm not the only one. But the trouble is keeping the companies that organize these events above board. They are clearly verging on conglomerate/titan status and it scares the crap out of me. I am tired of paying $20 surcharges to see Neko Case, to dance to a Hercules & Love Affair DJ set, to wave a glowing cell phone at David Byrne, to see David Longstreth and Ed Droste in one place.

But the Internet makes things easy and it makes us stingy.

Read the rest of my article here.

On This Day in History: Kurt Cobain Found Dead

On April 8, 1994, the body of the 27-year-old Nirvana frontman was discovered in his home, a few days after his suicide. Nirvana epitomized early 1990s post-punk.

Read the rest.

On First Listen: Peter Bjorn & John - Living Thing

On First Listen, also known as OFL, was a series in Stylus Magazine that ran from 2005-2007. It was really about artists that the writer came late to, or just came to and eventually shared the experience of having done at the Stylus domain. I can't say that about Peter Bjorn & John; I actually wrote the Stylus review of their highly acclaimed "Writer's Block," which many people known simple as "Young Folks." I, too, acclaimed it [sic].

But I've never seen them live, only heard several sad and atrocious things, including that they had sound problems at SXSW09 and can't whistle, (a crucial component of the stupid "Young Folks," and it's really fine if they can't whistle and in that flustered state forget how to play the song forever).

They have identity problems on "Living Things," their upcoming album, but as Jon Pareles once taught me via a generous e-mail, pop absorbs everything, and PB&J are pop, pure and not simple and Swedish.

Standout tracks are the Paul Simon-y (see what I mean? although most of "Seaside Rock" had this affinity too) "I Want You!", "Living Things," which is a crazy little ebullient trip; "Blue Period Picasso," with a ridiculous premise that quickly gives way to a romantical synth-backed cry for help that permits the listener to forget most lyrics but "You just kindly stole my heart / a world-famous art thief"; and the delightful "Lay It Down," which could have been written by The Streets or Lily Allen's people, and has the subject matter to match: it's an ode to a terrible guy. If you hear reminiscences of Lykke Li, you best check yourself, because Bjorn Yttling is her producer. He may have shot himself in the foot with that one, because that album came out last season, as it were. Too soon. Or is it ever—for pop?

Veckatimest: When Hot Anticipation is More Anticipated than a Hotly Anticipated Album

The reason for this, of course, is not that the album doesn't live up to the hype (it juuuust about does), but that we've all already heard it, probably several times. There is hot anticipation directed at an actual physical CD or high-quality digital version, of course, but there is also probably more hot anticipation directed at what "everyone" (Pitchfork) will think of it. I think it's wonderful that this newly designed institution maintains its influence. Even the trolls and passionates of Stereogum's comment threads can't help but ask themselves, "Wonder what pea four kay will say?" Oh, to be someone unimportant, like Animal Collective.

There are many more voices in the critics' choir, and to that end, someone has set up a blog called The Grizzly Bear Veckatimest Album Blog (great SEO there). On it you will find an increasingly packed digest of the traditionally composed things people are saying about "Veck." I was flattered to have gotten a mention in a 3/22 post called "Post SXSW Bear Hugs." My other identity is on Examiner, which kindly lets me syndicate everything I write here, so you'll find the same review there with about two word changes ("chink," as in "in your armor" is a prohibited word on Examiner, for instance).

Some meaningful links about "Veckatimest":

The Grizzly Bear Veckatimest Album Blog

Stereogum's comment-heavy "Premature Evaluation"

Pretty Much Amazing's review

Photo credit: Grizzly Bear via their MySpace

"Scientists" Unearth Silver Lining in Gray Recession Cloud

No, a 320 kbps copy of Grizzly Bear's "Veckatimest" has not leaked. You'll have to stick with the live-sounding 128 kbps version for now. The album is not out until May 26, people! (I speak from a position of aural superiority.)

But in other news, Christopher Buckley is so fed up with bad news, he decided to make up some good news. The results are pretty wonderful, and include:

New Malcolm Gladwell Book Tanks

Wink, Malcolm Gladwell’s book about the history of rapid eye movement and its impact on the development of beet farming in Siberia and how that in turn affected left-handed hockey players in Saskatchewan, has left his publisher “virtually bankrupt.”

Read more Buckleyisms in this Daily Beast article.

The great part about this is that you don't actually have to make up good news; a combination of my boss and two coworkers, the Wicked Witch of the Web and the 59th Street Bridge, have created a daily column about actual, literal good economic news. It's called "Chin Up in the Downswing," and the first edition of it is here.

Photo (c) The Daily Beast

On This Day: Notorious B.I.G. Murdered

From findingDulcinea:

"On March 9, 1997, Biggie Smalls was killed in a Los Angeles drive-by some say was linked to rap industry rivalries. His murder remains unsolved.

"The 24-year-old rapper was waiting at a traffic light after a Soul Train Awards after-party hosted by Vibe magazine when another car pulled up next to him. Its occupants opened fire, shooting Smalls six times and killing him almost instantly, according to Rolling Stone.

"Wallace’s shooting came just six months after rival rapper Tupac Shakur was killed in another drive-by shooting in Las Vegas."

Read the rest of the article.

Only in England is it acceptable to start a newspaper article with this lede:

"With genus banker held up for universal opprobrium, what better time for Miuccia Prada to run an elegy on the female of the species? Not that any woman in the City or Wall street has worn something this conventional, or come to that, this sexy (in that prim-but-on-fire way) for at least a decade. Imagine what Angelina Jolie would wear to play Miss Marple, and you have the gist. As Miuccia Prada said backstage, “the conservativism was what made it radical”."

- The Times of London, discussing Milan Fashion Week.

RIP Rocky Mountain News

Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.

Depressingest video ever. Today is the Rocky Mountain News' final date of publication. The entire publication will cease, including the website. Their coverage of the presidential election and DNC was excellent.

"When I Grow Up" to be Fever Ray's Second Single

Fever Ray, a k a Karin Dreijer-Andersson of The Knife, will release her self-titled debut on March 18 (John Updike's birthday) on Mute. From the press release: "Mute will release the second Fever Ray single "When I Grow Up" on March 31stIt follows the album's stunning first single "If I Had A Heart."

Fever Ray is very similar to The Knife's work, which fans will appreciate. I do wonder if it is ill-timed to springtime, being dark and cold as icicles and frightening as fairy tales. But never mind.

Here's the video for "When I Grow Up":

When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

Eminem Suing Universal $1.6 Million for Unpaid Digital Royalties

From the Independent:

"Although it revolves around a single unpaid bill, the outcome of the case, which began on Tuesday at the US District Court for the Central District of California, will affect the entire definition of the term 'digital royalties'.

"The jury will hear evidence from Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, who despite his health problems will give evidence via video link, and the hip-hop mogul Jimmy Iovine. Both men are expected to discuss the pressing issue of what proportion of a record's digital sale price should legally go to a recording artist."

St. Vincent New Album "Actor" Out May 5, Preview at SXSW

Anyone else think Annie Clark looks like Miranda July in this, the cover for her second LP, "Actor," to be released on May 4/5? In any case, Clark a k a St. Vincent will be previewing the album at SXSW in April. According to music news blogger JP, the album "features woodwind contributions from Hideaki Aomori and Alex Sopp, and rhythm section work by McKenzie Smith and Paul Alexander of Midlake, Mike Atkinson (French horn, score consultant), Daniel Hart (violin, sarongi), William Flynn (bass), and percussionists Jeff Ryan, Matthias Bossi and Aynsley Powell."

Looking forward to it, despite my unexcitement about this cover. If you're coming at St. Vincent as a newbie, you'd best check out the video below, or my previous post about St. Vincent on the heels of her first release, 2007's "Marry Me."

Now, a beeaaaaaaaaauuuuutiful performance by St. Vincent at NYC's Other Music, via Vimeo:

ST. VINCENT from Dig For Fire on Vimeo.

Tracklist for St. Vincent - "Actor":

01. The Strangers
02. Save Me From What I Want
03. Neighbours
04. Actor Out Of Work
05. Black Rainbow
06. Laughing With A Mouth Of Blood
07. Marrow
08. The Bed
09. The Party
10. Just The Same But Brand New
11. The Sequel

Touch and Go Not Exactly Gone, Not Forgotten

Click on the image for (factual) deets from P4K.

QOTD | Mr. Ting Ting on the Price of Fame

"We do so much work: we do the [music], the artwork and everything. And then touring on top of that — it's too much. You end up sleeping four hours a night. You thought it'd get easier as you got successful, but it doesn't. You get your accountant phoning to say you're going to make a loss this year. This is an expensive business. You have to pay for travel and your crew. People think you're earning millions — but we're not."

More patheticness in The Guardian. I may never listen to "That's Not My Name" on the treadmill again.

Via nymag.

Miley Cyrus Forgets the Lyrics

Around 1:10.

Chris Brown Has Already Lost Deals and Radio Play. What's the Precedent?

clipped from www.findingdulcinea.com

Why Has Chris Brown Lost Deals and Radio Play So Soon After Arrest?

February 12, 2009 03:01 PM

by Rachel Balik

Arrested for allegedly attacking his girlfriend Rihanna, Chris Brown has been dropped from the radio and endorsements without being officially charged.

After Arrest, Chris Brown Dropped Like a Bad Habit

There are no official reports or charges, but after singer Chris Brown was arrested for allegedly hitting his girlfriend Rihanna, companies, television programs and even radio stations are rushing to dissociate themselves from the successful singer. He has lost a sponsorship deal with Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (makers of Doublemint gum), his songs are being pulled from radio stations, he will no longer make a scheduled appearance at the NBA All-Star game and MTV.com reports that even “Sesame Street” has vowed to stop airing the 2007 show on which he appeared.


Read the rest of this story at findingDulcinea.com.

The Pomegranate Phone: Boldly Going Where No Ad Campaign Has Gone Before

The Pomegranate is an exciting new phone that does everything you want it to. The only trouble is, it doesn't exist yet. What to do? Dream your dreams, watch the phone demo, and then click on "Release Date" to reveal the true genius behind the phone's campaign.

Via Very Short List.

New York Times Tells Us How They Really Feel About Coldplay

With this awesome product placement that debuted this morning (click on image for enlargement):

Emma Watson Grows Up

That's everyone's favorite headline for an of-age celebrity. Here's a sampling of Emma "I Don't Find Myself Sexy" Watson's appearance in Vs. Magazine's February issue, photographed by Ellen von Unwerth. Unwerth's Wikipedia entry proclaims that the German-born photographer "specializes in erotic femininity." Oops. Well, Watson is 18. And these photos are rather tasteful. And she's my celebrity twinny. If someone had told me in 1996 that thick eyebrows, brown eyes and dark blond hair was a good look, well, they could have saved me a few years of angst.

Lil Wayne Agrees to Do Something Really Silly and Scripted

But he does it well.

On Sexism

"I do think there is still sexism in the coverage. We're still in a place in our society where sexism is more palatable than racism. It's not as repugnant to people. There is still a mentality that you can make jokes about how someone's hot or a babe, and about gender roles, in a way that is completely taboo vis-a-vis race."

-Katie Couric in Portfolio, February 2009