Dear The Wrens:

It has been five years since you released The Meadowlands. Five years!!?! I don’t know how they do things over in New Jersey, but when you release one of the greatest records this decade is likely to see (for my money, it’s easily top five), you gotta follow that thing up. Please tell me there is new material on the way. Please. I mean, I don’t mind watching the video for “Boys, You Won’t” a hundred more times, but if I have to wait another five years for a new album I might start to get a little agitated.

Thanks,
Rob

While I am looking forward to the music industry clusterfuck that is SXSW, I haven’t had the time to make a list all the bands I want to see. Honestly, other than unhinging my jaw and consuming as many breakfast tacos as humanly possible, I don’t have any festival plans as of yet.

Well, I have one.
See Santogold perform, no matter what it takes.

The Brooklyn singer has been all the rage as of late, and after watching this stunning video for “L.E.S Artistes” is easy to understand why. The gorgeous video, directed by Nima Nourizadeh, uses simple images and stark color placement to create powerful visuals that stay with you long after the song is finished.

Thanks to J.Shep for the hot tip.

As a compliment to my Panther article in this week’s paper, I give you this: a whole lot of crazy quotes from my interview with Charlie Salas-Humara and Joe Kelly. They touch on art, money, cocaine, kids, Vampire Weekend and more… a lot of gems here. Check it.

On watching a tape of his solo performance

Charlie: “Yeah. I don’t like it. I’ve seen it and I feel like I’m watching a tape of me and my friends from a fifth grade birthday party acting awkward and saying really shitty, stupid things.”

Charlie on changing his role:

“Eventually I’d like to be not this person in charge—I’d like to be the background guy. I want to be the noodler—what’s the guy in the Grateful Dead? Not Jerry Garcia, the other guy. What’s that guy’s fucking name? He’s my hero. I want to be that guy.”

On adding another new member:

"For our next record we're trying to find a lady piano player/guitar player. Or a man with a very ladylike voice."

On the future and cocaine:

Charlie: "I want to play music forever. I want to tour forever. It might not make sense to do it forever. But as long as Joe wants to do it, we'll do it.

I mean, I want to have kids and I want to stop doing so much cocaine. That can be on the record, I don't care. I love cocaine. I used to do so much fucking cocaine."

How have things changed now that you're on Kill Rock Stars?

Charlie: "The change is really noticeable. In like press, and like Kill Rock Stars is a label that's been around for a while, and they have fans."

Joe: "I FEEL LIKE WE COULD BE DOING THE EXACT SAME THING WITH NO LABEL AT ALL, AND PEOPLE WOULD LISTEN TO IT AND HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REACTION NOW BECAUSE IT'S A KILL ROCK STARS BACKED THING. IT'S GOOD AND BAD, IN A WAY."

On the expectations of their sound after being in prog bands:

Charlie: "I got real tired of hearing weird time signatures. I don't think it's a bad thing... It's fun to make a change. If you were a hip hop band or whatever, and you liked country, you should be able to make a country record."

Joe: "WITH 31 KNOTS, I FELT LIKE I HAD DONE EVERYTHING I WANTED TO DO WITH THAT TYPE OF MUSIC. PEOPLE WANT TO PIGEONHOLE YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE."

On making music and money:

Charlie: "I want thing to be fun, and to have a sense of humor, but we're really serious about it. I want to make a living out of it. We work REALLY FUCKING HARD."

Joe responding: "WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE A LIVING OUT OF IT, WE JUST DON'T WANT TO WORK."

Charlie: "We're not trying to make a million bucks. That's the hard part. You want to make a living out of it but sometimes when I sit back and listen to our record and the songs come on I think, 'ooooooohhhhh yeah, we're not exactly the Foo Fighers, or even a midly poppy band that does really well.'"

On the future:

Joe: "I FEEL REALLY LUCKY AT THIS POINT THAT I'VE GOTTEN FIRED FROM SO MANY JOBS IN PORTLAND, THAT (I'VE LEARNED) NO MATTER WHAT I'M NEVER GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH, I'M ALWAYS GOING TO SOMEHOW PAY MY RENT. SHIT JUST ALWAYS WORK OUT. SO AT THIS POINT, WHEN WE'RE JUST CROSSING OUT FINGERS AND HOPING THINGS WORK OUT, I'M NOT STRESSING ABOUT IT. SOME WILL BAIL ME OUT (LAUGHS)."

Charlie on why he wants to be Vampire Weekend:

"Because they're fucking capitalists. I'll tell you why: because they represent yuppie behavior, which is so fucking cool. I love capitalism. I love Mitt Romney and I love George Bush and I want to suck the dick of the CEO of Wallmart. We're young republicans. It's as simple as that."

On paying for, or downloading music:

Charlie: "It's fine, but don't get bummed out when the culture in 10 years turns into a piece of shit and everything's like Wallmart.

The honor system doesn't work anymore. People just don't value things anymore. You go to a blog and you get shit for free. And I understand, I'm as greedy as the next person, but you have to kind of stop yourself. I want to be able to look at a painting, something that I find really beautiful and attractive and say that I shouldn't be able to own that. It should be in a museum.

I can't tell if I'm selfish on this, or if I really feel--no I really feel for the future of music and art and that it's really important.

Let's take Black Flag. I feel like I've given enough, I've probably given them at least $100. And I feel like I can take what I want for free from now on. Other than that if you like something you should buy it."

On economics:

Charlie: "I'm a socialist but it doesn't always work out."

More on music and money:

Charlie: "Of course, but I'm trying to hold on to the last bastian, getting paid for what I do. Being in a band, I think, is harder than working in a coffee shop. Dealing with these douchebag industry people--fuck, you couldn't pay me enough to put up with that. 'You should meet this person, it's going to be important for your career,' if i have to hear that and actually talk to that person and those people are shallow as fuck, and you realize there is no god and there is no art when these people are running the industry. Jesus Christ. Just give me five dollars. I want five bucks."

Weinland at the Doug Fir last Saturday, March 1.

In support of their new album La Lamentor, Portland alt-country band Weinland is playing an in-store appearance at Music Millennium (3158 E Burnside). This is a free, all ages performance, so if you are young or broke or both, here’s your chance to see ‘em. Starts at 6:00 pm.

Pitchfork picked up on this today, but I noticed the ad yesterday and definitely had a WTF? moment. Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater, located in the Old Mill District of Bend, is having a festival of sorts as part of their “Wells Fargo Summer Concert Series.” (So many wonderful brand names! For some reason, I feel I must start a checking account and buy some new tires!)

And the lineup has some respectable choices, but the Breeders (yes, THE the Breeders) are OPENING(?!) on May 25th for the National and Modest Mouse? This doesn’t seem right. Okay, Modest Mouse is huge. But the National? Are they really that big? At any rate, it does sound like a killer line-up.

Other acts: Spearhead on May 23th (yawn) and Death Cab, the Decemberists, and Rogue Wave on May 24th (again, yawn). It’s Memorial Day weekend, the same weekend as Sasquatch—and nearly all these bands are playing Sasquatch—so I am certain I’ll skip it. Still, have fun, Central Oregonians!

Another week, another Mercury issue to read while you load your newest killing machine—the world’s smallest gun. Aw, it’s adorable!

Bradford Cox’s latest project, Atlas Sound, is all he wants to talk about, that is, unless of course his mom is calling.
MP3: - Atlas Sound - Recent Bedroom

Here kitty kitty. Panther is on the prowl and ready to pounce. Grrrowl!
MP3: - Panther - Violence, Diamonds

The triumphant tale of Helio Sequence, complete with a thrilling car chase a heartwarming happy ending.
MP3: - Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead

Oh the agony! Xiu Xiu explore a world filled with pain, glorious pain. Uplifting!
MP3: - Xiu Xiu - I Do What Want When I Want

Photo by Tim Schaar

We sure do love us some Stephen Malkmus around here. Hey, can you blame us? The man is responsible for the greatest indie rock album of all time.

You know who else is responsible for some pretty darn good albums? R.E.M. Imagine our delight when we came across this video of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks doing a little R.E.M. medley for La Blogotheque.

Stephen Malkmus! Singing (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville! The sixteen year old inside of me is shedding tears of joy and delight right now.

Let’s keep the ticket giveaways coming! This time we have a hot little pair of tickets to see Nashville teen garage sensations, Be Your Own Pet. This bouncy group of adorable kids have set the world aflame with their hyper-punky anthems, and they’ll be playing the Doug Fir this Friday, alongside The Raveonettes.

Not only that, but they wrote a song about my second favorite movie ever (number one being this perfect work of cinematic excellence), the Beyond the Valley of the Dolls inspired, “The Kelly Affair,” which is the first single from their upcoming Get Awkward record, due out March 18th.

MP3:
Be Your Own Pet - The Kelly Affair

To win the tickets, you need to comment below and identify the famous pets in this image. Creative answers are encouraged, especially if you can’t get them all, and you have until 5pm today. So get answerin’!

Okay, people. Here’s how it’s gonna be. No one ever gets to do a cover of Europe’s “Final Countdown” again—because no one can rock it better than the Latvian Cello Symphony Orchestra!

It’s difficult for me to explain why some guitar-based indie rock works, and some just doesn’t. There’s a lot of it out there. It’s either fantastic, or completely boring. And I think a lot of it has to do with where the band comes from. For example, earlier this week I saw a guitar-based indie band from Stillwater, Oklahoma and I was won over by their slanted take on the familiar style (I may be alone in this). There’s just something about weirdos from Oklahoma (see also: Flaming Lips, Evangelicals) making off-kilter, intriguing music. Having never been to Oklahoma, I’m guessing there’s little to do there, so weirdness has a way of creeping into the music in order to generate some excitement. And there’s little to compare yourself with when you try to do something outside of the box. Then last night I saw a guitar-based band from L.A. and it was totally dull. I’m not sure I could say why; it just seemed absolutely generic, like they took to heart their city’s Hollywood ways of test marketing and demographics to make music that appealed to as many people as possible. In other words, blandly accessible and totally uninteresting.

Which brings me to the Darcys, a group of Torontonians who escaped to Halifax, Nova Scotia—or maybe it’s the other way around. Either way, the relative isolation of Nova Scotia has given them the perspective needed to make their familiar brand of melodic, reverby, guitar-based indie rock seem fresh and new. I’m reminded of another band from similar extremes of Canada, the Novaks from St. John’s, Newfoundland, who make music that should seem totally boring: bar band Tom Petty ripoffs that sound like something a suburban mama would get down to at quarter-beer night. But I think the Novaks, for some reason, are totally great—and so are the Darcys.

Their album, Endless Water, starts with the isolated handclaps and unison vocals of “Strange Fits,” and moves to heights of grandeur in “We Twin Bruises.” Meanwhile, “When We Were a Wilderness” bridges the gap between nonchalance and longing, with circular guitar trills building on top of a half-finished guitar riff and solo pulses from the bass, before moving into a loose, meandering jam. Some of the dancier tunes don’t quite work as well, like “I’m a Ship” which navigates a familiar disco-rock course. But when the band stretches out on the “Where Are Your Daughters/No More Love Songs/Endless Water” triptych, which features some Midlake-esque harmony vocals and some French lyrics, they capture a sense of history, space, and loss. And “Subsequent Ghosts” is beautiful and slow, what they would have called a power ballad twenty years ago, but never falls into the trap of overkill or becomes guilty of sounding like Coldplay. It’s just a little too weird, and raw. Thank god.

If anything, though, the album can at times seem a little anonymous, as if the band’s identity is afraid to assert itself through the delicately alluring music they’ve created. A little more personality wouldn’t hurt. And it’s a tad overinflated, too—the “Untitled (Bedroom Beats)” interlude is totally pointless. But the majority of the music on the record is gracefully, subtly wonderful, bringing to mind chilly weather and vast areas of open water. It knows the importance of warm clothing and shared body warmth. It recognizes the harsh beauty—not only in one’s natural surroundings, wherever they may be—but in new, unexplored emotions, which might be the most terrifying and exhilarating sort of frontier.

MP3:
The Darcys - I’ve Been Sleeping
The Darcys - We Twin Bruises

Endless Water is available at CD Baby and at iTunes.

Say what you will but I love the Libertines. Great ol’ Brit-pop. Good chords, fun music. Now, I hate all the tabloid garbage and Know that Pete Doherty is NOT A GENIUS. Not even close. But dude can write a solid pop song (and a bad one—see: half of all Babyshambles output.)

Carl Barat is the same way. Writes ferocious pop songs. He’s more consistent than the unjustly more famous Pete, but by and large his music is more solid, if not a bit too much so… perhaps stale or predictable? Where Carl figures everything out to minutia, every once and a while Pete stumbles into something pretty, which could be seen as more arty…? But shit, Carl was the genesis behind a number of the Libertines bigger hits… it must suck to know that you’re not as successful as you could’ve been had you been a piece of shit crack head… but then again, there must be comfort in not being a piece of shit crack head.

I’ll probably catch hell for this (but hey, at least it’s not wiener dog crap like some of my colleagues like… (ok, why bring this on?)), but yeah, I like em. I like em, but I do NOT like this:

Doherty and Barat are writing a musical

Sounds as bad as a junkie shitting himself. Then falling asleep in it. For days. On the street. Until it’s all caked in… ugh…

Let’s hope it never comes to pass. As if we need to hear them re-write the self-titled album again… Goddamnit.

Get over it and take your respective bands and play some shows on the goddamn west coast. Your pop artist, not musical visionaries. And even if you were, writing musicals is fucking lame. Tommy sucked. Get over it.

Leave that shit to Jesus Christ Superstar.

Consider me officially excited for the new Neon Neon record. If you haven’t heard anything yet about Neon Neon, let me quickly blow your mind: the duo is comprised of Super Furry Animals front-man Gruff Rhys and electro-mastermind Boom Bip. I know, right? This record is going to be awesome.

The above video has everything that it should: flashing lights, coked-out hipsters nice young people, and jellyfish. Spoiler Alert: Who knew dead jellyfish could be so sad-making?

Neon Neon’s debut album, Stainless Style, comes out on March 18th via Lex Records.

(Thanks to P4K for the video)

Judging by those crisp and captivating photos, it’s pretty obvious that I was there for last night’s “secret” MySpace Malkmus (MalkSpace™) show at Satyricon.

Starting around 9pm (a blatant disregard for the thrilling end of the Blazers game, which was going on at the exact same time), Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks took the tiny stage and blazed through Real Emotional Trash, sounding like a band that is relieved to finally have their record out, and at the same time, eager to share these sprawling new tunes with the masses. The jamming guitar haze of “Baltimore” hung in the thick air for what felt like an eternity, “Gardenia” was bouncy and energetic, and the sleepy rumble of “Out Of Reaches,” the album’s finest track, was the evening’s true highlight. Plus the impromptu Pavement reunion, where they played all your favorite songs, ended world hunger, and got mom and dad back together, was great too relaxed atmosphere of Malkmus and company made it seem more like a casual concert for friends of the band, instead of a promotion by a corporate social networking website.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Baltimore (live in Portland, but not from last night. It’s from a January 20th show, available here)

Another day, another awesome ticket giveaway.

This time we are giving away two tickets to the hot local show of the week, Panther’s CD Release show this Thursday at Holocene. Their new album, 14 kt God, is fantastic and this is the sort of show you’d hate to miss.

To win this sweet pair of tickets, all you need to do is leave a comment below and identify the various panthers in this photo. If you can’t get all eight, just submit as many as you can. In the case of numerous correct answers, points will be given for when your answer was submitted and for any, and all, creative answers.

photo by ryhs

Live Review: British Sea Power, Colormusic, Monday March 3rd @ Doug Fir

Jesus… This one’s a rambler… here you go:

I’m standing outside the Doug Fir, making sure this jackass who just rear-ended a parked motorcycle does the right thing. Two men dressed in completely white, matching tracksuits walk by. Who are those fucking guys?

They better have an ass-load of coke or be in a band.

Well, to the dismay of some, they are in the band. They jumped on stage as soon as the first act finished and for the next half and hour plus they fiddled through soundcheck. It was ridiculuos. "You're the openers! Just play!" I shouted. I thought it was rude (them, not me). They KEPT fiddling.

Finally Colormusic fired it up, and yes, the sound was pristine. At first they rocked a little harder than I thought, but it wouldn't last. Huge, bombastic pop songs with every little stop. It was like an iPod commerical. Every fucking song.

It was started becoming goddamn static--every show a carbon copy commerical of the last, just searching for that one uber-hit. But what they came through with was way too rehearsed, and British Sea Power would later diagram expertly: when songs have heart and emotion, then a pop gem is thrown in, by contrast it shines brighter.

Well these dudes haven't learned that yet. Or they just don't have any charisma. Probably both. Anyway, it was an ENTIRE set of would-be iPod commercial songs and a whole lot of posturing--ridiculous guitar flails, drumsticks in the air, and whipping lims--and none of it felt sincere. It's hard really, when you're playing along with a laptop to get that sense of radical rock spontenaeity. (Can you imagine if pete townshend did windmill guitar strums TO A COMPUTER!!? That'd be almost as foolish as being caught with CHILD PORNOGRAPHY!)

So they were up there, all dressed in iPod white. The instruments too. But what we got wasn't an iPod single. Maybe something more suited for the Zune, some crappy serious satalite radio or a bogus cellphone.

...

The moment I first heard British Sea Power I fell totally in love. It was the very begining -- the first song of their debut album. it was angular and irreverant, catchy, and punk as hell. It was what i hoped new rock music--along with bands like Les Savy Fav-were begining to sound like, I hoped. But from there it was downhill.

Not in any radical way, but that first song was just so much rougher and rawer than the rest. But I still like the rest. And just like their debut album--and aesthetic in general--British Sea Power have become became less harsh. But I've stuck with them, happily. It's a testament to their craftsmanship and melodic intuition. Not bad, I'd say. Usually when a band goes the opposite direction you're hoping, there's a divorce (or is it just a toilet flushing?). But this is at least the third show I've seen British Sea Power, and the third consecutive album I've rocked. We're talking about years here people. Maybe five or more. Consistently good.

BSP has always been literary. At first it was more literary punk, or minimalism, with flourishes of grandeosity. Now the minimal moments are all but gone. Even on songs that stick to a respectable pop timeframe and structure still pile on the air. But unlike so many bands BSP is able to maintain a vibrancy and immediacy the belies their production and touring experience.

The revolutionary war costumes are gone. So is the foliage (as a matter of fact, it was gone last time around too). This time the stage was dressed with flags. A bunch of them strung up everywhere.

The set was bombastic, though not always flaming, from begining to end. A violnist joined the band for most of the set, contributing rarely more than white noise in all but the most subdued movements, much the same as the keyboard player who occasionally blew the cornet. The wall of sound--from two guitars--is the wash of the British sea. Bass carries, somewhat subtly, the majority of the melodic duties.

BSP kicked it up and played a longer set than most Doug Fir acts usually do, keeping a Monday audience, burdened by a rotten grey day, highly entertained. Throughout the guitarist and bassist traded songs and instruments, neither getting the better of the other.

Beginning with tried and true early material, BSP eventually wove in songs from their recently released "Do You Like Rock Music" smoothly, in the end touching on the newest and rarer tracks. But even when the band played their older songs there is a sense of fluidity--it's not a note for note sort of deal. If someone wants to shout, they do. a little extra note here, or walkdown there, fine, no problem. Towards the end of the set the songs became somewhat more free, pulsing and changing organically. The band was warm and they rode it.

And the way they hammer on their instruments, even if their not ending up on the floor or riding on each-other's shoulders anymore, British Sea Power still seems to be enjoying what they do, letting the performance flow from the heart.

Were Quicksand proto-emo? Post-hardcore? Meh, who cares: these dudes rocked, and that is about it.

I have no reason for posting this video for “Fazer”, other than I listened to Slip yesterday and remembered how much I love that album. I didn’t discover the band until much later (hey, I was ten when Slip came out!), but I can tell you that even in 2001 they still pretty much owned everyone around.

Warning: Do NOT read the YouTube comments for this video. Watching anonymous people discuss the validity and definition of emo is enough to leave anyone (especially me) in the corner crying in the fetal position.

THE PASTIES, DEADPAN PARIAH, TRAINWRECK RIDERS (Alberta Street Public House, 1036 NE Alberta) The Pasties belong on the streets. Oh, and I mean that in the best possible way. This rambling Olympia eight-piece is prime for busking, marching for justice, or just violating every loitering law on the books by performing for the masses on any given street corner. Their mangled DIY punk/country/folk is an adorable collection of various influences that will, no doubt, soundtrack many a bike punk romance (“Bikes turn me on… I want to be the banana in your seat”), house party makeout session, and dumpster diving buffet. I’m about one Sharpie, and stolen Kinko’s copy card, away from penning an entire fanzine in devotion to the Pasties. EAC

The live video below (taken from a show in Santa Cruz, CA) seems to sum up the Pasties experience quite well. It’s fun, chaotic, sloppy, and I think my glasses are fogging up just from watching the clip. I feel like I need to be clutching a brown bagged beverage (Joose?) while I watch that.

Sound quality? Terrible.
Excitement level? Through the roof.
ATM machine? Wait… why does a Santa Cruz punk house have an ATM in it?

Let’s talk about SellaBand, shall we?

Are you familiar with the forward-thinking site that allows listeners to invest in artists they support? This page will show you how it works, complete with a handy how-to video. Basically, fans (aka, “Believers”) find artists they like, invest $10, and receive an album (upon completion) plus a chance to help sell the record and increase their investment. It’s a pretty ideal situation for all parties—“For the first time fans and artists can be in business together”—although there seems to be numerous flaws.

Such as:
“Once you’ve reached the Goal of $50,000 SellaBand will provide an experienced A&R person to guide your recording process. Together with a top Producer you get the chance to record a collection of your best songs in a state-of-the-art Studio.”

Um, not to be Mr. DIY here, but who the hell needs to drop $50k on a record? I can think of countless records that have been done for less than half (or even 1/5) of that amount. Also, few terms raise the red flags like “experienced A&R person.” I assume people want their $10 investment to go into a finished product that sounds better than a bedroom four-track demo, but there should be a middle ground between that, and dropping $50k on a recording.

Also, setting the finishing price at $50k seems a bit too lofty. According to this Wired post, only 14 of the 6,500 bands on the site has made it to the $50k level.

I assume we all know that the days are numbered for the music industry as we know it, and something like SellaBand is an inspiring way to knock down the wall between performer and fan, but is this the answer? Could there be a better way?

1.) Killer Hunches video I discovered on YouTube. It’s a string of pretty sweet songs from a European tour two years ago. Also it may be a reference in a piece I’m working on about BANDS NEEDING TO MOVE while they play. That sucker ought to surface in a few days.

Back to the Hunches though. Their new album is almost done. You’re going to absolutely die when you hear it and it’s only going to become more maddening when you find out they’re breaking up.

2.) Something almost totally unrelated to music so you’ll have to follow the jump to get it: Thought’s On William F. Buckley’s Passing I wrote at 3am Friday night while hideously drunk.

people are saying that wiliiam f buckley jr. may have written more letters than any man alive. it's a noble achievement, no doubt. for it's time. and yes, buckley wrote his fair share of columns too. but goddamnit, these are milestones that may yet be overtaken, yet never chronicled.

i'm paid a pittance to write daily for this blog. and were i paid slightly more i might take the time and do the math to see whether or not, in actual dollars--not adjusted for inflation--buckley made more than me in his early days. it's not just my time that stops me from doing it. really, it's the fear that even back then he made more than i do.

if i were paid more i'd say my ideas would be presented in a more well rounded form. i could AFFORD to spend more time smoothing them out. but equally sad is that these posts aren't something tangible. they don't stack up on a desk. volumes aren't bound (though i suppose the could be). 40 years from now they will probably all be lost (though only my ego may care). same fucking thing with emails. doubtful anyone's collected emails will ever form a book -- they're just to flippant. and an artform is lost. (ok, shit, the death of america's leading jack-backwards conservative is actually making me long for older, simpler times?! fucking horrible irony...)

but in this case, case is point. writing don't pay so well anymore. in turn, american ideas aren't so valuable--not the philosophical ones anyway. we're a dying breed. or, at least, a diminishing one. and no eighteen letter words can turn it around.

so i suppose buckley, it's fitting you passed when you did. and for god sake, i never knew you properly until you passed. but as things go, i see you as little more than a tonguey, pedagogical play boy who caught the wave of a century. for if you had the balls to live a few years longer you'd seen the whole movement crash right back up your nostrils. and then, death wouldn't have been so easy.

so with the death of william f buckley jr dies the conservative movement, as we shall soon see. but sadly, with it goes the strength of american letters and a chunk of the culture of ideas...

Bam! A brand new video from the Helio Sequence, plus an interview with the clip’s local director, Whitey McConnaghy. I swear this is the last video from the band I ever post… today. The interview is after the jump.

Keep Your Eyes Ahead

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The stage and lighting are very unique, when you pitched the video concept to the band where they a little skeptical that everything would come together the way it did?
They were a little skeptical at first, but they were like "If you say you can do it, it sounds good to us." I've built some weird, cheap, cool, sets in the past, so I at least had a good track record.

Did they mind performing in the freezing cold? How did you protect the lights, car battery, etc, from the rain?
They were a bit cold but never complained. None of us really had any choice, when it was cold it was at least dry. The crew had a harder time with the cold than the band. When it rained we barely got the trailer wet.

Most of the shots when it's raining in the video I had them just out of the rain under a bridge. The car batteries were fine if they got wet, same with most of the lights since a lot of them are car lights. The computer/TV didn't like the rain.

Was the stage mobile? Also, any chance the band will utilize the stage itself for live shows? Or was it dismantled after the shoot?
The stage was very mobile, except for the time the hitch came off a van I was borrowing and it came grinding across the pavement sending up giant sparks.

The band should of used it for a show, I wanted them to but it just didn't happen. It would of been awesome. A friend and I dismantled the thing it's gone. R.I.P. If anyone needs 60 flashlights 6 boat batteries, lamps, a trailer, etc, they're all for sale, for cheap.

You clearly put a lot of work into perfecting this video shoot, as a director does it ever bother you to know that most people will just watch your work as a low-resolution online clip?
Yeah that pretty much blows, thanks for rubbing it in.

But to be honest it was really worth it when the band watched the video for the first time, and to see that they were so genuinely happy with it, that was enough. I was so nervous showing it to them, so that's all I wanted.

One thing I have to say is I am so happy and proud of all the people that chipped in on the shoot. We shot in cold, wet weather from 10 pm until 4 am over a few nights and all the people that came out to help never complained. This video could of only have been done in Portland with the budget we had. Hell, we had Brent from Menomena helping 6-10 random film/art people string LED's. Lorin from the Thermals helped with welding. It's rad when your help is as famous as the band.

Only in Portland!

Announcing a new column here at End Hits, wherein we review every last bit of new vinyl that gets sent to us. You want your band’s new release to be covered here on the blog? If it’s on vinyl, send it in and we’ll review it.
As if putting on great music and multimedia shows weren’t enough, Eastside venue Holocene started its own label, putting out records by the Shaky Hands and Alela Diane. Now Holocene Music has just put out a 7” single of cover songs performed by San Francisco band Sholi. The a-side is a song called “Hejrat” which was originally performed by Googoosh, an Iranian singer popular in the 1970s. I hadn’t heard the original, and I initially found Sholi’s take to have an almost Latin/surf vibe, until lead singer Payam Bavafa starts singing in Farsi. He doesn’t shy away from the Qawwali-influenced melisma that the song requires, and it’s damn impressive. Meanwhile, the rest of Sholi provide typical indie-rock backing, with guitar and bells; drummer Jonathon Bafus packs in as many drum fills as he can and consistently changes the beat, which creates excitement and progression throughout the track.

The b-side is Joanna Newsom’s “The Sprout and the Bean,” starting with her harp riff transposed to guitar. The song begins lazily, with Bavafa’s vocal a lot more palatable than Newsom’s childlike crow, and the band’s full band arrangement more satisfying than her solo harp. It progresses, gaining momentum and urgency as it goes along, before breaking down and fading into anonymous chatter.

Both tracks are expertly played, although the recording quality is nothing to write home about. The single is handsomely packaged with a cover image of a family presumably watching Googoosh on TV. It comes with a coupon to download digital versions of the tracks - a BIG, BIG plus, one that is becoming commonplace with vinyl releases.

Here’s a video of “Hejrat”, as originally performed by Googoosh.

The video gets a little wonky toward the end, with an abrupt ending, but it’s fascinating to see this artifact. Keep in mind that females were outlawed from singing in public in 1979 after the Iranian Revolution.

You can get the Sholi 7” here.

And you can listen to both songs at Sholi’s MySpace page.

We love vinyl, so if you’re a label or band, send us your new vinyl for review! We’ll listen to it and put our thoughts up on the blog. Send to:
Portland Mercury
Attn: End Hits
605 NE 21st Ave., Suite 200
Portland, OR 97232

On Friday I showed you the new Gnarls Barkley video “Run” which featured Justin Timberlake as the host of a hiphop version of Soul Train. Well, upon further research it seems apparent that the “Run” video is a parody of the 1984 pilot for the TV show Graffiti Rock. Apparently it was only shown once in New York and few other markets—AND THAT IS A GODDAMN SHAME, because this show devoted to rap, breakdancing and graffiti is truly bizarre, frequently awkward and freaking brilliant. Check out the opening minutes of this show, and prepare to smile for the rest of the day!

Like the set of Letterman, it must be chilly on the stage at Jimmy Kimmel Live. That would explain why Helio Sequence singer Brandon Summers is wearing that giant red scarf. Neck attire aside, it was the band’s television debut and they did a damn fine job performing “Keep Your Eyes Ahead,” the first single from the album of the same name.

Enjoy.

(Photo by Ryan Muir)

Well, this is a day late, but only because I had to get up at 6:30am on Sunday to catch my flight home, leaving me brain dead for the rest of the day. Note to self: never fly that early again. Oh, what’s that? My flight for SXSW leaves at 6:30am? Damn!

Saturday was, well….Saturday was pretty meh. Actually, Monotonix basically blew my mind, and everything that Andrew previously said about the band is completely true. They played the floor and tore shit up like I was hoping and expecting. My friend Michael even had to sit on the bass drum for about half the set, which proved to be a lot more fun for me than I think it was for him. Hey, you can even play Where’s Waldo? with bearded-hipsters from Portland in the above picture. I’ll give you a hint: I’m not from Israel.

Other than that, I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw on Saturday. I headed to Bottom of the Hill to catch British Sea Power, and both the openers (Colour Music and 20 Minute Loop) left me running for the smoking patio a song into their respective sets, and I don’t even smoke. Even British Sea Power, who I was pretty excited to see, was boring.

Oh, and I tried to see MSTRKRFT, but getting into that proved to be pretty ridiculous and definitely not worth the hassle.

And that was it. Now I’m home and nursing my liver until next week when I head out to Austin for plenty more hi-jinx.

In not a very good way to start the week, the blind guy from Patrick Swayze’s Road House is dead. Blind from birth due to a rare form of cancer, the blind guy from Patrick Swayze’s Road House passed away Sunday at the age of 41. Though known for other things as well, the blind guy from Patrick Swayze’s Road House is best known for his role as Cody, the blind guy from Patrick Swayze’s Road House who played the guitar at the Double Deuce bar. Remember these scenes?

After Patrick Swayze beats the shit out of everyone in the bar…

Cody, Blind Singer at Double Deuce: Ladies and gentlemen… James Dalton.

and…

Dalton: So, you play pretty good for a blind white boy.

Cody, Band Singer at Double Deuce: Yeah, and I thought you’d be bigger.

Both of those are funny, because he’s blind. GET IT?! Rest in peace, Blind Guy from Patrick Swayze’s Road House. Rest in peace.