This Week in the Mercury
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Let's Talk About... Dept. of Corrections
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 1:45 PM
No, that's not Lord of the Rings—it's Yale.
In this week's Mercury article on the Dirty Projectors there's a little factual error. Dave Longstreth didn't graduate from Yale School of Music (which is a graduate program) but plain old Yale as an undergraduate (in music).
Make sense?
Really frustratingly stupid when the whole point was me trying to clear up a misconception.
News The Thermals Hit the Jackpot
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jul 2, 2009 at 9:10 AM
You missed that kick ass The Thermals CD release show at the Wonder Ballroom awhile back? Are you still filled with soul-crushing regret? Have you started repeatedly banging your head into a wall because that is the only way you can feel anything? Okay, well, you can stop that now.
The Thermals will be perform a set inside the downtown Jackpot Records location on Friday, July 24th at 6 pm. It's free, it's all ages, and after the show the band will act as your personal shopper and help guide you in making informed purchases*. While you're at it, can you take down those flyers for Floater and moe?
Also this is the final Thermals post of the week, we promise.
* This is a lie.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Video What The Fuck...
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 3:05 PM
This is a strange one... I don't know whether to laugh or cry. This video is fucking weird. Half-ironic? Full-on? Who knows.
But I suppose it's as good a time as any to talk about "Stillness Is The Move," the lead single of the Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca. Most dig it, but I find it's the thinnest track on the album. I skip it. Purposefully or not, the lyrics and feeling are cheesy. Musically, it's a straight line, which is not what makes the Dirty Projectors great. "Stillness" is a step away from Starbucks Diva, which I don't need. Give me honest and picturesque, wobbly and shifting like "Temecula Sunrise" any day. I liked "Stillness" at first, but tired quickly. Where do you stand?
The video:
More Dirty Projectors coming this week. Full article in tomorrow's print edition, plus an extended interview here. Get those tickets if you aint already—Saturday's show is the best 4th of July option out there. Beats trying to find the best party with so much open-air, sprawling, sweat, mmmmm....
I'm Drunk! Happy Canada Day
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Oh hey Canada. I know it's Canada Day today—or Fête du Canada, for all you provinces that want to secede—and I totally didn't get you anything. I've just been real busy and all, and it's hard to put my affection for you into words. But here goes:
I love you Canada. I apologize for making fun of the way you say about. I apologize for all the curling jokes. I apologize for not liking Trailer Park Boys. I do not apologize for being denied entry to your country while on tour in 2000—that was fucked up and totally not cool—but I still forgive you. Even this weekend, as I spend another Fourth of July drunkenly blowing off my fingers in an orgy of fireworks and patriotism, I'll be thinking of you, Canada.
As a reminder of how incredible you are, here are a few of my favorite songs from your great land. Thank you, Canada.
Neil Young - "Cowgirl In The Sand" (Live At Massey Hall)
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The Weakerthans - "Plea From A Cat Named Virtue"
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Snow - "Informer"
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Constantines - "Soon Enough"
Let's Talk About... 10 Questions with Matthew Slessler: Terri Nunn
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jul 1, 2009 at 11:33 AM
Seeing how Matthew Slessler—Pure Pod for Now podcaster, beer slinger, music nerd, cat enthusiast—is probably the most well-liked man in Portland, we'd be fools to not let him do whatever the hell he wants in this blog. Thankfully he only wanted to talk to classic bands of yore and ask them ten questions. Everyone wins.
1. Almost 26 years ago today, Berlin had their coming out party at the US Festival. What do you remember most about that day?
It was every musician’s wet dream. I don’t care how big I’ve ever been or will ever get, that was a once-in-a-lifetime truly BAD ASS EXPERIENCE! David Bowie, U2, The Pretenders, Stevie Nicks, Steve Stevens, Joe Walsh... ALL IN ONE DAY!! AND WE GOT TO PLAY TOO!!! Steve Wozniak, the man from Apple who funded the whole thing, gave my mother his All Access pass—with his picture on it—so she could go anywhere she wanted at any time. He also took her up in his private helicopter to see the whole scene of 250,000 people from an aerial view, pretty spectacular for her! For all that, I will love him forever.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
I'm Drunk! Gotta Spend Money to Make Money
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Recession? What recession?
Any budding Quincy Jones types out there reading End Hits? How about Saudi Princes? Becuase if you've got the dough, boy do I have an opportunity you're gonna want to get in on: this genius. The entire Craigslist pitch:
My music has been played on major market on-line radio every week since Oct. 2008. I've had 1,500 listens on myspace.com. without doing any promotion. I've written hundreds of recordable songs and have some great songwriting demos, but I need the power-backed help in order to give the music the promotion it deserves. Please send me as much info as posible about who you are and your intentions and then I may get back to you with more about me with links, etc.
No actual audio sample. 1,500 Myspace plays. "Recordable songs."
Simply send "as much info as posible" and if you're lucky, dude "may" get back to you with a link to his music.
What this suggests, I suppose, is that big record labels are still necessary purveyors of music. The whole blog, sharing, word of mouth, fan sourcing thing is just a flash in the pan. KUFO breaks bands. Ho ho ho!
I've also got a line on some pills that will seriously make you "larger" down there. Stock tips too!
Video The Gaslight Anthem Meet Bruuuuuuce
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I'm so easy to please that sometimes I think I'm like an infant. Dangle some car keys in front of my face, and it's all smiles. Or, in this case, post a video of the Gaslight Anthem being joined by their/mine/everyone's idol, Bruce Springsteen, while onstage at Glastonbury.
Give it up for The Boss to take time away from resting on his large pile of cash to perform with a somewhat small—they are playing Berbati's on September 22nd—indie band from his home state. I also like how when it comes to Springsteen cameos, you don't need to get the man his own mic. He'll share yours.
Of course he will.
Video The Thermals Visit the Stock Market (Day Two)
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 8:04 AM
Day two of the Thermals at Wall Street, and the economy is still not fixed. What gives? I invested all of my Nanna's savings in the "Thermals Helping Thermals" triangle scheme—Hutch Harris swore it was definitely not a pyramid scheme—and I have nothing to show for it. I am starting to think that this band knows nothing about the economy. Although, to be fair, Kathy Foster's line about indie rock being like hedge funds was pretty great.
When the band isn't righting the global financial system, they are recording an acoustic session at something called the Comcast Atrium. Enjoy!
News Let's Get Drunk and Talk Copyright Law!
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 7:00 AM
Few things go together like vibrant discussions about copyright law and free food/beer. Thankfully Free Culture will have both of these great things together at the same time. They'll also have YACHT and local music lawyer Peter Shavers on hand as well. Actually, the Thursday July 16th event at White Stag (70 NW Couch) is less about snacks, and more about establishing a dialogue about copyright and technology. Take it away, press release:
We've got a mash-up of serious inquiry and massive creative fun on Thursday July 16 at White Stag, an event called "Free Culture." Alongside free beer and food we're having YACHT (Jona Bechtolt and Claire Evans) and a copyright lawyer named Peter Shavers lead the assembled crowd in a massively democratic authoring of new copyright law (using SynchroEdit, which allows everyone present to co-author a single document in real-time). The SynchroEdit page will be adumbrated by a Twitter feed, resulting in new law. After we get done writing the law, we're going to talk about the real constraints on copyright and creativity with YACHT and Peter. It should be lively, serious fun. And it's free.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Let's Talk About... Tweet Of The Day
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Via my old friend John:
Helpful Hint: If you want me to leave your party try playing anything by Jimmy Buffet or Billy Joel
Live Review Four Word Review: Sunset Rubdown
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 2:02 PM
@ Doug Fir, 6/26/09
Sunset Rubdown: Geeks alternatingly swift, docile
Let's Talk About... The Final Word on Michael Jackson
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:01 AM
After moonwalking off this mortal coil, and leaving Macaulay Culkin without a best friend, there has been an awful lot of Michael Jackson memorializing this past week. It's like everyone was just waiting for this to happen so they could finally speak well of the man without being weighed down by the guilt and confusion that pretty much sums up the past two decade of Jackson's troubled existence. It's similar to discussing the life of Phil Spector: We want to praise his recording skills and pop vision, yet there is that whole shooting-a-woman-in-the-face thing.
From the re-released version of Thriller, this 1981 bedroom demo of "Billie Jean" just might be my favorite MJ song ever. Clearly an incomplete version of a song that he had yet to fully write, you hear a comfortable (his request for Quincy Jones to add "More kickin' stuff" is adorable) artist on the cusp of great things. The young man in the studio that day is a not the same posturing/creepy/sad creature that fell to a heart attack—or shady doctor conspiracy—last Thursday.
Remembering Jackson shouldn't be just limited to grandiose posthumous praise—it had been decades since the man truly wore the "King of Pop" crown—nor should it just be limited to lazy jokes about molestation and plastic surgery. His career arch—from cuddly kid star, to pop legend, to horror movie villain—was far from ideal, but with Jackson, you take the very good with the very bad.
LISTEN:
Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" (demo version)
Video The Thermals Visit the Stock Market
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 8:30 AM
The Thermals put on their church clothes and enter the world of high finance in this Daytripping video for P4K. But before they can set foot inside the NYSE, and make their "initial public offering," the band needs to go shopping—cue clothing montage set to their music—and make the commute to Wall Street. It's a pretty entertaining clip, but then again I could stare at Hutch's home movies and be wildly entertained.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tonight! Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int’l - Tonight!
Posted by Matt Caldwell on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Tonight, new world African music is coming to Mississippi Studios.
Chicago’s Occidental Brothers Dance Band International performs classic Central and West African dance music—specializing in Highlife, Rumba, Dry Guitar, and other delights from the great continent. And if that wasn't enough, you can catch local rising stars Jared Mees & the Grown Children as openers.
LISTEN:
Occidental Brothers Dance Band International - "Circle Circle Circle"
Tonight! The Woods (Sort Of) Opens Tonight
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 12:12 PM
PRELUDE TO THE WOODS: PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, WEINLAND, BRITTAIN ASHFORD, LOCH LOMOND , NICK JAINA
(The Woods, 6637 SE Milwaukie) The only venue in town that could possibly boast of once housing the ashes of our dead grandparents, the Woods kicks open its doors tonight for a sneak peek. The longtime Southeast funeral home has been lovingly converted into a venue/bar, care of its new owners, Vivien Lyon and Loch Lomond's Ritchie Young. The pair offered us a sneak peek last month, and the space—which was still early in the reconstruction process—was a beautiful and airy building with absolutely limitless potential. Tonight will be more a fundraising preview than a proper housewarming—look for that around early August—where your sliding scale admission ($20-40) will get you an evening of art, booze, snacks, and lovely sounds from the Timberlake-obsessed Portland Cello Project (and more). Please leave your proton packs at home; despite its previous incarnation, there is nothing haunting the Woods. EAC
Also, in honor of the fallen pop soldier, the Portland Cello Project will be taking on some Michael Jackson material with some surprise vocalists, and even talk of a flash choir.
No, La Toya is not the surprise vocalist.
Let's Talk About... What Was the Best (Rock) Soundtrack of the '90s?
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Fri, Jun 26, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Touching on a topic that us dorky End Hits'ers constantly argue about during lunch: what was the greatest rock soundtrack of the '90s? Keep in mind, we're looking for '90s rock music here—no period soundtracks (Pulp Fiction, Swingers), hiphop (sorry, Menace II Society), or the The Bodyguard soundtrack, which you still own on cassette.
But before you yell out "Judgment Night! Judgment Night! For the love of God, Judgment Night!" keep in mind all the other worthy soundtracks out there: Trainspotting, Good Will Hunting, Singles, The Crow, Great Expectations, Romeo + Juliet, Batman Forever, The Craft, Clueless, Magnolia, Reality Bites (yay, Lisa Loeb), and, of course, Angus.
The long-forgotten film that you never saw—which stared a fat kid and that one girl—boats a surprisingly solid soundtrack. Angus has it all: one of the best Green Day songs ("J.A.R."), pop-punk from Pansy Division, Tilt, Dance Hall Crashers, a pair of songs from Ash, and one of the finest b-side Weezer tracks, "You Gave Your Love To Me Softly." The lone offender being a Westerberg—or Pirner—copying rock song courtesy of the hair farmers in the Goo Goo Dolls. And, to be honest, even that song is pretty decent.
Your pick?
LISTEN:
Weezer - "You Gave Your Love To Me Softly"
Thursday, June 25, 2009
R.I.P. The King Is Dead. Long Live the King.
Posted by Erik Henriksen on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 3:22 PM
UPDATE, 3:25 pm: The LA Times has confirmed Jackson's death.
The Times is still saying that Michael Jackson has only been hospitalized, but TMZ's claiming he's officially dead. (As Ezra points out below, it'd be good to get some official confirmation on this from somebody that's not TMZ.)
Kind of weirdly, and kind of naturally, the Mercury offices are unexpectedly affected by the news. Everyone's kind of in shock. Patrick Coleman's muttering "I don't know what to do...", and I can't tell if he's being genuine or ironic, and Matt Davis, who was on a donut run at Voodoo when the TMZ story went up, called me to tell me the news. "Did you know Michael Jackson just died?" he said. "The owner of Voodoo just turned the music down and yelled it throughout the shop."
I'm just gonna spend the rest of the day here, if that's cool with everybody.
R.I.P. Michael Jackson, R.I.P.
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Wow.
I guess Sky Saxon's passing isn't the big music death of the day. The brilliant, and troubled, ride of Michael Jackson has come to an end. According to TMZ, Jackson suffered a heart attack while in Los Angeles and passed away shortly after being rushed to a hospital. He was 50 years old.
P.S. I hate trusting TMZ as a source, so we will confirm this once we hear it from someplace more reputable. No, Perez Hilton doesn't count.
3:21 Update:
"CNN sources now say that Michael Jackson is in a coma"
3:25 Update:
CNN: "Both the Los Angeles Times and CBS News is reporting that Michael Jackson has died"
R.I.P. Sky Saxon, R.I.P.
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Man, this sucks. I was thinking about former Seeds' frontman Sky Saxon—who just seemed invincible—this morning, when news of his hospitalization spread. But then he appeared on Twitter:
anybody out there? blood pressure dropping .... please pray love light circle encircling sky with white love light .... YaHoWha!!!!!
Wait, did he Twitter his own death? Has it come to this? Christ.
Saxon was the real deal, a bombastic, livewire of a singer that fronted a severely underrated band. When I first moved to Portland, my father—who did the photography on the Raw & Alive: The Seeds in Concert at Merlin's Music Box album—made it a point of purchasing the band's self-titled record from Jackpot! and demanded that I listen to it the second I got home. I also saw Saxon—backed by some young ringers—when he was at Mt. Tabor a few years back supporting Strawberry Alarm Clock. He'll be missed.
LISTEN:
The Seeds - "Pushin' Too Hard"
Live Review / Photography David Byrne - Live at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 06/23/09
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 7:59 AM
Text by Ned Lannamann | Photos by Minh Tran
Now THAT'S what I call a show.
David Byrne filled the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Tuesday night for a show that celebrated his various collaborations over the years with producer/oblique strategist Brian Eno—who himself was nowhere in the building, but didn't need to be. Byrne has worked with Eno so many times that the concert functioned as a nearly complete overview of Byrne's career, whether it be the landmark albums with Talking Heads, or My Life With the Bush of Ghosts, or their newest collaboration, last year's surprisingly good Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
News Buy Elliott Smith's Whip (For Charity)
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 4:29 PM
Why walk down Alameda, when you can drive?
According to Kill Rock Stars, it seems that Elliott Smith's 1999 VW Passat is for sale, with the proceeds benefiting Austin's SIMS Foundation. I'm no Kelley Blue Book—I'm not?—but $4k seems like a pretty good deal for that car.
Road trip!
Live Review End Hits Concert Challenge #2: Matisyahu at the Crystal Ballroom, 06/24/09
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 3:54 PM
EDITOR'S NOTE: Dearest End Hits Readers: We take our show-going duties very seriously here. But sometimes we like to mix things up and combine our two true loves in this world: live music and illegal gambling. That was the initial motivation behind The End Hits Concert Challenge, where upon losing a bet, a blogger of ours will be annexed at a show (of someone else's choosing). Also, they must partake in this activity sober, alone, and stay for the entire show. Plus, the added salt to the wound comes in the form of a 500-word review to be published here.
Yes, it's cruel, but much like the firm hand of discipline we all longingly crave, these concert challenges keep our staff sharp and alert. It also makes us afraid to bet on anything. In the coming weeks and months, we'll all partake in a series of these dares, but for now, enjoy our second post of The End Hits Concert Challenge.
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I thought this would be easy. Lose a bet, go to a shitty show, review it. Five hundred words. Fine—worth the risk.
Not so. Matisyahu, the Jewish reggae-rapper is one of the worst concerts I've experienced in my life. The kind of thing that re-assures you there is no justice in the world.
It started slightly better than it ended—with Somalian rapper K'Naan and a photo pass. Both would run their course.
When K'naan emerged with a full band, I thought, 'hey, cool, this will make things more interesting.' Again, not so. Save for a few African-tinged polyrythms, K'naan's backing band, mostly Philadelphian, strayed more into vapid rap rock and that hiphop drummer syndrome of overplaying fills.
From my notes: "Remarkable how long it took K'Naan to re-appropriate the worst parts of American culture—rap rock." Don't call me a rockist. Dude would've been better off with turntables or a sampler or something—anything but a guitarist sporting a Rock Band video game hat.
News / MP3 Explode into Colors in XLR8R
Posted by Andrew Stout on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 1:12 PM
And check out the combustible track, "Paper (Hot Sax Version)"—which contains your entire summer's quota of gated-reverb in a compact 2:39. For clarification's sake: that's a good thing! Definitely an upgrade from the EiC basement demos circulating since last summer.
LISTEN:
"Paper (Hot Sax Version)" by Explode into Colors
Contest Win Tickets to the Flaming Lips and Built to Spill!
Posted by Ezra Caraeff on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 at 8:12 AM
It seems like we were just talking about this show—oh yeah, we were—and now here we are, giving away a pair of tickets to see the Flaming Lips and Built to Spill, performing on Thursday, August 20th at Edgefield.
There will be giant hamster balls, aliens, people in furry costumes... and that's just at your mom's house before the show.
Um, anyway, the Flaming Lips are probably the single greatest live band on this planet—or Mars—as Wayne Coyne and pals have cemented their legacy as one of the most inventive, and just plain fun, musical acts around. (Plus, little known fact, Built to Spill's Doug Martsch has been continually guitar soloing since 1993.)
To win these tickets, just comment below on why you think you deserve to attend this show. Get creative, beg and plead, talk about the band's 90210 performance ("I don't usually like alternative music, but those guys rock!"), or whatever you see fit. The top comment by Thursday at 5pm will be the proud owner of a pair of tickets.
And just in case you fail to win this contest, you can beat the on-sale rush by clicking on this very special pre-sale link this Friday at 10am (the password is MCMENAMINS). The pre-sale will end at 5pm that day, but all online orders will receive "a digital bundle of three songs from the upcoming album, three b-sides, and the live Edgefield show." Yay.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Let's Talk About... PRACTICE!?
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 4:35 PM
You might call this a joke, or just a little warm-up to Draft Day, but I call it an exhibit against those who throw around the term "rockist" in a derogatory fashion.
Face Painter- Hand Painted Tattoos
I am looking for face painting gigs for children's and adult events/parties.I use high quality, vegan stage make-up. Super efficient and friendly. (15+ paintings in 1 hour)
Band of the Week
JonnyX and the Groadies
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