Monthly Archives: October 2013

Watch: Jolie Holland Sing “Mexico City” & “Delia”

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When I was Editor in Chief at MOG I executive produced these videos of Jolie Holland performing “Mexico City” and “Delia.”

“Mexico City” is one of Holland’s own compositions, and the studio version appears on her album, The Living And The Dead. “Delia” is a Blind Willie McTell song that Bob Dylan also covered. Jolie’s studio version appeared as the B-side of a single released in Europe. Both are favorites of mine.

Jolie Holland has the most soulful voice. She doesn’t sound like anyone but herself. There’s so much depth, so much emotion.

Stranger Than Fiction: The Residents Continue Their Conceptual Art Project

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I hung out at the Cryptic Corporation warehouse in San Francisco back in the later half of the ’70s when The Residents recorded Eskimo. 

I’ve always appreciated the enormity of the group’s vision, and the pioneering work they did, which included a version of punk before there was “punk,” creating short films, or music videos before there were music videos, and an intent to make original art and comment on the music business, sometimes both at the same time.

So I was amused when they offered a unique Ultimate Box Set, a real refrigerator filled with 100 Residents recordings, an eyeball mask and other oddities.

This dude on the right in the photo below apparently paid $100,000 for one of the ten box sets available.

These four videos are worth watching. Check them out. The video at the bottom is a very interesting work in progress documentary on The Residents called “We Stole This Riff: a film about The Residents.”

Josephine Wiggs On The Breeders Reunion

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This past Saturday an essay by Josephine Wiggs of the Breeders on  group reunions, and the Breeders’ current reunion tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, went online at The Talkhouse, a music site I check out with some frequency.

If you’re a Breeders’ fan, you’ll want to read the essay.

Wiggs writes:

Prior to unexpectedly finding myself taking part in one, I have to admit to ambivalence — yes, even negative feelings — about the reunion tour phenomenon. After some thought I realized that this is because the word “reunion” is tainted by many unfortunate associations, perhaps especially when conjoined with the words “high school.” Anyone who knows me will not be surprised to learn that I have never been to a reunion of any kind, but their primary feature seems to be the stress of being judged by people you haven’t seen in, let’s say, 20 years, and with whom all you had in common was a) going to the same school and b) being a teenager. Worse still, when “reunion” is paired with “tour,” the Beach Boys unavoidably come to mind: a stage spectacle featuring pre-recorded vocal tracks and film footage to stand in for several now-deceased Beach Boys and an eight-piece band comprised entirely of the musician offspring of said Boys. Needless to say, all this leaves an unpleasant taste.

For more, head to The Talkhouse.

Banksy NYC Art Day #25: Strange Days Are Here Again

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Strange new artwork from Banksy today as part of his ongoing “Better Out Than In” New York street art exhibit.

Dig it, man.

If you missed my previous Banksy posts, here’s an easy way to check them out: Day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, day seven, day eight, day nine, day ten, day 11, day 12, day 13, day 14, day 15, day 16, day 17, day 18, day 19, day 20, day 21, day 22, day 23, day 24. Plus: “A Consideration Of The Politics Of Banksy’s Syria Video,” “Source For Banksy’s ‘Concrete Confessional’ Revealed,” and “Banksy Update: NYC Mayor Attacks Street Artist.”

Banksy Update #2: Art In The Late Afternoon, Well, Early Evening

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The latest form Banksy’s website is that a photo of a new artwork will go online at 6 pm EST, not 5 pm EST as he previously posted.

Is this for real? Or another Banksy art prank?

Time will tell.

Meanwhile if you have time to kill and missed my previous Banksy posts, here’s an easy way to check them out: Day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, day seven, day eight, day nine, day ten, day 11, day 12, day 13, day 14, day 15, day 16, day 17, day 18, day 19, day 20, day 21, day 22, day 23. Plus: “A Consideration Of The Politics Of Banksy’s Syria Video,” “Source For Banksy’s ‘Concrete Confessional’ Revealed,” and “Banksy Update: NYC Mayor Attacks Street Artist.”

What The? NME Compiles A Crazy Top 500 Albums List

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So here’s the thing. If you were making a list of the best 500 albums of all time, would you really include Foo Fighters? How about MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular? I mean really? Come on. Seriously?

How about Nirvana’s “Bleach”? I’m a huge Nirvana fans. But if you’re picking 500 albums and you’ve got albums by James Brown and the Rolling Stones and Radiohead and Bob Dylan and Miles Davis and John Coltrane and Billie Holiday and Prince and Johnny Cash and Sleater-Kinney and Tom Waits and the Beach Boys and Woody Guthrie and Joanna Newsom and Bob Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, and on and on, would you really include include “Bleach”? Or two Kings of Leon albums?

Or how about Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not as the 20th best of all time.

Oh well.

Here’s the Top 20:

1. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
2. The Beatles – Revolver
3. David Bowie – Hunky Dory
4. The Strokes – Is This It
5. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
6. Pulp – Different Class
7. The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
8. Pixies – Doolittle
9. The Beatles – The Beatles
10. Oasis – Definitely Maybe
11. Nirvana – Nevermind
12. Patti Smith – Horses
13. Arcade Fire – Funeral
14. David Bowie – Low
15. PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
16. Joy Division – Closer
17. Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
18. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless
19. Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
20. Radiohead – OK Computer

Check the rest here.

Thanks, Stereogum.

Listen: Stream Full Arcade Fire Album, “Reflektor,” Now

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Next Tuesday, October 29, 2013, the new Arcade Fire album will, finally, be released. There’s been quite a buildup, what with secret shows, teaser videos, a leaked track and more.

But now you can hear it. Yes. Right now. Thanks to Merge Records, here it is:

Reflektor:

Disc 1
01. Reflektor
02. We Exist
03. Flashbulb Eyes
04. Here Comes the Night Time
05. Normal Person
06. You Already Know
07. Joan of Arc

Disc 2
01. Here Comes the Night Time II
02. Awful Sound (Oh Erydice)
03. It’s Never Over (Oh Orpheus)
04. Porno
05. Afterlife
06. Supersymmetry