Features “Thursday” Lake Fever Session/new De Novo Dahl
November 2, 2009
It’s been FOREVER since we heard any activity from Nashville’s art-core pop-gasm quintet De Novo Dahl, and for good reason. They were simply burned out from all the stressful touring and getting dropped from their unlikely label, Roadrunner. The loss of label support was no fault of theirs, however. From my understanding it was due to changes in personnel at the label, and the person who supported them/signed them was no longer there. No matter what happened then, I’m glad to see that Joel has kept the project alive and is bringing DND out of hibernation to release a new album in 2010 on Theory 8. Three new tracks have surfaced on their new Bandcamp page, and I suggest you go grab them now. The material is much more laid-back than anything they’ve done to date, and that’s not a bad thing. It will only cost you an email address.
In other new music news, Spoon has an album due out this coming January. It includes the track “Got Nuffin” which appeared on an EP earlier this year. Let’s hope they can keep with their record of churning out quality music album-after-album. (Via You Ain’t No Picasso)
I’ll leave you with this video gem from my good friends at Lake Fever Productions. This is the previously unreleased extra from the Lake Fever Session that The Features did a month or so ago, and features a gaggle of random fans and musicians from other Nashville bands. This is the classic Features show-closer and it will never, ever get old. Watch below and also visit Lake Fever Sessions to see the rest of the Features’ session.
JEFF Nashville pics on BV/Cash Rich
October 22, 2009
Image via Brooklyn Vegan
Local Infinity Cat flagship band JEFF the Brotherhood got some blog love from Brooklyn Vegan today, and the pics are actually from a house show they played in Nashville on Oct. 13th. Turns out their photographer Paul Birman happened to be in town that day. Their new album Heavy Days is out now. They’re also playing a plethora of shows this week/weekend in NYC for the CMJ festival.
If you read this blog there’s a good chance you’ve already seen this Nashville Cream post, but I must mention the hilarity of the comments/jokes about a new restaurant called Pitchfork in Chicago. This is the restaurant’s website, so I haven’t a clue if it has anything to do with the music website we all love to hate… but it’s hilarious nonetheless. Just make sure you read the Cream comments, and props to Dave Paulson for winning best comment/zinger on Idolator.
Speaking of the Cream, they’ve teamed up with LimeWire to create a special Nashville edition of LimeWire’s “Ear To The Ground” series. It’s got all kinds of great local goodness spanning from How I Became the Bomb to Caitlin Rose to Jensen Sportag. Best of all: it’s FREE.
And The Relatives are the latest local band to join the ranks of Theory 8 Records, and their forthcoming release (apparently yet-to-be-titled) will be a joint effort between Theory 8 and yk records, one of many side projects for local web guru Yewknee. yk will be handling the artwork and packaging, while Theory 8 handles marketing and distribution. That’s a winning combination if I’ve ever seen one. Be sure to grab their last EP Animals for free at their Bandcamp. Read the official press release here.
As if his ugly tower-mansion/bar/travesty on Love Circle wasn’t bad enough, Nashville’s greatest embarrassment, John Rich, is reproducing. The kid’s name? Cash. Not that there’s anything wrong with having Cash as a first name, but his name will be Cash Rich. I feel so sorry for that child. Maybe his middle name is something he can go by and not be hated/made fun of in school. (Via Nashvillest)
New JEFF album/next BFF/Cuddle Parties
October 13, 2009
JEFF the Brotherhood has a new album coming out today called Heavy Days. I’m gonna go buy it. You should too.
I couldn’t help but both laugh and be totally freaked out when I read about Cuddle Parties yesterday on the Tennessean website. This is simultaneously hilarious and terrifying… Adult people gathering with a group of total strangers, changing into pajamas, and laying in a big pile spooning, cuddling and massaging each other’s feet? I don’t even know what to say…. (Via Nashvillest)
The next official BFF will be going down next friday, Oct. 23rd, at Mad Donna’s again. My cohort Joseph (Fan Fiction) will unfortunately have to sit this one out because of prior birthday engagements, but I’ve recruited the help of DJ’s Potamus and Fats. Potamus has been making a name for himself opening for the likes of MSTRKRFT recently at Limelight, and Fats can be found over at the weekly Foobar event Totally DJ’s. This time around we’re instituting a miniscule $3 cover for those aged 18-20, but it’s still free for those 21+, so come out and dance next weekend! If you haven’t done so yet, please go grab my October mix for Justin Kase’s blog, Blogging Is Serious Business.
New Weezer song/Next Big Nashville
August 26, 2009
If you know me at all you know that I will always be a huge Weezer fan. Rivers Cuomo and Kurt Cobain shaped my childhood more than you can imagine. Hell, I practically learned to play guitar by learning almost every song on the “Blue album” and Pinkerton. It’s widely accepted that Weezer has been in a downward spiral post-Pinkerton. This has been a difficult pill for me to swallow, but I accept that they’ll never be what they used to be. All that being said, they have a new song streaming on their website and it doesn’t totally suck. But I said the same thing about the song “Pork & Beans” from their last effort the “Red album.” P&B is about as close as they’ll ever get to the Blue/Pinkerton-era sound, but the rest of that album was basically just as bad as Make Believe. I hope this is not the case with this next record, but at this point my philosophy for new Weezer material is “hope for the best, but expect the worst.” Seriously though, this new song “I Want You To” is worth a listen, at the very least. Stream it at their website.
Next Big Nashville is quickly approaching and it’s definitely time to buy your wristband or VIP badge. The pre-sale is already over, and ticket prices will only continue to rise as it gets closer. Go the website and order yours now! A partial lineup has been released and it includes some seriously heavy-hitters. Here are just a few:
Lucero
Jemina Pearl
David Vandervelde
Heypenny
The Protomen
American Bang
Madi Diaz
How I Became the Bomb
Howlies
Colour Revolt
The Non-Commissioned Officers
Mikky Ekko
Jeremy Lister
Phosphorescent
Cortney Tidwell
Caitlin Rose
Pico Vs Island Trees
The Clutters
The Scene had some glitches with their database, but they finally have the photobooth pics from the Nashville Cream party up. Check ’em out: Part 1 and Part 2.
It’s been a while since I mentioned Hipster Runoff. I highly recommend reading Carles’ take on the apparently resurgent trend of “sagging.”
Here’s an interesting chart showing the frequency of the most common elements/objects featured on the cover of fantasy books. Of course swords are in the lead, but I’m quite surprised that unicorns are dead last…. (Via Snarkmarket)
RIP Stacy Fleeman and Ted Kennedy.
90’s night/Jemina Pearl collabs w/ Iggy Pop
July 27, 2009
The biggest news this fine Monday is that tonight is the final night of decades cover nights sponsored by Nashville Cream at Mercy Lounge. Tonight’s theme is 90’s songs, and I’m playing drums in a hodge-podge band put together just for this show called Shit Sandwich. Don’t let the ridiculous name fool you, though. It’s gonna be awesome. As always, it’s FREE, starts at 9pm, and is 21+. You would be doing yourself a serious injustice if you didn’t come. More deets at the Cream.
While we’re on the topic of 8 off 8th, I must mention that exactly one week from today is my 3rd 8 off 8th. I’ve lined up The Comfies, Tristen, Dixie Whiskey, Pineapple Explode, Joel J. Dahl, Jug Huggers, Overzealous, and Cody Blaine & the Whole Fam Damnly for your listening pleasure. This awesome flyer was designed by my friend Cara Charlton.
Apparently Jemina Pearl has collaborated with Iggy Pop on a song for her upcoming solo album. Seriously WTF?!? I mean, she’s already collaborated with Thurston Moore on a Ramones cover, so I guess it’s not that big of leap….Free mp3 available for download at Stereogum. I’ve only listened to it once, but thus far it’s kinda meh…. He doesn’t sing any verses, just joins her on the chorus of “Oh I… I hate people…”
The first glimpses of Tron: Legacy can be seen here. The animation looks absolutely awesome, and I’m starting to think this will be a great film.
Sadly, Megan and I STILL didn’t get to see any of the movies on our current must-see list- Harry Potter, Moon, or 500 Days of Summer. (Though the last one technically doesn’t hit Nashville till this coming weekend…) ARGH.
Those Darlins in Reuters/2012 bullshit
June 22, 2009
Reuters news agency recently did a short interview with Those Darlins, Murfreesboro’s own “rough-and-tumble” all-girl alt-country trio. Their debut album is out now on vinyl in your local indie record store, and hit shelves in all other formats on July 7th. I’m proud to see these awesome ladies gaining such national attention. I’m even more proud that they are paving their own path by not signing to a major label. JT Turner and the Thirty Tigers staff have done an amazing job of managing them and timing their album release. They will be celebrating their album release this Saturday at Mercy Lounge with none other than the Black Lips. Via Nashville Cream.
My official DJ Burgers SUMMERMIXXXX 2009 is up for grabs. Download here. Tracklist:
Shoot The Mountain-Islands (Dpaul remix)
Thieves Like Us- Drugs in my Body
Evan Voytas- Getting Higher
Passion Pit- Little Secrets
Kennedy- John and Yoko
VEGA- No Reasons
Spinnerette- Sex Bomb (Adam Freeland remix)
Das Racist- Combination pizza hut/taco bell (Wallpaper remix)
Black Eyed Peas- Boom boom (Chew Fu remix)
Yuksek- Extraball (Breakbot remix)
AutoKratz- Always More (Yuksek remix)
Make girl dance- Baby baby baby
Peaches- Serpentine
Want to be totally creeped out? Go look at these images of children that have been digitally altered to make them look like talking puppets. Yea. CREEPY. Via Kottke.
This HD trailer for the upcoming Ronald Emmerich film 2012 is total eye-candy (please do watch in full screen), but the marketing for this movie really rubs me the wrong way. There is simply too much misinformation and scaremongering out there regarding the Dec. 21st, 2012 myth. I’ve always considered ridiculous disaster movies a sort of “guilty pleasure,” but this one is going a bit too far with their website/viral marketing campaign. Granted, the first thing that shows up when you Google “2012” is the actual Sony Pictures website, but this Institute for Human Continuity website that comes up when you click the middle link is just ridiculous. It’s obvious this website is meant to look as realistic as possible, with the only hint of its relation to the movie being the copyright info at the bottom of the page. And if you happen to recognize Oliver Platt in that “news feed” section. But trust me, there are plenty of extremely gullible people out there who might think this website is for real. Making an entertaining disaster movie is one thing, but intentionally misleading people is another. It’s just sad that a staggering number of Americans actually believe this hype. I’m not a scientist and I don’t have the time to do a full debunking of this hoax on this blog, so here are some good links regarding the 2012 myth:
2012 Hoax- a website dedicated to debunking the 2012 myth.
A very long, scientific explanation of why the world won’t end in 2012.
Face it, the world will not end in 2012. It’s huge scam intended to make money off people’s ignorance and gullibility.
Today Theory 8 Records released the new self-titled EP from Shoot the Mountain. So far I’ve only listened the 1st track “Invitation,” and so far so good. Actually, so far so AWESOME. I can’t wait to have time to check out the rest of it. Head on over to their Bandcamp page and purchase it for a measley $5. Yet another Nashville indie rock gem recorded and produced by Jeremy Ferguson at Battletapes.
In other release news, Those Darlins have announced the release date and album art for their debut self-titled full-length album. The vinyl version hits shelves on June 23rd, followed by those “other” formats on July 7th. They’ll be celebrating the album release on June 27th at Mercy Lounge with….. the Black Lips. Fuck yes. More details at We Own This Town.
Thank you to everyone who came out to my 8 off 8th last night. It was most definitely a success, at least as good as the last one I did. All the bands played great sets, and I was especially happy to hear some new stuff from The Nobility and Carter Administration. Mean Tambos killed it, and Ryan was really getting crazy on stage because my friend/bandmate/videographer Seth was taping the performance for their EPK. Hopefully I’ll do another one late summer/early fall. And who knows? Maybe I’ll book a full-on show.
It was really nice to have today off from work at Vandy. When you host an 8 off 8th you gotta stay till the end, and even a little after, so it was nice to be able to sleep in today. I’ve been sitting around with the doors open listening to the Lovin’ Spoonful and The Association on vinyl. It also gave me a chance to take the new kittens to the vet, where we discovered that Sebastian is actually a Sebina. But they’re in pretty good health, main concern was a little bit conjunctivitis in Sebina’s eye, which should be easy taken care of with some meds.
EcoGeek reported on an amazing new company that aims to create a Second Life-esque “video game” interface that will allow homeowners to control every energy-consuming device through a 3D animated program. The “game” uses avatars to control lights/AC/etc… So you would login and make your avatar turn down the AC, and in real-life your AC would be turned down by a computer that controls your house. Whatever you do, just don’t name your house’s computer H.A.L….
Space Shuttle Atlantis is now on its way to Hubble. They’ve completed the heat shield inspection with the shuttle’s robotic arm. There were a few dings found, but the initial opinion is that they’re very minor and not a threat. Detailed analysis is underway, however, to be certain. I’ll keep you updated daily. In the meantime, watch this kickass HD video of yesterday’s launch. If you have your computer hooked up to a sound system, I highly suggest turning the volume and bass waaaay up.
I noticed this post on Largehearted Boy today. It contains an mp3 from the Features’ latest album Some Kind of Salvation. What’s odd is it says the album is being released June 9, 2009. It also links to this Amazon.com page which says the same thing about the release. I’m confused. This album came out last fall… Did it get picked up by a label for a larger re-release? Anyone?
Here are a couple more mp3s from bands on my 8 off 8th this coming Monday. First up is The Nobility. I’ve loved this band ever since they started out as Jetpack, and they’ve evolved quite a bit since then. The Mezzanine, their debut album under the new name “The Nobility,” is my favorite of their’s to date. The songwriting and production is impeccable and lands somewhere between Elvis Costello and The Kinks. Here’s the title track from that album.
Here’s a track by Kelly Kerr & the Distractions. Kelly is an old friend and has been playing around Murfreesboro for at least 5 years now. He played in a Cure tribute band called the Lovecats… and used to have a band called Ghostflower. Then he played some solo shows as Kinky Briefcase… then it becamer Kerrific, and now it’s Kelly Kerr & the Distractions. The latest incarnation just released Whimsical In Reverse, a somewhat lo-fi approach to his quirky and intelligent songs. Here’s a fun track called “Alone (On the Makeout Couch).”
Kelly Kerr & the Distractions- Alone (On the Makeout Couch)
Not much else today, except that in his relentless effort to get his name permanently etched into history, Stephen Colbert has somehow gotten a new beetle named after him. Agaporomorphus colberti was named by Quentin Wheeler at Arizona State University and Kelly Miller at the University of New Mexico. These are the same people responsible for naming other beetles after Darth Vader and Roy Orbison. I’ll try to forget about the fact that they also named beetles after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld. Via Science Daily.
Image: Arizona State University
ISS nearly gets whacked/weekend stuff
March 13, 2009
You’ve probably already seen this by now, but the astronauts on the International Space Station had to prepare for a possible emergency evacuation yesterday as a piece of space junk flew with 3 miles of the station. It was all over by the time it hit news headlines. It did not hit, thankfully, and everything is back to normal. Apparently the debris was about 5 inches, and traveling at over 20,000 mph, and was part of spent satellite rocket motor, not a piece of the two satellites that collided a few weeks ago. The crew has a Russian Soyuz capsule constantly attached to the station that they can use as a lifeboat should they need to evacuate the ISS.
Well-known music blog Largehearted Boy mentions Nashville’s own The Non-Commissioned Officers today, and has a link to download their free EP, which is part of the soundtrack to the locally-made film Makeout With Violence, which has 3 showings at SXSW this year. (None of which I can make, unfortunately…)
Another cool link via Largehearted Boy is the Top 10 Most Overlooked Band members on Spike.com. This is probably the only thing I’ll ever read on that website, as it’s mostly geared towards douchebag bros.
It’s friday. The weekend is upon us. Here’s where I’ll be:
Tonight: King Khan & the Shrines at Exit/In. I saw KK with BBQ show back in Nov. and it was amazing. Can’t wait to see him with “big” band. There’s also a lot of other shit going down tonight. Too much to mention here.
Saturday: Superdrag album release for Industry Giants at Exit/In. The 90’s powerpopsters are back in full effect, original lineup and all!
Sunday: I’m DJing (as DJ Burgers) at the Rock Swap in East Nashville. I’m doing the “after party” segment starting at 6pm after the official events/bands are over.
New Camera Obscura/Hipster Runoff
February 10, 2009
My love for Camera Obscura is endless. You can imagine my delight when I found an email from their listserv in my inbox yesterday containing info about their brand-spanking new website and FREEEEE mp3 of the title track from the new album, My Maudlin Career. Oh thank you Tracyanne & Co. for finally giving me something new to latch onto. If this song is a good indication of what the rest of the album will sound like, then it will be everything I hoped for. This track is full of fluttering piano runs drenched in cavernous reverb that flirt with Tracyanne’s beautiful Scottish croon in the most perfect way. GET IT. LOVE IT.
Camera Obscura-My Maudlin Career
I don’t know how I missed out on Fruit Tree Music, the blog of my old college friend Jon Arnold for this long…. He does a lot of great audio production work with one of my all-time favorite electronic musicians, Matt Pusti, as well as the Protomen and many other great locals. The cool thing about it is that he posts clips from almost everything he works on. Check it out.
I’ve recently discovered the blog Hipster Runoff. Their coverage of the Grammys is priceless. Just go. Apathy and snark. Snark and apathy.
Looks like Abe decided to get a punk rock hairdo not long before his assassination. The image links to the Library of Congress’ flickr stream. Yes, the Library of Congress has a flickr. How cool is that? Via Kottke.org.
Speaking of politics, unless you’ve been living under a rock, or aren’t from TN, then you know that the TN House of Representatives has been through some turmoil lately. Well, the Republicans finally decided to kick out Kent Williams, the guy who upset their plans for Jason Mumpower to become Speaker of the House, and an extreme conservative takeover. So we now have 49 democrats, 49 republicans, and Kent Williams. It could be worse? Via Nashville Is Talking.
Now for some national political humor…. Clips taken out of context from Obama’s self-narrated audiobook version of Dreams From My Father. Via Yewknee.
Just in case you didn’t know how incredibly unhealthy soft drinks are, read this article from Mercola.com. I don’t agree with everything this guy posts… in fact some of it is a little too “conspiracy theory” for me. And he’s somewhat of an antivaxxer (people who claim that vaccines cause autism- read more about them here), which is appalling, but some of the stuff on his website is good.
Good news on the Large Hadron Collider. They expect it to be operational again in September and hopefully will start collisions in October. I really hope some ground-breaking discoveries happen as a result of this enormous and fascinating piece of technology.
steve cross loves music and science 