Thanks to my Canadian friend, to whom I owe like seven CDs (and WILL send out. I swear.), I have discovered the wonder that is the Hidden Cameras.
It happened like this:
I'm not sure when, but my Canadian friend sent me Ecce Homo by the Hidden Cameras, and when I uploaded iTuned on my newish work computer and had to redo all my music due to a crash on the previous newish work computer (faulty hard drive. let's not go there. it was depressing and i lost around 20 gigs of music) and found the stack of CDs that I had brought to work from my Canadian friend. They were mostly Canadian. Just so you know. Anyhow, I put them all on iTunes and hadn't really listened to them due to a slight obsession with a recording of a Britt Daniel (not Canadian) show and a mix CD that I made for my friend DK.
So, I had these albums on my computer, but unlistened to. Okay? Are you following this truly complex story? Hopefully so....
Fast forward about a month to Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning:
My brother gives me a rough mix of his band's (American, not Canadian) studio session at Electrical Audio. We drive around and listen to some songs. It sounds great. Steve Albini did an amazing job, of course (I have a strange obsession with Albini, FYI). We have discussions about Albini. Fun times.
Wednesday: I put the disc on my iTunes. Cleverly, I label the CD "EA Sessions: Steve Albini Mix". Well, that's not really clever on my part because that is what Drew had written on the disc, but let's pretend that it was me. I listen to the whole thing with headphones. Still sounds great. I'm pleased with it - I can only imagine how the band feels.
My iTunes is organized by album title, because that is how I like it. If I didn't have it that way, then for some reason, Stripped by Christina Aguilera does not play in the correct order. I am 100% serious as to why it is organized that way and perhaps I should not blow my snobby facade by admitting to that, but I cannot lie and now you know. So, album title sort. After EA sessions ends, I hear this little ditty come on and I'm like, "what the eff is this?" because I've not listened to it before. I look, and it is The Hidden Cameras Ecce Homo and it is great. They're Canadian.
I've been listening to that interspersed with MeP's studio sessions on and off since then and things have been good.
That is my long story.
Lessons learned:
I like Christina Aguilera.
Steve Albini is my favorite recorder.
My brother's band is good.
Canadian music is good.
The Hidden Cameras are good.
Word count.
Canadian: 9. Including that one.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
it's official...
...or something.
The news that we learned at a little cafe in NoPo has been written about in Pitchfork:
Janet Weiss Joins the Jicks.
pfft. I knew that like 25 days ago, and I'm not even with it anymore. What's with the delay Pitchfork?
":D"
The news that we learned at a little cafe in NoPo has been written about in Pitchfork:
Janet Weiss Joins the Jicks.
pfft. I knew that like 25 days ago, and I'm not even with it anymore. What's with the delay Pitchfork?
":D"
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
britt daniel, 9.9.06
britt daniel. solo. portland oregon. how could i pass this up? this, was the icing on the cake for my trip to portland, as i love spoon, love britt, and want to see him/them any chance i can (within reason). as i have friends in portland, one of whom loves spoon as much as i do, i had to be there for this. the britt show cemented my trip.
and i'm so glad i went for it.
the tracklisting of his show, from the spoon yahoo group is:
Don't Make Me a Target
Lines In The Suit
"Telephone My heart"
The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine
Stay Don't Go
"Cherry Bomb"
Metal Detektor
"Nausea" (???)
The Beast And Dragon, Adored
Anything You Want
They Never Got You
I Summon You
Everything Hits At Once
The Way We Get By
it was amazing. i'm jumping ahead, though, aren't i? we made it there around 8, when doors opened, had a quick drink, ran into someone we knew would be coming, and staked our place at the front (to the left of the stage, but managed to inch our way to the left of center for britt's set, which is both mine and my friend's preferred spot for shows. we're totally concert twins!) for the opening bands.
first, came smoosh, the tween wonders from seattle. they were okay, but i feel that if they were 20 or something, people wouldn't like them that much. there was one guy in the crowd (who must have been in his thirties? or so?) who was totally rocking out to them and singing along to every song. it made us laugh.
i think that rowan would like them. i thought that they were okay. the guy in the crowd was the best part of their set.
next came jeremy enigk or something like that - the dude from sunny day real estate. that was like a really boring bar band (less boring than viva voce, though). i was a little annoyed because they played for 1 hr, 5 minutes. at first, i was excited because i had hoped that it would mean that britt would play for 1 hr, 5 minutes. but, he didn't. he played for 45.
here's a picture. the bassist was really hilarious.
but, other than that, not that exciting.
then, britt. he said he lives in portland now (we knew that) and that he loves it there (how could he not?). he pretty much just played a solid show that was wonderful. setlist above. i really think that spoon is cemented as my number one band currently performing and recording music. no one, not even britt, will take the place of pavement. sorry, dude.
so, here are some pictures, because that is what people really want to see.
the chandelier in the crystal ballroom.
britt setting up and seeing me take his picture. oh my.
(that's my favorite)
and that is that. it was really quite an amazing show.
afterwards, i asked britt for the setlist, while he put his guitar away, and he was all, "oh, i promised it to someone else already. that girl over there" (points randomly towards the center of the stage). me: "aww, man. well, thanks!" then, he went to his guitar case, pulled out a sheet of paper, scribbled something on it and then gave it to me. it was lyrics or something? to some song? some unreleased song? and he signed "thank you, britt daniel" on the back. that was pretty cool. no high fives, but lyrics to an unknown song? i'll take that.
thx, britt! :-*
oh, and my acquaintance justin sent a link to my flickr to britt (he is actual real live friends with britt, which is pretty awesome) and britt responded:
nice ones.
thank you
nice!
and i'm so glad i went for it.
the tracklisting of his show, from the spoon yahoo group is:
Don't Make Me a Target
Lines In The Suit
"Telephone My heart"
The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine
Stay Don't Go
"Cherry Bomb"
Metal Detektor
"Nausea" (???)
The Beast And Dragon, Adored
Anything You Want
They Never Got You
I Summon You
Everything Hits At Once
The Way We Get By
it was amazing. i'm jumping ahead, though, aren't i? we made it there around 8, when doors opened, had a quick drink, ran into someone we knew would be coming, and staked our place at the front (to the left of the stage, but managed to inch our way to the left of center for britt's set, which is both mine and my friend's preferred spot for shows. we're totally concert twins!) for the opening bands.
first, came smoosh, the tween wonders from seattle. they were okay, but i feel that if they were 20 or something, people wouldn't like them that much. there was one guy in the crowd (who must have been in his thirties? or so?) who was totally rocking out to them and singing along to every song. it made us laugh.
i think that rowan would like them. i thought that they were okay. the guy in the crowd was the best part of their set.
next came jeremy enigk or something like that - the dude from sunny day real estate. that was like a really boring bar band (less boring than viva voce, though). i was a little annoyed because they played for 1 hr, 5 minutes. at first, i was excited because i had hoped that it would mean that britt would play for 1 hr, 5 minutes. but, he didn't. he played for 45.
here's a picture. the bassist was really hilarious.
but, other than that, not that exciting.
then, britt. he said he lives in portland now (we knew that) and that he loves it there (how could he not?). he pretty much just played a solid show that was wonderful. setlist above. i really think that spoon is cemented as my number one band currently performing and recording music. no one, not even britt, will take the place of pavement. sorry, dude.
so, here are some pictures, because that is what people really want to see.
the chandelier in the crystal ballroom.
britt setting up and seeing me take his picture. oh my.
(that's my favorite)
and that is that. it was really quite an amazing show.
afterwards, i asked britt for the setlist, while he put his guitar away, and he was all, "oh, i promised it to someone else already. that girl over there" (points randomly towards the center of the stage). me: "aww, man. well, thanks!" then, he went to his guitar case, pulled out a sheet of paper, scribbled something on it and then gave it to me. it was lyrics or something? to some song? some unreleased song? and he signed "thank you, britt daniel" on the back. that was pretty cool. no high fives, but lyrics to an unknown song? i'll take that.
thx, britt! :-*
oh, and my acquaintance justin sent a link to my flickr to britt (he is actual real live friends with britt, which is pretty awesome) and britt responded:
nice ones.
thank you
nice!
Monday, September 18, 2006
britt update to come
HOWEVER, in the meantime, it would be really nice if someone would tell me how to turn m4a files (iTunes) to mp3 (universal) files. yes, that would be fableeeous.
thx!
:-*
thx!
:-*
Thursday, September 14, 2006
sm/joos
as you may know, i attended this year's musicfestnw festival in portland, or. well, attended the festival is a bit of a stretch, since i only attended two shows for three artists. the experience was well worth the price of admission (or, in my case, the price of airfare).
the festival took place in various venues throughout portland and featured many prominent artists. my main ambition, however, was to see stephen malkmus, the silver jews, and britt daniel. sm and the joos were on friday night. britt was on saturday. i expected nothing short of pure awesomeness and i was not disappointed.
sm/joos
this show was highlighted in the portland mercury as a show to attend. they lauded david berman as the bob dylan of our generation (excuse any typose: i have a little child on my head) and as he and the joos never tour, it was the thing to see. i was more excited because not only would i finally get a chance to see a band that i have loved for some years, but because i would get to see stephen malkmus, whom i have loved for as long as i've had good taste, open. i assumed it would be with the jicks, but thought there was potential for another arrangement.
prior to either of those artists coming onstage, we were entertained by the trachtenburg family slideshow players, who were fun to watch. that said, though they were fun, i don't know that i would ever buy anything by them because the whole experience revolves around slides, and it probably wouldn't really make much sense to listen to their music without the accompanying pictures. the pictures make the show. overall, they were fun and i would not mind watching them again as an opening band.
the second band of the evening was a local (to portland) act, viva voce. they were lame. i could hardly understand what the singer was singing about and they were just really boring.
here is a picture anyhow, because it IS important to document - even the bad.
the highlight of the set was seeing stephen malkmus in the wings, sporting an awesome moustache.
i got in trouble by a teeny tiny (i am very tall, and so is my friend) security guard for using flash. that, too, was more interesting than their performance.
then, oh then, came stephen malkmus. as previously mentioned, we were unsure if it would be a jicks performance or if it would be a malkmus performance. it turned out to be a solo acoustic show, which was pretty amazing. he played a short set of about 45-50 minutes, but played some jicks songs, some covers, and two pavement songs (!!!)(trigger cut and lions (linden) from the watery, domestic ep). amazing. then, he pulled david berman from the silver jews up to play a song. overall, great set. if i had a tracklist or had kept one in my head, i would tell you about it. alas, i do not, so you have to deal with adjectives like "amazing!" "fantastic!" and so on.
(reunite! the original joos!)
up next were the silver jews. i was extremely excited for this, especially after seeing david berman sing onstage with malkmus. they did not disappoint! they played a long set with many of their "hits" such as pretty eyes (swooooon!), trains across the sea, a good chunk from tanglewood numbers, and some more that i'm forgetting. their performance was simply outstanding, though at times, dc's wife was a little much (i think it's his wife).
they left the stage and came back for a two song encore, in which malkmus joined them. they played "smith and jones" and "new orleans" (which i was hoping that they'd play). malkmus did interpretive singing/dancing during the set and it was pretty much the best thing i'd ever seen. ever.
when they were done, david berman went up behind malkmus and ripped open his jacket and shirt and gave malkmus a hug.
(unfortunately, i did not catch the bare-chested moment on film, but that picture captures the emotion, i'd say...)
the britt daniel review will have to wait until later. malkmus and the jews together was practically musical history and ranks up there with the first show of the pixies reunion tour as one of my most important shows of all time. it was significant. but, this is coming from a major pavement-fan, so what do i know?
the festival took place in various venues throughout portland and featured many prominent artists. my main ambition, however, was to see stephen malkmus, the silver jews, and britt daniel. sm and the joos were on friday night. britt was on saturday. i expected nothing short of pure awesomeness and i was not disappointed.
sm/joos
this show was highlighted in the portland mercury as a show to attend. they lauded david berman as the bob dylan of our generation (excuse any typose: i have a little child on my head) and as he and the joos never tour, it was the thing to see. i was more excited because not only would i finally get a chance to see a band that i have loved for some years, but because i would get to see stephen malkmus, whom i have loved for as long as i've had good taste, open. i assumed it would be with the jicks, but thought there was potential for another arrangement.
prior to either of those artists coming onstage, we were entertained by the trachtenburg family slideshow players, who were fun to watch. that said, though they were fun, i don't know that i would ever buy anything by them because the whole experience revolves around slides, and it probably wouldn't really make much sense to listen to their music without the accompanying pictures. the pictures make the show. overall, they were fun and i would not mind watching them again as an opening band.
the second band of the evening was a local (to portland) act, viva voce. they were lame. i could hardly understand what the singer was singing about and they were just really boring.
here is a picture anyhow, because it IS important to document - even the bad.
the highlight of the set was seeing stephen malkmus in the wings, sporting an awesome moustache.
i got in trouble by a teeny tiny (i am very tall, and so is my friend) security guard for using flash. that, too, was more interesting than their performance.
then, oh then, came stephen malkmus. as previously mentioned, we were unsure if it would be a jicks performance or if it would be a malkmus performance. it turned out to be a solo acoustic show, which was pretty amazing. he played a short set of about 45-50 minutes, but played some jicks songs, some covers, and two pavement songs (!!!)(trigger cut and lions (linden) from the watery, domestic ep). amazing. then, he pulled david berman from the silver jews up to play a song. overall, great set. if i had a tracklist or had kept one in my head, i would tell you about it. alas, i do not, so you have to deal with adjectives like "amazing!" "fantastic!" and so on.
(reunite! the original joos!)
up next were the silver jews. i was extremely excited for this, especially after seeing david berman sing onstage with malkmus. they did not disappoint! they played a long set with many of their "hits" such as pretty eyes (swooooon!), trains across the sea, a good chunk from tanglewood numbers, and some more that i'm forgetting. their performance was simply outstanding, though at times, dc's wife was a little much (i think it's his wife).
they left the stage and came back for a two song encore, in which malkmus joined them. they played "smith and jones" and "new orleans" (which i was hoping that they'd play). malkmus did interpretive singing/dancing during the set and it was pretty much the best thing i'd ever seen. ever.
when they were done, david berman went up behind malkmus and ripped open his jacket and shirt and gave malkmus a hug.
(unfortunately, i did not catch the bare-chested moment on film, but that picture captures the emotion, i'd say...)
the britt daniel review will have to wait until later. malkmus and the jews together was practically musical history and ranks up there with the first show of the pixies reunion tour as one of my most important shows of all time. it was significant. but, this is coming from a major pavement-fan, so what do i know?
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
coming up....
july 29 - jolie holland
i'm excited about this. i missed her last show in town PLUS i get to see it at a venue that i walk by every single day but have yet to go to.
august 12 - bonnie prince billy
(free instore! how cool is that?!)
september 12 - shellac
steve probably wants another hug. i think my brother is more excited about this than about recording with steve a few weeks later.
i need to get back to monitoring the first ave and 400 bar website with a diligence usually reserved for work. that said, my diligence is usually reserved for work.
i'm excited about this. i missed her last show in town PLUS i get to see it at a venue that i walk by every single day but have yet to go to.
august 12 - bonnie prince billy
(free instore! how cool is that?!)
september 12 - shellac
steve probably wants another hug. i think my brother is more excited about this than about recording with steve a few weeks later.
i need to get back to monitoring the first ave and 400 bar website with a diligence usually reserved for work. that said, my diligence is usually reserved for work.
Friday, July 14, 2006
music fest
today is the day of posts.
with approximately 97% certainty, i will be attending this awesome looking festival in september.
musicfest
stephen malkmus! britt daniel (solo, no less!)! scout niblett! the silver jews!!
oh my.
it's like my dream come true.
especially the malkmus/britt bit, considering that they're my two rock star boyfriends (that don't know that i exist except maybe as the high five girl in malkmus' case). if only we could get howe and dan and others to come, too. neko? could sleater-kinney reunite JUST FOR ME? quasi?
we shall see. it should be fun and awesome and there is a 100% certainty of that.
with approximately 97% certainty, i will be attending this awesome looking festival in september.
musicfest
stephen malkmus! britt daniel (solo, no less!)! scout niblett! the silver jews!!
oh my.
it's like my dream come true.
especially the malkmus/britt bit, considering that they're my two rock star boyfriends (that don't know that i exist except maybe as the high five girl in malkmus' case). if only we could get howe and dan and others to come, too. neko? could sleater-kinney reunite JUST FOR ME? quasi?
we shall see. it should be fun and awesome and there is a 100% certainty of that.
mise en place, big v's
on july 11, 2006, minneapolis' own mise en place played their first show in some months (they had taken a break from performing to prep for an upcoming recording session with that famed producer, steve albini) at big v's in st. paul. though i am a biased listener (my brother and fake brother are two of the members), i thought that they sounded really good. not that they didn't before, but the two months off seemed to reenergize and revitalize their sound.
you can listen to their music on their myspace page, found here. and, if you are in the minneapolis area in late july, they'll be playing at the famed 400 bar (famed in my heart, mind you. IN MY HEART.) on july 27 for a mere $5.
photos from big v's.
m. forrester
drew patrick and cory rath
(i swear that i might get sick of the blurry photo look soon, but i doubt it.)
you can listen to their music on their myspace page, found here. and, if you are in the minneapolis area in late july, they'll be playing at the famed 400 bar (famed in my heart, mind you. IN MY HEART.) on july 27 for a mere $5.
photos from big v's.
m. forrester
drew patrick and cory rath
(i swear that i might get sick of the blurry photo look soon, but i doubt it.)
wizard rock revisited yet again
it would appear that i have an obsession with wizard rock. i really don't. in fact, as a genre, i have some issues with it (as evidenced by previous posts here and here), but think that harry and the potters are tops.
anyhow, they rocked the library in minneapolis this week. it was pretty awesome.
highlights include:
photographic highlights include:
there are plenty more photos available for your viewing pleasure here.
(that *should* work)
(have i ever mentioned how much i prefer a blurry concert photograph to a crisp one? it's a strange phenomenon indeed. crisp ones are good, though, for creating magnets with. just so you know.)
a side effect of the show was that my daughter, age four, who attended with me, has not stopped singing "i am a wizard" since we attended. this was four days ago. she sings it every morning in the car and every evening on the way back home. as they say, though, the proof is in the pudding, so here you go: evidence of the singing.
the new album is really fantastic. i plan on writing more about that at a later date and time, but just know that if you like music and you like harry potter and you really like good music, then you should probably check them out. they're pretty much the best thing since sliced bread.
anyhow, they rocked the library in minneapolis this week. it was pretty awesome.
highlights include:
- paul running around during voldemort can't stop the rock and rocking right in front of us in the second section of the auditorium.
- joe playing the tenor sax all around the auditorium during save ginny weasley from dean thomas.
- the megaphone during the human hosepipe. my sister and i just looked at each other and were like, "yeah!"
- hearing the new songs from the power of love for the first time, and then rocking out to the cd at home afterwards.
- overall wizard rockery goodness.
photographic highlights include:
there are plenty more photos available for your viewing pleasure here.
(that *should* work)
(have i ever mentioned how much i prefer a blurry concert photograph to a crisp one? it's a strange phenomenon indeed. crisp ones are good, though, for creating magnets with. just so you know.)
a side effect of the show was that my daughter, age four, who attended with me, has not stopped singing "i am a wizard" since we attended. this was four days ago. she sings it every morning in the car and every evening on the way back home. as they say, though, the proof is in the pudding, so here you go: evidence of the singing.
the new album is really fantastic. i plan on writing more about that at a later date and time, but just know that if you like music and you like harry potter and you really like good music, then you should probably check them out. they're pretty much the best thing since sliced bread.
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