Silence Is Not Golden

By now you're likely sick of all the ads, the media coverage and the water cooler talk at the office. The election may still be more than five weeks off, but at this point most voters are feeling campaign fatigue.  Chances are pretty good you have made your mind up on the Presidency one way or the other. Maybe you've told yourself you're not thrilled with the options you have for that office or that you've become frustrated with the entire political game and you aren't sure that any of them have your best interests at heart.  These scenarios are all reasonable and understandable points of view. Guess what? You still need to get off your ass and go vote.

I know. You're wondering how I have come to the conclusion that I get to tell you what to do, right?  I don't get to "tell you", but I get to remind you that voting is not just your right, but your responsibility. You can take the coward's way out and say that not voting is as much of a political statement as voting and volunteering and working for a candidate or cause. That philosophy is partially true, because you are making a choice. But it is not a choice based on the good of the government that represents you. It's a choice based on what makes you feel good by doing nothing. Doing nothing in this sense muddles and dilutes the process of democracy.

Not voting is a defiant act that may have the best of intentions behind it, but voting is not a political act. It is a patriotic and sacred endeavor. Like it or not, this is how we have chosen to administer justice and policy in our republic for more nearly two and a half centuries. It is an imperfect system; a system which can be maddening and at times even callous, but most of the time it works. It usually works really well, actually.

Sadly, much of the time when the democratic process does fail, is because we the electorate are uninvolved. This simple lesson that you probably learned in high school civics is just as true today as it was then. No Vote = No Voice.

Before you get all high and mighty and tell me what an ass bag I am, remember that I am not telling you that you have to vote. I am reminding you that you should. You should vote because what gets decided on Nov. 6th and in virtually every election that's occurred since you turned 18, affects your life directly, no matter how slightly. The significance of the decisions we make in the polling booth are almost always of more value than the amount of time it took you to cast a ballot.

For much of our history, large groups of our citizens were denied the right to vote in this country. From minorities and women to the descendants of those who were here before European explorers arrived. For the first several elections in our nation you were required to be a white, male landowner to cast a ballot. The conditions for who is allowed to vote have changed slowly and painfully throughout the last two centuries, many times at the cost of lives. Now, for the most part, you need be 18 years of age and a legal resident to participate in this great endeavor.

The freedom which we are so frequently prideful of in our land is most brightly illuminated in our voting process. It is a freedom which comes with a body count and bloody past. It is not to be trifled with and it is not to be considered lightly. It is not designed to be a playground for base political games. If we choose to let it become something less than a great freedom and a day of celebration for our right to vote, that would be a damn shame.

So, you may choose to not vote on Nov. 6th. That is your solemn right and no one can make you go do it. Just remember that your are an integral part of this process and your voice will have an affect on our future, whether you choose to use it or not.

A Congress Of Dunces

This week, the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago City School District were able to reach an agreement that ended a strike that lasted just less than two weeks. The strike reactivated vitriol and heated debate over the issues of unions, teachers and the state of public education. Finally, after the smoke cleared, the two sides were able to reach an amicable agreement based on compromise that returned more than 350,000 children to the classroom.

Much of the debate against the teachers had to do with poor performance, a lack of clear results based on test scores and the antiquated maxim that teachers get their summers off and leave work everyday at 3:00 pm. This is an issue I have spoken on before, but more than wanting to defend the noble profession of teaching I was actually reminded of another group of employees that work fewer days, with lesser results that are severely over-compensated and require no union to negotiate on their behalf. I am talking of course, about the Unites States Congress.

The second session of the 112th Congress came back to work on September 10, 2012 after their annual five week summer break. They worked all five days that week, and then returned to session the next week to work three days. Now, they're going on break again until after the Nov. 6 election. Yep, you read that right. They took a five week break, came back to work a blazing eight days in two weeks and then hit the road again for six weeks. This means, that in a twelve week period, our legislators have actually been on the job for eight days.

Certainly by now you're thinking, "Well they have to run for office." Does your job allow you to vote on when you'll be taking time off for a round of interviews to get a promotion or schmooze to keep your job? Mine sure as hell does not. And even if the typical election year schedule does allow for time for campaigning, it's imperative to remember two very fundamental points. First, maybe if you need time to campaign to keep your job, you should shorten your break in a summer there is an election. Second, you are being paid to legislate and not to win over voters.

In fact, thus far in 2012 Congress has been in actual legislative session just 111 days. As a direct contrast, the average school teacher spends about 180 days in the classroom. Sure, the congressman needs to have time to campaign and spend time in his district in much the same way that a teacher must obtain advanced degrees, plan lessons, correct homework and attend meetings, conferences and extra curricular events. After the election is done, there are likely to be only 20 - 25 days of legislative session time before the end of the year. Meaning that at best, congress will come up at least 35 days short of the average school teacher.

The average salary for a public school teacher in this country is somewhere near $44,000. Teachers in Chicago weren't even negotiating about money as much issues like the length of school day, tenure, the affect of test scores on promotion and retention and of course benefits like health care and pensions.

Meanwhile, the average congressional member receives around $174,000 per year. That works out to an average salary of about four times a teacher, while working seven fewer weeks a year. But it doesn't stop there. Congressional members also receive a very generous benefits package including lifelong pensions guaranteeing them a full salary for life and the very best health care money can buy.

So, we must be getting great results from spending so much money on these illustrious national leaders. Well, that is not how it appears to the average observer. Several recent polls show an approval rating for Congress at somewhere around 10%. In other words, 9 of every 10 Americans think they're doing a poor job at running our country. Gridlock rules the day and the blame game is more rampant than at any time in modern history.

Some pundits have even speculated that the reason for the lengthy absence prior to the election is the simple political fact that no one will compromise enough to pass legislation because it may give the other party some sort of political capital. They're refusing to work together, so they just won't work at all.

The Chicago teachers have returned to the classroom to help children learn and to help them grow to become members of a productive society. Perhaps those students will become productive as long as they aren't taught to run for Congress.

My Freeloading Ways

In the hours since the first appearance of the now infamous video of Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney speaking candidly about his campaign and economic viewpoint at a Boca Raton fundraiser last May, pundits and strategists have been calculating the political damage and assessing the fallout. Even conservative columnists like David Brooks have taken Mr. Romney for being completely out of touch with the electorate.

In terms of how this affects Romney's chances of winning will take weeks to play out. In the immediate aftermath of these incendiary, and deeply cynical statements I have attained a crystallization as to why I find the tactics of the right so appalling and out of touch with my own view on life.

I paid no federal income taxes for the year 2011. Therefore in Mitt Romney's eyes I am a free-loader sucking at the teat of big government. According to his Orwellian vision of a failed America, I have no ambition, no work ethic and no desire to better myself or to take responsibility for my life. Mr. Romney, while I respect your right to your own ideas and the right to free speech, let me show what my life is really like and perhaps in that example you may begin to see why I am offended by your short sighted and bigoted policy views and why you will not get my vote this November.

For the last several years of my life I have co-owned my own small business. During that time I have purchased a building, paid to have it renovated and paid annual property taxes. Obviously, our business has hired employees, paid unemployment taxes, federal payroll taxes, state withholding taxes and made employee contributions to retirement accounts and paid for our own health insurance policies. We pay these bills on time and in full and are always in good stead on our accounts.

At the end of 2008, my wife graduated with a bachelor's degree after quitting her job and focusing again on her education. Upon completion of her degree, she was not only unable to attain a job in her field of study, she was unable to attain any job at all. Yet, her student loan bills still came due and a crumbling economy had nothing to offer our family. Still, she helped at our business and four years later is waiting for that opportunity to garner full time employment.

As a family with two children and an unemployed wife, our family manages to get by on what I make for a living. However, after Earned Income Credits, deductions for our kids and mortgage and various other factors, our final income tax bill is zero.

So you'll pardon me sir, if I do not share your view that because we borrowed federal funds to send my wife to school and because we pay no federal income tax that we are irresponsible and unmotivated. I work very hard to run my business. My wife gave up a job to return to school and build a better life for our family and we wound up worse off than before, but we're not complaining to anyone or waiting for a handout. My kids have access to a special health program run by the state that affords the two of them excellent medical care for a very low rate. We take advantage of this because it is in the best interest of our children and their future. I would imagine that if you found yourself in the same situation, you would do the same thing.

Perhaps this is a large part of why you misunderstand the average American so terribly. Because you have been privileged to grow up with means, it's likely that you lack a real world understanding of families like ours who have taken advantage of government help. Maybe, you do understand my situation and still think me a freeloader. Or, it could be, that you don't really mean what you said and you just keep the saying the wrong kinds of things the wrong way. I don't know.

What I do know is that in you I see a man bereft of compassion and empathy for a group of people who need help. Working families, starving families, sick families and hopeless families. If you are elected President, these people will be your constituents as well and I would very much like to believe that you will look out for their best interest and that you will enact policy to help them make their lives better. Your actions and your words betray that you will not do that. You will treat them like lepers and hangers on who are just dragging the system down.

The 47% you so blatantly chided in your speech are not a drag on our system Mr. Romney. They are our system. They are social security recipients, student loan holders, veterans, business owners, the working poor, the unemployed and the lower middle class fighting to get to the next rung on the ladder.  In a way, we are the 21st century's poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We may not be of import to you and you may look down at us with scornful indignation, but I can promise that our family will be at the front of the line on election day to ensure that you don't get an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. Because it would irresponsible of me to let a man like you be the President of the United States.

Heavy Rotation - Sept. 7, 2012

After a six month hiatus and a lazy summer, the Heavy Rotation column is back. Let's roll . . .

In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, presenting the Sept. 7th installment Heavy Rotation:

Elliott Smith | An Introduction To . . .
Kill Rock Stars | 2010

Seven years after the untimely death of Elliott Smith his complete catalogue was reissued on vinyl along with this primer designed to court a new generation of fans. The collection is an interesting melange of obvious pop gems, bedroom folk recordings and a handful of deep tracks. In essence, it is precisely what it claims to be, a great introduction to a terrific pop songwriter, not a "greatest hits" collection. For those looking to dip a toe in the waters of Mr. Smith, this LP is a great place to begin.

Of Monsters And Men | My Head Is An Animal
Universal Republic | 2011

At this point, you have probably heard the My Head Is An Animal's lead-off single, "Little Talks" at least once even if you're just soaking it up through osmosis via the teenagers in your neighborhood. I knew, as soon as I laid ears on it, it was the sort of thing my teen/tween daughters would love to bits. So, this LP has rested comfortably on our turntable far more than any other this summer.   With lots of records selected by youngsters, the repetition might get old. It hasn't happened with this one yet.

Paul Simon | Graceland
Warner Bros. | 1986

After recently spending a rainy afternoon watching an episode of VH1's Classic Album's on this record, I gave it my first full listen in several years. Graceland is one of those remarkable records that sounds as vibrant and urgent today as it did to my high school self the first time I heard it twenty five years ago. Simon has made other great records, most notably the Simon & Garfunkel records and his other "African" records have moments of beauty, but this is album is so vastly better than anything else he touched, that it's almost difficult to believe. Once you learn the story of the way the record was made - by recording jam sessions with African musicians and then bringing them back to the States to turn the sessions into songs - your jaw drops even further to the floor. It's brilliant.

Depeche Mode | 101 Live
Sire Records | 1989

There is a maxim that goes something to the effect of "you'll always have a special love for the music that you loved when you were sixteen". Depeche Mode is an object lesson in the truth of that adage. This record spun through during our family dinner the other night and even though certain songs were far too drippy with syrupy, soap opera narrative - I'm looking at you "Blasphemous Rumours" - this double LP still makes me happy. Perhaps the most alluring thing about the recording is that a live record by a synth band seems to be such a contradiction in terms. Yet, DM are at the height of their live power here and in the midst of touring some of their very best material. It's a biased love, but that's part of the attraction.

Happy 100th Birthday Woody!

Saturday, July 14, 2012 marks the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie. For nearly half of that century, 45 years to be exact, Woody has been gone; his life cut short by a pernicious nerve disorder known as Huntington's Chorea. In times like these it is usual to look back at a man, his work and his life a full 100 years after his birth, but whether we realize it or not, the spirit of Woody is with us everyday.

Of course, Guthrie is most famous for his brilliant and ubiquitous anthem, "This Land Was Made For You And Me", a song that nearly every American school child of the last six decades has grown up learning to sing. It is in many ways, more American than our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, in that it evades the Francis Scott Key bombast and jingoism to supplant a more noble idea that this coalition of states and immigrants is a humble unit and not a victorious force.

Guthrie actually penned "This Land" as a response to his intense dislike of Irving Berlin's God Bless America" which he thought to be a trite and simplistic view of our nation. Instead of creating a pastoral and bland view of America, Guthrie wrote America as he had seen it, riding its rails, hitching its roads and working its land. He wrote of natural beauty, of man made wonder and vastness and of people fighting for their very lives. In other words, he wrote the truth, and nothing but the truth. Guthrie envisioned America as a beautiful and flawed place. A land that he loved and felt he could claim ownership of, but not at the expense of a fellow human being. It was not a song about the greatness of America, but of its heart and potential. Guthrie saw what was great and that which was broken, but could some day be great and he wrote it all down and set it to music.

For many, this is the extent of the legacy of a scruffy hobo from Okemah, Oklahoma. Guthrie was a man who wrote a song that children grow up singing and he rode some railroads in the depression. Beyond that, he was just a folksinger. But to paint such a one dimensional picture of th man would be to miss the point entirely.

In so many ways, Guthrie's ability to write such an affecting song as "This Land" could only be possible through the life which he had lived. He sufered through the west Texas dust bowl as a sign painter and headed west to California without his wife and children, essentially leaving them behind. Guthrie, like the land in his song, was a flawed entity with the an innate selfishness and rambling ambition. He entertained migrant workers on a nightly radio show, he joined the Merchant Marines during World War Two and even settled in New York City after the war, a sort of Kerouacian hero who finally settled down to start a new family in the late forties.

By joining forces with the Almanac Singers, Guthrie became a direct personal influence on folk icon, Pete Seeger and his recordings during the 1940s were the architectural plans on which the folk revival of the early 1960s was built. The songs and stories of this man have become the lore of our national concept. He was a humble, meager, rambling rag top with a scratchy voice, a devious sense of humor and an insatiable case of wanderlust. Guthrie was and is a legend, a real life folk hero that is equal parts Huck Finn, Johnny Appleseed and Sal Paradise. Woody's story is the American story and this author hopes that one day his grateful nation will make his song the national anthem and put his face on a postage stamp.

Mile Marker Forty

On the morning of May 25th, I will celebrate my fortieth birthday. My inner cynic reminds me that the journey is half over. His booming voice echoes a refrain of all that there is left that I wish to accomplish and see and do and of the fleeting nature of time. The nagging sense of that inner alarm clock has kept me awake in the middle of more than a few nights in the months leading up to this moment.

Shouting amongst the chorus there is also a song of regret. A litany of moments I'd like to go back and change and of paths never taken, rivers of risks never  swum. While trying to drown out the cacophony of time's noisy march, I have looked back upon fences never mended and mistakes that haunt me still, even if only slightly.

These are the sorts of voices I am normally prone to hear; sounds of warning and emotional reminders acting in the guise of tough learned lessons for self-improvement. And yet, these are not the voices I have heard the clearest these last weeks of my thirties. Oddly, it has been a calm, and welcome voice of contentment and optimism that rings in my ears loudest when I consider the importance of this personal milestone.

My four decades of life have been filled with uncanny luck, humbling acts of generosity and the consistent kindness of many, many people. I have a wonderful wife and two beautiful children. Somehow, my kids are in the midst of growing into young adults and this July I will have been very happily married for fifteen years.  My family has been an amazing source of support and encouragement and I have a coterie of friends who I feel have given me so much more than I could have possibly given them. These relationships have left me continually humbled and appreciative for every single one of them.

I have had my fair share of creative successes. There have been a number of bands with whom I have grown as a musician and written and recorded a respectable amount of songs and albums that I still feel a great deal of pride in. There have been benefit shows for political causes and charitable endeavors.  I was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to help build a theater company from the ground up and take part in a number of very well done productions. This list may seem like a self-congratulatory resume of personal accomplishments, but in my eyes I see the people who helped me make these things a reality. From my theater contacts to my bandmates and beyond, I have had the undeniable good fortune to meet people with talent and commitment to a vision of creativity in which I could flourish. None of these are solitary accomplishments, even though it's easy to forget that.

I own a home, I co-own and run my own business, but mostly, those seem like mere possessions and I have known myself long enough now to know that I am listing these items last because the importance of them pales in comparison to the people in my life who have truly mattered. So, instead of lamenting my age, I'd rather use this occasion to recognize my own good fortune and do something that I rarely do on my own: Feel thankful. If you're reading this right now, chances are you have played at least some small part in this. Thank you. Thank you very much.

WATCH: New Bon Iver Video

Grammy winner for ahem - best new artist - Bon Iver, have unveiled a new video for their song "Towers". The beautifully shot video seems to have much in common cinematically with its predecessor, "Holocene". They both feature stunning cinematography, a great use of color and have the typical lugubrious feel of a Bon Iver project.

Believe it or not the visual narrative in the Towers video revolves around an old man and the sea. It's even an old man with a big white beard and the sea. No joke. And, while it may seem a bit trite, it's a lovely song and quite a well made video from a film making perspective. You can watch it below.


Bon Iver - Towers (Official Music Video) from Bon Iver on Vimeo.

LISTEN: Stream The New Bowerbirds LP | WATCH Short Doc

The eagerly anticipated third Bowerbirds album, The Clearing from Raleigh is slated to hit shelves on March 6th on Dead Oceans. However, the entire record is streaming online right now courtesy of Stereogum.

Back at the end of January we revealed some details about the new LP and streamed a new song from The Clearing. Now the whole record is right at the door step of your eager little ear canals.

In addition to stream of the new record, the Bowerbirds site has posted a short documentary on the making of The Clearing. Watch it below.


About "The Clearing" by Bowerbirds from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.


Bowerbirds Tour Dates:03-17 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03-21 Washington, DC – Black Cat
03-22 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
03-23 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-24 Boston, MA – Paradise
03-26 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
03-27 Toronto, Ontario – The Garrison
03-29 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
03-31 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Centre
04-03 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04-04 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04-06 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
04-07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
04-08 San Diego, CA – Casbah
04-11 Austin, TX – The Parish
04-12 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-14 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
04-15 Atlanta, GA – The Earl

LISTEN: Stream The New Andrew Bird Album "Break It Yourself"

Andrew Bird will release his newest album Break It Yourself on March 6th via Mom and Pop Records. Perhaps you even heard the first single, "Eyeoneye" when we streamed it just a few short weeks ago. Well, if your patience has waned awaiting the newest release from America's preeminent indie-pop whistler you can find something new to worry about because the kind folks over at NPR Music are streaming the whole record on their site. Writer Stephen Thompson also shares some of his initial thoughts on the record as a primer for those about to take their first listen.

Stream the record now at NPR Music

In addition to the new long-player, Bird and his band will be hitting the road this spring. Below are his upcoming American dates.

Andrew Bird Tour Dates:
03-15 Dallas, TX - Majestic Theatre
03-16 New Orleans, LA - The Howlin' Wolf
03-17 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
03-19 Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
03-20 Columbus, OH - Southern Theatre
03-22 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
03-23 Kansas City, MO - The Uptown Theater
03-24 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
04-09 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
04-10 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Vogue
04-11 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
04-13 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
04-18 Mesa, AZ - Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center
04-19 Santa Fe, NM - Lensic Performing Arts Center
04-20 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
05-03 Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer
05-04 New York, NY - Beacon Theatre
05-05 New York, NY -Beacon Theatre
05-06 Boston, MA - House of Blues
05-08 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-09 Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live
05-10 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
05-12 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre

Kraftwerk To Perform 8 Albums Live At MoMA

Legendary German techno group, Kraftwerk will be performing eight of their studio albums live this April at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The concerts will take place from April 10 through April 17 and will feature the band playing live versions of their now famous albums with the accompaniment of three dimensional video.

You can get more info and read the full story over at Slicing Up Eyeballs.

To get you in the mode, you can watch a video for "Das Model" below.

WATCH: New Video For Girls' Single, "My Ma"

San Francisco's Girls were heavily  - and justifiably - lauded for their wonderful 2011 LP, Father, Son, Holy Ghost. Now, the band have prepped a single for the track "My Ma". True Panther will release the single on May 22nd and will limit the pressing to just 1000 copies.

To celebrate the release, the band have also assembled a video for the single. The heartfelt video follows an elderly woman around as she ruminates on her former life as an actress. The footage is endearing and works very well with the narrative of the song, but at times comes off a bit creepy as the woman rehearses her faces to prove that her acting chops are still in tact. Goofy, but ultimately, effective.

In addition to the forthcoming single, Girls will also be making a live appearance on Conan on March 22. Watch the video below.

Heavy Rotation - Week Of Feb 25th

In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, presenting installment five of Heavy Rotation . . .

John Cale | Vintage Violence
Columbia Records | 1970

After leaving the Velvet Underground, John Cale wrote, what he referred to in his biography as "some very simple songs" and assembled a group of studio musicians to record Vintage Violence. The results are a wonderfully eclectic melange of styles from 60's pop (Cleo) to Nashville infused rock (Hello There) to smooth 70's rock (Gideon's Bible). While Cale would go on to make more assured records like Paris, 1919, the charming energy on this record is utterly infectious.

The Left Banke | Too
Smash Records | 1968

This second album from baroque popsters, The Left Banke would be their last for nearly twenty years. The 30 minutes of this record simply fly by as the listener is inundated with intricate arrangements and lovely harmonies populating deftly crafted pop songs. It's a wonder that The Left Banke were never a bigger hit, despite their lone charting single, "Dont Walk Away Renee". One interesting bit of trivia is that several songs on Too feature the backing vocals of a young man named Steven Tallrico who later changed his name to Steven Tyler and went on to start a band you may have heard of called Aerosmith.

Camera Obscura | My Maudlin Career
4AD | 2009

This week's theme of compact pop records continues with the fourth offering from the Scottish quintet, Camera Obscura, whose entire oeuvre is a nod to the great song craft, production and power of early and mid-sixties Motown and girl groups. Led by songwriter and frontwoman, Tracyanne Campbell,  Camera Obscura take their unabashed affection for retro-pop and create a new millennium version on that style. There are notes of orchestral pop, bright horn accompaniments and some wryly hilarious lyrics. Simply put, this record is a ton of fun and should be listened to loudly and with the windows open whenever possible.

Aretha Franklin | Aretha Now
Atlantic Records | 1968

Starting off with the iconic "Think" and rolling through a powerhouse half hour, Aretha Now is the sort of record that grabs you by the scruff of the neck in its opening bars and lets go when the needle rests at the end of side two. Aretha's pipes treat us to the best renditions of "I Say A Little Prayer" and "You Send Me" that are available to ears anywhere. There is a rollicking great time to be had with "See Saw" and of course she reminds us as only she can that "The Night Time Is The Right Time". Maybe you've heard "Respect" too often or just recently saw that video for "Pink Cadillac". If so, please just throw this LP on the deck and be reminded why Aretha Franklin is a national treasure.

Grandaddy | The Sophtware Slump
V2 | 2000

Grandaddy mastermind Jason Lytle has some pretty  obvious influences. Jeff Lynne of ELO and Neil Young seem in a way to almost coat the songwriting and production choices on The Sophtware Slump. And yet, Lytle manages to rise above this by writing about an anachronistic universe where man and technology and nature meld together in a dissolved land of confusion and blurred boundaries. This intermingling geography and a melancholy nostalgia create a canvas on which Lytle's influences seem brand new rather than rehashed. It's a bit like listening to a record made by the love child of Mr. Blue Sky, H.D. Thoreau and Steve Jobs.

Heavy Rotation - Week Of Feb. 11th

In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, presenting installment four of Heavy Rotation . . .

The Decemberists | The King Is Dead
Capitol Records | 2011

For their sixth full length album, The Decemberists were able to meld their penchant for the British Folk Revival they'd been toying with on their previous two efforts with the tight, straightforward songs with which they began their career. The King Is Dead is still filled with the detailed narratives and maudlin characters that songwriter/frontman Colin Meloy has made his stock and trade. And, by embracing a neo-country arrangement and soliciting the assistance of Gillian Welch and Peter Buck, this album is easily the most accessible and memorable of the band's entire canon.

Watch the Decemberists play the entire album live in the video below.

Le Congo Danse | Compilation
Pathe/EMI | circa 1960s

This collection of Congolese bands from the 1960s is one of the more remarkable records in my collection. French record label Pathe compiled this LP in the late 60's for the cosmopolitan Parisian set. The result, more than 40 years later is a ridiculously energetic and unique set of songs that typify their place and time. Google queries have led me to discover just how rare this collection is and how expensive it can run to get a copy for you to add to your collection. Which is too bad, because it's an absolute gem.

Arcade Fire | Neon Bible
Merge Records | 2007

Arcade Fire often seem like the perfect poster children for the indie-pop meets mega pop world. Their epic, yet utterly accessible songs forged with lush instrumentation and bravado are a masterful example of the bridge that exists between the halls of hipsterdom and the mass appeal of popular music. My kids especially enjoy this band and I've been able to use their affection for Arcade Fire to springboard them in to other musical experiences that seem pretty offbeat to most 11 and 13 year olds.

David Bowie | Hunky Dory
RCA | 1971

In Many respects, Hunky Dory seems like the first truly Bowie of David Bowie's records. The first side alone contains the legendary tracks "Changes", "Oh! You Pretty Things" and "Life On Mars". This LP was just released just a year before Bowie invented his Ziggy Stardust alter-ego and a full six years before he began his now famous collaboration with producer Brian Eno. Bowie's charm and power ooze from the vinyl, but never get in the way of the remarkable songs herein. While his first three records contain moments of greatness mixed with very average material, this seems to be the first occasion where he knocked the whole thing out of the park.

R.E.M. | Reckoning
IRS Records | 1984

What else is there to say about this masterpiece of American rock and roll? Reckoning is one of the cornerstone's of my musical upbringing and a record I have never tired of hearing. There are very few records that seem as perfect to me as this one does. This is one of those ten records I would have to take to that mythical desert island where you listen to records all day long.

The Anxiety Of Anxiety

A little less than a year ago I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. This conclusion was arrived at after I had been through a series of panic attacks that I had mistaken for asthma flare-ups. Once my doctor and I came up with a game plan, I was given some anti-anxiety meds to take on a daily basis and a prescription for Xanax to deal with panic attacks that were too much to manage with breathing techniques and other coping mechanisms.

For the first few months of this treatment plan, I felt a great deal better. Anyone who has dealt with panic attacks and anxiety is aware that often the worst parts of these episodes is the fear that arises from not knowing what is happening to your own body. The attacks are usually punctuated with feelings of dread along with physical symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain and tingling throughout the upper body. Like most sufferers my symptoms were very typical. Knowing that these actual, physical symptoms I was experiencing were mostly manifestations of my thoughts and emotions made them easier to talk myself through. But not always.

Recently, these symptoms have become more constant even though I have maintained my normal regimen of meds. The panic attacks now are often preceded or followed by exhaustion. In addition to my previous symptoms, I have become more moody and down even when I have not had outright attacks. These are hallmark signs of depression and anxiety and I am just one of millions of sufferers. Realizing this was just like having any other illness, my recent battle with depression led me to try to find a local psychologist or counselor to help me deal with these issues.

Since I have health insurance, I presumed that the best place for me to start was by calling my insurance provider to find out how much mental health coverage I had and which therapists in my area participated with their plan. After bouncing through a labyrinthine automated telephone system and waiting on hold for several minutes, I was informed that I only had mental health coverage if I was admitted to a hospital or institution. There was, as the terse response from the other end of the line explained it, "No outpatient mental health coverage on my plan."

The health insurance I purchase is from the biggest provider in my state, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. This is a non-profit insurance group that charges me more than $600 per month to cover just my wife and I. Because we own our business, I am not on a corporate plan or getting insurance from the office where my spouse works. And yes, that $600 does not even cover my two children. We get special coverage for them through a state children's insurance plan that is marvelous and is also a Blue Cross plan.

Not only is there no "outpatient mental health" coverage on my plan, but my wife and I only receive two doctor visits and a physical each year without paying a hefty co-pay based on the percentage of the cost of the visit. But, If we get sick three times in one year, there is at least some degree of coverage. In other words, if you have the flu, you can pay a part of the bill and get treated. If you have depression, anxiety and panic attacks you can pay for it on your own or you can just learn to live with it.

This is an illness that affects my family in a very real way as well. When I suffer through bouts of depression or anxiety, I am much more likely to be irritable and less likely to enjoy the scant opportunities that the four of us get for family time during a typical work week that is overfilled with commitments, distractions and long days at the office. In short, this disease is keeping me from living a full and complete life, just like any serious disease would do to my body.

Virtually the entire medical community acknowledges that mental illness is just as real as physical illnesses like cancer, diabetes or a viral infection. So, why do we allow our insurance companies to treat them like they're vastly different from each other? I do not choose to be depressed and I sure as shit don't like pulling my car over and clutching my chest in a full blown panic attack wondering if I am going to die or if I am going crazy. The illness is real and I live with it everyday, and I need to treat it. Sadly, after I have paid more than $5000 per year for sub-par coverage, I don't have a lot of extra money lying around to pay hundreds more a month for the psychological treatment I have come to require for my own happiness and well being. Certainly, there are more demure ways to phrase it, but this situation is bullshit.

This circumstance is not the first time in my life that I have felt bamboozled by the insurance industry. When our youngest daughter was just a toddler, she was hospitalized several times for asthma and our co-pays and other medical charges nearly bankrupted us, even though we had insurance at the time. Living in this day and age with no health insurance is simply a gamble our family cannot take and the coverages that are available to us as one family looking for a plan are shoddy at best. The system costs too much and provides too little in return, but there are seemingly no worthwhile alternatives.

When I hear people rail on those trying to fix the health care system I am filled with rage and rancor. If you have not lived through these circumstances and have never been pushed to the point that you felt you were going to lose everything because of an illness, there is no way to explain to you how broken the system really is. Care costs too much, insurance is merely a necessary evil and stop gap measure and the situation keeps rolling in the wrong direction.

I don't claim to have all, or even any of the answers, but I know that millions of lives are damaged by this broken system and no one truly seems interested in finding an actual way to solve the problem. Sure, there is political jockeying and election year theory, but never a comprehensive plan to get a handle on this issue that is sending people to the poor house. Hell, the only way I'll ever be able to afford to treat my illness is if it sends me to the nut house.

LOOK: Stanley Kubrick's New York Photographs

Stanley Kubrick self portrait with showgirl Rosemary Williams.

Before his days as a renowned filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick mad a name for himself as a photographer with Look Magazine. Now, the website Twisted Sifter has put together a very nice piece on Kubrick's photographic legacy by compiling some of his best images of New York city in the late 1940's.

The collection is an impressive array of New York street scenes and people that deftly capture its place and time. And, these images seem a direct connection to the visual style of Kubrick's early films like The Killing and Killer's Kiss.

You can view the article and collection on the Twisted Sifter site.

UPDATE: Perusing the web and totally by happenstance, I just stumbled upon another set of Kubrick photos over at Retronaut. This time, the collection comes from a trip Kubrick made to Chicago in 1949, working again for Look Magazine. These images are just as impressive as his New York work. 

Surviving Beach Boys To Reunite For Grammy Appearance

If you're a Beach Boys fan who has anxiously awaited the band's proposed reunion with Brian Wilson, prepare to be very excited. All of the surviving members of the seminal California band will reunite for a live performance for the first time in more than twenty years at the upcoming Grammy Awards, according to a report from Billboard Magazine.

Now, prepare to have your hopes dashed back again unless you envisioned that this long awaited reunion should include contributions from Maroon 5 and Foster The People. Yep, two bands that have - at least on the surface - jack shit to do with the Beach Boys are going to muddy the water of what otherwise has the potential to be a very interesting moment in popular music history. It seems like Brian Wilson could arrange some dope harmonies for "Pumped Up Kicks" but imagining how to incorporate the 5 Maroons is beyond comprehension right now.  You'll have to tune into the Grammys on Feb. 12 to find out for yourself.

The Beach Boys are currently working on a record slated for release later this year and will kick off a lengthy tour with the reunited lineup on April 27 in New Orleans.

WATCH: Teaser Trailer For The Bourne Legacy Revealed

Universal Pictures has revealed the initial trailer for the fourth installment of The Bourne series. Haters throughout the blogosphere have been chattering incessantly about the film since it was announced several months ago that Matt Damon would not be reprising his role in the film as Jason Bourne. Instead, Jeremy Renner stars as Aaron Cross, another recruit in the Agency's Treadstone Program.

The first look at the trailer certainly makes it look like Renner has the goods to pull this sort of thing off, and the supporting cast of Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz, and Stacy Keach seem like great counterparts to make this happen. The Bourne Legacy was written and directed by Tony Gilroy and hits theaters on August 3, 2012.

Watch the trailer below.

Paste Magazine Reveals List of 100 Greatest Movie Posters

The editors over at Paste Magazine have compiled their list of the best movie poster from each of the last 100 years at the movies. Some iconic choices like Metropolis, Sunset Boulevard and Casablanca of course made the list. But, because each year only gets one entry, there are some questionable omissions. Most obviously, how in the hell did they manage to presume that the broadsheet for Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman was better than the glorious poster for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo?

In any case, you can see the full list on the Paste Magazine site and check out the Vertigo poster below just so you know once and for all how remarkably great it is.

Shins Release Tour Dates and B-Side

As previously mentioned here before, indie darlings The Shins have a new long player called The Port Of Morrow coming out on March 20. For a few weeks now twee kids in every neighborhood across America have been rocking to the first single from the record, "Simple Song".

Now, the band have unveiled a b-side to the single, entitled "September". In addition to that joyous news, The Shins have also plotted a tour across much of the nation for the spring and early summer.

You can see a video for "September" below and find out what day James Mercer and Co. will hit your town.

The Shins Tour Dates:
April 13—Cosmopolitan/The Pool—Las Vegas, Nevada
April 22—Civic Auditorium—Santa Cruz, California
April 23—Robert Mondavi Center—Davis, California
April 25—Grand Sierra Resort & Casino—Reno, Nevada
May 25—Les Schwab Amphitheatre—Bend, Oregon
May 28—Red Butte Garden Amphitheater—Salt Lake City, Utah
May 29— Red Rocks Amphitheatre—Morrison, Colorado
May 31—Harrahs Council Bluffs—Council Bluffs, Iowa
June 4—The Pageant—St Louis, Missouri
June 5—LC Indoor Pavilion—Columbus, Ohio
June 6—Fillmore Detroit—Detroit, Michigan
June 8—Masonic Auditorium—Cleveland, Ohio
June 9—Iroquois Amphitheatre—Louisville, Kentucky


The Shins: “September” (b-side of “Simple Song” 7”) from Record Store Day on Vimeo.

Franzen vs. The E-Reader

Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, best known for his novels Freedom and The Corrections, recently spoke at a literary festival about his concern over the widespread use of e-readers like the Kindle. In his rant, he relayed his fears over the impermanence of the virtual book model.

“I think, for serious readers, a sense of permanence has always been part of the experience. Everything else in your life is fluid, but here is this text that doesn’t change. Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place. The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing - that’s reassuring."

Now, UK columnist for The Observer newspaper, Henry Porter has fired a salvo directly back at Franzen. The piece rebuts Franzen's arguments and fully endorses the idea that expanding technology does not eliminate older forms of expression. Porter also makes some great comparisons between the e-reader and its place in publishing and the art world today. You can read the full piece on The Observer's website.

The issue of technology and how it influences our culture and our behaviors is eminently fascinating and has been discussed on the virtual pages of the Sabauteur previously. This is a topic of debate that is going nowhere anytime soon.

Heavy Rotation - Week Of Feb. 3rd

In our weekly series, Heavy Rotation, I will write about the five records I have been spinning regularly over the last week. There is not an expiration date. The records included can be from any time period at all. All entries are eligible to appear for multiple weeks. In fact, repetition is likely due to the fact that while I listen to a fair amount of music, it's not as much as I'd like to make time for. Also, as some of you may know, we have a vinyl only policy around our house, so as expected, all entries on the list are being listened to via turntable.

Ladies and germs, presenting installment three of Heavy Rotation . . .

Miles Kurosky | The Desert Of Shallow Effects
Miles Kurosky for The People's Committee for the Preservation Of Sound | 2010

Miles Kurosky disbanded his brilliant band Beulah, in 2004. The demise of the band, due mostly to personal frictions and a lack of momentum, is chronicled in the wonderful film, A Good Band Is Easy To Kill. Kurosky was obviously the driving creative force behind Beulah, but personal setbacks and health problems delayed the completion of his first solo record for more than five years. The Desert Of Shallow Effects reminds us it was worth the wait. The songs are devastatingly personal and emotionally wrought, but littered with humor and playful innuendo. Kurosky is a master of using jubilant arrangements to play counterpoint to his often dour narratives.

Vampire Weekend | Contra
XL Recordings | 2010

When the first Vampire Weekend record came out, I largely ignored on the basis of their effete, trust fund Ivy League indie pop pedigree. Their self-titled debut came off like a frat boy version of Graceland and I tuned out. Then along came the second album, Contra and I realized that I had missed the boat completely. Sure, the influences are a bit cloying and the over-privileged mystique seems to have some validity, the alluring hooks of this record are undeniable.

The Housemartins | London 0, Hull 4
Go Discs! | 1986

The Housemartins are such an unabashedly British band that they named this LP after a fantasized football (soccer to the Ugly Americans) score of their hometown team scorching the big city twits from London. In 11 songs on this record, their Britishness is reinforced time and again with colloquial phrasing, that UK brand of white boy soul and some rambunctiously energetic 2 minute pop tunes. With a chip on their shoulders and the sound of a blue collar Smiths, this record sounds remarkably fresh and fun for its age.

Fruit Bats | Spelled In Bones
Sub Pop Records | 2005

Spelled In Bones marks the third record Fruit Bats effort and the most fully realized and poppy of their canon. Combining nostalgia with first person narrative and a penchant for a production style of the 70's, primary Fruit Bat, Eric Johnson crafts a world it's very easy to get lost within. The songs are warm and inviting and weave together like a beach novel.

Tom Waits | Swordfish Trombones
Island/Def Jam | 1983

This is the album where Waits made the jump from his loose lipped, piano lounge act persona to more of a musical junk-pile mentality and a step away from traditional songwriting. Even though the record is a major departure from his more straightforward work to that point, this record is filled with amazing harm, humor and nostalgia. Waits is a master of exposition and geography in his songs. Just one listen to "In The Neighborhood" will bring you back to your childhood on a warm summer's day near the house where you grew up. And it will make you smile.

Movies That Changed My Life: Raiders Of The Lost Ark

During spring break of 1981, my parents took me to Washington DC. I was nearly nine years old and elated about the trip. We saw the capitol and the White House. There were visits to the various halls of the Smithsonian and while eating at a table in front of a pizza joint, a motorcade went by with Anwar Sadat and his aides inside. Do you have any idea how exciting it is for an eight - almost nine - year old to get to see the President of Egypt in the flesh? As great as that was, and still is, the highlight of the trip would be going to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. Except that when we arrived, the dino exhibit was "Closed For Renovations".

After a full fifteen minutes of sobbing, snot-wiping and wishing it to not be so, my folks corralled me away from the gathered onlookers and took me for ice cream. Even a double scoop of chocolate chip could not heal my wounds that day. So, my parents began hatching a plan to remedy the situation later that very summer. They said that after school let out, we would take a trip to Toronto.

Now you know you're loved when your folks plan another vacation just to make up for the fact that the dinosaurs you've pined so hard for, were unseeable. I mean it's just bones and wire, but my third grade soul could accept no substitute. We soldiered happily through our remaining time in the nation's capitol and I began to fantasize about the collection of T-Rexes and Brachiosaurs that the Royal Ontario Museum had to offer.

After the school year ended my folks made good on their promise. We packed the car and headed to Canada, which from our home in Michigan's thumb, was only four or so hours away. That evening we checked in to our hotel and in the lobby I found a brochure for the Royal Ontario Museum. I pored over its contents and photos until I finally fell asleep, dreaming of running with the Stegosaurus and watching the Pterodactyls fly overhead.

We arrived the hour the museum opened and I insisted that we head for the dinosaurs first. Our tickets were handed over and guide maps were doled out and I bee-lined for the dinosaur wing. Almost immediately, I saw the sign. CLOSED FOR RENOVATION. Could this be possible? Was there some great conspiracy to prevent me from seeing the creatures of the Jurassic era? After the initial stage of denial, I moved to the second and most prolonged stage of grief for the American eight year old: Anger and Tears.

A full meltdown ensued and it was worse than the D.C. episode. My sobs and cries echoed back and forth of the marble halls of Toronto's glorious old museum. There is much of the next several hours that I have blocked out of my memory completely. It seems that we must have seen the rest of the museum, but I have no memory of it. Until our early dinner that evening at the Spaghetti Factory, I can recall virtually nothing.

After dinner, the suggestion surfaced that maybe a movie would cheer me up. I was not in the mood, but I was quickly instructed that I would not, "Sit in the hotel room feeling sorry for myself". The vacation was a family outing and we were going to see a movie.

Arriving at the theater, I saw a cartoonish poster with a series of images that included snakes, a man appearing to be in mid-scream, and a guy with a whip wearing a fancy hat. My bullshit meter went through the roof and I assumed that I was being dragged to some dumb-ass Disney thing with a couple of clever kids and an evil witch or some shit. Never mind that there were no kids anywhere on the poster. It seemed certain that I was being patronized with a sort of dreck I didn't even like anymore. The sophisticated tastes of a Midwestern nine year old were too much for my parents to handle and they just ducked into the first movie hall they could find with a "family style film" showing that night. Oh Lord, how wrong I was.

It seems certain to me now that after thirty years of consideration, in many ways I had not truly seen a film before Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Sure, I had watched lots of movies, and even enjoyed them greatly. But, this was an experience alone unto itself.

The music made the blood pump faster. Harrison Ford's charm and cool and wit made you positive he was the coolest dude on the planet. I watched Nazis and Egyptian and Gypsies fight over lost relics and talk about the Bible like a treasure map in a Robert Louis Stevenson novel and not like some boring ass Sunday school lesson. This shit can make the Bible seem interesting? I'm sold.

From the motorcycle chases to fighting natives in the jungle to wondering why it had to be snakes, and of course to that massive and unforgettable boulder, I was utterly transfixed. The memory of missed dinosaurs vanished and I was ready to trade my natural history penchant in for a pith helmet and an Archaeology workshop at a moment's notice. The misery and horror from earlier that very day had melted away in the powerful glow of a projector.

Hundreds of movies have this effect on millions of people. It is corny and trite and obvious to say that movies are transformative. That of course, is inherent in their nature. What happened to me in that theater in a country not so far away was that I noticed that power for the first time. I realized I was in the church of the cinema and I was a devout believer.

I now have children of my own and have watched Raiders with them. For them it is another movie they sort of enjoyed that their old man likes a little too much. It feels great to watch it with them and I still love it a great deal. But even with them, it can never be like that first time that night in Toronto when I was just a sad little boy hunting for dinosaurs.

Stream The New Magnetic Fields Single

Photo by Chris Buck

Stephen Merritt and his Magnetic Fields are famous for their audacious 69 Love Songs set and received even further notoriety when they were the collective subject of the recent documentary, Strange Powers chronicling Merritt's day to day life and his musical approach. Now, Merritt and Magnetic Fields are set to release their tenth album on March 6th.

Entitled Love At The Bottom Of The Sea, it marks the first Magnetic Fields release on Merge Records since the much lauded 69 Love Songs and the follow-up to 2010's Realism. The first single from the record, "Andrew In Drag", is a truly Merrtian pop song that both provokes chuckles and humming from the listener after just one spin.

You can stream the new song below and see upcoming Magnetic Fields tour dates throughout North America and Europe. There is also a track listing for Love At The Bottom Of The Sea.

The Magnetic Fields - Andrew in Drag by MergeRecords

Love at the Bottom of the Sea Track Listing:
1. God Wants Us to Wait
2. Andrew in Drag
3. Your Girlfriend's Face
4. Born For Love
5. I'd Go Anywhere with Hugh
6. Infatuation (With Your Gyration)
7. The Only Boy in Town
8. The Machine in Your Hand
9. Goin' Back to the Country
10. I've Run Away to Join the Fairies
11. The Horrible Party
12. My Husband's Pied-a-Terre
13. I Don't Like Your Tone
14. Quick!
15. All She Cares About Is Mariachi
--
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS - 2012 TOUR DATES
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 8 New York, NY Barnes and Noble
Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow's Parties
Mar 14, 15, 16 Austin, TX SXSW
Mar 18 Vancouver, BC The Vogue
Mar 19 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 20 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 21 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Mar 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
Mar 24 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Mar 26 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 28 Iowa City, IA Englert Theater
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Mar 31 Montreal, QC Le National
Apr 3 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 4 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 6 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 7 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr 11 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
Apr 12 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
Apr 13 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Apr 24 Brighton, UK Komedia
Apr 25 London, UK Royal Festival Hall
Apr 27 Manchester, UK RNCM
Apr 28 Dublin, IR Olympia
Apr 29 Cork, IR Opera House
May 1 Porto, PT Casa da Musica
May 2 Lisbon, PT Teatro Maria Matos
May 4 Murcia, ES Estrella Levante SOS 4.8
May 6 Barcelona, ES Sala Apolo
May 7 Madrid, ES Teatro Rialto
May 9 Oslo, NO Rockefeller
May 11 Gothenburg, SE Annedalskyrkan
May 12 Stockholm, SE Filadelfiakyrkan
May 14 Berlin, DE Passionskirche
May 15 Hamburg, DE Kampnagel k6
May 16 Amsterdam, NL De Duif

Hospitality Set To Release Debut LP

Tomorrow marks the official release date for the self-titled debut LP from Hospitality. Being a sucker for well-crafted and intelligent pop songs, it seemed a shame to let this occasion pass unnoticed. To celebrate, watch the video below for "Friends Of Friends". Not only is it a catchy song likely to make you run out to your local record purveyor, but it also features Alia Shakwat of Arrested Development fame. And if there is one thing we love around here more than intelligent pop songs, it's intelligent TV shows that make us laugh our asses off.

Oh, and after the new video, you can spy are a few Hospitality tour dates (imagine the puns they'll have to endure) along the eastern half of North America.


Hospitality - "Friends Of Friends" from stereogum on Vimeo.

Hospitality Tour Dates:
Feb 3 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands Gallery (Record Release Show)
Feb 25 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall (Noise Pop w/ Archers of Loaf)
Feb 26 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour w/ Archers of Loaf
Feb 29 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern w/ Tennis
Mar 2 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall w/ Tennis
Mar 3 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom w/ Tennis
Mar 7 New Haven, CT BAR
Mar 9 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 w/ Tennis
Mar 10 Atlanta, GA The Earl w/ Tennis
Mar 11 Orlando, FL Orange You Glad Festival

Stream And Download New Bowerbirds Song

Photo by D.L. Anderson

On March 6th, North Carolina's Bowerbirds will release their third full length, The Clearing on Dead Oceans. After two records filled with mostly sparse and Appalachian-esque instrumentational approach, The Clearing brings on a bigger, more fulfilled sound. Trading murder ballads for genteel pop - at least a little bit.

In addition to being the supposedly "difficult" third record, the band have also undergone a number of trials and tribulations during the writing and recording process. After the release of 2009's Upper Air, singer Beth Tacular nearly died of a mysterious illness and she and her band mate, Phil Moore have broken up and then reunited. Pretty tough circumstances under which to make a record.

Based on the first two unveiled songs, Bowerbirds sound better than ever. Below, you can find a track listing for The Clearing, catch up on the planned spring tour and stream/download a track from the new album called "In The Yard".





The Clearing Track Listing:

1. Tuck the Darkness In
2. In the Yard
3. Walk the Furrows
4. Stitch the Hem
5. This Year
6. Brave World
7. Hush
8. Overcome With Light
9. Sweet Moment
10. Death Wish
11. Now We Hurry On

Bowerbirds Tour Dates:
03-17 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03-21 Washington, DC – Black Cat
03-22 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
03-23 New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
03-24 Boston, MA – Paradise
03-26 Montreal, Quebec – La Sala Rossa
03-27 Toronto, Ontario – The Garrison
03-29 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
03-31 Minneapolis, MN – Cedar Cultural Centre
04-03 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
04-04 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
04-06 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
04-07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
04-08 San Diego, CA – Casbah
04-11 Austin, TX – The Parish
04-12 Dallas, TX – The Loft
04-14 Birmingham, AL – The Bottletree
04-15 Atlanta, GA – The Earl

Dark Shadows Pics Revealed, or Why Tim Burton Must Be Stopped

Some production stills from the Tim Burton film treatment of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp, have very recently surfaced on the intertubes, and just one image can bring on a whole bag of ughhh to the ribcage! In the first place, they've made Johnny Depp look precisely what Elliott from ET: The Extra Terrestrial would like if he had gone goth and become a recluse in a secluded New England castle. Furthermore, these images serve as a reminder of why the remake is an awful idea, why Tim Burton is a terrible filmmaker these days, and what a waste of talent it is to see Johnny Depp play these kinds of roles.

A flurry of emotions gobsmacked me across the chaw when I saw these photos. Not because of how they looked or even what they were of, but that the Dark Shadows project encapsulates so many things worth hating about Hollywood right now. So, let's get them all out before I show you the other still.

Someone needs to take Tim Burton's camera and notepads away. He's run out of original ideas and we're sick and goddamned tired of watching him filch source material only to make it worse. From Alice In Wonderland to Planet Of The Apes to Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, he's taken good things and sullied them with his deliberate weirdness and pseudo-gothic bullshit.

The Dark Shadows television program doesn't even hold any allure to me and yet I still feel like he's ruining it. There is a sense that Burton has this cadre of things he loves and wants to control, so he remakes them. Yet, this only leads to an inferior version of the thing he loved. It is sad to watch and damaging to the source material. Someone make him stop.

Johnny Depp is a very talented actor and yet he keeps palling around with Burton hoping to rekindle that Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood magic. Those are very good films, but that light has long since gone out and now one gets the sens that Depp will play out his days as Jack Sparrow in a rest home, doing the bidding of the evil Dr. Burton or, after the failure of Rum Punch, perhaps just continue making bad film adaptations of Hunter S. Thompson novels. Dude, just get back to being an actor and stop trying to be a movie star.

Finally, we get down to the whole vampire nonsense. Between this, the Underworld franchise, Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter and that Twilight Saga bullshit, the American movie making syndicate have basically created a cottage industry for fake blood purveyors and the makers of prosthetic fangs. At what point will the movie going public overload on this horseshit? It's hard to tell what teenage girls will be into next, but anything other than bloodsucking douchebags would be a wonderful reprieve for this cineaste.

Enough of my vitriol, here are some more stills.