Sick!

Sorry for the lack of blogging over the past few days- I was on vacation in Boston and then came back in time to get a stomach flu! But I did see Iron and Wine at Schubas and Animal Collective at the House of Blues in Boston during that time, so once I'm feeling better I'll have full reports of each.

Cocker

Jarvis Cocker, with the help of his kids, has a hilarious take on the latest singles.

Radio Show Hiatus

Over the past few summers I've taken a break from the radio show to enjoy the sunshine on Monday evenings and recharge. This year, I've realized I need more than a summer to recharge; after 8+ years in college/community radio, it's become clear that I don't have the time I used to have to dedicate to a quality 2-hour show each week (part of this crazy thing called "getting older"). With the upcoming move downtown and management changes (all for the better, of course), it seemed like a good time to step back from the show for a bit. I plan on staying involved through the occasional subbing opportunity, but will take an indefinite break from the regular schedule. Still, I look forward to seeing how WLUW can grow and flourish in its new environment, and will hopefully return when I can make time to commit to the station again.

That said, I will continue on blogging, and I have some new, exciting music-related activities on the docket that I will report on as they come to fruition (oooh, suspense!). Thanks for listening!

That's a Dealbreaker Ladies

Two albums I've been enjoying of late come from a couple of emerging female artists: Bat for Lashes Two Suns and Marissa Nadler's Little Hells. Both have a darker edge that I'm loving, with Bat for Lashes offering a bigger, more theatrical sound to counter Marissa's subtler, folkier tunes. With St. Vincent's recent critical acclaim for Actor, 2009 is shaping up to be a good year for female musicians.

Best of thoughts. . . already!

It was just brought to my attention that come next year, 2010, we will officially be entering the next decade. Which means, not only will we be contending with "best albums of the year" lists this December, but also "best albums of the decade" lists. My head hurts just thinking about it! Tinymixtapes will be putting together one of its own, and apparently I need to start thinking now about what I'd include on it. What a terrifying prospect, especially considering how much my musical tastes have changed since 2000, and how little time I'll really spend with 2009's music. Yikes!

Dodos on TV

Indie-rock-in-commercials-watch: Just heard the Dodos' "Fools" on an ad for . . . Miller Chill. How quickly they rise.

Speaking of the Dodos, they had a show scheduled at Subterranean for July 25, but subsequently canceled for undetermined reasons. Sad.

Flight

Man, it's already Friday and I just realized I haven't blogged since Monday! Time is flying.

Amidst my busy week I was able to fit in a trip to the Arie Crown Theater to see Flight of the Conchords. Gapers Block reviews it here. Highlights for me: the show beginning with Jemaine and Bret coming out in cardboard robot heads singing my favorite season 2 song, "Too Many Dicks"; telling a catcaller in the audience he was "high on bong"; being joined by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (a.k.a., a guy on a cello).

Surprisingly no "Business Time", though.

Meanwhile, the Trib didn't seem too enthused. I think they're thinking about it a little too much.

Not a huge fan of the Arie Crown though. Strange how McCormick Place is really not that accessible by public transportation (just one bus from downtown), for such a huge destination. And it felt like watching a show in the stadium version of a theater, as opposed to a real theater like the Chicago Theatre or Civic Opera House.

Riots!

Pitchfork reported today about how U of Minnesota students rioted after Talib Kweli couldn't make their spring concert at the last minute due to flight problems. These pictures of the incident are amazing. So much for the Minnesota Nice. (Though it's hard to take something called "The Dinkytown Riots" seriously).

Reunion

Man, I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this to happen.

TMT Compilation

After a good two years or so of planning, Tinymixtapes has finally put out a charity compilation featuring original recordings from 11 TMT favorites. All proceeds go to the International Rescue Committee's work in Darfur. It's limited edition, so get your copy soon!

Tracklist:

Tiny Mix Tapes Vol. 1: Darfur
01. Jim O’Rourke - "Seven Stars"
02. Balroynigress - "Dress the Ship in Black"
03. WHY? - "Eskimo Snow (sock hop version)"
04. Frog Eyes - "Bushels (acoustic version)"
05. Burning Star Core - "Incurable Beauty of the Master’s Demise"
06. Xiu Xiu - "Farther On (Traditional)"
07. Mount Eerie - "Calf In Pasture"
08. Wooden Wand - "No Stranger"
09. The Flying Luttenbachers with Henry Kaiser - "Trapped in Ice"
10. nmperign - "Remote Sensing"
11. Dan Deacon - "I Have So Much to Donald"

Update: Pitchfork gives the comp some love.

Taste of Randolph

The lineup for the Taste of Randolph, this year the weekend of June 19-21, is slowly making its presence known. First up: Dr. Dog headlining on Friday, The Hold Steady headlining on Sunday.

Metronome

There's a new Chicago street fest coming our way this summer called "Metronome", to be held on Milwaukee at Armitage and Western (because not enough blocks in Wicker Park/Bucktown have a street festival in the summer! Not that I'm complaining!). From June 6-7, there will be two stages representing four genres: Punk, Rock, Folk and Electronic, each with a relevant sponsor (MP Shows, Empty Bottle, Chicago Bluegrass and Blues, and the Congress Theater, respectively). So far the Rock and Punk stage have lineups, with the Rock stage proving to be decently impressive:

8:30pm John Vanderslice
7:00pm Here We Go Magic
5:30pm Apostle of Hustle
4:00pm Kid Congo Powers
2:30pm Turbo Fruits
1:00pm Rock Plaza Central

The Metronome Celebration will benefit the Logan Square Neighborhood Coalition, which will distribute proceeds across all parts of the community through the Greater Goethe Neighborhood Association, the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce, Friends of Goethe School, Chase Elementary and a Sustainable Project Award that will help to provide a more sustainable life for area residents.

What's irritating Nicole today

Apparently Sigur Ros' "Hoppipola" is now the feel-good, uplifting trailer theme du jour. After getting thoroughly sick of what used to be my favorite track off Takk . . . from the ubiquitousness of the Slumdog Millionaire trailer over the last 6-8 months, Disney's new Earth Day movie, "Earth", also features the song wet to video of wildlife and nature running free. I can only imagine how many times I'll be seeing it between now and next Wednesday.

69 Love Songs . . . Illustrated

How fun- a group of comic artists are putting a blog together where each day they'll have an illustration/comic/short story/etc. based on one of the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs. Right now they're about 2 songs in.

And if you want to get in on the action, there are still some songs left for the taking.

Belated Junior Boys Review

The other week I was able to catch the Junior Boys at the Metro just before their latest album, Begone Dull Care, was released last week. I was looking forward to hearing the new stuff live (and am still looking forward to hearing on record if Amazon will ever get it to me, though apparently I should stop buying from them because their computer systems hate gays or something; if only Insound didn't require a $50 purchase to get free shipping!).

Anyhoo, as expected, what I heard did not disappoint, because frankly Jeremy Greenspan could sing virtually anything in his smooth, breathy voice and it would sound great. They opened with "Hazel", clearly the most single-worthy of the new stuff, and debuted probably 6-7 new tracks overall, some of which were immediately enjoyable and others that I'm looking forward to spending more time with. The energy level on stage wasn't as high as it was in the crowd however, where in front of me a 6'5" man I've seen at several dance-oriented shows bounced around the room with such joy and vigor you almost got over the fact that you were stuck behind a 6'5" man at a concert.

Opening for the Junior Boys was the hilarious Max Tundra. I'd read about him and assumed he was some sort of down-tempo electronic artist for some reason, but I was completely off base as he was this crazy little twee electro-popper that bounced around the stage with his arms flailing whenever he had the chance. He told us he was selling kosher soup with his merchandise after the show (not a joke) and wrapped up his set with some sort of electronic version of "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. Based on his (albeit very entertaining) show, I got the impression his music was a bit of a novelty and couldn't imagine what it would sound like on record, something that runs counter to all the glowing reviews he's received over time. Apparently under all that sunny twee glow there is subject matter about stealing his best friend's girlfriend, then subsequently breaking up with said girlfriend. Intriguing.

Headlines

Apparently no one at the Daily Swarm has ever read Tinymixtapes before.

Neko

A deep take on Neko Case's Middle Cyclone, an album which Amazon.com is currently holding hostage from me.

Tim Tuten

Whoa! The Hideout's Tim Tuten is going to work for the Obama Administration!

Fein Tunes

Today I discovered this awesome project by Senator Russ Feingold, endearingly called "Fein Tunes". He's asking his constituents to give him suggestions for new music to listen to as he travels around the state. His first new favorite band: Bon Iver. So much Wisconsin love I can hardly contain myself.

Out of the Loop

Man, I've missed out on a lot of great new releases over the past month as I've been out of town. Time to remedy that with a big online order:

Handsome Furs- Face Control
Neko Case- Middle Cyclone
Dan Deacon- Bromst
Marisa Nadler- Little Hells

Also looking to check out:
Bonnie Prince Billy- Beware
The Thermals- Now We Can See
Royksopp- Junior
Swan Lake- Enemy Mine

. . . but I didn't want to spend that much money at one time! Time to get fully into 2009 and see what my new favorite albums will turn out to be.