Sunday Night Cinema: Jesus Christ Superstar, David Bowie, Louise Quinn & Kid Loco

Heaven On Their Minds:
For Easter, rock opera classic featuring the snappiest of jumpsuits. There is nothing not to love. 


The Stars Are Out Tonight:
With David Bowie, Tilda Swinton and Andre Pejić all in one place, the song doesn't even need to be good. But it is, of course.



Oh Jackie:This collaboration between Louise Quinn (of A Band Called Quinn) and Kid Loco was up for the Scottish Short Film Award at last month's Glasgow Short Film Festival.

I'm Sorry I Was Gone; Allow Me to Give You a Boner

There are a multitude of reasons that someone might take a break from writing their amateur, low-to-medium traffic music blog. Some are good, some less so, but none of them are laziness.


Initially, mine was a few of life's shittiest scenarios occurring in very rapid succession. Sort of a one-two(-three) combination that k.o.'d me, if only temporarily. For at least a little while it left me utterly uninspired to pay attention to anything as simple and pleasant as an amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. These things do happen.


Soon afterward, it became a more typical case of everything that is adult in life consuming my waking hours and using up the best of my mental faculties.  For at least a little while it left me utterly unable to donate any attention to something as recreational and unpaid as an amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. These things happen, too.


Finally, I found myself caught up in some folly with no function beyond its bizarre culmination in a lost weekend in Montreal. But, for at least a little while, it did lure my attention from anything as personal and enjoyable as an amateur low-to-medium-traffic music blog. For the record, it's only this last one I'm sorry for.


These last three weeks, however, my distractions have been more of the "putting-food*-in-my-stomach-and-a-roof-over-my-head" variety.  You see, as an indirect result of all of the above, and in my typical "because-I-suddenly-thought-of-it" fashion, I've moved from Moscow to Toronto and have had to acclimatize myself.  The natives are very friendly and rarely bite, and my new flat is situated amid lots of good venues in the centre of Canada's largest city. And this should be nothing but beneficial to any amateur, low-to-medium-traffic music blog. You can expect more about live shows, better access to musicians, and photos not culled from flickr. Other than that, I hope to get everything back to normal around here. 


All the e-mails and messages regarding my absence were greatly appreciated. Thanks for sticking around. I owe you one.  


And in that vein, I think you should watch Slow from Twin Shadow. It's not new in the slightest, but I saw him live a couple weeks ago and he had so much raw charisma that pretty much everyone in the joint had a hard on. At least musically speaking. So this should make things up, a bit:

*alcohol and other ingestible substances of questionable moral integrity.

If You Wanna Watch This, It's Alright, It's Alright...Oh God I Hate Myself

The Vaccines' new video for If You Wanna won't exactly blow you away creatively speaking, what with its straightforward shots of the band in front of bright backdrops.  But there's a kind of charm and fun in its simplicity, much like the song itself. 


Anyway it is special in that, while we've all heard that rough demo that turned so many people on last year, this is the spiffy new album-ready version. Ooh. Shiny. 


The song is great, either way, and I'm easily amused by loud noises and bright colours. So this is a win.

Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 02/03/11

• So....did some Coke bottle merchandise, eh?... Yeah, I'm sorry, but you're Daft fucking Punk, not Jar Jar Binks. You did not need to do this. (See them at Stereogum)

• "What happens when you merge a little darkness with the Pogues. Yes. Cult Of Youth is the answer." --Indie Kid vs Dance Kid.

• The Strokes' website has a to-the-second countdown clock for the new album. That's a shame. I thought they were cooler than that. What is cool? Their new video for Under the Cover of Darkness. Fell in Love with a Drummer has it.

• Neon Filler continues their cracker jack list of the top 100 indie/alternative albums of all time. This week: 80-71 (and Neutral Milk Hotel is in there).

• If you've been excited for the new Dum Dum Girls EP, Bowlegs has listened and says you're right on. Good news.

• Holyfuckingshit40000 takes a loving look back at my favourite Pavement album of all time. Yeah. I needed that.

• Because I'm having a really miserable day today. But Sam Friend writes folkish, pop-rock melodies of the kind that make you feel better. So I'm gonna go do that now. I'll be at Off The Radar if you need me.

Monday Morning Cover: Moving Right Along

Garden on a Trampoline

Moving Right Along (G.O.A.T.) by Mr. Shuffleupagus

The Original:

The Muppets

If the Liquor Commission Had Been in Paris, We Might Have Seen Local Natives Instead

This past summer, I took time off to go back home for a few months. With no job to get up for and a pretty decent savings account, life became surreal. I lounged and read for entire afternoons, took long, pointless walks, became a frequent house guest of others, and had little to no reason to behave responsibly. The latter two were especially well-combined when I spent weeks at Big Bird's flat, where he and I would have what came to be known as "WASP days." These started, of course, with mimosas as soon as we got up (which is a lot less horrifying when you consider that we could not be bothered to wake before noon). So off in the "morning" to the liquor commission, outside of which--day or night--a maniacally grinning, tattered man (best visually compared to a glue-huffing Disney hobo) busked with his guitar, playing "Ring of Fire."  Every time. (In fairness, he'd occasionally play other songs, but since his guitar was always tuned to the key of "Well-Respected Man", whatever else he played sounded like a Kinks cover of whatever it was. So it's difficult to know what those were exactly. But I assure you, "Ring of Fire" was a hearty staple.)  In addition to this talent, he also succeeded in being a raging pervert, making me relieved to have Big Bird at my side, while simultaneously adding an authentic "dodging commoners" element to the waspification of it all. 


After the LC had closed, when our WASP levels were elevated to "pick at dinner and argue about which of us is sleeping with the nanny", that well-rejected man would wander up and down the strip, past the bars and patios, singing all the while. And there, in this middle-sized city, in this middle-sized province, in the middle of the continent, he was putting on the only local Take Away Show to be had.  In this case, the beggars were the choosers, and they chose an awful lot of Johnny Cash.


Now if we'd spent the time somewhere more glamourous--like, say, Paris--Big Bird and I might have made out a little better. We could've looked up from a make-believe "BCBG day" to see Local Natives strolling the street instead. A huge step up, on every level,* and somewhere out there are Parisians much luckier than us. La Blogotheque has the video of a Paris street performance of Who Knows Who Cares and it sounds amazing, so enjoy as one of the best bands to come out of the last year (and arguably my favourite) demonstrates for the localest hobo how a Take Away Show is really done. 


Though in all fairness, I don't know how well they do Ring of Fire.

Local Natives | Who Knows Who Cares | A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.






*Though the fantastic irony that the Liquor Commission man is, in fact, one of the local Natives in my neighbourhood has not been lost on me.

Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 23/02/11

• Working to create what can only be described as an indie music canon, Neon Filler has begun their list of the top 100 indie/alternative albums of all time. This week: 90-81.

• You know what you've probably never seen? 1970's classic kids' film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory sampled to create an entire rap album then edited to make it even more of an acid-trip than it was before. Darwin Deez thinks it's time someone did that. (Tree Swingers)

• For the anglophiles who know you can never get enough cheeky British music videos: Andrew Evans Talks At You likes the new Frankie and the Heartstrings.

• As the music industry bitches and moans that things aren't fair because they're only making millions, artists search for new ways of getting things done. Listen Dammit takes a look at Broken Cities' creative and sensible distribution model for their new album Flux. Better yet, it seems to be working. Unless you're a record company, obviously, in which case this is bullshit.

• Architecture in Helsinki sounds different. Synthier, and Princier, and with crack-like powers to addict. Hyperbole has it.

• Electric Comic Book dug around a vintage record shop (in Brooklyn, of course) and came up with this early, pre-international EP from The Hives. It might not be what you expect.

• And finally, Yeasayer does a nifty cover of Crazy at Stereogum. You know, when I was about 10, my older sister bought a Cindy Crawford exercise video that prominently featured the Seal original. To this day, I can't hear that song without getting vivid images of a twenty-something Cindy Crawford doing lunges. It's like an awesome superpower.

The New Ex-Libras Video Proves that I Should Turn my Skills to Solving Crime. Musical Crime.

If a song is good--really, truly good--it sets you up at first listen with an image or feeling that takes it beyond "tune" and into the realm of "experience". From dying and coming back to life, to playing in a jug band on your grandpappy's porch, anything will do, so long as it takes you somewhere. And if that idea is strong enough, it will dominate every listen until with each play you have to close your eyes, zone out, and go to whatever place it is that song has made for itself in your head.


Recently, I got that feeling with Ex-Libra's Teenage Eyes. I made it my song of the day, noting that it was all but made for "the final credits of a film that did not end happily". 


Then the band contacted me to tell me that I am psychic.  More or less, anyway. They hooked me up with the video, a lush and lovely Edward Scissorhands-meets-Black Swan picture show, perfectly suited to the dark, tinkering melody.  I'm not going to tell you how it ends but...well I did mention that psychic thing:

Lovely.

If you liked it, The Ex-Libras can be found on their website, facebook, myspace, blog, or twitter for all your stalking needs.

And if you need me and my obviously impressive extrasensory abilities, you know where to reach me. 

Radiohead Release a Day Early. Millions Freakout. Mr Shuffleupagus Shrugs.

Radiohead announced early this week that they were going to release their new album, The King of Limbs, this Saturday, February 19th. Instead, they released it today, just because Radiohead has a long history of doing things that would typically delight fans and piss off record companies, and I've always liked that about them.


Now I know that a lot of people are excited about this, but I have a confession that no music blogger should ever make: I haven't been a huge Radiohead fan since Kid A. That's the truth, and feel free to freak the fuck out in the comments section over it. I rank their early albums among some of the greatest in my music collection, and they were beyond pivotal in my musical coming of age. But at a very clear point Radiohead got so into the "aural landscapes" that they forgot about the "melodies" we plebians might enjoy. There comes a point where you've stopped making artistic music and started making noise art, which itself is a fine idea, but I'm personally not enjoying it on a musical level. 


So I wasn't even sure I would post about the new Radiohead. I didn't want to have to verbally swoon over glitches and moans that never climax or pay off. But here I am, video in tow, giving you a rundown of my fizzled Radiohead relationship. Why? Because I like the images. And because I know you all want to see it anyway. And because I know I'm still going to listen to the whole album. And because they did that very cool early release thing for everybody. These guys are nothing if not very cool. 


My thoughts on Lotus Flower? Sounds like In Rainbows. That is all.

Monday Morning Cover: As the World Falls Down

Lights

World Falls Down (Lights Cover) by MrShuffleupagus

The Original:

David Bowie

Hanni El Khatib, Hitchhiking, and Hernias: Weekend's Here

This is the weekend I move everything I own across the third largest city on the planet by hauling it down to the street, flagging down random passing cars, and arguing with the drivers until they agree take me across town and help with my luggage for 400 rubles or less. Then I take the metro back across town and repeat  steps 1-3 until the old flat is empty. So it seems about right that the elevator is broken and I live on the 10th floor. Jive.


With all that's going on, I'm not sure about internet access these next few days. I've set some posts to a timer, but I set my alarm clock wrong at least twice a week so we'll just see how that plays out. Either way, I'll be back soon. In the meantime, here's Loved One, the new video from Hanni El Khatib who, as you alreadiy know, kicks ass.


Have a better weekend than me, all. Stay cool, hep cats.

The Video for No Room to Live is Like Dropping Acid and Watching Take On Me

I move house this weekend, so I naturally started packing today. While this might sound like the doings of a lazy procrastinator, in fact it just proves how ambitious I am, on account of how much harder I will be working around here for the rest of the week. Some Fortune 500 company really needs to scoop me up before this blogging thing takes off.


Packing or not, I did find the time to watch this video about fifteen times. It's Times New Viking's No Room to Live, a song we posted some time ago. But I'm posting it again, because I'm not sick of it yet and the new video is tops. 


According to Vimeo, each frame of  was “… printed from real video, then hand drawn, colored, or decorated and put back together.” About 40 artists participated in the project, re-rendering nearly 3,000 stills. Well worth 2:39 of your time:

Times New Viking - No Room to Live from Merge Records on Vimeo.

Saturday Night Remix: Rolling in the Deep

Adele, Rolling in the Deep 

into:

Rolling in the Deep, Jamie xx remix

Cake's New Album is Like Chicken Noodle Soup and Dextromethorphan

Some days you want to be nice to yourself. Days, say, when it feels like your lungs are filled with sauna rocks and you're wearing short shorts with wool booties to compensate for sweating that turns to chills. Days when you voluntarily knock yourself out with flu meds because trippy nightmares beat being awake. Days you might not feel like dealing with your supercool blog because thinking and typing at the same time, well that  is some mental Cirque-de-Soleil shit right there.

Hypothetical days like that. Just for instance.

But then, hypothetically, the universe might play along. Like it could put Showroom of Compassion-- Cake's first album since 2004--in your inbox. And then you'd think to yourself through a sedative haze of Theraflu and over-the-counter Russian morphine "Aw hell--Even I can do this right now."

Because has Cake ever made a serious misstep? Okay, each album might harbour a few songs worth skipping, but theirs is a distinctive, consistent, practically foolproof style. And some days--say today-- all I want is something comforting and familiar. Today I wanted the musical equivalent to my favourite old blankie, or my favourite homecooked meal. And this was that--John McCrea's half-sung vocals, cheeky lyrics, funky beats, and the occasional wailing trumpet. It's smooth and cool and makes me feel happy, like my favourite old flask of gin. 

In a healthier state, I might have found myself more disappointed, I suppose. Nearly seven years gone, they might have come back with something different. But apart from a bit of synth dabbling and a turn with a piano, it doesn't feel like they've put much effort into change. 


At the same time, after seven years away, it's just nice to hear that idiosyncratic Cake sound. There are a few duds: Got to Move springs to mind (as much as anything that meh can spring anywhere), and What's Now is Now didn't really flick me. But it's familiar in a good way, and a solidly constructed, as per usual. 

So while I'd normally give a new release a fairly detailed writeup, I can rest easy on my sick bed because it's fucking Cake. It's a Cake album. It sounds like a Cake album. It feels like a Cake album. You'll like it if you like Cake. Cake makes Cake proud.


What else can I really say?

It goes down great with a glass of dextromethorphan.




(The album doesn't drop til the 11th so no one will let me post songs, but you can listen to the first part of most tracks--including my favourite, Mustache Man--on their website. The album is also available for pre-sale there.)

Video for the first single Sick of You:

You Can Argue but You Can't Win: Mr Shuffleupagus' Favourite Albums of 2010 (Part Two)

Time for my five favourite records of 2010. I'm telling you, as much fun as it is to do, ranked lists are tough. So feel free to put anything you think I missed or any lists of your own in the comments where I can judge appreciate them.

Or if you hate me personally, just go ahead and put that in the comments. It all brings extra site hits, so I win either way.

If you missed #11-#6 you can find them here. And #5-#1 are:


#5. Local Natives, Gorilla Manor
There is not a track out of place on this album-- it has a distinct, memorable sound and is confident as hell. After all, it takes balls to go toe to toe with Talking Heads, and even more talent to come out ahead.
And those drums, man. Those driving drums make every song impossible to turn off.

#4. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

Even a couple months ago, I thought this album was only alright and never would have predicted it being on this list. But for reasons beyond me, I kept pressing play and the more I listened to it the more I wanted to listen to it. It's not that it grew on me-- it's more like I began to get it.
And yes, I know that sounds really, really pretentious.

(For personalized video go here. Type in your childhood address, watch, cry, repeat.)

#3.Beach House, Teen Dream
Back in the summer my best friend announced that "this is the most beautiful album of the year."
"It's only August," I said. "Give it a bit."
Goddamn. He was right.

(I put this up, because the "official" video is creepy as fuck.)

#2. The Black Keys, Brothers
It doesn't matter what kind of music you listen to--everyone likes the Black Keys. So if you don't like this album you must be a tone-deaf Nazi. It's the only way.

#1. The Tallest Man on Earth, The Wild Hunt
You know an album is special when you stop a conversation to find out what's playing, which is exactly what I did the first time I heard Kids on the Run. And if I owned this album in a non-digital format, it would be worn out. It's honest without being hokey, upbeat without being inane, spare but not simplistic, wistful not moping, classic not tired...and all in Kristian Matsson's trademark warble that threatens to break your heart. Every. Single. Time.

Television Tried to Kill the Video Star, Failed: The Suzan's Home

Traditional music videos are all but dead. If you hadn't figured that out yet, head to the MTV website where you will see six scheduled hours of The Hills: Thinking is Hard, and back-to-back episodes of things called I Can't Stay Thin/ I'm Addicted to Food. The Russian music channel isn't faring much better, considering I just watched a half hour of c-list celebrities playing charades.

That's not to say I'm getting nostalgic; music videos have just been rerouted to the internet where that they can now benefit from interactive technology. In the fall, there was Arcade Fire's eerily-personalised We Used to Wait.  Last week, I showed you the Team Me's retro video-game-video for Weathervanes and Chemicals. 

Now Pomp&Clout have done up Home, the first video for Japanese all-girl group The Suzan. It's an infectious, energetic whirlwind of colour and xylophones, and if you download it as an app for your iPhone or iPad you can play with the speed, position, and angle of the kaleidoscope all day. And you will do it all day. If any of you just finished getting high, I apologise in advance for the massive blow I just delivered to today's productivity level.

You can get both the video and app here.

The Suzan "Home" from Mr Goldbar on Vimeo.

If You Like: The Black Keys, The White Stripes, Iggy and the Stooges

If You Like:

-The Black Keys

-Blues-rock

-Garage rock

-Iggy and the Stooges

-Dr Dog

-The White Stripes

-Generally being badass

Try:

Hanni El Khatib

I know you're thinking "if I hear about ONE more Palestinian-Filipino one-man band, I'm leaving this blog for good." But hear me out. Because this is some balls-out thrash-garage-rock that will restore your faith in the survival of real guitar music.

LA-based Hanni El Khatib's sound pays homage to the mid-century Americana aesthetic that paved the way for rock and roll, from soulful, dark blues to Shangri-La's-ish doo-wap. This is the musical equivalent to a knife-fight at the malt shop.

Comparisons to the Black Keys and the White Stripes are numerous and inevitable. Khatib also just finished a tour opening for Florence and the Machine. And California-based music writers consistently place him on their "ones to watch" lists. So you could say that the multi-instrumentalist is receiving all the right exposure to become the next big thing in rock. But I like to think that the inherent fucking coolness of someone who makes music "written for anybody who's ever been shot or hit by a train" will do the trick on its own.

(Music available from Stones Throw.)

You Rascal You (Hanni El Khatib) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

Boss Stuff on the Interwebs: Wednesday Links 08/12/10

There's something wrong with my WiFi today. I'm looking into what the problem is, but I think it could be the fact that I live in Moscow. Once, the elevator to my 12th floor apartment broke and they didn't fix it for three weeks.

In Mother Russia, repairman calls you.

So posting may or may not be patchy. Luckily I have a list of things for you to look at:

• Prince Harry got Snoop Dogg to write a track called "Wet" for Prince William's bachelor party.  Fell In Love With a Drummer explains why I just typed a sentence that reads like an acid trip.

• I haven't heard the Greenhornes "comeback" album yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Electric Comic Book explains why you should be, too.

• I'm making mixtapes off the radio for everyone this year, but The L Magazine has some more impressive ideas for music lover-gifts.

• I looked into Gonjasufi thanks to The Devil Has the Best Tuna. Because how can you not download something labelled "Turkish Surf Music"?

• Prefix has a list of good songs to take off bad albums. Like the way I have one song off Duran Duran's Thank You. I'm not even going to tell you which one, so don't ask.

• Clicky Clicky Music Blog is really excited about the upcoming Yuck album. I'd never heard of the band before, but they make it contagious.

• End of the year means roundup lists. Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good rounds up their 25 favourite videos of the past year.  The Yeasayer video gave me a very ugly dream when it came out and I haven't been able to watch it since, but otherwise this is a swell way to waste two hours.

If You Like: Beach House, Blonde Redhead, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If You Like:

-Beach House
-Blonde Redhead
-Portishead

-Post-punk/New wave 

-Radiohead circa In Rainbows

-The Yeah Yeah Yeahs



Try:

LoveLikeFire



Though SanFrancisco-based, LoveLikeFire has a definite retro-British feel to them, with various bloggers and reviewers comparing them to everything from The Cure (kinda), to Siouxie and the Banshees (getting there), to Echo and the Bunnymen circa Porcupine (never would have thought of that one but bingo).

With rolling percussion, shimmery guitar reverb and Ann Yu's ethereal, Beth Gibbons-esque vocals, this band's dreamy-arty-post-punk revivalist sound is dead on trend, if not just ahead of the mainstream curve.

So the only question is: how is this not more popular?


From the just-released Dust:

In My Room (LoveLikeFire) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

Falling Asleep (LoveLikeFire) by Mr.Shuffleupagus

And from 2009's Tear Ourselves Away:

'Tis The Season to Make Big Corporations Give

For me, Christmas is about two things: The Muppet Christmas Carol and drinking before noon. And for many people there's the whole "helping the less fortunate" thing which, conveniently, can be done drunkenly before noon.


For the fifth year in a row, The Killers have put out a new Christmas song.  It's called Boots, the video is by Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, and it's being released for Starbucks.


Now here's the thing: I don't think this song is good at all. I don't care much for Starbucks. Brandon Flowers is wearing on my last nerve with his so-awful-you-will-tear-your-eyes-out-so-you-can-use-them-as-earplugs solo album, and I loathe Napoleon Dynamite. But for every internet view this video receives, Starbucks will donate 5¢ to (RED), a charity dedicated to lowering the HIV/AIDS birthrate to 0%. And even I'm not enough of an asshole to think that babies should die of AIDS.

So watch the video. Turn off the sound and watch it twice. Watch it 71 times and your grande mocha latte will be a tax writeoff. 


Or you can not watch it at all and do something else you enjoy, like throwing kittens at orphans, you heartless bastard.


Remember, this is for a good cause: