M. Ward : Hold Time

I feel a bit amateur-ish in admitting it, but I hadn’t heard of M. Ward (the initial stands for Matt, by the way) until I heard his take of “Rave On” on KUTFM. After some research I found out that I had actually heard him several times. In addition to his latest work with Zooey Deschanel in She & Him he’s performed with Bright Eyes, Cat Power, The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case, and Norah Jones. It’s pretty obvious that the guy works hard, so what does he have to offer his listeners on Hold Time?

Some of the songs that stand out on this record are actually covers, a detail that makes Ward’s atavistic side just a little more obvious. “Rave On” was originally written by Sonny West but is probably better known as one of Buddy Holly’s biggest hits. “Oh Lonesome Me”, which features Lucinda Williams, was originally written and recorded by Don Gibson and Chet Atkins. Even the outro, “I’m a Fool to Want You”, must predate my birth be at least a handful of years. In addition to being a prolific musician, Ward has a healthy respect for his elders and you can hear it in just about every song on this album.

“For Beginners” moves along at a quick clip, touching on some religious imagery on the way, and builds up an optimistic tone (“the kingdom is for you”). “Hold Time” is a change of pace from the rest of the album, in tempo, tone and instrumentation. It’s nostalgia swells with strings and keys while Ward remembers “the endless summer in your laugh” until he outro’s with a tasteful melody a la Marvin Gaye.

“Blake’s View” begins with a reference to a poem by William Blake (“death is just an open door, I have only slipped away into the next room”) that seems to counter any sense of pessimism in the album. My favorite moment in the record is during the pause at the fifty-nine second mark. If you listen carefully you can hear the mockingbirds he sings about (“love is just a chorus / death is just a verse / in the great song of spring / that the mockingbirds sing”).

During an interview with Melena Ryzik of the New York Times Ward says, “I know there’s great stuff out there but I don’t want to be influenced by stuff that’s going on around me. I’m more interested in consuming stuff that’s stood the test of time and the hard work of filtering has already happened.” M. Ward is more concerned with being an individual than he is with playing to contemporary sensibilities, and you can hear that clearly on his newest, Hold Time.

Fronk

Hey buddy, I haven't seen you in a long time. I wish I had seen you sooner. I wish you had known how much you had affected my life. In addition to giving me my first guitar, you showed me that there was always another way. Different from the Mr. McGhee's of the world, you showed me that there was such a thing as a person who could be good, yet different. I spoke to Ryan and we both agreed on one thing about you: you always made the right decision when it came to other people. I always looked up to you, man, even if you didn't know it. When you left in 8th grade I made you a mixed cd. I never sent it to you, I guess out of shyness. I am so sorry, I love you, and I hope that this mix, as well as the wishes of your numerous friends, reach you now. Be well Fronk. I will never forget you.

1. The Proxy - RJD2
2. Party and Bullshit - Notorious B.I.G./Ratatat
3. Veni Vidi Vici - The Black Lips
4. I'm So Tired - Fugazi
5. Don't Take Your Guns to Town - Johnny Cash
6. Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
7. Dig a Pony - The Beatles
8. Gettysburg - Ratatats
9. Vapors - Snoop Dog
10. Lost in the Supermarket - The Clash
11. Red House - Jimi Hendrix
12. Starshine - Gorillaz
13. Heart of Chambers - Beach House
14. Hell is Chrome - Wilco
15. Sinking Stone - Slightly Stoopid
16. Smoke 'em If You Got 'em - Supervillians
17. Truckin' - The Grateful Dead
18. Van Helsing Boombox - Man Man

"The good times never end, they're just suspended from time to time." - Lil Mc

...And Out the Other (2/15/09)

Introducing a new feature to GPM, ...And Out the Other!

(In case you didn't catch it, the title is based on the phrase "in one ear and out the other.")

In this new addition to the review I will list off the ten most recent albums to come out of my speakers including brief reviews on each one. It's pretty much like listening to someone judge people at random except better because it's on the internet!

Without further ado...

1) Tom Waits' Orphans: Bawlers, Brawlers & Bastards
This triple disc release includes enough Tom Waits material to freak out both you and your friends. It's got some of what you'd expect, the signature whisky-gravel-cigarette-smoke-soaked voice singing long laments about things gone wrong and right, as well as a moving spoken word piece called "Nirvana" and a song all about different kinds of bugs.

2) Flying Lotus' Los Angeles
SO freaking good. This guy can drop you into a beat quick and he's not afraid to keep it short. This release is pretty damn good if only because it has even more stuff on it than his other albums. The whole hip-hop/ambient/oldies/dj scene really fascinates me. I mean just who the hell are these guys, anyway?

3) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
If you don't want to spend the better part of an hour listening to covers of The Smiths then don't listen to this album. If you eat up every word Pitchfork spits out, then go for it.

4) Times New Viking's Stay Awake
This five track EP is all I have by them, and I've been spinning it a lot lately. The first time I heard them I couldn't get past the whole in the red thing, but then I saw them live and... well, that all changed. If you base albums on how many dB's your dollar gets you (rough economy) then this is definitely your winner.

5) Man Man's Little Torments
So f*cking excited to hear this thing in big version. Just has two tracks, one is a recorder freak out and the other one makes me want to preorder their next LP right now.

6) Ratatat's Mirando
Includes the infamous Animal Collective remix as well as another pretty good one by YACHT. It's a good thing they include the original un-remixed "Mirando" on this thing 'cause you can see just how far YACHT and AC can stretch its thread.

7) Devendra Banhart's Rejoicing in the Hands of the Golden Empress and Nino Rojo
The man's got a vision, and you can see (hear) it when you take a listen to these two. The songs are unique in their own right, but they each carry a little gene that ties them together well as LP's. At the end of each are spoken word pieces that underscore his gift as a writer first.

8) John Coltrane's Giant Steps
Though I don't hold a PHD in the history of jazz, I feel pretty safe saying this is one of the most influential (and my favorite) jazz albums of all time. If you've got the ear for the stuff, follow him through his solos on this album. The way I look at it, you can consider this "easy listening" because of its shear beauty or you can consider it a study in how to break the rules and reinvent jazz. It's really up to you.

9) Fleet Foxes' Fleet Foxes
Ok, maybe I'm a little late in admitting it, but this album is really beautiful. The choral work is captivating in its own space, and at the same time you can get lost in the rich tones and reverb for pretty much the whole day. This album has been getting me from point "a" to point "b" for the past week or so.

10) Pretty Lights' Taking Up Your Precious Time
I was initially skeptical downloading this thing (it was free, ok?!) but when I gave it a listen my negativity disappeared. The album includes some danceable beats as well as some colorful tonework, not to mention some really sweet Motown-esque bits here and there. I got lost somewhere towards the end of the album, but it's still pretty damn good.

Andrew Bird: Equal Parts Lou Reed and Jesus (Notes on the Birdman's Paramount Show)

photo by Keith Klenowski

I spotted an attendant standing further back up the balcony, quickly hopped up a few flights of red carpet, and excitedly presented my ticket. He looked at it for a moment with his flashlight and chuckled, "You better have brought your oxygen tank, son."

Indeed, my friends and I, five of us in all, had the good fortune of purchasing the last of the Andrew Bird tickets at Waterloo months before. Our seats were an indication of that, but the nosebleeders came with a benefit: from seat two, row "W", section "L", upper balcony I could sit as far up on the edge of my seat as I wanted without obstructing the view of any one behind me. This is fortunate because that is exactly what I would be doing all night.

The first act, Lonely Dear, were unpretentious enough. Singer Emil Svanangen charmed the audience with a reserved, but not entirely shy, sense of humor. He punctuated his tunes with folkish melodies that, even from as far back as I was, gave a sense of intimacy to the set. At one point he cued the audience to sing a melody to a song which sounded absolutely beautiful in the spacious hall of the Paramount. It was literally the only time in my life I can honestly say I approved of crowd participation during a show.

Then intermission. With the lights on I could see that the few empty seats had been or were being filled by Austin's middle aged and music savvy. The lights dimmed, paused, then dropped to darkness and excited cheers from below. When they came back on there he was: Andrew Bird.

Pause.

Before I go on I really need to describe to you the scene below:

First, you can't ignore the gilded statues behind the man. Four. Gigantic. Gramophones. Each with it's own size and purpose. At the touch of a button (or a foot-pedal) he can route his sound through them and into the already rich acoustic atmosphere of the Paramount. That's pretty cool, I guess.

The rest of his set up is slightly less eye-catching. A mic back and to the left for backup vocals/percussion/whistling/beatboxing, a xylophone, a pedal station for effects and looping, and a primary microphone for lead vocals and, of course, violin.

As the applause dies down he plucks his violin. A moment later he takes out his bow (the sound now looping through the pa system) and launches into several more overdubs of a classical composition. Right as the song reaches a climax it becomes suddenly quiet, allowing him to punctuate the silence with one melodious ellipse from somewhere inside his violin. "I had to indulge myself," he apologizes to the awestruck audience. After playing at Carnegy Hall a few weeks before he describes The Paramount as sounding "almost as good."

The rest of the night follows in much the same way, with occasional dialogue about his lucky monkey doll, his horse socks, and a conversation with one of the more vocal audience members about what song he should play next (which lead to a few slip ups-- minor details that he glosses over with a combination of musicianship and the innate talent of a stage-man). After two standing ovations it becomes clear that Andrew Bird takes the idea of the "one man band", usually more spectacle than anything else, and elegantly lets it blur the lines between him and his music.

SXSW Line Up and Stuff.

I'm a littly bit lazy at the moment, so pardon the dust.

SXSW's schedule is up, I suggest you take a look. My personal itinerary will involve This Will Destroy You, Wax Fang, St. Vincent, King Khan, Radioclit, Black Lips, YACHT, White Denim, Headlights, MSTRKRFT, Harlem, and The Willowz... We'll see how that pans out.

In other news:
There's talk of a bridge show before SXSW so keep your pants on until then. If you haven't been before it's a lot of fun and it's free. Just a few bands playing on the South Lamar pedestrian bridge over scenic Lake Austin Town Lake. Bring your friends!

Harlem @ The Parish

Curtis of Harlem

Coomers

Christian

Some Treasure I Found

RATATAT AGAIN!!!

Mr. Mast and Mr. Stroud are scheduled to grace us with their presence AGAIN Tuesday, April 7th at Stubb's Waller Creek Ampitheater. Get your tickets NOW and get there early, I suspect douchebaggery will be afoot... concerts keep gettin bigger but the number of people I like stay the same.

Presale for these tickets ends Friday (tomorrow) at 10 PM so get on that shit, son! Oh yeah, you'll have to enter the code "STUBBSRAT" to get 'em.


See you there!

Bonnaroo Lineup

Bonnaroo posted a lineup recently for this summer. Some of the names that stick out are Wilco, Animal Collective, St. Vincent, David Byrne, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On the Radio, Santogold, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, and Grizzly Bear.

Click here to see more.

Boo February and Goodbye Winter! PLUS: a leak from the upcoming Daze release!!!

Ok, I don't know how to put this to you subtly so I'll tell you the only way I know how (with style and verve!): RAPT Magazine launched yesterday and it looks great! Got features on all kinds of cool stuff (politics, if you're into that, and a couple GPM reviews).

Next up on my list: A metric buttload of concert dates. It looks like the fierce warlords over at the Brohawk and Emo's are really doing they're best to put eachother out of business. What this means for us is TONS OF AWESOME SHOWS! So, in light of that, totally not for peace. Amen.

Ben Kweller is going to play a show at Waterloo Records on the third in support of his new "country" album. Then a week after that Waterloo will play host to Andrew Bird as he warms up for his solo set at The Paramount. Get excited! I already am.

As for our local yokels, The Bubbles will be playing a "free" show at Emo's on the fifth to celebrate Joel of Oh No! Oh My!'s birthday.

Also of note, White Denim will play with the Black Lips at Emo's later on in the month. THIS show is going to be entertaining (the Lips are known for some onstage hijinks and goofiness, shit that left the local authorities with no other option but to chase them out of India).
^NVM that, got some bad info. That show was from LAST YEAR! (thanks Pooneh)

Are you lonely? Plan on being sad and lame on Valentine's day? Me too! How bout we plan on being awesome and buy tickets to the White Ghost Shivers' "Valentine's Day Massacre"? Alright!

This month's SHOW NOT TO MISS is going to be fuckin' awesome! Just watch out for the 101x riff faff. Fujiya and Miyagi are going to play a show at Emo's on the twenty seventh. I'm totally going to be there. I'll be the stylish hipster in the front wearing tortoise shell sunglasses and being cooler than you (just kidding, I love you all! Also, I don't have tortoise shell sunglasses.).

HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT

Don't ask how, but I've managed to procure a leak from the UPCOMING DAZE ALBUM! Many rebels gave their lives to give you this audio. Put it to good use, young jedi.


The last (I promise) tid-bits of news I have to drop in your needy little hands are:

1) Cut Copy at Stubb's in early March
2) Medici on West Lynn makes killer cappucinos
3) SXSW is going to be nuts (click here to see a list of bands that will be playing and here to register me a pass)
4) I'm working on writing out my interview with Harlem
5) Haven't forgotten about updates on my latest purchases, I'm just mad busy, yo
6) Jersey Mike's Subs makes awesome sandwiches

2/02/09 - Goblin Cock (Rob Crowe of Pinback), Warship, Eagle Claw @ Red 7, show at eight
2/03/09 - Ben Kweller @ Waterloo Records, show starts at five
2/08/09 - Devotchka, Crooked Fingers @ La Zona Rosa, doors at eight
2/5/09 - Oh No! Oh My!, Loxsly, The Bubbles (Las Burbujas), Corto Maltese @ Emo's, doors at eight
2/10/09 - The Music Tapes (Neutral Milk Hotel), Nana Grizol, Brian Dewan @ The Mohawk, show starts at eight
2/11/09 - Andrew Bird @ Waterloo Records, show starts at five
2/12/09 - Andrew Bird @ The Paramount, show starts at eight
2/14/09 - The White Ghost Shivers and The Strange Attractors (Valentine's Day Massacre) @ The Mohawk, show starts at nine
2/24/09 - Black Lips, White Denim, The Strange Boys @ Emo's, show starts at ten
2/27/09 - Fujiya and Miyagi, Project Jenny, Project Jan @ Emo's, doors at nine
2/28/09 - Delta Spirit, Other Lives, Dawes @ Emo's, doors at nine
2/28/09 - Flogging Molly, The Aggrolites, The Mighty Stef @ Stubb's, doors at eight