Morrissey’s not headlining (though that honor is going to his old pals, the Cure) but he’s the guy I’m most excited to see at Coachella 2009, which, absurdly, will also feature Paul McCartney, My Bloody Valentine (finally) and ’80s sound-a-likes the Killers, who should seriously play Smiths and Cure covers all night. Other highlights include the Hold Steady, Okkervil River, Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, Gang Gang Dance, Amy Winehouse (if she lives), Calexico, Junior Boys, Liars and Jenny Lewis — not bad at all. I still think spreading them all over three days instead of two is a mistake, but, well, Macca! Peep the full list on Coachella’s site.
I’m going to keep posting these videos until they stop being ridiculous: “Today, in my pre-algebra class, Kyle, who wears a Hollister shirt, was singing ‘My Girls.’” 14-year-old hipster, welcome to the rest of your life. (Best part: “‘Daily Routine?’ It’s a legit song, Panda Bear made it.” [insert Joke/Despair re: Kids Today].) (Via Hipster Runoff, obv.)
Or more precisely, The New Frontiersman, Rorschach’s favorite paper, has a Flickr with sick shots of Dr. Manhattan. Guys, I know it’s cheesy, but I fucking love viral marketing.
Music always sounds best coming from a garage or a bedroom. That’s when it’s at its purest — or at least closest to its point of creation, which is close enough. “Norman Bleik,” the first single from the first album of the improbably named I Was A King jangles with the youthful energy of a bunch of curly haired dudes spending the summer before senior year listening to Radio City, saving up for new amplifiers and terrorizing the neighbors. Kids do that in Norway, right?
(I Was a King’s self-titled debut is due April 7 on The Control Group)
N0te: I have wireless Internet again after a lengthy furlough. This means I can upload MP3s from my external hard drive to this website, which in effect means we’re back in business. Team Rawkblog is wrapping up the launch of our new look and our new site, but we’ll let you know when we’re ready for an open house. Stay close.
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Looking for new music? Click below for more recent and upcoming2009releases.
Ryan Seacrest, of all people, has posted one of what’s sure to be a long list of long lists of rumored Coachella 2009 performers. Highlights: Headlining gigs from Morrissey and Paul McCartney (yes!), plus Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, the Foo Fighters, the Shins (doubtful), Fleet Foxes, She & Him, the Killers, TV On The Radio, Asobi Seksu and the Hold Steady. Seems like a few too many big names for the three-day fest too afford in these trying times, especially given last year’s lean lineup, but I guess we’ll see, huh? Plus, where’s Animal Collective and Pavement? A guy can dream. Coachella 2009 is on April 17, 18 and 19, and Seacrest’s list is after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Andrew Bird and Animal Collective’s first-week sales: 25,471 and 24,684, respectively — good enough for No. 12 and 13 on the albums chart, but it seems the salad days of the Shins dropping at No. 2 are over. Still, 25K for Andy is what his label, Fat Possum, was looking for; it seems spending money on marketing still works, even in 2009. (That Bon Iver schmuck sold a bunch of copies of his new EP, too. Can he go away now?)
In comparison to the practice session non-performance of opening act Wavves, Wild Light would’ve sounded great following up for the sheer virtue of sounding like adults — or, coincidentally, Adult Nights, the title of their promising debut album. That their big-hearted throwback pop/rock was passionately note-perfect certainly didn’t hurt, nor did a shout-out to producer Rob Schnapf (a Rawkblog favorite — he’s worked with Elliott Smith, Beck, Badly Drawn Boy, etc.) in the audience. I reviewed Adult Nights for my day job; here, more photos after the jump. As usual, click any one to open a hi-res gallery. Read the rest of this entry »
I made myself a New Year’s resolution that I was going to stop using words like “hype,” “zeitgeist,” “blogosphere” and “Pitchfork.” So I’ll just tell you what I saw on Saturday night: A duo that is not ready to open shows at the El Rey, much less perform in public. Wavves are a San Diego lo-fi duo whose scattered releases (and upcoming full-length, Wavvves) plunge deep into red-lining guitars and cauterizing fuzz. It makes their music visceral, immediate — and surprisingly boring, once it steps out from behind the curtain.
Live, the band made no effort to replicate the searing sounds of their recordings and just simply played the songs. That was a mistake. Their drummer has the creative faculties of a deaf Meg White, while frontman Nathan Williams droned along with “Oooh” falsettos as he aimlessly played power chords. Occasionally, on songs such as “So Bored,” Wavves caught the glimpse of an actual performance, but for the most part, it was like watching a Ramones practice session if they fired their bassist and overdosed on Valium. Lamme. More photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
