Don’t say John Vanderslice never did anything for you. For the video for Romanian Names gem “Too Much Time,” he enlisted the Magik Magik Orchestra to put a chamber-pop spin on the already great song — a more natural look for a track from a synth-heavy album. It sounded great live, too.
John Vanderslice – “Too Much Time”:mp3 John Vanderslice – “Fetal Horses”:mp3
The Cool Wave EP is extremely chilled out — so downtempo that at times, it barely registers a pulse. But Tin Man’s minimalist electro gains evocative scope through Johannes Auvinen’s sandy vocals. “Without the sun, we can go on,” he mumble-sings from inside a refridgerator on “California,” the kind of autumnal doom and gloom more often found over muted guitars — as with last year’s Crushed Stars album, or the One AM Radio’s gauzier material. Elsewhere, he ponders the distance between L.A. and heaven. But Auvinen narrates his existential crises over barely there beats, leaving Cool Wave both light and dark enough for ponderous summer nights.
In my tireless efforts to bring you the very best in Elliott Smith bootlegs, I have a special treat today, folks: a crisp, full-band recording of Smith performing the Beatles’ “I’m So Tired” that trumps the previously available version. Anyone know who’s nailing the harmonies while our boy cracks up? Plus, a long overdue MP3 of his rare partial performance of Elvis Costello’s “Last Boat Leaving.”
Elliott Smith – “I’m So Tired” (live Beatles cover, 5.18.98):mp3 Elliott Smith – “Last Boat Leaving” (live Elvis Costello cover, 1996):mp3
Both of these and some 50+ more, of course, in the Elliott Smith: The Complete Live Covers Compilation post. Have stuff I’m missing or better tapes? Please send ‘em over and please, pass the compilation along — it’s an ongoing labor of love.
I wrote recently about the Trashcan Sinatra‘s new album, In The Music, calling it “effortless” pop. But the Sinatras have never sounded more liberated than “Freetime,” the best track from 2004′s Weightlifting — my introduction to the band, and an unexpected mid-career peak. It’s hard not to hear the shimmering “Freetime” as Scotland’s answer to Radiohead’s “Let Down”: soaring but jangly, anthemic but open-armed. If you missed it a few years back as I did, it’s not too late to carry that Weight.
Working title: Forgetting How Much Older I Am Than You, Sarah Marshall.
The premise: a bunch of aging, doughy funnymen embark on an island bromance with their younger, hotter wives and presumably learn life lessons — it could be a bad sitcom writ large, or, given that it’s a Jon Favreau script and dude’s the best, totally funny. Either way, part of me is extremely depressed that I’m starting to relate almost as much to this business as I do to Swingers.
In my earlier review, I called the songs of Bill Callahan‘s tremendous latest, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle, “shadowy and sad”; live, those shadows turned majestic. Callahan’s a singer/songwriter, but on much of Eagle, he puts aside the acoustic guitar for evocative electricity, a sound he embraced to great effect at the Troubadour on Wednesday night. He was joined by a second guitarist, a cellist, a violinist and a drummer, with the dry brushed drums and the string instruments arcing gracefully over the wet guitar work — a particularly gorgeous confluence of tones that made new songs (“Jim Cain”) and old gems (“Our Anniversary”) alike soar. I’m over my allotment of bird metaphors, but it was nothing but joy to watch Callahan not only pack the Troubadour (restoring my faith in folk listenership after Monday) but take his already lofty sound to new heights.
The Cool Wave EP is extremely chilled out — so downtempo that at times, it barely registers a pulse. But Tin Man’s minimalist electro gains evocative scope through Johannes Auvinen’s sandy vocals. “Without the sun, we can go on,” he mumble-sings from inside a refridgerator on “California,” the kind of autumnal doom and gloom more often found over muted guitars — as with last year’s Crushed Stars album, or the One AM Radio’s gauzier material. Elsewhere, he ponders the distance between L.A. and heaven. But Auvinen narrates his existential crises over barely there beats, leaving Cool Wave both light and dark enough for ponderous summer nights.
In my tireless efforts to bring you the very best in Elliott Smith bootlegs, I have a special treat today, folks: a crisp, full-band recording of Smith performing the Beatles’ “I’m So Tired” that trumps the previously available version. Anyone know who’s nailing the harmonies while our boy cracks up? Plus, a long overdue MP3 of his rare partial performance of Elvis Costello’s “Last Boat Leaving.”
I wrote recently about the Trashcan Sinatra‘s new album, 
