Times like this, one is almost tempted to buy a plane ticket to Glasgow for the day. Belle and Sebastian have announced they will be playing a benefit for Tsunami victims at the SECC alongside “Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, and more.” That’s February 19, tickets aren’t as much as you’d think, so the trick should be figuring out the time difference when you call in sick to work.
Today’s New York Times has a feature on Conor Oberst (registration required), AKA Bright Eyes, who has not one but two records due out January 25 on Saddle Creek. I first heard Bright Eyes on the first Maybe This Christmas comp (I know, how unhip is that?) where his rendition of Blue Christmas is one of the high points. Man was I disappointed when I finally got around to listening to the rest of his stuff.
I suspect it’s time for a re-evaluation though, since everyone I know is wild about Bright Eyes, so I’ll be picking up the new discs on the 25th.
Here’s the skinny on the new Releases, according to the NYT:
“Digital Ash in a Digital Urn” is a bold response to the myth of St. Conor: the icon of unplugged authenticity goes not just electric but electronic, letting the mythology melt away in a solvent of flickering rhythms and chirping synthesizers. Then there’s “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning,” which is even bolder. “Wide Awake” captures the spare, shivery sound of Mr. Oberst daring to embrace the role of Serious Singer-Songwriter, instead of shadowboxing with it: the folky arrangements give him plenty of room to tell his stories, and the only thing chirping is Emmylou Harris, singing backup.
4 year old Joy Guttman’s parents posted her song on their web site to amuse friends, but they’ve ended up getting a bit more attention than they expected. Joy’s songs “Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil” (”Snappy, the Little Crocodile”) has gone number 1 in the German charts and is gathering momentum on charts all across Europe. Insert your own commentary about how juvenile the American charts look in comparison.
(Sadly, the Schnappi site has been hacked for the time being. As of this post, you can download a copy of the original from a link here.)
(via emusic message boards, denverchannel.)
In other hipster man-that-guy-needs-to-get-out-more news, the long awaited Pitchfork redesign is finally complete. It’s certainly snazzy, an improvement on the cluttered look of the old design. At least they didn’t pull an allmusic, and render the site unusable and annoying in the process of the facelift.
I’m sad they didn’t take this as an opportunity to overhaul their search engine, so users still must search three content areas separately (reviews, news, features) for each band.
Pitchfork remains as snarky as ever, though (I know I’m one to talk.)
Last week, even more South by Southwest acts were announced, (thanks to donewaiting for the heads up!) including the Album Leaf, Ambulance LTD, American Music Club, Ash, Laura Cantrell, Crooked Fingers, the Crystal Method, the Dears, the Donnas, Jason Falkner, Robyn Hitchcock, Hot Hot Heat, Billy Idol (!), Daniel Johnston, Laika & the Cosmonauts, Ben Lee, Aimee Mann, M. Ward, Nashville Pussy, the Raveonettes, Gruff Rhys (of the Super Furry Animals), Michelle Shocked, Sleater-Kinney, Son Volt, the Soundtrack of Our Lives, the Six Parts Seven, Trash Can Sinatras.
Golly. And those are just the ones I have on my iPod. The actual list is about three times as long. And let’s not forget Dogs Die in Hot Cars, the Go!Team, The Kills, Nada Surf, previously confirmed.
For anyone obsessed with Scottish rock, this is the place to spend the ides of March - The Scottish Arts Council are helping to sponsor shows from 11 bands, hoping to pull another Franz Ferdinand style coup:
The Scottish acts, which will receive support from the Scottish Arts Council to attend the festival, are Biffy Clyro from Ayrshire; Dogs Die in Hot Cars, Jupiter and Teardrop, Sluts of Trust and Trashcan Sinatras from Glasgow; Dawn of the Replicants, Aberfeldy, The Rezillos, Hobotalk and Idlewild from Edinburgh and Mylo from the Isle of Skye.
Ticket prices increased as of today, but late registrants can still save $65 over the “walkup price” if they cough up $495 by February 11. I think I’d give my left kidney for a ticket, but I doubt they’d have much use for it; they’d probably prefer the cash.
