4AD just released the first single for the forthcoming, as-yet-unnamed record from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Grafitti. The song is smoooooooth, ya’ll – but what the fuck happened to all the sonic bullshit that Ariel stuffs in his usual jams?! I hope 4AD isn’t going to start “cleaning up” the Ariel Pink sound and turn him into something retarded like St. Vincent. Either way, I still love Ariel Pink agape style. I can’t even say something like “he could fart in a mic for an hour and I’d still buy the record,” because he basically already does that (with pop finesse, of course). Ultimately, I’m very glad he’s discovered Yacht Rock in an even more intimate way on “Round and Round.”
…on the new Velvet Davenport 7″? How? Am I really that inept of a blogger? Guess so. That’s pathetic, ya’ll. When news of the Get Out + Run vinyl deployed from the mighty Sdwply Records all the way back on February 6th, we should’ve been on that like flies on horseshit. But we weren’t. Ridiculous.
Anyway, enough with the self deprecation and on with the jam. “Get Out” is included below for your purusal. This collaboration reminds me a lot of The Vaselines weirder work (or a more focused R. Stevie Moore track), so I’m very much in love. Visit Shdwply if you want to swipe your copy, which you do, so get on that. And mucho grasias to Microphone Memory Machine for properly reporting this news in a timely manner, as opposed to our sorry ass.
This goes without saying, but: Velvet Davenport, Ariel Pink, and Gary War Collaboration > We Are the World 25.
Man or Astro-Man? has reunited, which is quite fitting seeing as 2010 is the year we make contact (via Arthur C. Clarke). They play their first show in over a decade at The Bottle Tree in Birmingham on March 6th, then move over the South By Southwest (March 17 until whenever they gotta shut the thing down), though no official shows at the festival have been confirmed. 1.21 JIGGAWATTS!!!
My boss just got back from the 4AD offices yesterday, and their word is, pending the final mastering, Ariel Pink’s debut for 4AD will be hitting in June. And we will be jamming the shit out of it for summer 2K10. Trenchant!
Who could have ever imagined that three of the most buzzed about bands of the year – Ducktails, Washed Out, and Neon Indian – would sound like Ariel Pink? Pink, who has been a critical lightning rod ever since the release of his first official album, The Doldrums, on Animal Collective’s Paw Tracks label, was surely never any blogger’s idea of the “next big thing.” While his music shares the boombox fidelity and classical pop song craft of the now universally adored Daniel Johnston, it also often has a dry, ironic edge to it, thus making it impossible to project any ideas of childlike innocence onto it. Pink always seems determined to push things too far, often derailing perfectly written pop songs into a pileup of overdriven synths, random vocals noises, and drums playing off beat.
It’s this streak of self-sabotage (or defiant genius, depending on who you ask) that has become the most contentious thing about Pink’s music, because the other things – the fetishization of 70s and 80s soft rock, the “cheesy” synths, the 8 track cassette recording fidelity – have suddenly become cool. Whether it’s the revival of Balearic dance music or the still lingering effects of Daft Punk’s Discovery or just the simple truth that lo-fi music full of synthesizers has never been cheaper or easier to make, the fact is that things long considered impossibly cheesy, like gated drums and “Euro” and “Trance” keyboard presets and keybasses, are now everywhere. So much of the critical discourse about Pink’s music, especially the idea that his music was a parody of the “shallow” and “self-absorbed” popular music of the 70s and 80s, doesn’t seem relevant anymore, because we’ve all stopped equating “overproduction” and synthesizers with inauthenticity. Whereas before Pink’s music was saddled with both an unpopular sound and a prickly, experimental attitude, now it’s just the latter.
Neon Indian, the Pitchfork-certified one man project of Austin, Texas’ Alan Palomo, sounds like Ariel Pink’s synth pop songs (see: Scared Famous’ “The Kitchen Club” or House Arrest’s “Flying Circles”) scrubbed mostly clean and with a more obvious “music for hip stoners” vibe. “Deadbeat Summer, ” “Terminally Chill,” and “Should Have Taken Acid With You” could all be Pink songs, except that his versions would be angrier and weirder. Palomo’s music views the 1980s as a memory playground for stoners, where old keyboard sounds trigger instant reveries, whereas Pink’s music sounds more like bad memories that can’t escape their milieu, sort of like how so many of my worst memories would be soundtracked by Rancid or NOFX because that’s what I was listening to around the time they happened.
Just like Neon Indian, Washed Out jack Pink’s synth pop steez (listen to the chorus of Scared Famous’ “Gopacapulco” and tell me that’s not a Washed Out song in the making), but instead of couching the sound in a druggy, easygoing nostalgia, Ernest Greene (the man behind Washed Out) has created the 2009 equivalent of yacht rock. The video to “Feel It All Around” is seriously just some twentysomethings with tattoos snorkeling, going down waterslides, taking cellphone pictures of each other, and eating in fancy, neon-lit restaurants. The fact that music once made exclusively by bedroom weirdos can now soundtrack a tropical vacation speaks volumes about how music and aesthetics have changed since 2004.
Matt Mondanile’s Ducktails – my personal favorite of the three – basically sounds like instrumental versions of Ariel Pink songs. From the cheap sounding drum machines to the hazy, 8 track tape production to the often brittle guitar sound, Pink’s and Mondanile’s aesthetics are almost identical, though once again Pink has never seemed interested in the kind of full-on blissout you’ll find on a Ducktails album.
It’s clear that Ariel Pink has had a far larger impact on indie rock than anyone could have ever imagined. But Pink’s statement around the release of this year’s “Can’t Hear My Eyes/Evolution’s a Lie” 7″ that “Everything you think you know [about his old music] is WRONG- DEAD WRONG. THIS is me, naked, without the buffer of awful tape noise drowning out any lack of vision..” and his recent signing to 4AD raise some interesting questions. Is Ariel Pink without the “awful tape noise” and campy falsetto and 8 track tapes really even Ariel Pink? Perhaps he’s seen so many artists gain success sounding like him that he’s tired of just being a cult hero, or maybe he wants to prove he’s a “good” musician. As excited as I am to see these questions answered, I’m also a little worried that all those things that made Pink such a distinctive artist are soon going to disappear.
Hey everybody! What’s good? Not much here. Just getting ready to fuck up a can of Campbell’s Chunky for lunch. Should rule.
Welp… heard you all got in a lil’ pickle outside of Nashville in Hopkinsville, Ky. Got nailed for having a lil’ “controlled substance” for party hard solutions. That’s a bummer, man. It’s kinda like the song “Rollin’ Dirty” with the Bone Thug bros. I probably would’ve been humming that to myself if I were in a similar situation. Anyway, good to hear you’re out of the slammer. Hope you followed protocol and bitched up to someone. I’ve not been incarcerated myself, but it’s my understanding that doing such is just good standard operating procedure. When in Rome, amirite?
Alright, let’s get to brass tacks. I recently read that Sam Hunt, your booking agent with Windish (who’s a super great guy who helped us secure a lot of awesome shows for WRFL when I hung tough there – tell him we said hello), gave the local reporter in Hopkinsville a couple of preliminary ruminations from the band: “I’d kind of be surprised if they played again,” Hunt said. “It’s been a real drag, you know? It’s been a real shame for a lot of reasons. They’ll probably never set foot in Kentucky again.”
Ever play again? What, are you guys that wimpy? That shit’s sad, Khan. Lil’ Wayne’s getting his ass arrested all the time, but he still seems to release 500 mixtapes a year and rock a House of Blues or two. I mean, you’re following in a fine tradition of rock stars sporting the fluorescent jumpsuit – check out Rolling Stone’s Hall of Fame. Work this to your advantage. All press is good press, guys. That’s PR 101.
Secondly – “never set foot in Kentucky again”? Dude, that’s some Laguna Beach shit. Like, “She tried to hook up with Stephen, I’m never talking to that bitch again.” What’s with the pedestrian playground mentality? You guys are Pitchfork fodder with a deece record contract. Time to put on the big boy pants now.
Look… unfortunately, there’s no room in this letter to discuss the nature of the war on drugs. Sure, it totally sucks you all were arrested and jailed for a non-violent crime and drug laws in the states are kinda fucked. But the fact of the matter is, right or wrong, the law is the law, and drugs are crazy illegal (see your local statute book and The Wire). So if you’re going to do something illegal, don’t get caught. If you have drugs in the car, it should go without saying that you roll careful style. And if you don’t successfully evade Johnny Law, displacing blame for getting caught with your own stash (that you’re fully aware is not legal) is kinda immature and makes you sorta look like an asshole. Just sayin’.
I understand that you weren’t pulled over for speeding or the like, but were stopped at a random safety checkpoint. Regardless, an officer cannot search your vehicle (“illegal search and seizure” in legalese) in any case without either probable cause or your consent.
The band’s official statement said “officers located a controlled substance in the cab of the vehicle.” That begs the question – how did the officers locate your shroomage? Did you allow them to search your van? Or did you have your paraphernalia all strewn about the vehicle, providing plain sight probable cause? If it’s the former, what the hell? I have nothing else to say to you. If it’s the latter… dude, hide your shit. Especially at checkpoints! It didn’t exactly sneak up on you, ya know! The majority of the Interstate system is comprised of long stretches of completely straight asphalt, as per the original Eisenhower plan. Especially in places like western Kentucky where it’s flat!
The only other scenario I can picture is that manager Kristin Klein’s expired or suspended license warranted the search. Maybe someone who had a driver license should’ve been behind the wheel. Again, good job.
So, like, all things considered, responding to your own ineptitude by saying “fuck this state, we’re never coming here again” is rather asinine, don’t you think? Saving face and manning up is a good style. Just somethin’ to chew on. If you do decide to tour these parts again though, The Decibel Tolls will be more than happy to sponsor it. Shit, I’ll even give you some pointers and show you how I hide my own stash and keep my mouth shut.
O JUNK YA’LLZ!!1 I’VE BEEN SOOOO BAKED 2DAY I ALMOST 4GOT TO PUT 2GETHER A MIX FOR 420. I’M LIKE THAT ADULTERER IN THE BIBLE STORY… LOVE TO GET STONED, KNOW WUT I’M SAYING?!?!?! NAH I’M JUST KIDDING.
N-E WAYZ, 420 IS MAH FAVORITE HOLIDAY AND I CELEBRATE IT EVERY YEAR B/C I FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LEGALIZE THE GANJ. GRASS HELPS ME AND OTHER PPL FIND OUT THE TRUTH IN THINGS. AND U KNOW WHAT? MAN, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE REAL CRIME IS… IT’S WHEN OUR FASCIST GOVERNMENT TELL US… WAIT, MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT DERAILED. O WELL, LOL. BUT YEAH, AS I SAID EARLIER I MADE YA’LLZ A MIX TO BRING IN THE HOLIDAY RIGHT. ALSO, IF U WANT TO SMOKE GRASS BUT CAN’T ROLL A DEECE J, HERE’S HOW TO MAKE A GRAVITY BONG WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS. PEACE.
For this classroom activity, you will need:
- Kitchen mop bucket (preferably unused or at least thoroughly washed)
- a 2-liter bottle
- Sink faucet screen with nut (the lil’ doo-dad where the water comes out)
- Aluminum foil
- Knife or scissors
- Access to municipal tap water, yo
THIS IS 4 TOBACCO USE ONLY, THO, SO DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME WITH N-E THING ELSE *WIIINKZ NUDGE*
Fill bucket about 3/4 with water. Cut four small incisions at the bottom of the plastic bottle. Remove bottle cap, replace with sink screen and nut, and pad bottle nozzle tightly with aluminum foil (don’t want any of the tobackee smoke *wiiink* to get out). Fill screen with your favorite flavored tobacco. Push bottle toward bottom of bucket. Light tobacco and slowly pull bottle up out of water. Remove cap, put mouth on bottle nozzle then slowly start pushing bottle back down into bucket while inhaling. And viola! ENJOI YR. FINE AMERICAN GROWN TOBACCO PRODUCTS LOLZ.
IF YA’LLZ HAVE N-E ?’S U CAN HIT ME UP ON AIM MY SCREENNAME IS SMOAK420
If you do get busted by the po-lice for enjoyin’ the finer things in life, tell them that you got these gravity “tobacco” bong instructions from Gorilla Vs. Bear, ya know what I’m sayin’.
Today’s lesson: if you have a music blog, don’t say anything less than glorifying about whatever Animal Collective just dropped, lest you want to feel the fury of indie rock dorks. It’s understandable. As far as I know, The Decibel Tolls is the only blog, or media in general anywhere, that didn’t find Merriweather Post Pavilion boner-inducing while traditionally praising the group in the past. It’s also the second most viewed post on this blog of all time. Far out. Some selected comments from the review and my responses behind the jump… Continue reading ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion Strikes Back’
For those who were absent last time… the Super Swingin’ Mix is, like, a fuckton of MP3s in a single post focused on a particular genre or theme. The songs sequenced are meant to be listened to, ya know, as a mix. Hence, it’s recommended that you enjoy each song in order without commercial interruption. So you should hit Apple + T (or Ctrl + T for you, egad, PC users) on that shit, throw some D’s on that bitch, and keep the MP3s on this page rockin’ whilst you browse whatever it is you browse on the Internets. Rotate thy volume dial clockwise. Tinnitus for days. Today, you guys are getting nine blockbusters – a veritable kaleidoscope of face melters. Nine! That’s one more than eight psychedelic rock bangers to jolly you up and lubricate that brain. Nobody keeps it hype like The Decibel Tolls. Nobody. Pass that Electric Kool Aid.
Now… I have to say that I’m decently pumped for this weekend’s Flugtag. Thanks to the seven useless years (seben jahren!) of German I took throughout school, I can tell ya that Flugtag, directly translated, means “fly day.” What Flugtag really is, though, is the most amazingly, exultantly dumbtarded event ever, which is why I’m stoked for it. Though I had aspirations to participate, it’ll be just as rowdy to observe. You see, this Saturday, September 6th, hundreds will converge onto North Avenue Beach (here in Chicago) to watch their peers launch makeshift flying machines off a 30 ft. ramp into Lake Michigan. Yes, flying machines. Continue reading ‘Aeroplanes Were Never Meant to Fly’
A lot of small, relevant snippets of information have been appearing on my newsdesk in the past couple of hours, so I figured, why not dump everything in my action items box into one convenient, slammin’ post. So here’s all the news fit to print, in one post. It will help augment my lack of posting over the weekend, as I will be out of town. The timing was a little bad considering…
Ariel Pink Hits the Bottle This Weekend… Hard
Ariel Pink, on his 2008 “Thanks Mom, I’m Dead” tour, is now bringin’ it proper with a lush, full band. I’m interested to hear this, considering the last time I saw Ariel’s twisted AM radio golden pop was his opening spot for Animal Collective during the Sung Tongs tour. They sounded (sonically, not compostionally) like shit, just like on album. I wonder if this same interpretation will happen full band (featuring members of Indian Jewelry, Lilys and Beachwood Sparks). Philadelphia’s singing-at-the-bottom-of-a-well siren Tickley Feather opens the New York, Philly, and Baltimore shows. I know nothing about Tickley Feather’s live show, but the recorded material is sick! As for local action, Ariel Pink hits the Empty Bottle in Chicago this Saturday (totally feelin’ sad panda for missing this). Please see it for me – take photos!
7/19 San Francisco, CA Cell Space
7/21 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court
7/22 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
7/24 Omaha, NE Slowdown
7/25 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
7/26 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
7/27 Toronto, ONT TBA
7/28 Montreal, QC Zoobizarre
7/29 Boston, MA TT The Bears
7/30 New York, NY Knitting Factory
7/31 New Haven, CT People’s Center
8/1 Philadelphia, PA M Room
8/2 Baltimore, MD Sonar
8/4 Atlanta, GA Eyedrum
8/5 Tallahassee, FL Beta Bar
8/6 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
8/7 Houston, TX Walter’s on Washington
8/8 Denton, TX Hailey’s
8/9 Austin, TX Mohawk
8/11 Tucson, AZ Plush
8/12 Los Angeles, CA Echo
Lightning Bolt and Wooden Shjips Do ATP’s Release the Bats
Halloween is the only holiday I really celebrate, and if I can locate a few extra thousand dollars (plus exchange rate fund) lying aruond, I may just take a hajj to London’s Forum on October 31 for ATP’s Release the Bats. No, I probably won’t make it, but you Britons should take the trip to see Lightning Bolt and Wooden Shjips, then tell me how it was. Lightning Bolt, who refuse to play on a stage, is worth traveling any distance to see, for their energy, face melting performance, and sheer unadulterated volume. Wooden Shjips will be fun to see live, as well, since they will be testing lots of new material for the follow up to their airborne self-titled. ATP is encouraging people to dress spooky. Considering LB is booked – shouldn’t be a problem.
Watch Anton Newcombe Woo His Peers and Neighbors in DIG!
DIG is an amazing documentary by Ondi Timoner outlining the seven year trajectory of two very aesthetically different groups, starting from the same place, but creating two vastly incongruent story arcs (with the Brian Jonestown Massacre acting as the undeniable central force, the immovable object, like the Joker in the Dark Knight). Totally fascinating – sometimes you just can’t make this stuff up. Of course, a lot has been written and discussed concerning the general insanity provoked by Anton and company (which I think is kinda cool in a psychotic way). What really matters is the music, ultimately, and this film holds true to this ideal.
Now, thanks to SnagFilm, you can watch this riveting piece of human drama – for free. Way rad. Czech out DIG here, or go on and watch it all up in that lil’ widget dude above! Technology is fucking aces.
Personally, I love every Brian Jonestown Massacre record. But even if you’re not into the music, the movie is more than entertaining. If you do love the BJM, there’s tons of great music throughout. You should definitely buy the DVD if you like the flick, since the DVD is packed with tons of great deleted footage, extras, and BJM performances. In a later post, I have quite a story concerning my epic run-in with Mr. Newcombe. Look out for that, but in the meantime, enjoy a lil’ guy from the We are the Radio EP.
