Congrats to friend of Aural States, stand-up guy, and all-around great musician (and highly underrated lyricist) J Robbins. His noted 90s project Jawbox (infamous for being one of the only artists to leave legendary Dischord Records). They delivered a taut performance of “Savory” last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to commemorate the reissue and remastering of their Atlantic debut For Your Own Special Sweetheart.
If you missed it, YouTube has a version (see below), and Hulu will have a true HD 480p version later today.
And according to my chat with J, we also get two more online-exclusive performances after the jump (“FF=66″ and “68,” both also from FYOSS).
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A 70s throwback with the sideburns to prove it, Mopar Mountain Daredevils create a swirling thicket of heavy psychedelia that has more to do with stoner metal than any current psychedelic rock trends. But where loud bands with less songwriting talent or imagination settle down with the almighty riff, Mopar Bloody Mopar remains unhinged throughout, careening from one passage to the next, never looking back.
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“I go into a convenience store and I will hear someone say something and I know that is going to go into a song somewhere,” explains Nathan Moore, about how he gathers inspiration for his songwriting. It is something he says he is doing constantly, all day, his eyes and ears noticing the way people say something; it is what he calls “the filter through which I see the world.”
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The whole entire-album-in-one-concert trend has been derided as an attempt by artists to cash in or dumb down the concert experience to something as predictable as pushing play on your iPod. The Pixieshad flashes of both at their show in Washington on Tuesday night, where they dusted off Doolittle and its B-sides. But then you remember, “Oh yeah, this is the f-ing Pixies,” and you count your blessings for being able to see what turned out to be an awesome show.
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Editor’s note: This is fairly late because, well, I’m a busy guy. But I think it deserves space and praise.
The merits of Numero Group’s mission, the compiling and reissuing of obscure soul, are apparent. The burning question in my mind, however, is how bright an idea is it to drag these performers out of obscurity, and thrust them into the limelight. Reports from the label’s first Eccentric Soul Revue performance in Chicago earlier this year garnered rave reports. But after seeing their show at the 9:30 Club, I’d say the reality is slightly different.
Last Monday was cold and rainy and depressing; perfect black metal weather. A decent sized crowd turned out for Marduk and Nachtmystium at Sonar, where they made a big circle, moshed, fought, gave each other dirty looks, made the sign of the devil and were violated in the ear-hole. I wear earplugs at metal shows: One of them fell out as I was head-banging. I did not replace it, and I paid for that decision.
How can Animal Collective follow up on Merriweather Post Pavilion, and all the hype that came with it? Remember all of that? Everybody was gushing about how great it was going to be. The Web Sheriff roamed the internet and sent cease and desist orders to any blog that dare leak it, causing somebody to literally hack into Geologist’s e-mail account and write a fake e-mail saying the band wanted the whole thing out there so it could be properly heard as a full album. Eventually Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste got caught in the Sheriff’s crosshairs when he posted “Brother Sport” on his band’s blog and got involved in a strange internet battle that ended with him issuing an apology letter. MT-frickin’-V.com wrote an article (there wasn’t enough Miley Cyrus news that day?) about how the vinyl might land on Billboard’s Albums Chart (it didn’t).
Then it finally came out. The CD version did, however, make the Billboard Albums Chart, and the band got caught up in a whirlwind of buzz and media attention that vaulted it to being one of the most talked about acts in indie rock, opening them up to a whole new audience. Some declared it the best album of 2009 back in January, and ever since it has been dissected and rebuilt by fans, bloggers, and critics alike. A contingent of the band’s older fans, including our own Nolan Conaway, lamented that the album lacked the same elements that caused them to fall in love with the band in the first place (more on this later).
That about brings us up to speed, where we now receive Fall Be Kind, a five-song EP comprised mostly of Merriweather-era leftovers. EPs are usually pretty insignificant when considering a band’s entire body of work, but Animal Collective has spent their entire career putting out EPs that sonically differentiate from the albums that preceded them while still remaining equally as challenging. Fall Be Kind is perhaps their best. And unlike most EPs released by any artist, this seems to have a natural flow and cohesion that make it far more than just a collection of what was lying around from the studio sessions.
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