Dears frontman Murray Lightburn explains the story behind “Crisis 1 & 2 – Boy/Boy Version”:
This was the very first completed song written for Missiles, at the stage where I couldn’t bring myself to play it for anyone, not even Natalia. Eventually, Natalia stepped up to the mic to sing the first half. My preferred version is the one that ultimately made it onto the final master only. I like the sound of Natalia’s voice and when most heard the album this song was of note. I don’t think that would have been the case if I sang both halves….
The Dears Missiles is availble now on Dangerbird Records.
I have a pair of tickets to give away for the upcoming Dears / Eulogies / Great Northern tour. To enter, simply email me with your name and the show you want to attend. I will choose a random winner on Sunday, April 26th.
Tour Dates
5/1/2009 – Bell House – Park Slope, NY
5/2/2009 – Valentines – Albany, NY
5/4/2009 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
5/5/2009 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
5/7/2009 – Black Cat – Washington, DC
5/8/2009 – Diesel – Pittsburgh, PA
5/9/2009 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
5/10/2009 – Skully’s – Columbus, OH
5/11/2009 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
5/13/2009 – Lakeshore Theatre – Chicago, IL
5/14/2009 – Mojo’s – Columbia, MO
5/16/2009 – Hailey’s – Denton, TX
5/17/2009 – Warehouse – Houston, TX
5/18/2009 – The Parish – Austin, TX
5/21/2009 – Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
5/22/2009 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
5/23/2009 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
5/24/2009 – Independent – San Francisco, CA
5/26/2009 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
5/27/2009 – Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
The Dears are kicking off their tour with Eulogies on May 1 and celebrating by releasing an unreleased b-side once a week. The first track, titled “Halfmast,” is a great track that just missed being included on The Dears latest Missiles, as lead singer Murray Lightburn explains:
“For whatever reason the clock ran out and we just couldn’t fit this onto Missiles. It has this ridiculous long section at the end that features 4(!) simultaneous guitar solos, one of them on a wah-wah pedal. The solos were played by George Donoso III, Robert E. Benvie, Patrick Krief and Murray Lightburn, recorded in the same session, one after the other. The track was inspiredby many things, but notably, the prospect of a black man running for president.”
The Dears w/ Great Northern and Eulogies
5/1/2009 – Bell House – Park Slope, NY
5/2/2009 – Valentines – Albany, NY
5/4/2009 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
5/5/2009 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
5/7/2009 – Black Cat – Washington, DC
5/8/2009 – Diesel – Pittsburgh, PA
5/9/2009 – Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH
5/10/2009 – Skully’s – Columbus, OH
5/11/2009 – Magic Stick – Detroit, MI
5/13/2009 – Lakeshore Theatre – Chicago, IL
5/14/2009 – Mojo’s – Columbia, MO
5/16/2009 – Hailey’s – Denton, TX
5/17/2009 – Warehouse – Houston, TX
5/18/2009 – The Parish – Austin, TX
5/21/2009 – Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ
5/22/2009 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
5/23/2009 – Echoplex – Los Angeles, CA
5/24/2009 – Independent – San Francisco, CA
5/26/2009 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
5/27/2009 – Crocodile Cafe – Seattle, WA
Chairlift, that of Apple iPod Nano commerical fame, has just re-released their highly successful album Does You Inspire You on Columbia/Kanine. The reissue includes a complete remaster of the album as well as the bonus tracks “Dixie Gypsy” and “Le Flying Saucer.”
The band has just kicked off their tour with Peter Bjorn and Johnwhich will continue thru the beginning of May before they hit the road with The Killers.
Head on over to http://www.killeropeners.net to download a free track by Chairlift. The re-release of Does You Inspire You is available now.
Dates with Peter Bjorn and John
4/21: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café
4/22: Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
4/23: Chicago, IL @ Metro
4/24: Newport, KY @ Southgate House
4/25: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theatre
4/26: Ottawa, ON @ Capital Music Hall
4/27: Montreal, QC @ Le National
4/28: Boston, MA @ Paradise
4/29: NY, NY @ Webster Hall
4/30: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
05/1: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café
05/2: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
Dates with The Killers
05/4: St Louis, MI @ Fox Theatre
05/5: Columbia, OH @ Lifestyle Communities Pavillion
05/6: Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre at Tower City
05/8: Camden, NJ @ Susguehanna Band Center
05/9: Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Empire of the Sun is a new collaboration from Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson and Nick Littlemore of Pnau. The two sparked up a friendship that quickly turned into the creation of the Empire of the Sun and has produced Walking on a Dream, which has been described as a “rare marriage of rock and electronica, immediacy and depth, futurism and tradition, hi-tech production and creative spontaneity, pop melody and the cinematic.”
Don’t let the gaudy cover art fool you, this album wonderful. Fans of MGMT should feel right at home with Empire of the Sun. If you head on to the iTunes Music store, you can download the title track of Walking On a Dream for free this week.
Walking On a Dream is available now on Astralwerks.
Pela is without a doubt my favorite new band in the last 5 or 6 years. After hearing a sampling of some of the new material on the record slated for release sometime this year, I have been salivating for anything and everything Pela. Fortunately for me, there is a really great interview with lead singer / songwriter Billy McCarthy.
Rise Ye Sunken Ships, the title of Pela’s new album, is said to feature a bigger rock & roll sound. One particularly striking note on the record comes from learning that Billy’s brother is in prison and served as inspiration during the writing process:
The album was also written amid personal tragedy for Billy whose brother has been fighting a long battle with schizophrenia which resulted recently in a serious run-in with the law. Although Folsom Prison is merely a Johnny Cash song theme to many, it is a reality for Billy’s family. This is where his brother is serving a life sentence. The album was primarily written during this time of personal and collective darkness. Despite all of this, Billy describes his band as “optimistic” and that they could not write a “morose” album. That is why the album title is so fitting. Billy describes the album as “uplifting” and full of hope. Like a sunken ship rising to the surface so too does this disc rise from its dark context.
Regina Spektor has announced that her forthcoming album will be titled Far. Due on June 23rd on Sire Records, Far will feature production work by four heavy hitters: Jeff Lynne (ELO, The Traveling Wilburys), Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem), David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes) and Garret “Jacknife” Lee (Weezer, REM).
No tracklist or artwork are available yet, but once they are you can be sure I will be sharing.
Regina’s last album Begin to Hope was a masterpiece from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what Regina has in store for us next!
Passion Pit have premiered the video for their new single “The Reeling.” It’s full of happy dancing hipsters, tons of rip & tear effects and it kicks a lot of ass.
“The Reeling” is the first single off of Passion Pit’s debut full length album Manners and relases on 5/19 (Frenchkiss)
I know there are some out there who are skeptical after hearing this song when compared to the Chunk of Change EP but trust me, it is going to be on many top 10 lists come years end, that’s the Fuzzy Lion guarantee.
The legendary Lou Reed will be performing as The Metal Machine Trio for two nights at the Blender Theater at Gramercy on April 23rd and 24th. The show, billed as “A Night of Deep Noise” features Lou on guitar, Ulrich Krieger on tenor sax and “live electronics” and Sarth Calhoun on “live processing” and “fingerboard continuum.”
Samples of the music you can expect to hear are embedded below. As The New York Times said, they are “surprisingly soothing.” Personally, it reminds me of Sigur Ros meets Trent Reznor, which is a good thing.
Silversun Pickups new album Swoon is today’s AmazonMP3 deal of the day. For $3.99 you can buy the entire album in DRM-free mp3 format.
I’ve been listening to Swoon for a few weeks now and it’s fantastic. Fans of Silversun Pickups prior albums should embrace this with open arms. (Even if the first time they heard of the band was through Rock Band!)
“Big Whiskey…“, produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Alanis Morissette) will be released on June 2nd (RCA) and will be the first studio album since 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets to feature the über-talented Tim Reynolds. The title is in homage to the recently deceased saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who was nicknamed “Groogrux.”
Big Whiskey and the Groogrux King Tracklisting
Cockadile
Dive In
Lying in the Hands of God
Funny The Way It Is
Shake Your Monkey /Shake Me Like a Monkey
Spaceman
Skworm / Squirm
Timebomb
Why I Am
You N Me Stripped Down
Passion Pit have been forced to cancel their May UK tour dates due to “personal issues at home” which has them unable to travel outside of the US for the time being. According to a representative of the band, they fully intend to make up the dates at a later time.
Passion Pit will be hitting the road in the US starting May 23rd in support of Manners which is released May 19th on Frenchkiss Records.
In more positive news, Passion Pit have announced that their official website has launched today. That means no more heading over to MySpace for the latest info! (Trust me, that’s a good thing.)
Here’s the dizzying (but fantastic) video for “Sleepyhead”:
Passion Pit Tour Dates
05.23.2009 The Gorge, Sasquatch Festival, Quincy, WA
05.24.2009 Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
05.26.2009 365 Club, San Francisco, CA
05.28.2009 The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA
05.29.2009 Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
05.30.2009 The Glass House, Pomona, CA
06.02.2009 Granada Theatre, Dallas, TXTickets
06.03.2009 Emo’s, Austin, TXTickets
06.04.2009 Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
06.05.2009 Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA
06.06.2009 The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA
06.08.2009 The National, Richmond, VA
06.09.2009 The Black Cat, Washington, DC
06.11.2009 Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN
06.13.2009 Mad Hatter, Covington, KY
06.14.2009 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
06.17.2009 Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY
06.18.2009 Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
06.19.2009 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
06.20.2009 Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
Peter, Bjorn and John will be kicking off their tour on April 21st with Chairlift on support. The first show will take place in Minneapolis and finish on May 2nd in Washington, DC before the band hits the road in support of Depeche Mode for a slew of dates in the US and Canada.
Peter, Bjorn and John recently stopped by The Interface where they performed “Nothing to Worry About”, “Lay It Down”, “It Don’t Move Me”, “Just the Past,” and “Living Things” in support of their just-released album Living Thing.
Peter, Bjorn and John Tour Dates (w/Chairlift)
4/21: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café
4/22: Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theatre
4/23: Chicago, IL @ Metro
4/24: Newport, KY @ Southgate House
4/25: Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Theatre
4/26: Ottawa, ON @ Capital Music Hall
4/27: Montreal, QC @ Le National
4/28: Boston, MA @ Paradise
4/29: NY, NY @ Webster Hall
4/30: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
5/1: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café
5/2: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club
Supporting Depeche Mode
/24: Toronto, ON @ The Molson Amphitheatre
7/25: Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
7/28: Bristow, VA @ Nissan Pavilion
7/31: Mansfield, MA @ Comcast Center
8/1: Atlantic City, NJ @ Borgata
8/3: New York, NY @ MSG
8/4: New York, NY @ MSG
8/10: Seattle, WA @ Key Arena at Seattle Center
8/12: Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
8/14: Chula Vista, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8/16: Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
8/17: Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
8/20: Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara County Bowl
8/22: Las Vegas, NV @ Pearl
8/23: Phoenix, AZ @ US Airways Center
8/25: Salt Lake City, UT @ E Center
8/27: Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Pavilion
8/29: Dallas, TX @ Superpages Center
8/30: Woodlands, TX @ Woodlands Pavilion
9/1: Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
9/4: Tampa, FL @ Ford Amphitheatre
9/5: Sunrise, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
