You Kids And Your Sparkly Vampires... Musical Edition
Music News /
Felicia and TK
Music | August 31, 2009 | Comments (24)
First and foremost: This will be the last edition of Music News. In fact, this will be the final week of Pajiba Music. We’ll be relocating back the The Music Is The Message for a while, and then probably starting a brand new site dedicated exclusively to music. So stick with us, new and exciting things are afoot.
In news that isn’t even remotely shocking, Noel Gallagher has quit Oasis. Again. Somehow, I’m not in a panic. I mean. I’m hardly an Oasis fanatic, although I do think that they’re immensely talented. I imagine that they’ll grouse about it publicly privately, then get into a couple of fistfights, all while yelling “bollocks!” and “tosser!” and “pants!” then eventually get back together. It’s not like the earth has stopped spinning.
—TK
Are you a nervous flyer? Is the first thing you check for when you sit down on your flight the barf bag? Do you start to hyperventilate upon take-off? Well, I’m sorry to break this news to you but it’s not going to get any better if you’re flying Virgin Airlines. Chris Cornell has struck a deal with them that allows the airline to play his solo music while passengers are boarding the plane. You will also be able to watch Cornell’s music videos onboard and listen to his Scream album. I’m not sure what would be worse: listening to Chris Cornell’s recent solo work or listening to a screaming child across the aisle for hours upon hours. This seems like a good tactic to keep terrorists off Virgin airplanes though.
—Felicia
I’ve been saying for forever that I’ve always preferred The Postal Service to Ben Gibbard’s main project, Death Cab For Cutie. Now I feel somewhat validated in that opinion, because Death Cab’s “Meet Me on the Equinox” is going to be the lead single off of New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, one of Pajiba’s all-time favorite punching bags. But no, I’m sure the new one will be totally awesome. Barf.
—TK
De La Soul is on tour right now and I got to see them at First Ave. in Minneapolis last week. The tour is in support of the 20-year anniversay (Does that make you feel old yet?) of their debut album Three Feet High and Rising. They were backed by a full band, and when I say “full band” I don’t mean just a drummer, bass and guitar. Add onto that a horn section, maracas, bongos and chimes and that’s De La’s full band. It added to the high energy Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maseo brought to all the classics they played and it turned out to be a stellar live show. One of my friends said that he had seen them five times before and this particular show was the best out of all of them. If you can get a chance to check them out this time around, it’s worth it. They still have Idaho, Oregon and the Bumbershoot Festival to hit up before heading to Europe.
—Felicia
For those who still haven’t picked up CunninLynguists’s newest album, Strange Journey Volume 1, they’re giving away free MP3s of one of their tracks. It’s a goddamn stellar track, too, featuring Slug of Atmosphere. Click here to download “Don’t Leave (When Winter Comes).” You won’t regret it.
—TK
Here’s your Monday Afternoon Playlist:
Caspar: Fairport Convention — a song that I’ve had on repeat this week is “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?”, from their album Unhalfbricking. I go through phases of listening to it over and over and over again. When I first heard it, I hated it and couldn’t get to grips with the heaviness of the orchestration, with Richard Thompson’s needling guitar and Sandy Denny’s acquired-taste vocals. But these days I hear something new in it every time, and go through great phases of yearning to hear her vocals soar against that overwhelming background; a lovely, plangent eulogy for lost time.
Jez: “Dreams” — Whiskeytown - This is a great cover of the Fleetwood Mac song by Ryan Adams and company. I have a version of this from NPR’s World Cafe but just discovered this great studio version. Another good, rainy day song that reminds me of coastal Carolina.
Chris: “More Stars Than There Are in Heaven” is the first Yo La Tengo song since 2000’s “You Can Have it All” off And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out that has mattered to me. Their new album, Popular Songs, in fact, is almost as much of a success as that perfect album from nine years ago, drawing from the warm and bubbly parts of 2003’s Summer Sun without that album’s limping haze, and the cinematic splendor of the soundtrack work they’ve been dabbling in over the past decade. In case you can’t tell, I’m endlessly interested by this band, and hopefully with this record, even more people will be as well.
TK: I’ve been revisiting the great bands of my youth, and one that keep inexplicably coming back to is the great Suicidal Tendencies. Mike Muir, the only constant member of the band, was a great songwriter, and they don’t get enough credit these days for their thrash/heavy metal influence. They had several great albums — right now I’m hooked on How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can’t Even Smile Today, and my favorite song is probably “Pledge Your Allegiance.” I highly recommend cranking it in your car stereo, particularly the end where they chant “SU-I-CIDAL!” over and over. Great stuff.
Christian: Arcade Fire, “Wake Up” - I figure it’s as fitting a tribute as I can conceive to this wonderful website and all that it’s done for me to have my last playlist track be my favorite song of all time, the anthemic, beautiful, and heartfelt “Wake Up”. Thank you for everything, Pajiba. I’ll be around.
Lizzie Borden: Well, I seem to be veering back into Postal Service territory yet again this weekend, so it’s their cover of “Against All Odds” for me. Really awesome cover. It’s just plain interesting (especially for a cover) and kinda heart-breaking at the same time, like a lot of their music.
Boo: LCD Soundsystem — “Someone Great.” This is a beautifully poignant song; it feels exuberant and cheerful while lamenting the death of a loved one, and pulses with a driving rhythm that feels like life. It always brings me to a place of happy melancholy, reminds me of those that have left me behind, and makes me grateful for the mark they’ve left on my life.
Music News is brought to you by TK and Felicia, whether you like it or not.
Comments
Posted by: George at August 31, 2009 12:10 PM
Oasis is a talented band, but some of there fans are arrogant pricks, and actually believe Oasis is better than the Beatles.
Plus, Liam Gallagher's haircut is the douchiest haircut in existence. If you blended it into liquid, and used it as douche-water, it would flush out cervical cancer.