10
May
2006
Still brutal - and baked - after all these years, the Melvins are back this coming Tuesday with Houdini Live 2005: A Live History of Gluttony & Lust, a live opus that squeals and cascades the sickest guitar tones in memory.
The Ipecac Records release finds the buzz-saw trio, now featuring Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle on bass, performing its own Houdini album from 1993, a nifty feat that won the band praise after trying it out at last year's All Tomorrow's Parties festival. One cover oddity absolutely slays the original in a wall of bent, grunged-out guitar: "Going Blind" from Kiss' third album, Hotter Than Hell.
· Death Cab For Cutie is offering a DVD "visual version" of its Plans CD from last year. Entitled Directions, the Atlantic Records' DVD plays out the album's 11 tracks in order, each with a video by an established or emerging director and animator. Packed with bonuses and an interview with the band talking about the project, the narrative and experimentally abstract clips flow together nicely with recurring thematic images of childhood, light, and darkness, making the album a new experience. Highlights include "Your Heart Is an Empty Room," animated in black and white by underground cartoonist and Ignatz Award nominee Jeffery Brown; "Crooked Teeth," brought to life in stop-motion animation featuring cardboard robots, pirates, and buried treasure; "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," exploring an artist's sketchbook of playful bunnies; and the beating heart in "Someday You Will Be Loved," bleeding, burnt, and bruised.
· In other DVD news, Shout Factory is releasing the fourth season of the cult cartoon show Home Movies next week, featuring They Might Be Giants as music-camp counselors in the clip "Camp." The three-DVD set also contains commentary from The Shins, Modest Mouse, and editors of The Onion.
· Sub Pop Records hasn't forgotten about the video clip either, as this week a new compilation DVD, Acquired Taste, shines in the glory of Iron & Wine, Low, Sleater-Kinney, and Mudhoney. Two of the 25 videos have a cool comedy connection, with The Postal Service's "We Will Become Silhouettes" directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite, and the Helio Sequence's "Don't Look Away" directed by Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Hoobastank on Friday; The Late Show with David Letterman presents Van Hunt on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Common this evening overnight, Wilco on Friday overnight, Billy Joel on Monday overnight, and Jewel on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson features Chris Isaac this evening overnight and Rock Kills Kid on Friday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live sits down with lonely boy Nick Lachey on Thursday overnight and Taking Back Sunday on Friday overnight; Austin City Limits let loose The Killers and Spoon this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest is Paul Simon.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, May 16:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
As I Lay Dying - A Long March: The First Recordings (Metal Blade) 22-track collection
The Black Hollies - Crimson Reflections (Ernest Jennings Record Co) featuring former members of Rye Coalition
Edgar Broughton Band - Superchip (Eclectic) reissue of this conceptual album from 1981
The Broughtons - Parlez-Vous English (Eclectic) reissue from 1979, featuring cover design by Hipgnosis
Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell, Music for the Masses, and Violator (Rhino) expanded "deluxe edition" CD reissues, each featuring a bonus DVD with 5.1-channel audio mix and a documentary film
Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind and Where You Been (Rhino) expanded reissues from 1991 and 1993
Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo to Anywhere (Vertigo) import-only new project from Carl Barat of the Libertines
Don Caballero - World Class Listening Problem (Relapse) also available in a limited-edition gatefold LP edition on colored vinyl
Faun Fables - Soundtrack (Drag City) on tour now in support of this rock opera set on a moving locomotive, promising a lively experience with props and costumes galore
The Finals - Plan Your Getaway (Immortal) hot off touring with Downtown Singapore
Fish - Return to Childhood (Snapper) two-CD set from last year's tour, performing the Marillion classic Misplaced Childhood album for the first time in two decades
Hillstomp - The Woman That Ended the World (Hillstomp) hip-shakin', hopped-up roots rock, as if the Violent Femmes grew up under the hot Mississippi sun; featuring covers of Fred McDowell's "You Done Told Everybody" and Muddy Waters' "Can't Be Satisfied"
Hoobastank - Every Man for Himself (Island)
Mason Jennings - Boneclouds (Glacial Pace/Epic) label debut of this new imprint created by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, named for his Glacial Pace recording studio in Oregon
Leels - Fingerscrossed (Cloth Monkey) Florida supergroup of sorts, with members of Pee Shy, Home, and Meringue
Look Daggers - "Before You Say No" (Up Above) new seven-inch single from Ikey Owens of Mars Volta, with members of Thelonius Monster and Sublime
Lotus - The Strength of Weak Ties (Harmonized) super catchy electronica like an infectious mix of the Tom Tom Club and Chaz Jankel
Minmae - Le Grande Essor de la Maison du Monstre (Greyday) smart, driving, shoe-gazin' jangle rock
Mouth of the Architect/Kenoma - Split (Translation Loss) split CD EP from these two Dayton, Ohio, bands, featuring Mouth of the Architect's 17-minute "Sleepwalk Powder"
Mower - Not for You (Suburban Noize) featuring the band's wild cover of The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreaming"
Roger O'Donnell - The Truth in Me (99 X Out of Ten Records) new solo album from the former Cure keyboardist, debuting his new label and featuring vocalist Erin Lang on three songs
Marykate O'Neil - 1-800-Bankrupt (Nettwerk/71 Recordings) from the former face of Oiewackit, with guest and co-songwriter Jill Sobule
Over the Hedge - original motion picture soundtrack (Epic) featuring a cover of The Clash favorite "Lost in a Supermarket" by Ben Folds
Paik - Monster of the Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) cinematic, massive riffs as sludgy as their Detroit homeland; recently performing at the Terrastock 6 festival
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (Third Man/V2) all-new "supergroup" of Brendan Benson, Jack White of the White Stripes, and Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes
Radio 4 - "Enemies Like This" (Astralwerks) new seven-inch and CD single featuring bonus acoustic and remixes on the CD
Run Run Run - Endless Winter (Majestic) featuring a cool cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade
Amy Speace - Songs for Bright Street (Wildflower) with guest fiddler Soozie Tyrell of the E-Street Band, and Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, along with an alt-country version of Blondie's "Dreaming"
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns (One Little Indian) with guests Ani DiFranco, Joseph Arthur, and former Afghan Whigs bandmate John Curley
The Wedding Present - Search for Paradise: Singles 2004-5 (Manifesto) CD and DVD set featuring acoustic versions of three songs
Whitestar - Luv Machine (Contango) featuring Dickie Betts Jr. on guitar, and a cover of Bill Withers' "Use Me"
various artists - The Sound the Hare Heard (Kill Rock Stars) it's a cavalcade of indie stars with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Imaad Wasif, Jeff Hanson, Devin Davis, Sufjan Stevens, and more on this 21-track CD collection, conceptually broken down into four sides of a double-album set
· Death Cab For Cutie is offering a DVD "visual version" of its Plans CD from last year. Entitled Directions, the Atlantic Records' DVD plays out the album's 11 tracks in order, each with a video by an established or emerging director and animator. Packed with bonuses and an interview with the band talking about the project, the narrative and experimentally abstract clips flow together nicely with recurring thematic images of childhood, light, and darkness, making the album a new experience. Highlights include "Your Heart Is an Empty Room," animated in black and white by underground cartoonist and Ignatz Award nominee Jeffery Brown; "Crooked Teeth," brought to life in stop-motion animation featuring cardboard robots, pirates, and buried treasure; "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," exploring an artist's sketchbook of playful bunnies; and the beating heart in "Someday You Will Be Loved," bleeding, burnt, and bruised.
· In other DVD news, Shout Factory is releasing the fourth season of the cult cartoon show Home Movies next week, featuring They Might Be Giants as music-camp counselors in the clip "Camp." The three-DVD set also contains commentary from The Shins, Modest Mouse, and editors of The Onion.
· Sub Pop Records hasn't forgotten about the video clip either, as this week a new compilation DVD, Acquired Taste, shines in the glory of Iron & Wine, Low, Sleater-Kinney, and Mudhoney. Two of the 25 videos have a cool comedy connection, with The Postal Service's "We Will Become Silhouettes" directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite, and the Helio Sequence's "Don't Look Away" directed by Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen.
Television Alert:
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno hosts Hoobastank on Friday; The Late Show with David Letterman presents Van Hunt on Friday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien boasts Common this evening overnight, Wilco on Friday overnight, Billy Joel on Monday overnight, and Jewel on Tuesday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson features Chris Isaac this evening overnight and Rock Kills Kid on Friday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live sits down with lonely boy Nick Lachey on Thursday overnight and Taking Back Sunday on Friday overnight; Austin City Limits let loose The Killers and Spoon this weekend; and Saturday Night Live's musical guest is Paul Simon.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, May 16:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
As I Lay Dying - A Long March: The First Recordings (Metal Blade) 22-track collection
The Black Hollies - Crimson Reflections (Ernest Jennings Record Co) featuring former members of Rye Coalition
Edgar Broughton Band - Superchip (Eclectic) reissue of this conceptual album from 1981
The Broughtons - Parlez-Vous English (Eclectic) reissue from 1979, featuring cover design by Hipgnosis
Depeche Mode - Speak & Spell, Music for the Masses, and Violator (Rhino) expanded "deluxe edition" CD reissues, each featuring a bonus DVD with 5.1-channel audio mix and a documentary film
Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind and Where You Been (Rhino) expanded reissues from 1991 and 1993
Dirty Pretty Things - Waterloo to Anywhere (Vertigo) import-only new project from Carl Barat of the Libertines
Don Caballero - World Class Listening Problem (Relapse) also available in a limited-edition gatefold LP edition on colored vinyl
Faun Fables - Soundtrack (Drag City) on tour now in support of this rock opera set on a moving locomotive, promising a lively experience with props and costumes galore
The Finals - Plan Your Getaway (Immortal) hot off touring with Downtown Singapore
Fish - Return to Childhood (Snapper) two-CD set from last year's tour, performing the Marillion classic Misplaced Childhood album for the first time in two decades
Hillstomp - The Woman That Ended the World (Hillstomp) hip-shakin', hopped-up roots rock, as if the Violent Femmes grew up under the hot Mississippi sun; featuring covers of Fred McDowell's "You Done Told Everybody" and Muddy Waters' "Can't Be Satisfied"
Hoobastank - Every Man for Himself (Island)
Mason Jennings - Boneclouds (Glacial Pace/Epic) label debut of this new imprint created by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, named for his Glacial Pace recording studio in Oregon
Leels - Fingerscrossed (Cloth Monkey) Florida supergroup of sorts, with members of Pee Shy, Home, and Meringue
Look Daggers - "Before You Say No" (Up Above) new seven-inch single from Ikey Owens of Mars Volta, with members of Thelonius Monster and Sublime
Lotus - The Strength of Weak Ties (Harmonized) super catchy electronica like an infectious mix of the Tom Tom Club and Chaz Jankel
Minmae - Le Grande Essor de la Maison du Monstre (Greyday) smart, driving, shoe-gazin' jangle rock
Mouth of the Architect/Kenoma - Split (Translation Loss) split CD EP from these two Dayton, Ohio, bands, featuring Mouth of the Architect's 17-minute "Sleepwalk Powder"
Mower - Not for You (Suburban Noize) featuring the band's wild cover of The Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreaming"
Roger O'Donnell - The Truth in Me (99 X Out of Ten Records) new solo album from the former Cure keyboardist, debuting his new label and featuring vocalist Erin Lang on three songs
Marykate O'Neil - 1-800-Bankrupt (Nettwerk/71 Recordings) from the former face of Oiewackit, with guest and co-songwriter Jill Sobule
Over the Hedge - original motion picture soundtrack (Epic) featuring a cover of The Clash favorite "Lost in a Supermarket" by Ben Folds
Paik - Monster of the Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) cinematic, massive riffs as sludgy as their Detroit homeland; recently performing at the Terrastock 6 festival
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers (Third Man/V2) all-new "supergroup" of Brendan Benson, Jack White of the White Stripes, and Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence of the Greenhornes
Radio 4 - "Enemies Like This" (Astralwerks) new seven-inch and CD single featuring bonus acoustic and remixes on the CD
Run Run Run - Endless Winter (Majestic) featuring a cool cover of Mazzy Star's "Fade
Amy Speace - Songs for Bright Street (Wildflower) with guest fiddler Soozie Tyrell of the E-Street Band, and Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, along with an alt-country version of Blondie's "Dreaming"
Twilight Singers - Powder Burns (One Little Indian) with guests Ani DiFranco, Joseph Arthur, and former Afghan Whigs bandmate John Curley
The Wedding Present - Search for Paradise: Singles 2004-5 (Manifesto) CD and DVD set featuring acoustic versions of three songs
Whitestar - Luv Machine (Contango) featuring Dickie Betts Jr. on guitar, and a cover of Bill Withers' "Use Me"
various artists - The Sound the Hare Heard (Kill Rock Stars) it's a cavalcade of indie stars with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, Imaad Wasif, Jeff Hanson, Devin Davis, Sufjan Stevens, and more on this 21-track CD collection, conceptually broken down into four sides of a double-album set
