Little Joy - "Keep Me in Mind" 
Tuesday night I trekked up to the nosebleeds (145th and Riverside) to attend my first-ever “listening party”, hosted by Motormouth Media and Domino Records, in honor of Animal Collective’s much-anticipated new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion. It was worth the trek.
Despite the odd location (The Riverside Lounge? I’m pretty sure nobody ever goes there), and the positively heinous sound quality, I had myself a grand old time. While most records, and Animal Collective’s in particular, require several listens to fully digest, I feel confident in saying that the new album is thoroughly banging. Over the course of its 11 tracks, the album is ethereal, dancey, melodic, aquatic, and interestingly enough, more accessible than any AC album to date. Gone is the fabulously, crazy-vocal exhibition from Avey Tare that we heard on Strawberry Jam. But, in its place are so many thumping beats, whispers, and fluid harmonies that I hardly missed it. If you weren’t already excited for the new album, get excited. Merriweather Post Pavilion is out Jan. 20, 2009 in the U.S. and Jan. 12 in the U.K.
Tara McCarthy - Stark Contributing Writer
File this one in the "marginally about music, but still awesome" file. According to reports on bizbash.com - at this year's Halloween parade in the West Village (of NY), there will be a full-scale recreation of that amazing downtown Chicago parade scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Scantily clad bar-maids and other vintage 80's-style folks will once again dance around a glorious German themed float to The Beatles' "Twist and Shout." We usually stay away from the parade like the plague - but this could be some damn good fun to watch."Event organizers confirmed Tuesday that the Ferris Bueller float will be a participant in this year’s Village Halloween Parade.Fist pump to TICE on this one.
The brainchild of artists Mina Karimi and Kara Suhey, Project Bueller aims to recreate the Von Steuben Day parade scene from the 1986 John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The scene in question, you might remember, finds Matthew Broderick taking over a parade float and inspiring much of Chicago to join him in a round of the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”
In addition to participation from people on the float (who will be wearing matching barmaid uniforms), organizers are hoping parade watchers will help out. Everyone is encouraged to wear '80s business casual attire for added authenticity.
“It’s just the kind of thing we love,” said the parade’s artistic producing director, Jeanne Fleming. “The Halloween Parade, in one sense, is the Art Parade. A lot of the same folks work on both. And if you’re going to put that much effort out there, you might as well get it seen by a million people.”"
Ting Tings - Great DJ - mp3
Richard Manuel and Bob
Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, October 30, at 10 a.m. Eastern time. All purchases will require a password, which will be posted on our tour page before tickets go on sale.
This is not a pre-sale in the usual bobdylan.com fashion. There will be no general public on-sale. All tickets will be sold via the password published on bobdylan.com. There is a limit of four tickets per customer.
All tickets in the first ten rows will require a pick-up at the venue's box office the night of the show, and purchasers must present a valid i.d. and the credit card used to make the purchase.
There will be Hot Seat Packages available for this show, also on sale starting October 30 at 10:00 a.m. See our tour page for more information.
Nashville native and Stark favorite Ben Sollee recently released two new songs via an EP titled, Something Worth Keeping. Starting Nov.1, Sollee will embark on a tour of the US behind this short EP and debut album Learning To Bend. Although minimal in length, Sollee seems very adamant about these two new tracks titled, "Only A Song" (feat. Jim James of My Morning Jacket) and "Mute Bullhorn." There is definitely something more personal at play here as reflected in a note Sollee recently wrote in regard to the EP."....There are many eloquent ideas out there about renewable energy, educational systems, and governing, but realizing them means trying new things; which is daunting at least, and terrifying at most. As my generation takes the reins we should not sacrifice some qualities of this nation and the land in its boundaries to the wayfaring spirit of economy. They are important for Americans, our children, and the rest of the world.
These thoughts inspired these two new songs. But they are only songs…"
Just wanted to take a quick second to post on some nice under-the-radar releases this week. Most notably, the newest posthumous release from noted downtown NY artist Arthur Russell. While relatively unknown during his time, Russell produced several groundbreaking records in the worlds of electronica and disco. Russell's newest release, Love is Overtaking Me, draws from his acoustic/folk background and showcases his wonderful songwriting. The songs echo the feel of his home state, Iowa, as he sings lonesomely of lost love and cornfields.
Also released is the striking and highly autumnal new record from Larkin Grimm. While we may have just gotten into her, Grimm's record, Parplar, has quickly found it's way into regular rotation. It's much more eclectic than your traditional folk/singer songwriter record, yet it doesn't stray too far into the "freaky" world that people seem to have grown quickly tired of. Grimm's voice is fantastic, but still has enough of that backwoods grit to make it believable and interesting. Definitely recommended.
Other records released today are the aforementioned debut Exposion from White Denim as well as Ryan Adams' follow up to Easy Tiger, Cadinology. Further records we recommend are the new Hank Williams collection, Deerhunter's excellent Microcastle and the new Bloc Party record Intimacy.
Austin trio White Denim finally released their debut record Exposion via their direct fan-to-band subscription site. It seems like this record has been around forever, but honestly that's not a bad thing. We caught them in NY last week and their live show was just as kick ass as the record. You can get the digital download or order vinyl through the band's website. Subscribers will get things like a limited 7", limited live tracks, videos, artwork by Steve and the album, which is also available in FLAC format.
Stark favorites, The Raveonettes, released their newest EP Beauty Dies, via AOL's free stream site last week. Coming off the success of their last album, Lust Lust Lust and Sometimes They Drop By (free remix EP,) The Raveonettes chose to once again, dip their hands into the new media publicity model. Nothing like a free EP stream, right?
Perhaps it was the buzz from a days worth of cheap beer, but the most fun we had all week was at the Luaka Bop showcase at Santos Party house on Friday. The DJ was spinning some great tunes from their back catalog as things began to materialize seemingly out of nowhere. All of the sudden my compatriot was wearing a snakeskin jacket (with zipper) and a blond wig. Soon, members of the band Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt had outfitted half the audience with costumes... wigs, hats, inflatable-pink dogs and monkeys. Then, as the music began (which can be described as pseudo annoying dance music for the nerdier sorts, with hints of catchy-ass Latin rhythms thrown in) the lead singer appeared draped in a suit of stuffed animals. Add confetti shot from fans and we had a regular Flaming Lips- style dance party on our hands. It continued for about 20 minutes, with the protagonist eventually changing into a suit of Christmas lights. Then, abruptly the show was over. It was perfect. There was no real opportunity to grasp what was going on, nor for it to go stale. As surprisingly as they had come, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt were gone. We can't say their new 3-inch record thrills us all that much, but for a Friday evening at 6:30pm, their set was the perfect pregame cocktail. Thanks to Tell All Your Friends PR for this one!
We caught the Friendly Fires twice during CMJ and they were clearly one of the best we saw all week. We have one Ms. Lucy Wood to thank for getting us out to the Annex on Wednesday to catch the UK quartet in action. They did not disappoint. Blending the best from bands such as Hot Chip and Radiohead (at their most rock and roll,) the Friendly Fires brought passion, great songs, great voices and excellent musicianship to the stage. With heavy use of cowbells, an alternate percussion set and various electronic keyboard elements, the Fires created pulsing-dance-rock; their sound was surprisingly much larger than one would expect from a quartet. We loved them so much we made sure to haul ass to get to Pianos by 3 pm to see them again at the Brooklyn Vegan day party. Although it took them a bit longer to get warmed up (I mean it was 3) they eventually brought the intensity to match the show the evening before. We ran into lead NY Times music writer Jon Parales during the show, and even Mr. Parales let on that the Friendly Fires, were one of, if not THE best thing he had seen at CMJ to date. Although it's hard to judge the buzz during the actual marathon, we received text messages and emails all telling us to make sure we caught them. Hopefully they can ride their CMJ successes to bigger things in the upcoming year. The Friendly Fires self titled record is out now on XL. LIVE VIDEO FROM LEVI'S/FADER FORT AFTER THE JUMP.
For all you vinyl junkies out there—WFMU 91.1 is hosting its annual Record Fair, today through Sunday (Oct. 24-26) at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Pavilion ( 125 West 18th Street.)
I've got a new obsession, and thy name be Julia Nunes. What started out as an innocent crush has blossomed into an absolute fixation; this girl has got me smitten. After a friend forwarded me a link to her cover of Weezer's "Keep Fishin", I proceeded to watch every single video on her mega-popular YouTube channel, and I've been floored ever since. Her off-kilter voice takes the best parts of a soulful Zooey Deschanel and a childish Kimya Dawson. She makes great use of the ukelele, transforming big popular indie hits into intimate desert island/dorm-room performances. She overdubs herself with perfect harmonies and a kitschy melodica, sometimes with the help of her college roomates and whoever else feels like joining in. She's refreshingly candid and insanely charming, from her infectious smile to her quirky confessions to the camera. You simply can't knock on this girl. She's even parlayed her Internet success into a full-fledged (albeit part-time) solo career, performing her great originals with the likes of none other than Ben Folds. I've included a slew of her covers below. I strongly urge you to check the rest out -- don't blame me if you spend the whole day doing so -- because this girl is a star in the making. In the words of Maeby Funke, "marry me!"
Hey all,'...at the party we will be giving away a new Glass Candy cd called DEEP GEMS,
which is a collection of singles, b sides, and rarities. in between touring like
crazy, glass candy has been in the studio every possible moment working on a new
lp for 2009. in the meantime, deep gems is a collection of rare tracks recorded
between march 2006 and october 2008...' "
Fist pump to ND on this one.
Wednesday's fixin' to be a big night on the town for us. The beginning part of the evening finds us at the Bowery Ballroom to catch Cory Chisel and Shugo. We're pretty jazzed for Shugo as he has played several times in NYC, but we have yet to catch him. His new record Exit, is fantastic. Canadian band, Women are quickly becoming one of the "buzz bands" to catch at this year's festival, so we'll head up the Ludlow street way to catch them at Cake Shop round 11:15pm.
Little Joy
Photo Credit: Robert Wright for The New York Times
Oh and Happy CMJing! Leave us comments about artists that really rock out with their proverbial cock out this week.
Myspace
After the jump.
White Denim
Due to lack of photos on flickr and general assholery on the part of the Stark staff, we have no photos of the show last night.
After a rather unfortunate set by Papertrigger, Amazing Baby took the stage. They basically looked like Spinal Tap, compared to White Denim. Their cliche of the night was TIEDYE (WHOO!) and vintage Jim Morrison-beaded necklaces. Their back-up singers were still off-key and they still don't have good songs - nor do they have a good drummer.
Caitlin Rose, purveyor of her own brand of "cosmic American music" and Bobbie's Dairy Dip ice cream, makes her annual trip from Nashville to NYC for a week of shows, most during CMJ.
Despite Pitchfork's pimp smacking of Noah, we soldier on in support of their debut record Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down, because well, we actually enjoyed it. We missed them at Mercury, but they're heading back to NYC on December 4th with a step up to the Bowery Ballroom.
So for the first time since 1994, David Byrne's Luaka Bop label will hold a fall showcase in NY during CMJ. The occasion? Luaka's release of a creative new 3-inch series featuring three new (to us at least) artists named Yonlu, Marcio Local and Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt. From what we've heard HERE, every artist is worth checking out. The Luaka Bop showcase happens Friday, October 24 from 5-7 at Santos Party House. Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt will be playing and DJ Justin Carter will spin selections from the 3-inch records as well as Luaka Bop's amazing catalog. Definitely put this on your calendar. See below for descriptions of each artist from the Luaka press release. All 3" records are available now...
Dent May sans magnificent ukulele 
Fite Bite "The Accident" - mp3
It's that time of year again, when bands both big and small converge upon New York City for a debaucherous, music-filled five days...that's right we're talking about the 2008 CMJ Music Marathon. Spanning Oct. 21 to Oct. 25, there's just too much to see. We'll do our best...this isn't our full time job. Come on! (in Gob voice.)
