Holdin on to Black Metal

[mp3] MMJ: "Holdin on to Black Metal"

Dark was the Night - Charity Compilation - 2/17

Even though the blogosphere has been alight for the past several weeks regarding this blockbuster compilation, enough can't be said about how all-around great it is. I'm sure there will be much debate over the "greatness" of all the artists, but you can't expect names like Wavves to sell this record. At least not yet. (No hate to Wavves here.)

We've been able to peruse about 3/4ths of it since it arrived yesterday, and what we've heard so far has been excellent. Not only does the tracklist feature a veritable who's-who of major indie rock artists of the past decade, but all of the proceeds of Dark was the Night go to the Red Hot Organization. This is the 20th Red Hot release, and the 20th anniversary of the Red Hot Organization. The organization is an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture.

Much more info and an mp3 after the jump.

Dirty Projectors and David Byrne "Knotty Pine"

The first disc of the two features darker more haunting versions of folk themed songs (some covers and originals). Highlights here include Antony's cover of Dylan's I Was Young When I Left Home, the reworked Grizzly Bear track Deep Blue Sea and the Dirty Projectors/David Byrne collaboration Knotty Pine (mp3 above).

The second disc brings forth a brighter collection of tracks, the "morning" to the first disc's "night" if you will. Personal favorites so far are the My Morning Jacket track El Caporal and the Sharon Jones cover of Shuggie Otis' Inspiration Information.

BUY this record February 17th via 4AD. Remember, charity people, don't be a torrenting asshole. Lots of great listening here. Tracks from the comp have been streaming for awhile HERE.

THIS DISC

1 Knotty Pine - Dirty Projectors + David Byrne http://www.4ad.com/audio/darkwasthenight/knottypine.mp3

2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) - The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez

3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) - Feist Ben Gibbard

4 Brackett, WI - Bon Iver

5 Deep Blue Sea - Grizzly Bear

6 So Far Around the Bend - The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)

7 Tightrope - Yeasayer

8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) - My Brightest Diamond

9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) - Kronos Quartet

10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) - Antony Bryce Dessner

11 Big Red Machine - Justin Vernon Aaron Dessner

12 Sleepless - The Decemberists

13 Stolen Houses (Die) - Iron and Wine

14 Service Bell - Grizzly Bear Feist

15 You Are The Blood - Sufjan Stevens



THAT DISC

1 Well-Alright - Spoon

2 Lenin - Arcade Fire

3 Mimizan - Beirut

4 El Caporal - My Morning Jacket

5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) - Dave Sitek

7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song "You are the Blood" by the Castanets) - Buck 65
Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)

8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) - The New Pornographers

9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) - Yo La Tengo

10 Another Saturday (traditional song) - Stuart Murdoch

11 Happiness - Riceboy Sleeps

12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) - Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues

13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) - Andrew Bird

14 Lua - Conor Oberst Gillian Welch

15 When the Road Runs Out - Blonde Redhead Devastations

16 Love vs. Porn - Kevin Drew

Ben Nichols Solo Album - Lucero Tour Dates

Yesterday, we received our first taste of Ben Nichols' (of Lucero) mini-LP The Last Pale Light in the West. Pale Light is based around stories culled from Cormac McCarthy's blood-filled, epic Blood Meridian. There are few out there whose gruff intensity could match the rawness and desperation found in most McCarthy novels, but for the most part, Nichols hits it right on the head. Sam Baker does a damn good job of it as well. Using a stripped-down band set-up (Accordion, Guitar, Pedal Steel, Cowboy boots and floor) Nichols attempts to conjure the desert landscapes, violence, and lonesome Mexican villages McCarthy describes in his novel. Oh yeah, don't forget about the ear necklace - that's in there too.

For big news about Nichols' band Lucero and to see when they are coming to your town - click that little continue reading button right below this sentence.



Good things do happen to small bands. Yet, for bands like Lucero it takes a LONG time. Lucero, through relentless rocking, has managed to score themselves a record deal with Universal Music. For all the cred being on an indie gets you, you can't deny the power of a major label's marketing campaign. (See Black Kids and My Morning Jacket). So I say, godspeed Lucero go forth and bring your rock to the people. Speaking of that: Lucero is opening for The Black Keys, see tour dates below. They play two nights in NY at Terminal 5 Feb. 6 & 7 and a show at the Mercury Lounge Feb. 8. The last time we saw Lucero at the Bowery, we left covered in spilled (and thrown) beer and did whiskey shots with Nichols at the bar downstairs. Trust us, they are worth the $10. Lucero's Universal debut is scheduled for summer '09.

Lucero - 2009 Tour Dates
Jan 23 - George's Majestic Lounge (18+) Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jan 24 - Brickhouse Grill Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jan 29 - The Lyric Theatre (18+) Oxford, Mississippi
Jan 30 - Mercy Lounge (21+) Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 31 - Mercy Lounge (21+) Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 5 - Ottobar (All Ages) Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 6 - Terminal 5 (w/ The Black Keys) NYC
Feb 7 - Terminal 5 (w/ The Black Keys) NYC
Feb 8 - Mercury Lounge, NYC
Feb 20 - Bottletree Cafe (18+) Birmingham, Alabama
Feb 21 - Barleys Taproom Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 4 - Sluggos Pensacola, Florida
Mar 5 - Big Daddys Tallahassee, Florida
Mar 6 - New World Brewery (21+) Tampa, Florida
Mar 7 - Langerado Music Festival Miami, Florida
Mar 8 - Harvest of Hope Festival Elkton, Florida
Mar 10 - The Social (18+) Orlando, Florida
Mar 11 - The Pour House Charleston, South Carolina
Mar 12 - Rhythm and Brews Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mar 13 - Variety Playhouse Atlanta, Georgia

Best Of 2008: Artist Choices

For our grand finale, we present Stark's biggest achievement of 2008: pulling together some of the biggest and most diverse names in music, including My Morning Jacket, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, The Welcome Wagon, School of Seven Bells, Jukebox The Ghost, Lewis And Clarke, The Spinto Band, Valencia and dozens of others to contribute their own personal lists of their favorite records from the past twelve months. A huge thanks goes out to all the bands, labels and publicists who made this project possible. Enjoy!

Click Here For The Best Of 2008: Artist Choices

Review: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008/Sub Pop)

Today, it has become increasingly rare to have all of the disparate opinions of music critics line up behind one artist or band. In most cases, that band is new, and proceeds to have a very big year. I give you Fleet Foxes.

This Seattle band's press file includes raves from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Blender and Fader. The list is seemingly endless. The blog world embraced them early, and more mainstream critics quickly followed suit as well. Fleet Foxes released an excellent EP earlier in the year which caught the attention of a very inviting critical pool. Subsequent tours followed, as buzz grew leading up to their LP-release-day last week. They landed the highly sought after 9.0 from Pitchfork, and sold 8,000 records in their first week. Sub Pop has found the formula for breaking new bands and Fleet Foxes are reaping the benefits.
MORE AFTER THE JUMP.

The first and most important step is, clearly, to make an excellent record. Fleet Foxes have. Their eponymous debut often lives in several worlds at once. At times it sounds like a distinctively modern "indie" rock album, with its reverb-drenched vocals and haunting Grizzly Bear harmonies. Yet, what makes this album so fantastic, is its ability to draw from old sounds and styles, as well as new. Not just old as in the '60s-influenced baroque pop their sound echos, but old as in dusty Alan Lomax field recordings. Yeah. That kind of old. There's an ancient aura at play throughout the record, drawing from rural America and medieval sounding instrumental lines. Somehow Fleet Foxes mix the country with the city, the old with the new and create a potent and highly enjoyable record.

So what happens next? In the past, when the critical cosmos has aligned in such a way, it meant big things for that artist. Small "indie" rock artists have become household names: Feist, My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse come to mind. Will Fleet Foxes be selling out Radio City Music Hall this year? No. The record lacks that one hit to land them the coveted iPod commercial or prominent TV placement. Ultimately though, they are not that kind of band. Fleet Foxes have made a complete album that, thankfully, is not a passing sweetness; it is long lasting and stays with you even after it's gone. In that way, listeners will keep coming back to Fleet Foxes, and in turn, the band will find ample amounts of success.

Gearing Up for Summer Releases

The New York Times recently published the "notable albums scheduled for summer-season release" list - yes, the list that ultimately accounts for $20 spending sprees and mornings feeling bad about yourself for doing so. Remember how you felt after buying Tyler Ramsey's A Long Dream About Swimming Across the Sea?. Yeah, we are talking about that CD store walk-of-shame.

But, those worth mentioning include: Weezer - Weezer, Adele - 19, Emmylou Harris - All I Intended to Be, My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges, The Hold Steady - Stay Positive and Conor Oberst- Conor Oberst.

Look to Stark for future reviews.

Do You Get (Or Understand) Evil Urges?

My Morning Jacket has a new album coming out soon, and I'll bet this blog and a half that it'll be polarizing. Whereas Z was ambitious and adventurous, it was still a natural progression from It Still Moves.

This? I can't tell.

MMJ is giving away the title track to Evil Urges, due June 17 via ATO, for free on their Web site. And it's blowing my mind. Jim James dons his best Barry Gibb impression and sings the whole song in falsetto. Then the rest of the band launches into an impromptu jam that wouldn't feel out of place at a Dave Matthews Band show in Central Park.

On first listen, I was perplexed. Put off. Now, I'm transfixed. There's something oddly endearing and majestic about it. Love it or hate it, no one in the world really sounds like My Morning Jacket. It's a good thing.

-Andrew Daniels

My Morning Jacket

www.mysapce.com/mymorningjacket

Jim James (Vocals/Guitar) of My Morning Jacket's Top 10 Albums of 2008

1. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Pt.1 - 4th World War:

I have been a longtime fan of Erykah Badu. I have all of her records and I can say is this is by far the weirdest one yet, which makes me very excited for weirdness to come. You can hear so many new paths of influence here and songs like "Soldier" and "That Hump" are among the best she's ever done. It is raw and creepy, yet still oh so sexy. It sounds like it was subliminally recorded into some hidden army surveillance mic in the back of a tank in the year 3013... she is a delightful being from another world.

2. Dr. Dog - Fate:

These guys never fail to impress me. The songs and recording quality are fantastic. “From" and "Army of Ancients" are two of the best songs in their catalogue. Scott MC Mickens songs never fail to bring a smile
and the songwriting growth of Toby Leaman is particularly impressive here.

3. Calexico - Carried To Dust:

There are some very interesting soundscapes here, almost like its snowing in the middle of Calexico's psychedelic desert world. It is good to feel ice on the cactus... more prickles.

4. Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst:

I like the soft sad moments of this record the most- "Cape Canaveral" and "Lenders In The Temple" are soft pearls I needed to hear this year.

5. Centromatic/South San Gabriel - Dual Hawks:

This is a particularly interesting concept of a split release from two bands led by the same man - Will Johnson. Will's voice is soft and gravely and makes me feel loved.

6. Buena Vista Social Club - At Carnegie Hall:

The original studio album documenting some of the finest in Cuban music has been one of my favorites for years and its great to get this live album now into my ears.

7. Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight:

I like it when I cannot understand. I’m running down a wet dark alleyway inside a computer and this is playing and I’m running and I’m scared and I cannot understand and my blood is pumping and I like it.

8. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago:

Soft and slow, like a hot knife thru butter. You think its ghosts or a killer trying to get in, but its really just tree branches against the farmhouse

9. Black Orpheus - Original Soundtrack Re-release:

This film and soundtrack, featuring the luscious compositions of Antonio Carlos Jobim have kept popping up in my life and it was a great joy to see these old friends in a new light.

10. The Complete Motown Singles, Vol.10: 1970:

Is Motown music the greatest music ever made by mere mortals - ever, in the history of all humanity? Is the climax at four minutes and seventeen seconds in the long version of Diana Ross' version of "Ain’t No
Mountain High Enough" the greatest climax in all of music? I don’t know, but 1970 was an important and change filled year for Motown and it still feels great in 2008.