Wild Frank

au contraire, this year's been excellent.

I agree. There have been some great albums this year, Circuital being one of them. There are also, for me, some highly anticipated records due later in the year (Wilco, Tom Waits, The Jayhawks)

It was something all right! Can't wait to see them again soon. I love the extended "Off The Record" how it ends so trippy, as on the Okonokos DVD.

 

I hope Wilco can do one of those American Express "Unstaged" live shows someday, like the ones Arcade Fire and now MMJ have done. Tony, get the band signed up! Although when the credits ran at the end, I was really surprised how many people it took to make it happen.

 

Here's Wordless Chorus with Erykah Badu

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUWBOdK7h1w

I love that 'wordless chorus'. But then I love Badu. Badu and Jim James is a combination made in heaven. Just from watching the clips this seems to have been a great, great show. Loving those suits too, and Patricks headgear!!

Agreed, he is one the greats. His discography remains consistently great--and have you heard the Grinderman records?!

 

my favs, in no order:

 

boatman's call

lyre of orpheus/abbitious (sp)blues

let love in

mercy seat

I have the first Grinderman record but haven't got around to the second one yet. Don't know why but 'Lyre of Orpheus' never really worked for me. Maybe it should have been edited down to a single disc set which would have improved it. In terms of favourites I would have to say:

1) The Good Son;

2) And No More Shall We Part;

3) Let Love In.

This is sad news. I had hoped he had come to terms with his demons. His last album was stong. A great artist. RIP

Only funny because it's so true!

Its a great tune though.

I've listened to the new record a few times and it is far less immediate than its predesessor. That's not to say it's inferior. When I first heard the album it was more a case of 'I am going to love this record' that 'I love this album'. I can sense its beauty even though it hasn't revealed itself to me yet.

That may sound a bit bollocksy but its an attempt to described how I feel about the album!!

How about Nick Cave (following on from my other thread).

* Love Letter;

* Into My Arms (this one really does the trick)

* Far From Me;

* Gates to the Garden.

I agree with Scott Grrr too. A Little Rain is a real tear jerker. However, Tom's most beautiful heart breaker is the track 'I'm Still Here' from the Alice album. It's only about 90 seconds long but it will rip your heart out and stamp on it. For me its about an elderly couple who have been together for many years and the loneliness the old chap is feeling.

"You haven't looked at me that way in years

You dreamed me up and left me here

How long was I dreaming for

What was it you wanted me for

You haven't looked at me that way in years

Your watch has stopped and the pond is clear

Someone turn the lights back off

I'll love you til all time is gone

You haven't looked at me that way in years

But I'm Still here...."

Great stuff. Johnsburg, Illinois is also a beauty. Wish I could produce something that great for my wife. God bless you Tom.

As I Sat Sadly By Her Side Lyrical perfection.

As I sat sadly by her side

At the window, through the glass

She stroked a kitten in her lap

And we watched the world as it fell past

Softly she spoke these words to me

And with brand new eyes, open wide

We pressed our faces to the glass

As I sat sadly by her side

She said, "Father, mother, sister, brother,

Uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,

Soldier, sailor, physician, labourer,

Actor, scientist, mechanic, priest

Earth and moon and sun and stars

Planets and comets with tails blazing

All are there forever falling

Falling lovely and amazing"

Then she smiled and turned to me

And waited for me to reply

Her hair was falling down her shoulders

As I sat sadly by her side

As I sat sadly by her side

The kitten she did gently pass

Over to me and again we pressed

Our different faces to the glass

"That may be very well", I said

"But watch the one falling in the street

See him gesture to his neighbours

See him trampled beneath their feet

All outward motion connects to nothing

For each is concerned with their immediate need

Witness the man reaching up from the gutter

See the other one stumbling on who can not see"

With trembling hand I turned toward her

And pushed the hair out of her eyes

The kitten jumped back to her lap

As I sat sadly by her side

Then she drew the curtains down

And said, "When will you ever learn

That what happens there beyond the glass

Is simply none of your concern?

God has given you but one heart

You are not a home for the hearts of your brothers

And God does not care for your benevolence

Anymore than he cares for the lack of it in others

Nor does he care for you to sit

At windows in judgement of the world He created

While sorrows pile up around you

Ugly, useless and over-inflated"

At which she turned her head away

Great tears leaping from her eyes

I could not wipe the smile from my face

As I sat sadly by her side

Not much talk of Nick Cave round these parts.

The next round of his re-issue campaign have just been released. This includes: Let Love In, Murder Ballads, Boatman's Call and No More Shall We Part. These four records are of a ridiculously high standard and should be in everyone's record collection. Each set comes with a DVD featuring video's and part of a documentary. I have the 'No More Shall We Part' one and it is very good. The opening track 'As I Sat Sadly' is a work of genius.

In terms of status he does seem to be an undervalued artist. The quality of his output is consistantly high.

double LP + shirt = $70.

 

hey Neil, your prices fucking suck!

It's even worse over here in the UK. All they seem to do is replace the doller sign with a pound sign!! No exchange rate. The Vinyl is on Amazon for £45. That is a bit pricy!

Still gonna get the vinyl but might have to shop around. Tracks like Grey Riders and Southern Pacific are great. The 'Tech Notes' on Neil's site are classic.

I am more excited about the live box set coming out than anything else. Has anyone seen confirmation that it is for sure the 5 night NYC run?

I've not seen any confirmation yet, although I'm pretty confident thats what it will be (Not sure if they will be able to include all the cover versions). The free downloads definatley had the feel of being part of a larger package.

Z. Perfect.

Even the B-sides on that record are amazing. Chills and How Could I Know both should have made the album which is ironic becuase I usually accused MMJ of putting two many tracks on, especially At Dawn and It Still Moves.

Maybe the "peanut butter pudding surprise" is what dribbled down the back of Jim's leg when he couldn't handle the pressure.

That's not an image I needed in my mind. Thanks for that!!

I do like the new record but I agree with you, with Z and Okonokos they hit a level that they have, thus far, not returned to. Z is a near perfect album for me.

I've bit listening to Dylan for all my adult life and have pretty much heard everything he's every released. Simple question.....if you could make a Dylan compilation album what would be the tracklist (I'm bored at work today!). It would have to be a 2 Disc set. He's coming up on his 70th birthday so..what is the ultimate Dylan collection? Doesn't have to the most commercially viable songs..just the 24 carrot gold material.

I do listen to a lot of the Japenese turntable/hip-hop artist 'DJ Krush'. He has been putting out great material for many years. He has worked with member of the Roots and DJ Shawdow but also a lot of Japenese vocalists and muscians. Japenese rapping can be pretty hardgoing tho!!

If anyone's interested the albums 'Zen' and 'Jako' are worth checking out.

Coming from a long-time MMJ fan that has loved them live several times, I think the JJ (or YY ) solo album has the potential to be incredibly bad. I've come to the conclusion that Jim is a weird dude that I just don't connect with at times. He has come up with some really head scratching interview comments and songs in the last few years. The thought of him having an unchecked creative outlet honestly scares me a little bit.

I'm not sure where the difference lies between a JJ solo record and a MMJ record. I'm sure JJ has full creative control over MMJ and the band are there to realise his vision (I may be well off base here but I think that's the case). The 'weidness' is becoming increasingly apparent with recent MMJ releases. I do find his comments a bit to 'out there' for my taste but the record could still be interesting. I would say that Tennessee Fire is one of my favourite MMJ albums and that one was, from what I understand, pretty much solely the work of JJ.

...and did we every find out what a 'penutbutter pudding surprise' was?

Anyway, Dylan's recording method and Justin Vernon's are quite different. Dylan would routinely just launch into the song and the players had to hold on and just play along in many instances. And the jazz guys who released 2-3 albums a year were doing that mostly out of necessity. Gotta make money somehow...and the post production wasn't even that major. It's not like they were doing lots of layering or anything.

I agree with the techniques involved in producing the respective records but my point relates the the volume of quality material produced in such a short period of time. Ryan Adams has done similar in the past, with varying degrees of success.

From a marketing point of view, in reference to a previous thread, artists don't need an album out every six months when you can release a record and then release a deluxe/special edition of the same record a few months down the line. Not that this is something I would imagine Bon Iver doing.

Bob Dylan released 'Bringing it all back home', 'Highway 61 Revisited' and 'Blone on Blonde' in eighteen months. That is truly one of the most staggering achievements in Rock history.

The big hitting Jazz boys in the fifties and sixties (Davis, Coltrane, Mingus etc) would put out several albums a year.

That said there's not a single Bon Iver song yet released that I haven't loved. This new track continues that trend.

I've just watched the second clip from the O2 show. Its a ten miunte clip of 'Outside the Wall' with Waters and his band being joined by both Gilmour and Nick Mason. Nick just taps a tambourine and looks a bit disinterested. Roger, however, is buzzing. Watching the footage makes me think that Roger would love to pull Gilmour (and Mason) back into something more permanent. Gilmour...less so.

I know that Roger is siting on an album's worth of material that has yet to see the light of day. Wishful thinking maybe but I'm betting he's holding off on the hope he can convince Gilmour to contribute under the Pink Floyd banner. I'm probably well wide of the mark here but I've been listening to a lot of Floyd this week and it is starting to effect my sanity.

"Banging your head against some mad buggers wall"!!

Its a much stronger album than Evil Urges in my opinion. More consise, which is MMJ failings in my point of view. 'Z' is my favourite record of theirs. Both 'At Dawn' and 'It Still Moves' have great songs on them but could do with a lot of editing down.

The new album does have a couple of poor tracks but there are five or six great songs. I love Black Metal and the last track is a thing a beauty. As always will probably work better in a live context, especially Black Metal.

Looking forward to the impending Jim James solo record which is, accoring to James, almost complete. The George Harrison EP was good if nothing spectacular.

320kbps download of the first taste of the album 'Calgary'

 

http://pitchfork.com/news/42542-new-bon-iver-calgary/

 

it's awesome

That's a great song. Artwork is beautiful too.

Old Rog looks really pumped up and enjoying himself. The voice, never great, is really starting to suffer though. Not going to the UK shows but it does look a fantastic spectacle.

Ryko did a really nice job with the David Bowie remasters, too.

The sound was great, the packaging was excellent. And, there were real quality extra tracks with each release -- that directly related to the sessions for the album with which they were included.

 

Plus, they offered them both on CD and on vinyl. (With the bonus tracks coming on a separate Side 3 of the vinyl release.)

 

Nice.

The Bowie Vinyls sound good. I ask this question periodically but what is Bowie up to? Is he retired in terms of new musical output? I was listening to a couple of him mid-nineties albums the other day (outside/earthling) and forgot how enjoyable they were.

Nick Mason's book is pretty cool.

 

Pink Floyd Drummer on the Band's Unearthed Recordings, Endurance

I've always meant to pick up Nick's book but my interests had move to other bands at that time. My Floyd interest has been re-ignited somewhat this week (not enough to fork out for an 'immersion' edition of anything!!). I don't think there's any mention of the vinyl editions but I'll pick up those and probably 'find' the bonus material elsewhere. Been listening to Animals a lot over the past couple of days. That is such a great record which gets overshadowed by the two the proceeded it and the one that followed.

It's not everyday the man himself issues a press release:

 

To my fans and followers

Wow. Fair play Bob. I expecially like the last paragraph, although I won't be taking him up on it. Hopefully he is penning Chronicles 2 currently as the first was a riveting read.

My Brother is seven years older than I am. He was the jock in the family. His musical tastes were pretty typical for the late 1906's. Creedence, Grass Roots, Stones, Beatles. His musical tastes ossified around 1972. I think the last concert he went to was an Elvis concert in 1974.

 

 

 

 

Ahh the late 1906's. Great days and a great music scene!