mestar & ghostplane - wunderbar 23/9/05 [live review]

Three differently styled indie-rock bands played at the Wunderbar last Saturday. The combination of these three certainly wasn’t oddball – they seemed to fit each other quite well.

The New Originals started the evening with their dense (but messy) style of jangly/sloppy indie rock. As is usual with the local four-piece, the drums need to be pushed back in the mix (a lot) and the bass needs to stay in time. But I’m always a sucker for this messy sound – the keyboards add a particularly nice touch. If better paced and more subtle, their sound would work a lot better.

Mestar love cartoon alligators, hot air balloons and probably picnics under sycamore trees, which is okay with me, especially when they write adorable, melody-soaked songs about them. If their overall twee aesthetic of gorgeousness and delight isn’t their strongest aspect, then that’s probably Mestars biggest strength – exuberant harmonies and melodies consistently across whimsical, dreamy and tune-filled indie pop songs of the perfect length and pace. Embracing elements of noise and distortion they keep things rocking, while still taking quieter moments in between. They take the kindergarden memories of The Fiery Furnaces and coat them in cuteness with fuzzy guitars and image-laden lyrics. And they were terrific, again, in a live show that seemed to contain more energy than last time. Though their sound best suits drives in the country or lying in long grass, it translates really well to an energetic live show. Plus, their lead singer John White bears an uncanny resemblance to Dick from High Fidelity (I know I’m not the only one to notice this). It’s a good thing, by the way.

It’s been over year since Mestar played in Christchurch. Last year’s New Zealand Music Month saw them play a great show at the Dux, and in that same week, I remember being decidedly under whelmed by the band that followed them at this show – Ghostplane.

And they were a lot better than I remembered them this time around. Still, despite a meticulous brand of indie rock with some interesting instruments adding dynamics to the mix, the quintet still came off a little drab after a few songs. A consistently tight and well-paced set was marred by the fact that their general aesthetic was a little too regular. For every great song it seemed like the next was comparatively forgettable. At times they sounded a little like The Phoenix Foundation, but without the lush organics. Ghostplane’s more produced sound tended more towards the solid, tried and true blend of guitar based rock that has intricacies that are better heard on their recordings. Following a quirky, interesting indie-rock band like Mestar whose sonics are more endearing made for a tricky contrast. But they were still good – just not as interesting or engaging as one would hope.

oh i had this greatidea for a playlist title

welcome. come one, come all. shea's rocking a nice smiths t shirt and richards got jeans so tight I'm glad he didn't have to bend overhis crate of vinyl...

1. Gang Of Four, Damaged Goods (Return The Gift)
2. Tim Rogers & The Temperance Union, Shit (Dirty Ron)

right warming up now

3. Go Go Go Airheart, Shake It Off (Rats! Sing! Sing!)
4. Silver Jews, How Can I Love You (If You Won't Lie Down)

yes well. something is not working in the brain/ mouth partnership but we'll get there. poor dan berman - check out a great interview on pitchforkmedia.com that is enough to make you never want to be an indie artist ever. it's a great album by the way....

ohh. the ads really get me going! it's shea. voicing ads. he's world famous in chch and has very good enunciation....

5. Mestar, Ovientar (Porcupine)
6. Grant Lee Buffalo, Mockingbirds (Mighty Joe Moon)

I found this album again after many years and am in the process of falling in love with it again... it really was another key step towards the embracing of the vision of americana...

the exec lounge is full of the mixtape crew. too much humanity for me.

7. Roxy Music, Do The Strand (For Your Pleasure)

Sweet sexy dark dirty roxy. Eno spices it up whilst Ferry croons like a two dollar holla holla. I have no idea whatthat means. Ring in if you do...

8. Oneida, Did I Die? (The Wedding)

Jagjaguar is possibly the greatest record label out there at the moment. Some amazing bands redefining the possibilities of guitars and structures and sonic sauce. mmm... special sauce. check them out on the web and whilst you're there reachout and touch someone. or something like that.

Hat is on the phone from his kitchen, the Commander In Chief himself. We salute you good sir.

9. Neutral Milk Hotel, Engine (Download from Siad the Gramaphone... see the links list at the side of the blog!)

hey, you haven;t seen my grey top have you? I left it in the lounge on sat and it has disappeared. I'm distraught. Thanks for ringing. see ya. That was my flatmate.


love is given, but seldom received.

10. Matt Pond PA, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, (Winter Songs EP)

see. are you paying attention. this is a neutral milk hotel cover. this is what we call linking things together "Thematically" in the industry.now you know.

11. Belle And Sebastian, Here Comes The Sun (Live Beatles Cover)

A brilliant Shea selection and a nice voicebreak to boot. next year when richard fucks offto australia shea it will be you and me. are you scared yet?

12. Arab Strap, Speed-Date (The Last Romance)
13. Skygreen Leopards, Clouds Through Sparrow Eyes (Life And Love In Sparrow's Meadow)

Jagjaguar again! Yer. See Above.

14. The Minus Story, Knocking On Your Head (No Rest For Ghosts)

No rest for goats either. hmmm.

15. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Spetember (Jacksonville City Nights)

Yes, another night, another ryan album. and yes, once again I believe this to be a stunning release. for those of you who believe you need three years, a performance coach and millions of dollars to record an album... well, you're not listening to us anyway.

post rock is coming up. i can feel it in my marrow.

16. Arcade Fire, Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeah Whatever Cover... BBC Jo Wiley Live Lounge)

This song actually has substance unlike anything else YYY have ever done. If someone can tell me the difference between Karen O and Britney Spears give us a call. But anyway The Arcade Fire are sensational, absolutely mindblowingly audaciously brilliant, and Bowie loves them. Check the blogs. You know it's true. Nice Harmonica.


17. Sleater Kinney, What's Mine Is Yours (The Woods)

If this is selling out I want some shares. Finally they get the sound they deserve...

18. You Say Party! We Say Die!, Stockholm Syndrome Pt 1 (Hit The Floor!)

Two riot grrl tracks in a row. Just pointing that out.

19. Neil You... Magnolia Elelctric Co., The Dark Don't Hide It (
20. Kingsbury Manx, 10008 (The Fats Rise and Fall of the Why Won't It Tell Me)
21. Tim Rogers & the TU, Ghost Songs (GhostSongs/ Dirty Ron)

22. Phosphorescent, I Am A Full Grown Man (I will Lay In The Grass All Day) (Aw Come Aw Wry)

nice twice. one to keep yr eye out for. speaking of nothing related, you should go on line and download this track for free re: georgie porgie's "handling" of recent terrible events in noo orleans...

23. TV On The Radio, Dry Drunk Emperor (Free for download...check the blog)
24. Neon Blonde, The Future Is A Mesh Stallion (Chandeliers In The Savannah)
25. The Liars, Groown Men Don't Fall In The River, Just Like That (They Threw Us In A Trench And Built A Monument On Top)

we got our fingers on the pulse of america
wake up
wake up
your pants are on fire

uh
uh
uh

get down to capitol bar - mixtape 3 - if you like this kind of thing for a night of hot tunes and good times.

nearly over now. i can hear the safety car bringing us in. cacophony are near...

26. Ligthning Bolt, Magic Mountain (Hypermagic Mountain)

and maybe

27. Sigur Ros, Me>Blo>nasir (Takk)

love to all

timmy dodgers, richard mf, shea okay

don't dance her down

the third installment of the mixtape connection is this friday the 30th. as usual it's at capitol bar on hereford st. again, free, and again, you get a free mix cd if yr one of the first 50 rdunited members through the door. but you get a choice this time - mr hitchcock is mixing one of the cds, and i've made the other one. mine is under the guise of "late night tales", e.g. those terrific compilations, of which have recently been done by the flaming lips and four tet.

if you haven't been to the past gigs, well here's the sort of music yr in for:

Gang of Four, The Smiths, Tom Vek, Out Hud, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem (plus other DFA artists), !!!, Mu, The Human League, The Soft Pink Truth, Death from Above 1979, The Cure, Blondie, Talking Heads, Joy Division, Devo, New Order, Felix da Housecat, The Go! Team, Vitalic, Interpol, Kraftwerk, Chicks on Speed, Pet Shop Boys, The Cars, Arthur Russell, Ellen Allien, Junior Boys, Luke Vibert etc.

alongside the regulars missy g (from girlschool, tuesdays 7-9pm before guitar media), mr hitchcock (host of the mixtape sessions, thursday 7-9pm), and myself (richard), bill bird will be playing his special blend of indie rock and dark drum & bass (lolz!). rollers, bangers, and thumpers. massive!

mestar & ghostplane - wunderbar 23/9/05 [photos]

terrfic night out at the wunderbar last night. i'll be posting a full 400 word review of the gig on wednesday. for now though, here are some photos. click on them for bigger pictures, k? i took the mestar ones and gareth talbot took the ghostplane ones (word!). none of the new originals who supported, sorry. i'll be taking photos at charlie ash tonight - i'll post them up here tomorow (sunday). [edit - i forgot my camera. duh. so no charlie ash photos, sorry. they were super cool, though.]

that was the second night in a row i went to the wunderbar. thursday night saw the spoils play to a tiny crowd of about 10 or so people. the melbourne alt-country duo (normally a 6 piece) were funny and self-deprecating and there was a lot of interaction between the small audience and them. they sound a lot like nick cave and the bad seeds with some neil young sounds in there too. it was kind of a shame that there weren't more people there, but at the same time it was nice and quaint. i guess there was quite a bit happening around town that night.

we could be happy in a rock and roll world:




ghostplane:

the lucksmiths - warmer corners [album review]

[Matinĕe, 2005]
****1/2

It looks like Australia is the new Scotland in terms of indie music these days. Scottish acts like Belle & Sebastian, The Pastels, The Field Mice (and other Clare Records bands), and The Trembling Blue Stars have all had their day as far as the twee/indie-pop scene goes. Well maybe not, but the center of attention is definitely shifting a little towards the southern hemisphere. But before I go any further, this may prove useful:

Twee (n): Twee (or Twee pop) is a type of indie rock that is known for simple, sweet melodies and lyrics, often with jangling guitars.

This term is central to understanding what the aforementioned bands are doing, as well as the new surge of Australian acts (and New Zealand artists – well, one of them – The Brunettes are a useful point of reference). Architecture in Helsinki (Melbourne) have made a name for themselves with the quirkier twee sounds found on their recent In Case We Die LP, and now, The Lucksmiths further the twee contigence down under with their eighth full length, Warmer Corners.

It’s beautiful, of course. While certainly indebted to their Scottish influences, they don’t try to make it a secret. Instead, they build upon this heritage in areas that Belle & Sebastian tended not to. Where they are sarcastic, The Lucksmiths are sincere – but not too melodramatic. Lyrically, they ooze wit and literacy like any good twee band should. The words fit together so well during Warmer Corners that all the songs are near-perfect, especially when coupled with some of the most beautiful melodies found of late. And oh – that Australian accent! It suits this style of guitar music so well – especially as their Scottish counterparts have been the only real option for anyone yearning for something exuberantly twee. It’s strangely refreshing, and by no means a rehashing of their influences.

The instrumentation is meticulously arranged throughout, on an album full of diversity. Time is split equally between twee numbers of a faster pace (“Sunlight in a Jar”) and slower twee songs with more melancholy (“I Don’t Want to Walk Around Alone”). It still retains a singular aesthetic of quaintness and exquisiteness throughout. Well-written pop songs are ultimately what holds Warmer Corners together. It’s mature, delicate, enduring and is sure to take a spot in the best albums of 2005 lists of writers everywhere.

My Head And Other Fantasies

a night unfolding as it happens by blog....

1. Radiohead, Electioneering (OK Computer)
2. Serena-Maneesh, Unduex (S/T)
3. Dinosaur Jr., Little Fury Things (You're Living All Over Me)
4. Tom Vek, A Little Word In Your Ear (We Have Sound)

things falling about all overthe place... who's stolen the second mic. what does this button do.....

5. Dandy Warhols, Smoke It (Odditorium or Warlords of Mars)
6. Metric, glass ceiling (live it out) richard hates capitals

only do what i'm told
only do what i'm told

7. Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union, Do It Again (Dirty Ron/ Ghost Songs)

Thanks to Festival - Buy this album and one copy to give away next week so get studying at www.youami.net!

8. The Hold Steady, Your Little Hoodrat Friend (Separation Sunday)
9. Magnolia Electric Company, The Dark Don't Hide It (What Comes After The Blues)

I'm loving this album -itcouldbe a snaeky contender for the year end top 10! (td)

10. The Robot Ate Me, Tonight (Carousel Waltz)
11. Silver Jews, Sometimes A Pony Gets Depressed (Tanglewood Numbers)
12. The Rakes, Work, Work, Work(Pub, Club, Sleep) (Capture/ Release)

god this is shit. shit shit shit it should be called.

13. Forward Russia, Fourteen (Thirteen/ Fourteen 7")
14. Jane's Addiction, Stop! (Ritual De La Habitual)

classic cut. what is dave navarro doing to himself these days? i mean inxs? please.
is this too glam for us indie kids? hmmmmm.......

15. The Spinto Band, Brown Boxes (Nice and Nicely Done)
16. Belle And Sebastian, Me and the Major (If You're Feeling Sinister)

indie geek war - tigermilk vs sinister? like clark v brash only with more sex and violence!!! will richard have his evil way or shea be victorious in this winner takes all comp! roll up roll up!

17. Tim Rogers and the Temperance Union, Kalgoorlie (Dirty Ron/ Ghost Songs)
18. The Wrens, Happy (The Meadowlands)
19. Ryan Adams And The Cardinals, The Hardest Part (Jacksonville City Nights)

this is the three-tastic triple play (ahem). Alwright! This new Ryan is going to kill it... two great albums in a year and one to come!!!

20. The Most Serene Republic, Relative's Eyes [Underwater Cinematographer]
21. the white stripes, red rain (get behind me satan)

what the f***? are they too commercial? if so then perhaps the mainstream is finally developing some taste... perhaps the stream is filtering the general pollution that constitutes top 40?! for what its worth you can hate on them because your lil sis is namedropping them but this album is yet another triumph for red and white!

22. Blood on the Wall, You Are A Mess (awesomer)
23. Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Matt Sweeny, What Are You (Superwolf)

Bonnie Billy @ Creation in Jan 06... start saving you slackers and dust off your cowboy boots

24. Grandaddy, Goodbye (Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla)

a bit of a shame... should be called goodbye to our good ideas... where is mark linkous when you need him? ground control to major depression... nobody cares anymore.

25. Spoon, Merchants of Soul (Gimme Fiction)

uh, yeah, white boy soul. check the handclaps and love theez steez biatch! seriously tho, a mucho bueno album. check it out. and yes, it does have guitars in it.

26. The Jessica Fletchers, Magic Bar (Less Sophistication)
27. Lightning Bolt, 2morro Morro Land (Hypermagic Mountain)

classy pop stuff followed by noisenik niceness. uhhhhhhhh. and to finish the night and introduce our friends from Cacophony...

28. Turbonegro, Wasted Again (Party Animals)

It was quite a night!

We Love You All,

Richard MF, Shea The Kindy Indie Kid, and Timmy Dodgers


ps touch it

the sky's so heavy it hangs like a beergut

TIMMY ROGERS' NEW ALBUM IS HERE TONIGHT!

I'll be playing some tracks off it and some lucky RDU listener will get to win a copy methinks! So tune in tonight, 9-11pm with Girl School before us, 7-9pm, and Cacophony bringing the dark heavy stuff 11pm till late.

ALSO... will be previewing tracks off Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' new one, Jacksonville City Nights!

Bringing you the bestest firstest!

Timmy Dodgers

more snow falling like frozen angels

hard not to get a bit overexcited what with all this snow about so of course, more photos! I was also going to post something about politics but then I remembered that I detest the greens, labour, and national so what could I say apart from the glaringly obvious fact that if you're mid twenties to early thirties, creative, working a job you love but not much cash in the bak well there's nobody there t represent you. If Nandor is meant to speak to me on my level then shoot me please... but i digress.

just started reading peter guralnick's classic book on soul music - it's a bit of a shame we can't drop these artists on gat mediah.... but maybe I'll run a vintage cuts show on it one day... - and it's a must read for anyone even remotely interested in r&b and soul. Guralnick has also written excellent books on the blues, and a double volume on Elvis which is fascinating.

sweet soul music

tune in tomorrow night now ya hear, and peace to all the RounDUp bands over Thursday and Friday last week... you were all hot!

Love to musicians but not politicians,

Timmy D

soft as snow (but warm inside)

oooh! snow!!! in christchurch in spring time. here's a photo of a cherry blossum in my garden covered in snow. click on it to see a bigger photo. looks lke my digital camera has run out of batteries. would be good to put some more pictures up later when its heavier - it's falling real fast.

i'm listening to my bloody valentine and sereena-maneesh - two great shoegaze bands that fit snowy weather really well, for some reason. a lot of mulled wine is on the cards for today. hope yr enjoying the snow like i am...

finish yr collapse and stay for breakfast

i hope everyone went out and voted yesterday. i ended up giving the greens my party vote and rod donald (greens) my candidate vote. the television coverage was enthrawlling last night. flicking between channel one and three proved interestting. tv one was often far ahead in terms of percentage counted compared to tv three. makes you wonder where and how they both get their data. i found channel one a lot easier to follow, though, in terms of interface. it was easy to get pretty empassioned by the whole thing. the thought of a national government was too much to comprehend, so i was very pleased to see labour edging ahead at the last minute. not knowing until october first is a litle annoying. anything could happen, really.

a lot was happening around town last night, in terms of music anyway. i stopped by the jetset for the die! die! die! gig but didn't end up going in because it looked really dead/empty. the shocking pinks were apparently about to start (they were the second act) and it didn't look like it was going to get particuarly rockin' at any stage. so i went to creation (it was around 11:30 by now) to catch the dead c. but the gates were locked and they had already finished! argh. so early - i didn't expect that at all. i was planning to take some photos but yeah...no go this time. mainstreet was great for wammo's election party, though.

now, the minus story are about to release a new album called no rest for ghosts. i downloaded it and it's really great. a little melancholy but filled with serene melodies and interesting instrumentation.

knocking on your head.mp3

i've been a fan of their other albums for ages now. they put out a wee teaser ep, the heaven and hell ep, a few months back. i love this song from it the most:

time wastes itself.mp3

politics from the untrained left: wallowing in fulity [article]

I’m forever skeptical of the news media in New Zealand. Whether it’s print, television or radio, it’s hard to swallow the majority of material put out there for consumption. Every time I’m faced with aspects of news media, I tend to withdraw further into arts, music or just less political aspects of pop culture. And while this isn’t such a bad thing, I can’t help but feel a little oppressed as a result of being subservient to this. A feeling of resignation towards the biased media system that dominates New Zealand culture isn’t too satisfying, especially when that media is the biggest. It’s a shame that due to lack of information and bias of information. We never know if what we’re getting is the full truth – it’s the same anywhere in the world. The fact is, though, we’re probably not.

This article doesn’t aim to give examples of this, or even explain why this is true. That’s way to big an area to delve into. Instead, I’ll just mill around the issues a bit. Okay?

Now, my own politics are certainly located quite far towards the left. And this skepticism is probably shared with many others of my political disposure – the right, to me, seems unthinkable. I feel that I should have a higher capacity for understanding this, but I can never seem to see the logic behind right wing politics. I guess I’m just close-minded, despite how open a liberal like me would hope.

Either way, my interest in politics aren’t particularly high. It’s off-putting that Politics are about obscuring the truth – an obvious idea, perhaps, but it has come especially to light with the weeklong media façade that was the exclusive brethren flyers. At first, I was pleased with the slandering taking place towards Don Brash, who, let’s face it, is a pretty hard character to like. But there were far more truths at hand that didn’t come to the surface as readily as those regarding the exclusive brethren and Don Brash’s failure to tell the public the truth about them. Labour has surely told lots of lies, which have been hinted at sporadically through the week in the media, but it’s hard to pinpoint any (except the whole motorcade thing) because of the dominance of news dedicated to national’s screw up.

Further pessimism is aroused through the political advertising campaigns. The tricks of a trade such as advertising have clearly come into play a lot in the lead up to the election. Just as adverts for food or perfume target consumers, the political campaigns utilize television in similar ways. The latest Labour ad features kiwi indie-rock band The Clean, so by completely butchering what was a great song because of this context, students like me are targeted in the same way as by an advertisement for skincare products would target a female. It bolsters the “nice guy” image (an apt term for Helen Clark’s party – zing!) for Labour, and as the ad is filled with red, like the seats in the lecture theatre where an obviously attractive (in a down to earth way) female looks up studiously from her papers. Clearly, a lot of money has gone into these types of things.

It’s not just the evil Labour and National that embark on such campaigns. Green party too utilize clever marketing strategies through advertising on the “alternative” station, RDU 98.5fm. I was startled when I first the ad, but I had to admit that it’s a good idea. Hippies like the average RDU listener are very likely to vote Green, so it seems.

But advertising does work. Of course it does – if it didn’t , why would it even exist? Even the biggest of postmodern pessimisms and cynicisms can’t save you now. My current voting preference lies with the Greens, and reading through the leaflet that just arrived in my mail, I can’t help but think feeling like a sucker when I agree so wholeheartedly with what it entails. And at the same time, I scowl at the the same times of pamphlet from parties I don’t agree with. Either way, there’s a “no circulars” sign on my mailbox!

It must be my healthy cynicism taking over again. Maybe it’s just being sensible. It’s a tough one, though – politics that is. I seem to go through phases with it. Whether its international or local, there are moments where I care passionately about the events taking place, but they never last long. I was very affected the morning of John Kerry’s consession speech, but as much as I wanted to do get up and do something political, I had pretty much totally forgotten about it by lunchtime. I wasn’t about to go to spray any stupid stencils of George Bush’s face with a clever, subversive messages written beneath. That’s pointless, isn’t it? But so is sitting there and doing nothing. Whatever the issue (or whatever the political preference), one can’t help but feel a little helpless being situated in New Zealand. It’s probably not too different living in America, though. In fact, it’s probably more frustrating that it’s still nearly impossible to make any real changes. Or is it? Am I just being defeatist?

It all really is confusing though, for someone not overtly politically-minded like myself.
It’s not that politics in general are hard to understand, but that the particulars of the individuals running and the finer details of party policies that are difficult. Even after attentively watching and reading the policies of both National and Labour, I still have absolutely no clue what either party will actually be like in power – probably a common problem amongst voters. Make sure you do go out there and cast your vote, though. It is important if you even remotely care about the country's future.

the force that through the green fuse drives the flower

gee, the arcade fire are still incredibly busy. they played a live gig with david bowie the other day (a performance that can be downloaded in divx form on many torrents sites). they were on the late show with david letterman, and they were on top of the pops, too, over in the UK. still reeping the benefits of 2004's excellent funeral lp, they continue on their plans for world domination. well, almost.

i found this mp3 on said the gramophone, and fuck - it's quite amazing:

the arcade fire - maps (yeah yeah yeahs live cover).mp3

on a completely different aside, here's another cool band on GSL records. they're called gogogo airheart. i'm downloading their album rats sing sing at the moment. they sounds interesting from this track, at least. and it rhymes with maps, so it's not totally irrelevant:

gogogo airheart - rats.mp3

the new pornographers - twin cinema [album review]

[Matador, 2005]
*****

The New Pornographers play power pop. They’ve been doing it for a while, now – this is their third full length, so it’s interesting that they haven’t become stagnant by now. In fact, Twin Cinema proves quite the contrary – this is their most relevant, enthusiastic and best album so far.

Before you accuse them of catching onto the whole disheveled geek-chic thing (think Weezer), let me fill you in. These guys are actually that geeky. Vice magazine called them “blindingly white”. You should see their lead singer (well, one of them) A.C. Newman – he’s pretty much the most ginger man in indie rock (ever). But boy does he know how to write a pop song.

They’re a solid band, and Twin Cinema is definitely a solid album. But that’s not to say that they’re too safe or boring. In fact, being so unabashedly focused on crafting songs and less on whatever is cool with hipsters this week pays off – no surprises there, then. Furthermore, it’s no surprise that this record is their best yet – I guess a truly talented group of songwriters and musicians just speaks for itself.

To the uninitiated, Twin Cinema may seem a little, well, boring. It’s not that this album isn’t inventive. It’s certainly not experimental or pushing boundaries by any means. It’s not terribly groundbreaking when a band continues to take on the same song structures that have existed in pop form for over fifty years now, even if done well. In that sense, you’d think there would be more perfect pop albums out there. Why aren’t there more Pet Sounds in the 21st century? For how easy making solid indie pop like this is made out to be, you’d expect more near-perfect albums post-2000. The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow had similar aims (though it is more retrospective-sounding, it’s a useful point of comparison here), but it’s hard to think of indie pop albums from the past five years have accessibility, longevity for the entirety of their duration. Twin Cinema is one of these records, and should be cherished accordingly. Sometimes you’ll be in the mood for this type of indie pop, whereas at other moments you may prefer something more interesting or experimental. But with an album this strong and self-assured, you can guarantee even on the first listen that you’re going to keep coming back for more.

the return of the new

hey all. just a quick drop to let you know that we should have timmy rogers new double CD for next week... fingers crossed. Should be in stores now and is a real beauty, so take a chance, pays yer money and learn to dance. hear tracks on the timmy rogers minisite - linked from...

http://www.youami.net

also time to get excited - ryan adams and the cardinals new album has hit the net and will be in stores at the end of this month. originally called "september", it's now called "jacksonville nights". ryan's got a blog where you can chekkit and you can hear a new track on his site.

http://www.ryan-adams.com
http://www.dogsname.com/ryanblog/

finally get to the DUX DE LUX tomorrow night and friday night where richard and i are judging at the RounDUp semifinals - all the local band niceness in a chilled atmosphere.

check out more info

http://www.rdu.org.nz

gbtflou
timmy d

everything in here is eatable children, even me (but that's called cannibalism and is frowned upon in most socities) [playlist]

A strange night indeed. No Tim Rogers arrival despite promises and intentions so I was sad, and Richard MF gots that damn lurgee so oh yer, a long one in the studio. Lots of new, lots of old and some nice nice toons for a rainy spring nite.

Word.

Timmy Dodgers


1. akria s et as garo - sobre as pernas [v/a: the sexual life of savages]
2. wilco - as least that's what you said [a ghost is born]
3. the lucksmiths - great lengths [warmer corners]
4. the skygreen leopards - suplication of fireflys [life & love in sparrow's meadow]
5. john vanderslice - dear sarah shu [pixel revolt]
6. tv on the radio - dry drunk emperor [unreleased, download only]
7. foreign born - remote woods [in the remote woods]
8. architecture in helsinki - frenchy i'm faking [in case we die]
9. franz ferdinand - the fallen [you could have it so much better...with franz ferdinand]
10. the a frames - flies [black forest]
11. lightning bolt - birdy [hypermagic mountain]
12. shellac - dog & pony show [at action park]
13. clap your hands say yeah! - unknown (live) [unreleased, live @ the main hall]
14. sebadoh - beauty of the ride [harmacy]
15. midnight movies - love or a lesson [midnight movies]
16. built to spill - made up dreams [perfect from now on]
17. the tenement halls - up over thee turnstiles [knitting needles & bicycle bells]
18. my morning jacket - gideon [z]
19. aswefall - take me with you [bleed]
20. the mars volta - inertiatic esp [deloused in the comatorium]
21. metric - the police and the private [live it out]
22. scout niblett - miss my lion [kidnapped by neptune]
23. the rosebuds - unwind [the rosebuds unwind ep]
24. tim rogers - guys, girls, guitars [number four album]
25. orange juice - moscow [the glasgow school]
26. sigur ros - mer blolasnir [takk]

tears from the compound eye

i'm bored and sick. must've caught tim's evil lurgee - ugh! getting ridiculously drunk and going and dancing like a spaz at home bar's funk night didn't help things either (terrific night, by the way - i'll have to get down there on thursday nights more often). here are some more mp3 downloads for you.

firstly, here's something really, well, bizarre. the diskettes are a band who are pretty obscure and indie (in both their sound and their identity), and to see them cover this song raises a few questions. how (and why) would anywhere else in the world would have heard of OMC? and what are the diskettes doing covering this track? i'm guessing they see the humour of it. so yeah, here they are covering OMC's "how bizarre", thanks to said the gramophone

how bizarre.mp3

that new bloc party remix album is really good, and if you haven't heard it yet, here are two of the standout tracks:

blue light (engineers ‘anti-gravity’ mix).mp3

so here we are (four tet remix).mp3

i've managed to get a downloaded copy of the new boards of canada album, the campfire headphase. it's really great, though hardly guitar media-related. still, you should listen to it. they're one of my favourite electronic artists. i found a blog with a song from the album uploaded, but now searching back i can't find it anywhere. i'll put it up later if i find it. let me know if you do though.

edit: okay, found it. here's a creepy sounding one:

peacock tail.mp3

tv on the radio blew a lot of people away last year with their album desperate youths, bloodthirsty babes. i was one of them, and right now there are a lot of bloggers around the world being blown away by their latest work - a politcal/protest track on the topic of the new orleans flooding. they're currently at work on a new album, which will have probably even more people excited than there were over their last. last november, they won a shortlist for the US mercury prize. and just this week, something pretty crazy happened with the british one. you've probably heard this by now, but antony and the johnsons won! i mean, what the fuck? i'm in two minds about it myself - they're definitley the sort of band that are so weird that they'll probably become pretty cool to like, especially now. on the other hand, it's fantastic to see something so, well, weird win over artists like coldplay, m.i.a and bloc party. but here's the new tv on the radio track:

dry drunk emperor.mp3

---

there's a few good gigs on during september. i'll be out and about and taking photos, so keep checking the blog the day after these gigs if yr interested in what they looked like through the camera of a bad photographer.

september 16
Die!Die!Die! w/ Operation Rolling Thunder and House of Dolls - Wunderbar
(i'm judging at the round up bands competition this night. come say hi.)

september 17
Die!Die!Die! w/ Operation Rolling Thunder and The Shocking Pinks- JetSet Lounge
The Dead C!!! - Creation

september 23
Ghostplane w/ Mestar - Wunderbar
Capturing Twlight - a video projection featuring live soundscapes from kahu from hdu and dave holms from gramsci

september 24
Charlie ASH and The Shocking Pinks - Dux de Lux

october 6
Bachelorette w/ ThomasParkes - Dux De Lux

robot snares got no cadence or balance

let's take a break from tax cuts and exclusive brevhrens for a minute shall we. here's a few mp3 downloads:

last night we played something from blood on the wall's fourthcoming awesomer lp. it's a pretty interesting album of heavy indie rock. it reminds me a bit of the kills, except with heavier leanings:

i'd like to take you out tonight.mp3

and from the same brilliant site that i swiped that link from, stereogum, i found out hud's brilliant single from their latest full length, let us never speak of it again, up for download. i often play this track in dj sets (like at the mixtape connection). it's like...stonkin'. or something:

it's for you.mp3

i've been using bit torrent file downloading systems a lot lately, and a while back i grabbed broadcast's fourthcoming album, tender buttons. but to my dismay, once the file had finished downloading, there were no actual mp3s in the folder. hmm, i still don't know why, but it makes for a pretty uninteresting story. anyway, they're on warp records, largely known for their "intelligent" electronic output (duh) but also for maximo park being like, the only guitar band on there. well broadcast kinda got their first with their great 2003 album haha sound, which is really good. not as guitary as maximo park, more electro poppy:

michael a grammar.mp3

ah, now this is quite exciting. metric, a canadian girl band featuring one member from the guitar media darlings broken social scene are about to release another lp. here's a track from it:

police and the private.mp3

omg#%#$ i wish clap your hands say yeah! would play in new zealand. that's just too much of an unrealistic thought, but here's the next best thing (not): the guy from said the gramophone went to a show of theirs. of course, it was incredibly good - here are some tracks that he taped at the show. they're two new songs not on the album. pretty shitty sound quality, but at least you heard it before everyone else:

unknown 1 (live).mp3

unknown 2 (live).mp3

back in christchurh, though, try and check out the pinacolada soundsystem at mainstreet this saturday night. it's free and there will be lots of 80s nostalgia and indie love...all for free.

oh yeah! happy birthday gretchen and javier!!!

i fell into my armchair but i missed the arm [playlist - 6/9/05]

1. hank - god slick [how to prosper in the coming bad years]
2. dungen - panda [tet la dugnt]
3. blood on the wall - right to lite tonight [awesomer]
4. hopewell - calcutta [hopewell and the...] feat. members of the flaming lips & the polyphonic spree
5. yo la tengo - moby octapod [i can hear the heart beating as one] omg #$%#% best band ever
6. richard buckner - a chance counsel [dents & shells]
7. my morning jacket - off the record [z]
8. okkervil river - a stone [black sheep boy]
9. rogue wave - you [descended like vultures]
10. forward, russia! - thirteen [7" single]
11. the walkmen - the rat [bows & arrows]
12. you say party! we say die! - he! she! you! me! they! we! us! ok! [hit the floor!]
13. r.l. burnside - shake em on down [too bad jim]
14. the fiery furnaces - the garfield el [rehearsing my choir]
15. the decemberists - the engine driver [picaresque]
16. neutral milk hotel - communist daughter [in the aeroplane over the sea]
17. amina - fjarskanistan [animaamina ep]
18. sigur ros - glosoli [takk]
19. tim rogers - you just don't do it for me friends [what rhymes with cars and girls]
20. the kingsbury manx - and what fallout! [the fast rise and fall of the...]
21. devendra banhart - long haired child [cripple crow]
22. animal collective - grass [feels]
23. oneida - no! [the wedding]

I went down to them crossroads

R L Burnside passed away aged 78 the other day. His health poor since heart surgery in 1999, Burnside was one of the last original delta bluesmen left as his peers have passed in recent years. Recording on Fat Possum records Burnside found a following with my generation through his openness to mix his hard driving rough house bloos with bands such as Jon Spencer, and through his uniqueness - before the appropriately named Jack White decided to appropriate a truly African AMerican form, before Moby thought it was a good idea to steal Negro spirituals and turn them into car adverts and usic for middle class familes to dine to, Burnside was kicking out the blues for no other reason than it lived within him.

It took a while - Burnisde first recorded in 1968, but didn't find fame until the early 90s. It took a young hip audience to bring him to the masses, and in recent years the re-invigoration of the americana/ bluegrass/ blues tradition saw him standing out as a true legend, and a truly authentic voice.

But let's not romanticise the whole thing (too much). Yes, he shot a man (possibly in the head) and di some time. Yes, he would have had a rich harvest come Father's Day. But the main thing to remember is is voice, the way he could nail them blues to the wall and have it beg for mercy.

I'll be dropping a few track tomorrow night as a small tribute to an artist I was lucky enough to discover in a $10 bin once, and never stopped digging.

Another, Again.

Timmy Dodgers

Fat Possum: http://www.fatpossum.com/

nickel creek - why should the fire die? [album review]

[Sugar Hill]
***1/2

Banjos have become pretty trendy in indie music of late (think Iron & Wine or Devendra Banhart), but Nickel Creek aren’t about the latest fashion. Their country infused indie rock is unabashed and genuine. Banjo plucks and percussive guitars take the foreground without sacrificing harmonies – which are what this three piece do best. Strong songwriting and intricately arranged instrumentation make this Gillian Welsh-recalling album elegant and mature. The 14 tracks are generally sentimental, sometimes spooky and sometimes dramatic. But some parts are just so overly country that many might find it hard to avoid cringing. Other parts, though, are unignorably beautiful, subtle, and heartfelt – making this is a good album for both country/bluegrass purists and fans of indie pop and folk alike, even if the album mostly leans to the former. Besides – maybe a little bluegrass is just what you needed.