A b-side from Divine Fits, sounds rockin' and raw, "just liiiike...the queen of the trailer park", with layered fuzzy guitar skronk. If you liked when Spoon played gutbucket rawk, you may enjoy this one as much as me.
And hey, that gigposter above by artist Kii Arens is so good I do't need any more eye candy for the rest of the week.
However, the album teasers seem to hint at much more atmospheric tunes than the above.
Remember the album entitled A Thing Called Divine Fits, will be released in Europe and the UK on August 27 and in the US and Canada on August 28. You can pre-order now on the band's website.
David Byrne and St. Vincent have started to ramp up the promotional gears for their upcoming album, Love This Giant. The first single, Who, is available for free download if you give up your email address. I love Who, it sounds a lot like latter day Talking Heads (circa Naked), with Byrne's mournful vocals meshing perfectly with St. Vincent's accompaniment, some punchy horns, rubbery guitar, and thumping, snapping percussion.
You can also listen to a second track, Weekend in the Dust, on the duo's website.
Full Track Listing:
1 “Who”
2 “Weekend In The Dust”
3 “Dinner For Two”
4 “Ice Age”
5 “I Am An Ape”
6 “The Forest Awakes”
7 “I Should Watch TV”
8 “Lazarus”
9 “Optimist”
10 “Lightning”
11 “The One Who Broke Your Heart” (Feat. The Dap-Kings & Antibalas)
12 “Outside Of Space & Time”
Upcoming tour dates:
09/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ State Theater
09/16 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
09/18 – Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theatre
09/20 – Toronto, ON @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
09/21 – Montreal, QC @ POP Montreal
09/23 – Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
09/25-26 – New York, NY @ Beacon Theater
09/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Tower Theater
09/29 – Brooklyn, NY @ Williamsburg Park
09/30 – Bethesda MD @ The Music Center At Strathmore
10/02 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
10/03 – Atlanta, GA @ Cobb Energy Center
10/05 – Austin, TX @ Bass Concert Hall
10/06 – Houston, TX @ Hobby Center
10/07 – Dallas, TX @ McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
10/10 – San Diego, CA @ Humphrey’s
10/11 – Santa Barbara, CA @ Arlington Theatre
10/12 – Costa Mesa, CA @ Segerstrom Theater for the Arts
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theater
10/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
10/17 – Seattle, WA @ 5th Ave Theatre
10/18 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Auditorium
10/20 – Vancouver, BC @ Centre in Vancouver For The Performing Arts
Love This Giant is out 9/11 on 4AD/Todo Mundo. Leave a comment below if you want good voodoo.
Mariachi Ghost recently recorded a lo-fi version of Radiohead's Lucky. On the next album maybe? Also, check out a good article here on the band from the CBC. Yes, CBC. Remember, you can purchse Mariachi Ghost's ep Machete at: McNally Robinson Booksellers, Into The Music, The Winnipeg Folk Festival Store, and Music Trader.
The Fixx's first album in almost 10 years, Beautiful Friction, is released today, as is the new video for Anyone Else. The video features guys in suits getting pelted with fruit and hateful people getting splattered by mud. What's not to like?
a live version, not great sound, but interesting for fans nonetheless.
The Afghan Whigs are giving out a cover of Frank Ocean's Lovecrimes as a a free download starting at noon today. Nice to hear more buzzing guitars, more menace and a generally more rockin' tune than the previous slowburn freebie See and Don't See - I wasn't too sure if the band had moved away from the grungy soul they had perfected almost 15 years ago on the last album, the brilliant and overlooked 1965.
Sometimes you just need few tunes that make you think of summer. In my town, we've been swimming through a sweltering heatwave for awhile now, sipping cold drinks and trying to stay cool. Literally. Fans throwing shapes, sprinklers sparking mini-rainbows, more cold drinks.
Superchunk, raspy yelp that still floats melodically above it all, handclaps and grinding guitars, then the rhythm kicks in like triple expresso. And that's only the first 60 seconds.
Mystery Jets - Greatest Hits. you listened to the lyrics to the Superchunk tune, right? Start out a little Stealers Wheely, add a dash of Kinks, a smidgen of Supergrass, a pinch of Blur, and a whole whack of goodness.
The Drums - Let's Go Surfing. The attitude of this song reminds me of the B-52's, a little silly, a little fun, no shame about mixing genres up or doing what they wanted to do. The freedom of summer right here.
Did you know Losers UK covered Jane's Addiction's Summertime Rolls? I did not.
Hey, leave a comment below, wanna see another goofy collection like this one?
Since I've been posting artists covering Robyn Hitchcock songs, I thought I'd wrap up the hat trick by posting about the man, even though there's not much really especially noteworthy and new happening. However, I never really posted anything about his Chronology release, which is a fine place to get into the man's genius if you haven't been sucked in by any of my previous posts. Check out the tracks here.
Did you ever see this photocollage by Sir Peter Blake commemorating his 80th birthday? It's a tribute to his own iconic work of art, the Sgt. Pepper's cover. Go here to click over an enlarged version that will give you the names of everyone involved, unless you want to try to figure it out on your own first. Robyn and his non-relative Alfred are both there.
I did happen to stumble upon a fine little tumblr with the cheeky title that goes something like F*** Yeah Robyn Hitchcock. Some good RH bits, check it out here. Robyn has his own tumblr as well, which mostly features photos that reflect his unique worldview. Don't confuse that one with fan tumblr's like this one or that one or this other one, which are alright, yeah?
Here are some songs. Before I die I will probably post every song he's done two or three times, so if I have posted these before, too bad.
Here's one more Robyn cover, R.E.M did a pretty good good job of making it their own while still sounding like the original.
To finish, here's a batshit cover of So You Think you're in Love. Wow...
The other day I received a piece of wood in the mail. Not just any old piece of wood either, but the wooden cover for The Hunting Accident's Trees and Parks ep. Wow! With all songs timing under three minutes, these guys don't mess around. Power pop, post-punk, straight-ahead 90's flavoured rock, the music's all over the place, but hooky vocals, powerful drumming, tasteful keyboards, and jagged guitar always adds up to sweetness for me. As an added bonus the band has covered Robyn Hitchcock's Sometimes I Wish I Was a Pretty Girl, certainly not his most easily accessible tune, but one of my favourites. The Hunting Accident even casually throws in some French lyrics, which is pretty cool for a non-Canadian, non-European band (from L.A., actually). You can buy the 10" here, it's officially released july 17 on the New Black. Every track is good, check it and see for yourself.
Please leave a comment below, it keeps the engines stoked when you do that.
Kelly Hogan recently released an album entitled I Like To Keep Myself in Pain on which she interprets songs written by luminaries like Robyn Hitchcock, Vic Chesnutt, The Magnetic Fields, The Mekons’ Jon Langford, The Handsome Family, Freakwater’s Catherine Irwin, John Wesley Harding, Robbie Fulks, M. Ward and Andrew Bird. Having worked with Neko Case, you can get a general idea where Hogan is coming from, but she's got her own brand of heartbreak and unique vocal style to lay on you. Listen to the live versions below if you don't believe me.
I recently read somewhere that The Walkmen used to be a garage band, which surprised me. But I do like their artsy pop. Their new video is directed by Sean Pecknold. Make sure you listen/watch past the quiet, artsy intro and listen to the joyful, raucous pop part. Drop a comment, it is free of charge
and I like it.
The Fixx. An eighties band to many people who only heard One Thing Leads to Another or saw the video for Stand or Fall. But the band has never really stopped. After Reach the Beach, Phantoms was not as big commercially, but still a solid album in Scruffy's opinion. The follow-up Walkabout still shines as a unique testament to the band. Then Calm Animals came out, which was still pretty good, but not quite the same. Unfortunately, the next three studio records, Ink, Elemental and Want That Life were different animals. I'm sure the band had to move in different directions, but they lost me.
But The Fixx have a new album coming out called Beautiful Friction on July 17, and the first single Anyone Else is out now. And it's pretty good. The cover is once again done by George Underwood, who created the unique album art for classics Reach the Beach and Phantoms. Can the band bring guys like me back into the fold?
Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear what you think.
Here's the band doing an older one recently, Saved By Zero.
mp3s will be posted for a limited time and are for promotional purposes only. If you like it, buy the albums, go to the shows, buy the t-shirts - support the artist so they can keep on keepin' on. Artists - if you would like an mp3 or video removed, please contact me directly at chrisyakchart@hotmail.com.
If you've got something Scruffy should hear, same email. Snail mail is cool too.
Scruffy the Yak 34 Allenby Cres Winnipeg Mb R2C 3J4
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