YouTube Rodeo: Fields' "If You Fail We All Fail"

As far as videos go, we aren't that crazy about the new one for Fields' new single "If You Fail We All Fail." Part of what made us ga-ga for the band was the mysterious quality perpetuated by the excellent hand-cranked video for the band's soaring cut "Brittle Sticks." That mystery, emphasized by the weird folk elements of many of the tunes on the recently issued 7 From The Village [our review], is not to be found at all in the video linked above. Instead Fields is presented as a dolled-up, over-emoting and unit-shifting slick commodity, with fancy clothes and make-up and, really, they are literally performing up on a pedestal... That, and some overly simplistic lyrics, are the downside to "If You Fail We All Fail." But the upside -- crushing, swirling Swervedriver-esque guitars -- definitely makes up for it. This single may be the most rocking thing we've heard so far from the band. Anyway, check it out for yourself. The song will be released as a single Nov. 20 in the U.K. -- not sure what the deal is with domestic release.

Fields: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube

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Today's Hotness: Sonic Youth, Jai-Alai Savant, Thrill Jockey

>> In July we wrote this item pointing to some information at Zoilus to the effect that Rather Ripped was the final album Sonic Youth owed to Geffen under its contract. Now we're not so sure that's the case. How else to explain the forthcoming odds 'n' sods collection Billboard reported on here the other day? Certainly Sonic Youth wouldn't ink a while new contract with Geffen just to release some b-sides and rarities. So we're guessing the compilation, which is called The Destroyed Room: B-Sides And Rarities and will be released Dec. 12, is in fact the band's final commitment to Geffen. Ahh -- we just looked at the Billboard item again and it has been updated to reflect that fact.

>> Pun Canoes reports here that former Franklin-ite Ralph Darden's latest project The Jai-Alai Savant will finally issue its debut full-length Flight Of The Bass Delegate in March 2007 on Gold Standard Labs. City Slang will issue the set in Europe. Darden also DJs under the moniker Major Taylor, and will release a mix CD titled Major Taylor's Need Exchange Program before the end of the year. A Major Taylor EP is also planned.

>> Earlier this week Coolfer here pointed to this article in the Chicago reader discussion Thrill Jockey Records' plans to launch at the end of this month a digital music storefront. Label head Bettina Richards says other labels on board for the venture include Morr Music, Editions Mego and Touch. The store will sell digital albums with cover art and liner notes delivered as .jpg files; perhaps more importantly the audio files will be encoded at 256Kbps, a substantially higher resolution than the crappy-sounding 128Kbps files vended by ITunes.

>> There's a whole mess of Bad Brains news in this Billboard piece filed today. Better just click through and read the whole thing.

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Review: Sloan | Never Hear The End Of It

With its eighth studio album, Sloan has put together a 30-song, 76-minute opus that should please longtime fans while providing more catchy, interesting rock that should be hits but most likely won’t be. The Canadian power-pop quartet is coming off a couple of uneven albums, the last of which, 2003’s Action Pact, was a bit overproduced. This time around Sloan went back to basics, which meant all four singer-songwriting members contributed material, including drummer Andrew Scott, whose wry, mid-tempo songs provide a nice counterpoint to the pure pop confections created by bassist Chris Murphy and guitarist Jay Ferguson and the riff rockers from guitarist Patrick Pentland.

The songs vary in length from 52 seconds to 5:28, but most are in the one- to two-minute range and each song runs into the next, as was the case on 1999’s excellent Between the Bridges. Relentlessly catchy, Never Hear the End of It is a tour de force, highlighting the band’s strengths: killer hooks, perfect harmonies and intelligent lyrics. There’s a lot to love about this album, but standouts include Pentland’s “Ill Placed Trust” and “I Understand,” Ferguson’s “Who Taught You to Live Like That?” and “Can’t You Figure It Out?,” Murphy’s “Fading Into Obscurity” and “Set In Motion” and Scott’s “Blackout” and “I Know You.”

Unfortunately, Never Hear the End of It isn’t easy to get a hold of in the U.S. Dropped by Koch Records after last year’s greatest hits collection A-Sides Win, Sloan released the new album in Canada on Sept. 26 on Sony BMG; it’s also available through MapleMusic.com. In the U.S., the album will be released on January 9 on Yep Roc. -- Jay Kumar

[Buy Never Hear The End Of It from MapleMusic.com here]

Sloan: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

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That Was The Show That Was: The Hold Steady, Sean Na Na

Monday night at Cambridge, Mass.'s Middle East Rock Club Team Clicky Clicky witnessed the sold-out final date of a month-long Hold Steady/Sean Na Na tour. And it's a good thing it was the last night, because the proverbial wheels were falling off the band. Before the set even began band fronter and indie anti-hero du jour Craig Finn embarked on an irritated diaspora around the stage in search of a replacement battery to try to fix his ailing tuning pedal (someone eventually gave him a different pedal). And then not a minute into opening cut "Stuck Between Stations" the electronics in Galen Palivka's bass just gave out, resulting in several minutes of awkward searching for a replacement bass from suddenly missing openers Sean Na Na and The Big Sleep. During this pause guitarist Tad Kubler admitted that the tour had exacted a hard toll on the band, offering up his own sprained ankle as an example. Finn chimed in about how the band's "human parts" were as beaten down as its mechanical ones. The icing on the cake was when keyboardist Franz Nicolay's instrument gave out many songs later at the crucial breakdown in the transcendent rocker "Stevie Nix," which is perhaps the highest of the high points on the band's 2005 magnum opus Separation Sunday.

But somehow, lubricated by myriad screwtop Budweisers and volleys of liquor shots delivered to the stage via plastic cups by adoring supporters Sean Na Na, The Hold Steady got down to the business of performing an ecstatically sloppy, 90-minute live set. A set that joyfully collapsed under its own weight as the band closed out the night with "Killer Parties," during which the band pulled about a hundred audience members on to the stage in a re-enactment of the cover of the band's recently issued third set Boys And Girls In America.

It was interesting to note that, despite the minor fit Finn pitched about his tuning pedal, the dude doesn't play a lot of guitar. Instead, he more often than not let his hollow-body hang and serially seized the microphone and with each carnival-barked line of lyrics charged into the adoring embrace of the crowd. Curiously, between each line Finn pulled the mic away from his maw and screamed unheard, additional sentiments at the crowd. All night. Who knows what he was screaming. We wondered if he was repeating the next lyric to himself so he wouldn't forget it as he regrouped, turned and rushed the crowd again, and again, and again.

Did we mention that Monday night The Hold Steady were class A, Replacements-reminiscent, weapons-grade drunkards? While the fun and energy of the show were boundless, the execution of the material certainly suffered, to the chagrin of at least one fan. Finn's hands slid around the guitar neck during their surprisingly infrequent visits there, and the singer slurred, truncated or simply forgot words to a greater and greater degree with each successive shot or Bud. The Hold Steady were sweet drunks, though, and gushed about their great friends in Sean Na Na and present family. And about midway through The Hold Steady's set the Sean Na Na guys took up residence onstage, supplying back-up vocals for tunes including "Southtown Girls" and maybe "You Can Make Him Like You," drinking, wrestling, drinking and hugging. And of course drinking.

So what about the music? It is hard to separate the music from the high-energy, low-sobriety performance, but there were plenty of highlights, including a rousing "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" and a smoking take on "Cattle And Creeping Things." While the ebullient crowd sang along all evening, it was particularly vocal during spirited renditions of "Chips Ahoy" and "Massive Nights." And "First Night" and "Party Pit" were also quite memorable. Here's the full set list. Needless to say the band left no hit unplayed.

As we noted supra, The Hold Steady had a number of relatives in the audience, adding to the gravity of the tour-capping night. The parents of relatively new addition Nicolay, the fantastically mustachioed keyboard player from New Hampshire, were in the audience and were among the first brought on stage during the finale. And during which Franz shared a warm moment and hugs with them while the audience consumed the stage in rushing waves of sneakers and sweat as the band solemnly closed the show, and closed the book on the tour, with a stirring, poignant run through "Killer Parties." We'll get the rest of our pictures edited and uploaded to Flickr later in the week. Check out Jay Kumar's take on the show here, and grab some MP3s below.

The Hold Steady -- "Stuck Between Stations" -- Live On The Current
The Hold Steady -- "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" -- Separation Sunday
[right click and save as]

[Buy Hold Steady records from Newbury Comics here]

The Hold Steady: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Our Pics

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Review: R.E.M. | When the Light is Mine [DVD]

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, newly minted Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame nominees R.E.M. released this video companion to the recent compilation And I Feel Fine…: The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987. Regardless of your feelings about the band’s output post-Automatic For The People, there’s no denying the greatness of the EP and five albums R.E.M. issued during the six-year span it spent on IRS Records. During this time, the quartet helped define what came to be known as alternative rock with their jangle-pop sound and anti-rock star persona. After 1987’s Document went Top 10 on the strength of single "The One I Love," the band left then-indie IRS (now owned by Capitol Records) for Warner and went from college favorites to rock royalty.

"When The Light Is Mine" collects the familiar videos that everyone saw on MTV in the '80s -- "So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)," "Can’t Get There From Here," "Driver 8," "Fall On Me," "The One I Love," "It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" -— along with some lesser known clips and live performances on UK shows "The Tube" and "The Old Grey Whistle Test." Some of the more obscure material was shot in and around the band’s Athens, Ga., hometown, including the 20-minute film "Left of Reckoning" and a performance video for "Swan Swan H" that was part of the film "Athens, GA/Inside-Out."

The obligatory extra features include interviews with the fledgling group done for the IRS show The Cutting Edge in 1983 and 1984, as well as in-studio performances, and some promotional interviews done a few years later with Peter Buck and Mike Mills. It’s fun to see the band as fresh-faced idealists talking about favorite contemporary bands like Husker Du, The Replacements, Black Flag and Love Tractor, quickly recording albums (they used to release an album every year) and noting their distrust of major labels. It’s also interesting to chart the evolution of frontman Michael Stipe’s hairstyles throughout the '80s from long, leonine curls to short and dyed, a far cry from the shaved head-look he’s sported for the last 12 years. As the band releases occasional albums of varying quality, And I Feel Fine…: The Best of the IRS Years 1982-1987 is a welcome reminder of R.E.M.’s true glory years. -- Jay Kumar

[Buy "When The Light Is Mine" from R.E.M.store here]

R.E.M. -- InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube

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Rack And Opinion: Release Date 10.31.06

In our opinion there is really only one record you need to buy this week. It is the same record we played over and over again at our Halloween party Saturday night: Sunn0))) and Boris's ambient doom-metal masterpiece Altar. Since the rise of G'N'R in the late '80s, we've pretty much left metal to be watched over by our eldest brother Tito. So we are only now just getting up to speed on the whole Mastodon thing, and aside from a handful of releases on Hydra Head we've pretty much ignored the genre for almost two decades except for where it has intersected with hardcore and industrial music. Anyhoo, we think it underscores how great the record is that we've really taken a shine to Sunn0))) and Boris's stunning collaboration. From flat-out, bone-sucking dread ("Blood Swamp") to stirring beauty ("The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)"), the record is a very compelling listen.

Also finally seeing release this week are two sets from Guillermo Herren's Eastern Developments label: A Cloud Mireya's Singular [review here] and Icy Demons' Tears Of A Clone [review here]. Those records, a couple notable electronic releases, the soundtrack to the recently Bad Brains live DVD and more are our picks for the best new releases of the week. They are all listed below with links going to relevant commercial opportunities with our former magician's assistants over at Insound.

And something new this week: we are now also linking to Newbury Comics, a regional music chain based here in our current hometown of Boston, for commerce opportunities. :: clicky clicky :: believes in thinking blogally and acting locally (tm), knows folks who actually work in NC stores and wants to support a local institution we respect and we want to see thrive for years to come. We still love you Insound, but despite more than 1,000 referrals to your site, we've never received a cent. For now we will link to either store, but we are considering phasing out Insound unless people get in touch to say Newbury Comic's e-commerce is problematic.

A Cloud Mireya -- Singular -- Eastern Developments
Animal Collective -- Hollinndagain -- Paw Tracks
Bad Brains -- Live at CBGB 1982: The Audio Recordings -- MVD Audio
David & The Citizens -- Until The Sadness Is Gone -- Friendly Fire
Icy Demons -- Tears Of A Clone -- Eastern Developments
Nobody -- Revisions, Revisions -- Plug
Sunn0))) and Boris -- Altar -- Southern Lord
Venetian Snares -- Hospitality -- Planet Mu

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Reader Rewards: Win Voxtrot's Your Biggest Fan EP [UPDATE]

We won't prevaricate and say that we like Voxtrot's forthcoming Your Biggest Fan EP more than we like the Austin, Texas-based indie pop quintet's Raised By Wolves EP released last year. That's just not true. But our affection for the latter EP guarantees we'll begrudgingly come around on the former; we usually do. In our estimation the three songs on Your Biggest Fan, a U.S. only release that will be issued by PlayLouder Nov. 7, are a little less edgy, more mid-tempo and exhibit a stronger affinity for the '60s pop sounds the band adores than the '80s analogs (*cough*Smiths*cough*) referenced on Raised By Wolves that we love so much. The trade-off is some fairly surprising sophistication on the notably orchestrated new track "Sway." Of course there are more modern Brit twee sounds still to be heard on Your Biggest Fan: we already noted the similarity in tone between Voxtrot's new tune "Trouble" (MP3 linked below) and The Wake's "Carbrain" here. You'll note we are excluding an intermediate Voxtrot EP, Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives from this discussion, and the reason is we never bought it -- hey, we're not made of $$$.

Anyway, we were fortunate enough to (mistakenly) receive duplicate promo copies of the forthcoming EP and we're giving the spare away today in a contest of sorts (which comes nowhere near the scope of Frank Chromewaves'). To win a copy of Your Biggest Fan, be the first to send us an email with the phrase "I'm just a love letter away" in the subject line. Our email address is in the sidebar to the right. We'll update this item when the disc is won and ship the disc out to the winner tomorrow.

UPDATE: The contest is over. Congratulations to reader Artie Sheepworth! Watch your mailbox, Artie!

Voxtrot -- "Trouble" -- Your Biggest Fan EP
[right click and save as]
[Pre-order Your Biggest Fan from the band here]

Voxtrot: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube

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