September 15, 2008

Today's Hotness: Sea And Cake, All Tomorrows Parties, Bob Mould


>> The new video for veteran, Chicago-based indie rock act The Sea And Cake's "Weekend" is very good -- but the song itself is amazing. The track, from the band's forthcoming long-player Car Alarm, is perhaps the most sonically forthright return to the blissed-out electropop sounds captured on the quartet's peerless 1997 effort The Fawn. This is interesting, because when we reviewed the quartet's previous record Everybody here in April 2007, we noted that the collection reminded us of one of our two favorite records from The Sea And Cake to date, The Biz. The Biz is more guitar-oriented than its successor The Fawn, and we're wondering if Car Alarm might similarly be more electronically oriented than Everybody. We suppose time will tell. And while the video -- posted here to Pitchfork.TV last week -- complements very well the tune's carefree feel, it is hard not to just focus on the gorgeous melodies floating among a clutter of digital tones and held aloft by persistent acoustic guitar strumming. The Sea And Cake's eighth record in fifteen years, Car Alarm will be released by Thrill Jockey Oct. 21. More details and ordering information is online right here. Below are The Sea And Cake's fall tour dates, which include a show at The Middle East Rock Club here in Cambridge, Mass. Nov. 12.

09/27 -- Chicago, IL -- Symphony Center
11/07 -- Philadelphia, PA -- First Unitarian Church
11/08 -- Washington, DC -- Black Cat
11/10 -- New York, NY -- Bowery Ballroom
11/11 -- Brooklyn, NY -- Music Hall
11/12 -- Boston, MA -- Middle East
11/13 -- Montreal, PQ -- La Sala Rossa
11/14 -- Toronto, ON -- Lee's Palace
11/15 -- Chicago, IL -- Empty Bottle
11/28 -- Portland, OR -- Doug Fir Lounge
11/29 -- Seattle, WA -- Chop Suey
12/02 -- San Francisco, CA -- Great American Music Hall
12/03 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Troubadour
12/04 -- Los Angeles, CA -- Troubadour
12/05 -- Pomona, CA -- Glass House
12/06 -- San Diego, CA -- Casbah

>> Esteemed independent radio broadcaster WFMU will air and stream certain live performances from next weekend's sure-to-be monumental All Tomorrows Parties Festival, which is being curated in part by legendary shoegaze quartet My Bloody Valentine and includes performances by it, Dinosaur Jr., Lilys, Mercury Rev, Polvo, Yo La Tengo and many others. WFMU has not yet received permission from all performers to bitcast and broadcast their performances, but it is working on securing as many assents as possible. A list in this blog post seems to say that we'll be able to hear sets from many of the bands we listed above, as well as sets from Bob Mould, Low, Brian Jonestown Massacre and others; hit this link to see what is hopefully an expanding roster. We're gutted to have to miss this festival, so the fact that WFMU has stepped into the breech for all of us out here in radioland is greatly appreciated.

>> Speaking of Bob Mould, the storied songwriter and former fronter of Hüsker Dü and Sugar will publish an autobiography in the fall of 2010. Mr. Mould has signed and agreement with Little, Brown to release the book, which will be written in tandem with veteran rock journalist Michael Azerrad. Mr. Azerrad previously wrote the excellent "Our Band Could Be Your Life" as well as the highly regarded "Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana." One of our favorite Mould jams is "Celebrated Summer," which was released by Hüsker Dü as a single in 1984 to promote the album it was released on, the epic New Day Rising. Since the autumnal equinox is just a week away, the song feels appropriate. Enjoy.

Hüsker Dü -- "Celebrated Summer" -- New Day Rising
[right click and save as]
[buy Bob Mould, Sugar and Hüsker Dü records from Newbury Comics here]

>> Our friend BrighAAAAm has been talking about The Flaming Lips' movie-in-progress "Christmas On Mars" for about seven or eight years. And, after seeing some tantalizing footage in the band documentary "Fearless Freaks," the feature film is finally upon us. It apparently began screening recently in New York, although the possibility of a broader release may be hamstrung by the fact that Lips fronter Wayne Coyne insists that the film only be viewed in a special screening room with a custom sound system. Earfarm has more details and awesome video clips right here.

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