B-Sides: Ohmpark Inteviews Parade

Our top 50 album list is pretty much done and will be up by the end of the week, but while we're putting our finishing touches on that, I wanted to post some things we never got a chance to over the last year. Last summer, we went to Parade's practice space and filmed them playing a few songs and did an interview. Between getting a bad rip and losing the tape, we were unable to really do anything with it, but here is the 10 minute interview uncut for your viewing pleasure:

Video of the Day

Compressors even out the signals in an audio stream; bringing the lows and highs closer together. 'Record Labels' like loud records because they show trends of selling better on a significant first impression. Bands are pressured into a certain type of sound, at the cost of dynamics:

A counter-organization's website:

http://www.turnmeup.org/

This video explains the situation much better than above:




This is a global trend that encompasses (and perverts?) literally all genres of recorded music, but, just like any other technical decision within music, is an artistic choice in itself. Turnmeup.org is arguing that the option for an artist to enhance dynamics is lost. The fight sounds good to me until the catch : they are asking artists to put another sticker on their album cover:










Dorky?

Sonz Of Acworth Release New Album For Free

Atlanta's suburban hip-hop collective Sonz Of Acworth have just released their 10th full-length album, Rhythms Of The Dirty Down Under. They have made the entire album available for free digitally from their own site. If you don't know about these guys, here is how they they describe themselves on their myspace:

The Sonz of Acworth, GA have been committed to bringing their choice, unique WASPy underground hip-hop/metal-fusion flavor to the Atlanta area since their inception in 1997 The Year of Our Tracy Lourdes (porn star).

Drawing inspiration from their shared experiences with notable students, faculty, and administration at Acworth's celebrated North Cobb High School, with eight original full-length albums to-date, these middle-class Caucasian twenty-somethings offer a keen and progressive insight into the finer roots of the suburbanite hardcore novelty rap of the 21st century.

The Sonz of Acworth have been banned by the PTA, played by DJs at S&M fetish venues, barred from and locked out of many venues, and even visited by spirits of the deceased. We've had everything hurled at us from Easter eggs to ice cubes; broken everything from boards to venue monitors to spirits and hearts nationwide. More than half of its members have been incarcerated at some point in their lives for dangerous or lewd offenses against suburban white America.

By their own right, the Sonz of Acworth have shocked and awed people from coast to coast and beyond, opening eyes and mutilating genitalia from Allatoona to the Big Chicken. Often controversial, always professional, never watered-down! Join the movement; visit us and apply for gangship at www.sonzofacworth.net. You will receive an official Sonz gangbanger ID and an orange du-rag. Please allow 6 to 8 business weeks for the arrival of your gang member identification card.

Here's a few tracks from the new album:

Yes Yes


Cannibals


They Got All The Parts



Go to their website and download their album

Get Your Tickets Now!

Sleo just picked up our tickets to some of the hot 2008 shows. At Variety Playhouse they said that the Explosions In The Sky show in April is about to sellout, so if you want to go, act now! I'm sure the Yo La show in a few weeks will sellout too, so jump on it. And don't forget the trifecta of Super Furry Animals, Fiery Furnaces, and Holy Fuck!

Explosions in The Sky : So Long, Lonesome (Eluvium Mix)


Fiery Furnaces : Ex-Guru:

Photos: Year In Review 2007

In my first year of concert photography I learned a lot. The first show I shot was in January and by October I had a press pass for Voodoo fest. I accomplished more than I ever thought I would in a year. Thanks to everyone for all the positive feedback and kind words. Next year I look forward to many more great shows that I will shoot using still photography and video. Please enjoy my favorite photos of 2007.

#15 Eluvium


#14 Bradford Cox of Deerhunter


#13 Tiesto


#12 Eric Guenther of From Exile


#11 Jeff Tweedy of Wilco


#10 Brad Barr of The Slip


#9 Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins


#8 Marnie Stern


#7 Portugal The Man


#6 Nick Zammuto of The Books


#5 Carrie Hodge of Parade


#4 Skip Engelbrecht of Untied States


#3 Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse


#2 Zack De La Rocha of Rage Against The Machine


#1 Mike Stroud of Ratatat

Radiohead + Current TV + New Years Eve = Hells Yeah!!!

So, Radiohead are doing an exclusive concert for Current TV, a TV channel that is primarily viewer created content and sort of like MTV meets Web 2.0. It's a a pretty cool channel that now just got even cooler because they will be airing this concert New Years Eve. Supposedly they will be doing every song off of In Rainbows plus more. Set your Tivos:

Ohmpark's Top 10 Best EPs Of 2007

An EP, or Extended Play, is the sweet spot between a full album and a single. Typically between 10 and 25 minutes, although what has come to define the difference between EPs and LPs can sometimes be blurred. Usually EPs get a bad rap, as it carries with it connotations of being "less-than" and not good enough to be a proper album, but I like seeing variations in the art medium. There are EPs like Alice In Chains' Jar Of Flies and Radiohead's Airbag/How Am I Driving? that beat most full lengths. Also, EPs afford an artist the chance to showcase things that don't fit in the context of a larger piece of work, or explore a different sound without moving fully in that direction. Anyways, I'd take an EP of nothing but the goodness over a full-length comprised mostly of filler surrounding a few good songs any day.

In 2007 I actually heard many great EPs. A few of which I'll give honorable mentions that just missed this list that are worth-while include Joanna Newsom And The Ys Street Band, Vampire Weekend, and Black Kids' Wizard Of Ahhhs, of which I've come around a little bit on now that I've listened to it more. Here are the 10 most essential short-length albums of 2007:


10. Animal Collective : People



This EP feels more like a single, but the title song is so good that it makes this short release something special. The two songs that lie between the studio and live versions of "People" are both really cool too. People was the prologue to a banner year for the Collective.


9. Illinois : What The Hell Do I Know?



A collection of simple songs that touch on everyone from The Flaming Lips, to Beck, to Wilco in sound. There is nothing groundbreaking on this seven track collection, but Illinois do what they do well, and that's write some really sweet jams. I'm excited to see what this Pennsylvania band will do next.


8. Elevado : This World Is On Fire



On the bigger and longer side of the EP spectrum, Atlanta's own Elevado put forth one of the better local releases of the year. This self-produced effort bounces around stylistically while retaining a very connected whole piece of work. Standout songs like"Postcard From Four Walls Down", "Song of A Purple Man", and my favourite, the early-Floydy "Hypnopaedic Sunshine", kick ass and anchor this sonic journey.


7. Parade : Answer Me



I've found over the course of the year that every time I revisit Answer Me I fall in love with a different song. It seems no matter what mood or state of mind in, something on this 5 track release speaks to me. Parade are one my favourite bands in Atlanta and if you read this blog, they are mandatory listening.


6. Deerhunter : Fluorescent Grey



The local hype-monsters followed up the epic Cryptograms with this four song EP, of which the two pieces are inextricably linked and many are treating the two as one whole. I tend to treat Fluorescent Grey as Deerhunter in its most accessible and "poppy", which they also do really, really well, and more a short sequel. Either way, it's over 16 minutes of pure gold.


5. Plants And Animals : With/Avec



I've just recently gotten hip to this Montreal group and have fallen in love with this EP. At 4 songs and 25 minutes, this band can jam with the best of them while never ambling to something that doesn't feel deliberate. They do rootsy yet epic folk soundscapes that remind me of Jim O'Rourke, Sufjan Stevens, The Grateful Dead and Jeff Buckley at times, and make this release feel bigger than a full-length as you immerse yourself in it.


4. Porcupine Tree : Nil Recurring



This 28 minutes-plus spanning prog-jam fest is a collection of 4 songs from the Fear Of A Blank Planet recording session. I tend to treat it as an epilogue to FOABP, mostly because i like the ending to Nil Recurring better. It has guest stars like King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and FOABP songs completely redone into new songs. If you have yet to look into this band, now is the time.


3. Portugal. The Man : It's Complicated Being A Wizard



Before going in a blues-rock direction with Church Mouth, Portugal. The Man released this electronically driven piece of work, comprised of a first 23-minute song and then followed by the same song broken up into a track for each movement, creating an endless loop of music. In addition to the gimmick of the EP's structure is some of the best tunes this young and talented Alaskan outfit have done. Don't overlook this album.


2. Grizzly Bear : Friend



Grizzly Bear's follow-up to last year's mind-blowing Yellow House is longer than many full albums and packed full of redone songs, unreleased gems, and guest appearances from all sorts of indie superstars, most notably to us ATLiens is Deerhunter's Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound). Despite the jumbled mess of sources, the album itself is a fairly cohesive listen and musically it is top-notch. With this latest installment, this band is fast becoming one of my favourite of the decade.


EP Of The Year:

Moorish Idols : Moorish Idols



At less than 17 minutes, Moorish Idols make the most of it in their debut release, just pure sonic euphoria from start to finish. Lyrically the stories and characters pull you into a beautiful piece of work that is an aesthetically pleasing experience on every level. While the sound is fairly conservative relative to most of what I love, they do what they do perfectly, and it's hard for me to think of a four song succession from this year that I enjoy more. I'm looking forward to seeing what these guys do with the vast amount of potential they possess.

Diatribe Of The Day: The Silent Revolution

The one central thesis I have on the state of music, and my primary inspiration to do this blog, is that I believe in the grand history of music we are at a very unique and overwhelmingly positive time. Over the course of most of this decade, there has been this slow and steady renaissance of great music happening, and unlike the advent of Rock 'n' Roll or the early '90s Grunge movement, the regular joe average person has no idea that it even exists. I've referred to it as "The Silent Revolution" because of the fundamentally different nature of what is happening now relative to those other major turning points in recent music history. There is no explosion, there is no easily discernible pop culture impact that can be neatly identified. But, there is an era of music and new rules and philosophies being carved out aided almost entirely by the Internet. An outsider who isn't hip to what is going on would look at the state of music now and think we are in a horrible time, but everyday someone new discovers this alternative dimension where people have the power to find the music that best satisfies their personal taste, rather than a world of music where a few elites control access and dictate to the masses what they should listen to. At the beginning of this decade, music had become almost entirely a commodity where the Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys reigned, and it was difficult to find music as art. Just seven years later so much has changed. Forces are in motion that cannot be stopped in the short term, and although the long term future is any one's guess, I remain very optimistic.

I bring this up now because as I'm bored and insomniacing, I decided to check the OiNK webpage randomly and they have a link to an amazing article that I think explains the distribution side of this revolution more eloquently than I could. Go take a minute and read this tremendous article:

When Pigs Fly: The Death Of Oink, The Birth Of Dissent, and A Brief History Of Record Industry Suicide

Friday Night Free-Style

So the big local fiasco that happened last week that we hadn't talked bout yet was the MF Doom show. Apparently MF Doom came out way late in the morning, lip-synced to 20 minutes of a CD, and a bunch of people don't even think it was really him (he always wears a mask). From the MJQ promoter via myspace:

Many apologies go to all of you who came out to the MF DOOM show last night at MJQ and paid $30 of your hard earned money only to watch him lip sinc for 20 minutes at 1:30 in the morning. This was by far one of the single worst experiences I’ve had as a club promoter and I sincerely apologize if you walked away feeling cheated. To make matters even worse MF DOOMS appointed doorman took off with all the money from the door after the show! As soon as we realized the money was stolen we decided to help ourselves to all of MF DOOMS merchandise which included a bunch of T shirts and posters. So, in an effort to make it up to everyone who walked away feeling cheated, we’re giving away all the merchandise for free so come and get it while supplies last!! And if that’s not enough, feel free to let MF DOOM aka Daniel Dumile know how you really feel by calling him at his home in Kennesaw Georgia.

DANIEL T DUMILE
4038 MAXANNE DR NW
KENNESAW GA 30144-2147
(678) 445-0992

All the best,

Randy Castello / Tight Bros Network

Damn.

Ruby Isle have decided to start covering whatever song is #1 on the blog mp3 aggregator Elbows each week and releasing it for free. This is such a cool idea. Here's their cover of Beach House's "Gila" (you can listen to the original here):

Ruby Isle : Gila (Beach House cover)


So, Xiu Xiu and Fucked Up have filed a lawsuit against RJ Reynolds Tobacco for using their names, plus tons of other indie groups, in a Camel cigarettes add in Rolling Stone magazine without their permission. Add this douchiness to running Bob Dylan cover stories every three months and having no clue what the best music of 2007 was, and Rolling Stone may be more out of touch than MTV.

Lou Reed will be the keynote speaker at SXSW.

Beck's Odelay is getting the "Deluxe Treatment" and will be available with lots of extra goodies at the end of next month.

David Byrne interviews Thom Yorke on In Rainbows.

The Long Blondes have a new album out in April.

The Smashing Pumpkins are digitally releasing an acoustic EP called American Gothic on January 2nd.

Snowden is so hott the television show CSI Miami has used their cover of "Time Of the Season":



If for some reason you read this in time to check it out, Snowden are DJing tonight at DSC.

A cool show I recommend checking out tomorrow night:



I've been spending a ridiculous amount of time listening to albums from this year i hadn't got a chance to listen to until now to make sure I leave no rock unturned for my Top 50 albums list. I'll try to update my "heavy rotation list" sometime over the next few days, but until then, listen to these tracks of the stuff I've like best and then go get the album:

Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew : Spirit If... : Gang Bang Suicide


Plants And Animals : With/Avec : Lola Who?


Yeasayer : All Hour Cymbals : Sunrise


Jesu : Conqueror : Conqueror


Cloud Cult : The Meaning Of 8 : Chemicals Collide


Illinois : What The Hell Do I Know? : What Can I Do For You


I 'm chilling at Octane coffee shop right now because Comcast is horrible and my internet service through them basically doesn't work, so between that and me chillaxing for the holidays, posts will be sparse. My year end lists are taking a little longer than expected because i take them very seriously and i don't want to miss anything. I would anticipate my best EP list up around Christmas and my best LP list up right before New Years. Happy Holidays and Thanks for reading Ohmpark!

2008 Festivals Preview

After the end of the year best of lists are done for and the holidays are over, it's the season for rampant speculation about who is playing what festival. The fun rumors this year include Metallica and Led Zeppelin at Bonnaroo and My Bloody Valentine at Coachella. Here at Ohmpark, we heart festivals and will be keeping you informed on all of these developments. Here are the fests I'm looking forward to:

Langerado (March 6-9, 2008) [Big Cypress, FL]

Langerado typically marks the beginning of the festival season. This south Florida fest has followed the Bonnaroo trajectory and broadened its line-up over the last few years beyond the pure jamband roots it started with, but is much smaller, beginning as a one day fest with 3500 attendance in 2003, to it's first year with three full days and 15,000 attendees in 2007. This year, they've upped the ante again expanding to four days and moving to Big Cypress Indian Reservation, the site of Phish's legendary New Years Eve 1999 shows. The 2008 line-up is their best yet:

Thursday March 6th
Les Claypool - Dark Star Orchestra - Perpetual Groove - the New Deal - Busdriver - Phix - Golem - That 1 Guy - Awesome New Republic - the Postmarks

Friday March 7th
Beastie Boys - 311 - The Roots - G. Love & Special Sauce - Umphrey's McGee - Built to Spill - Mickey Hart Band - The Wailers - Ozomatli - !!! - Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars - Indigenous - Sam Bush - The Walkmen - Vampire Weekend - Brett Dennen - The Spam Allstars - matt pond PA - Bassnectar - American Babies - Earl Greyhound - the Dynamites - The Heavy Pets - Backyard Tire Fire - School of Rock All-Stars

Saturday March 8th
R.E.M. - Matisyahu - Thievery Corporation - Ben Folds - Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood - The Disco Biscuits - Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Citizen Cope - Antibalas - Ghostland Observatory - Arrested Development - Benevento Russo Duo - State Radio - Dr. Dog - the New Mastersounds - the Bad Plus - the Avett Brothers - Railroad Earth - Yard Dogs Road Show - Blitzen Trapper - Pelican - Dan Deacon - RAQ - Pnuma Trio - the Wood Brothers - Trevor Hall - American Bang

Sunday March 9th
Phil Lesh & Friends - Ani DiFranco - Gov't Mule - Keller Williams - funky Meters - The National - of Montreal - Minus the Bear - Martin Sexton - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals - Blind Melon - Ryan Shaw - Felice Brothers - Shout Out Louds - Josh Ritter - the Lee Boys - Will Hoge - Steel Train - Pete Francis - Balkan Beat Box - Jonah Smith

Also, they have just recently added Dead Confederate and a late night Sound Tribe Sector Nine set.

The Low-down: A small camping fest with a top tier hippy-friendly line-up in the middle of a swamp. They seem to have distributed the best acts evenly across each day and I've heard lots of good things about this one. What's not to like?

Chance I go: 90% I've never been to Langerado before so with a line-up this good, I have to go.

Langerado Website

Live Music Blog did great coverage of it last year.


South By Southwest (March 7-16, 2008) [Ausitn, TX]

Dating as far back as 1987, this is the US's most important showcase for small acts to get hot. Every hipster on Earth heads to the biggest hipster town for a convention-style festival. They have yet to reveal a full line-up for the music portion, but notable names they have confirmed are The Breeders and Thurston Moore and minimalist composer Steve Reich. But who's on the line-up is entirely irrelevant for an event like this that is centered around discovering new acts you've never heard of before.

The Low-down: The blogoshpere is dominated by SXSW in March and everyone is looking to see what's hot. It's like the X-Games of "battle of the bands" rolled into a city-wide party.

Chance I Go: 90% Another fest I've always wanted to go to, but never got the chance. I'm hoping to hook up with some ATL band and go into total coverage mode (if you're a band going to SXSW from ATL, give us a holla).

South By Southwest Website

Keep up to date on all things SXSW here.


Wanee (April 2007) [Live Oak, FL]

A small, spring hippy-fest not too far from the ATL. They have yet to release official dates for next year or a line-up, but last year's two-day installment was entirely jamband anchored featuring most notably Gov't Mule, Derek Trucks Band, and Keller Williams. Details should be coming soon for next year's event.

The Low-down: Small scale hippy-fests are always a fun time, but if you're reading Ohmpark regularly, I doubt you're gonna find too much music there for progressive tastes.

Chance I Go: 25% With all the other awesome fests going on in the spring, i may not have the cash to do this, but I would like to.

Wanee Website


Coachella (April 25-27, 2008) [Indio, CA]

Back When Pearl Jam was fighting Ticketmaster, they did a show with Tool in 1993 at the Empire Polo Club, east of Los Angeles in the desert in need of a large-scale venue that Ticketmaster didn't have exclusive rights to. Six years later, the first ever Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival took place in the same spot. The first event occurred just three months after the disastrous Woodstock '99 fest, and the promoters were not allowed to offer camping because of that. The inaugural 2-day event saw approximately 25,000 attendees and was a financial failure. The fest struggled to return for a one-day event in April of 2001 and almost fell apart completely before Jane's Addiction reunited to be the headliner and made the second installment a resounding success. The festival has grown since, to its pinnacle last year with Rage Against The Machine's reunion to 100,000 people. Legendary band reunions have been a large part of Coachella's history and helped propel it to one of the two most important festivals of this decade. I was lucky enough to attend in 2004 and in 2005 and both years were amazing experiences. One yearly tradition leading up to the line-up announcement extends beyond just rumored line-ups, as fake Coachella posters are circulated across the Internet. Here's my favourite one so far this year:



I Don't Say Evasion, I Say Avoision! is keeping you up-to-date on all the confirmations and rumors here:

Current list of Coachella 2008 confirmations

Confirmed (allegedly):
The Breeders pitchfork
Dwight Yoakam official myspace
Heidi Vogel & The Cinematic Orchestra: official myspace
Autolux (email from Autolux)
The Verve Cat Dirt Sez (they broke the news on Scar Jo and Friday set times this year so they are trustworthy)
Death Cab for Cutie UCLA Campus Events person found out when trying to book them for a free show on campus
Austin TV Cuchara Sonica
VHS or Beta The Scenestar
Rabbit in the Moon (allegedly confirmed Coachella at Street Scene)

Significantly probable:
Caribou (playing Costa Mesa on April 24th)
A Tribe Called Quest A&M Entertainment states they are available for a 2008 world tour, and unspecified festival headliners are available for 150-800k and you know ATCQ is one of them
My Bloody Valentine (previously confirmed by The Daily Swarm, Entertainment Weekly but debunked by pitchfork and billboard so who knows)
Portishead (iffy "confirmations" from The Daily Swarm and Spin)
Animal Collective Pitchfork quotes that they will "perhaps [play] at least one show in April in the USA."
The Magnetic Fields (touring again for the first time in a hundred years)
Battles (touring next spring, playing Langerado, major buzz band of 2007, etc)
Weezer (new terrible album to be released April 22)
Swervedriver Billboard (doing reunion tour in the spring, Coachella specifically mentioned as possible)
Mogwai touring US in the spring (with stated festival preference, and Coachella is the only major US festival in the spring, besides Langerado, but that lineup has already been announced)
The Chemical Brothers messageboard post

More rumors:
R.E.M. Product Shop NYC
Screaming Trees (ditto)
The White Stripes (ditto)
Pulp (seen them on a couple blogs, heard something is planned for the 30th anniversary next year, and this would be the best surprise in Coachella history, but I unfortunately doubt this will happen)
Blur
Sasha & Digweed
Feist
Joanna Newsom
Deltron 3030
No Doubt

Definitely will NOT be there:
Radiohead Coachella board mod and Goldenvoice employee said so on the board
The Smiths
The Cure (playing the Hollywood Bowl a month later)
Led Zeppelin (wayyyy too big, but rumor has it that Bonnaroo is trying/tried to book them)
The Prodigy (previously listed on label's (Cooking Vinyl USA) myspace but removed with an official debunking statement)
Turbonegro (removed from Cooking VInyl USA's myspace as well, but quietly, so maybe there's still a chance?)
Foo Fighters (will be touring Australia at the time)

The Low-down: Coachella is such a unique experience and the line-ups are consistently one of the year's best. The desert weather can be daunting, especially if you decide to camp, but Coachella is something i think everyone who likes fests should do at least once.

Chance I Go: 70% Last year i had paid for a hotel room in the desert before the thing sold out too fast for me to get a ticket, so with the money involved to do Coachella there's certainly possibilities it could fall through for me, but I really want to go.

Coachella Website


Bonnaroo (June 12-15, 2008) [Manchester, TN]

Bonnaroo is my biggest holiday of the year. It is the one event that I look forward to most each year. You can read my 'roo stories here or read my review of last year here. Bonnaroo's success has helped usher in a golden day of music festivals in the US and has been ATL's only somewhat local constant pinnacle music event since it started in 2002. The fest, which began primarily as a super jamband fest, has diversified its line-ups and embraced the indie/alt rock world more and more each year. I'm very interested to see what the line-up looks like this year. The rumors currently:

-Pearl Jam
-My Morning Jacket (Pollstar had listed them for the Friday the 13th, but took it down the next day)
-Pat Green (This is the first artist Pollstar has posted under "Bonnaroo")
-Led Zeppelin and Metallica- Superfly has denied that either one of these bands are headlining the festival in 08.
-Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - The Tennessean reports that the duo will play Bonnaroo in 08.
-B.B. King - According to his offical tour dates he is playing Bonnaroo in 08.

Pearl Jam has been a band that Bonnaroo's promoters have had on their wishlist for a long time. So, I would anticipate this would be the year that happens. Last year, though, the popular rumors which seemed most probable, including Pearl Jam, turned out to be completely wrong, so there's really no telling until the end of January/beginning of February. Personally I'm pulling for returns from Radiohead and The Mars Volta, but that's only wishful thinking at this point.

The Low-down: The 'roo is no longer the extreme "no rules, greatest party on Earth" it started out to be, but it still remains an extremely important barometer of where music is and at 80,000 or so other folks, it is still one hell of a fest.

Chances I Go: 99.9% I've been every year and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Bonnaroo Website


Pitchfork (Summer 2008) [Chicago, IL]

After sponsoring the now defunct Intonation Fest in Chicago in 2005, Pitchfork Media created its own fest in 2006 bringing 35,000 to a small city park in Chicago. Last year it sold out to a crowd of approximately 47,000 highlighted by ATP's "Don't Look Back" series bringing Sonic Youth, Slint, and GZA to play their seminal albums live. The urban, non-camping 3 day fest I attended last year was a very chill atmosphere, with maybe the best vendor setup of any festival I have been to, including a vinyl mall and a hand bill mall. With what was arguably the best line-up of last year, the only weakness this fest had was terrible sound problems all weekend. Check our coverage from last year:

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3/Wrap-Up
  

The Low-down: My expectations for Pitchfork this year is that they will again have one of the best line-ups and they will fix the sound problems they had last year. If they can accomplish both of those, this is a mandatory fest.

Chances I Go: 80% I loved it last year, so I will probably go again.

Pitchfork Website


Lollapalooza (August 1-3, 2008) [Chicago, IL]

In the 1990's Lollapalooza was king of the touring fest model that flourished at that time. Run by Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell, the event became as an important icon to its time in music as Woodstock did to its own time. As the grunge movement waned, and violent precursors to what happened at the Woodstock '94 and '99 began to happen at Lollapalooza shows, Perry Farrell handed over the reigns to do other things, and the fest didn't last very long after that. In 2003, the newly reunited Jane's Addiction headlined a revived Lollapalooza tour which I caught when it came to Lakewood. In 2004, Lollapalooza headlined by Morrissey and Sonic Youth failed to sell enough tickets fast enough and was cancelled very soon after being announced. Perry vowed to bring Lollapalooza back again, and decided to adopt the Bonnaroo/Coachella model that had come to be such large successes at the time and settled down Lollapalooza to Grant Park in Chicago for a one-off event in 2005. The model proved a success for Lolla drawing 65,000 people. I went in 2006 up and really loved it.

The Low-down: With Perry Farrell involved you know its gonna be cool, this particular urban setting is ideal for a large, non-camping fest, and the line-ups have been steadily top tier.

Chances I Go: 40% Chicago is an expensive city to visit, so i may have to choose between this and Pitchfork, and my inital inclination is to choose Pitchfork, but if the line-up is hot enough, I'll make the trek twice.

Lollapalooza Website


ACLFest (September 26-28, 2008) [Austin, TX]

Austin City Limits Music Festival began in 2002, the same year as Bonnaroo, and has emerged as a top-tier American fest, maybe the premier urban, non-camping fest in the US. Last year's line-up included Bjork, Wilco, Arade Fire, Muse My Morning Jacket, Queens Of The Stone Age, Bloc Party, The Decmeberists, and Yo La Tengo. I've heard good things about it but have yet to go to one.

The Low-down: It should be a great line-up and a fun big fest with 65,000 people.

Chances I Go: 60% Another fest I haven't been to means I need to go.

ACLFest Website


The Echo Project (Fall 2008) [Atlanta, GA]

Seemingly out of nowhere The Echo Project emerged for the first time ever a few months ago just Outside The Perimeter. The Jamband heavy, but diverse line-up brought out a great, small crowd under 10,000. By the accounts I've heard, it was not very successful financially, but the promoters have maintained that it will return next year. I had a blast, and you can read about my experience here. Also, much better pictures here.

The low-down: I would expect it to be really fun again next year, but I hope they get someone who knows indie music a little better to choose that part of the line-up (give me a holla ;) ), because i think diehard hippies have a hard time discerning what's good (not The Killers). Also, they need to promote it properly this year if they want it to be financially successful.

Chances I Go: 98% So much fun and it's right here in the ATL, why wouldn't I go?

The Echo Project Website


Voodoo (October 24-26, 2008) [New Orleans, LA]

Dating back to 1999, this mega-big urban, noncamping fest is the New Orleans version of Atlanta's old Music Midtown, held every year on Halloween weekend. In 2005 it had to be held simultaneously in two different states because of Hurricane Katrina, but when it returned to its regular spot of City Park in 2006 it bounced back with 93,000 attendance. This year with Rage Against The Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Wilco headlining, it blew up even larger to a ridiculous 150,000+. Check our coverage:

• Day 1 Photos
• Day 2 Photos
• Live Review
• Day 3 Photos
  

The Low-down: A solid fest who's line-ups tend to be a little less than top tier because of the mainstream crowd it aims at, but the bonus is you are in a city like New Orleans to party.

Chances I Go: 25% I've been to this twice, so it's about time for me to go to Vegoose for the first time.

Voodoo Website


Vegoose (October 2008) [Las Vegas, NV]

This non-camping spinoff of Bonnaroo began its annual Halloween weekend event in 2005. Last year notable acts fromm the line-up included Rage Against The Machine, Blonde Redhead, Battles, Mastodon, Muse, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Ghostface Killah. The line-ups tend to be even a little less jambandy than Bonnaroo's, and with late night sets in a city like Las Vegas, you know its gonna be a crazy time.

The Low-down: With the folks running Bonnaroo doing this, you're in good hands. The line-ups are small, but high quality. Last year attendance was around 40,000.

Chances I Go: 55% A fest and a city i've never experienced means most likely it is the time to go.

Vegoose Website

Ohmpark Mixtape #3: My Favourite Songs Of 2007

The best ofs continue. Here are the songs I really dug this year, arranged in what i think is a great flowing hour and a half experience. I did cheat a little bit and included a few tracks from my best 2006 Albums of 2007 list, but these songs will always make me think of this year, so it'll work. Enjoy:

The Shins : Wincing The Night Away : Sleeping Lessons


Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther : Roscoe


The Cinematic Orchestra : Ma Fleur : To Build A Home


Blonde Redhead : 23 : Spring And by Summer Fall


Earlimart : Mentor Tormentor : Happy Alone


Wilco : Sky Blue Sky : Impossible Germany


Beach House : Beach House : Master of None


Low : Drums And Guns : Breaker


Parade : Answer Me : Booths


Of Montreal : Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? : The Past Is A Grotesque Animal


Deerhunter : Fluorescent Grey : Wash Off


Akron/Family : Love Is Simple : Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead


Snowden : Anti Anti : Anti Anti


Moorish idols : Moorish Idols : Why Are We Whispering


Phosphorescent : Pride : Wolves


Smashing Pumpkins : Zeigeist : Neverlost


Radiohead : In Rainbows : Reckoner


Marnie Stern : In Advance Of The Broken Arm : Patterns Of A Diamond Ceiling

Live Show: Silversun Pickups (11/17/2007)

Sunday night I caught the first half of the 99x Mistle Toe Jam and it was pretty cool. I learned a few things from the night:

1. I really hate having to drive Outside The Perimeter for a concert.
2. The traffic situation at The Gwinnett Center Arena is horribly ridiculous.
3. I've decided that some of The Shins stuff is amazing, and a bunch of it is way too boring to me.
4. Paste magazine, which I usually enjoy, has the worst top album list of 2007 I've seen so far.
5. The Silversun Pickups are as great live as I had hoped they would be.
6. Silversun Pickups have been touring for 2 years straight and this was their last show of that tour. Hopefully they are going to go make another great album. So, here's a show from last month to jam:

Silversun Pickups - 2007-11-17, Paris, France; Nouveau Casino

Silversun Pickups
2007-11-17
Le Nouveau Casino
Paris, France

Source: Sony ECM-719 > Sony Hi-MD RH10 (PCM mode) > USB / Sonic Stage > WAV > Adobe Audition 2.0 (normalization and track splitting) > shntool (fix SBE) > FLAC
Location: 4 meters in front of stage
Taper: XWayne

01. Intro
02. Melatonin
03. Well Thought Out Twinkles
04. Dream at Tempo 119
05. Rusted Wheel
06. Waste It On
07. Little Lover's So Polite
08. Future Foe Scenarios
09. Kissing Families
10. Three Seed
11. Lazy Eye
12. Common Reactor
13. Encore Break
14. ...All the Go Inbetweens
15. Comeback Kid
16. Creation Lake
17.

Download Lossless Torrent Here

Friday Free-Style

I've mentioned it already, but since I love this band so much, I'll bring it up again. Beach House will be at The Earl with Papercuts on March 1st. Here is a song from the forthcoming Devotion available in February (or now bootlegged):

Beach House : Devotion : Gila


This Wednesday (12/19) you can watch the new Sigur Ros movie Heima at the Midtown Art Cinema with me.

I've been listening to Marnie Stern again a bunch lately, so here's a funny mash-up I had missed:

The Hood Internet - Absorb the Lip Gloss


The Smashing Pumpkins have new material to release at the beginning of next year.

Hot Chip have a new album, Made In The Dark, coming out February 4th.

Remixes of Thom Yorke's Eraser are coming soon.

Creative Loafing did a piece on Fag Static this week. When I caught them opening for Deerhunter, they were really awesome.

Pimp C RIP

Tori Amos lays the smack down:



Flight of The Conchords will be releasing a full-length album in April.

Ok, a little personal note: After 8 and a half years as an undergrad at Georgia Tech, I graduate tomorrow morning. The ensuing bender may limit my posting for the next few days, but we have all sorts of goodies for you next week including our Top 50 Albums of 2007, plus tons of other best of nonsense.

Sugarkane's Top 13 Favourite Shows Of 2007

Live shows are such a different beast than listening to an album. With an album you love, you can listen to it any time and enjoy it. With a band you love, it's much more of a dice roll on how much you enjoy a concert. They may not play the songs you like, they may have a bad show, you may end up around a bunch of 16 years olds acting like douches, maybe its outdoors and raining, maybe you took too many drugs, etc. There are so many factors at play that people at the same show can have completely different experiences. These 13 shows, then, represent my best experiences of the year. They are a reflection of my own subjective experience more so than the objectively best shows the bands i saw play. Click on the link to read-up:

13. Snowden, DJ Klever (3-31-07) Lenny's Bar



12. Ween (6-16-07) Bonnaroo

11. Explosions in The Sky, The Paper Chase, Eluvium (3/13/07) Lenny's Bar



10. The Flaming Lips (10/12/07) The Echo Project



9. Blonde Redhead (5/4/07) The Variety Playhouse



8. From Exile (11/3/07) Home Park Festival (Acoustic Set)



7. Menomena (4/3/07) The Drunken Unicorn



6. Grizzly Bear (3/2/07) The Drunken Unicorn



5. Marnie Stern (7/26/07) The Drunken Unicorn



4. Joanna Newsom (11/17/07) Atlanta Symphony Hall



3. Sonic Youth (7/13/07) Pitchfork Music Festival (Daydream Nation show)

2. Akron/Family, Untied States (2/20/07) The Earl



1. Yo La Tengo (2/3/07) The Variety Playhouse

Dethklok Free Show Tommorrow Night! Explosions In The Sky, Fiery Furnaces, Holy Fuck, Super Furry Animals Next Year!

There are so many concert announcements going on right now it's hard to keep up. The fictional band Dethklok from the Adult Swim cartoon Metalocalypse will be playing at Center Stage Thursday night. The first 450 people in line get in the show. Thanks to It Covers The Hillsides on the heads up. Get a taste:



Explosions In The Sky are returning to Atlanta April 13th, this time at The Variety Playhouse. Here's 22 minutes of EITS bliss:



And what promises to be an amazing show, Fiery Furnaces, Holy Fuck, and Super Furry Animals are all playing a show together at The Variety Playhouse on January 30th. Super Furry Animals are dropping a new album on January 22nd, The Fiery Furnaces' Widow City from earlier this year is one of the year's best, and I've been jamming the new Holy Fuck album, LP, like crazy lately. It is some top tier psychedelic dance music. Check it:

Holy Fuck : LP : Royal Gregory


Holy Fuck : LP : The Pulse

Built To Spill Hits The A In March

One of my favourite bands, Built To Spill, will be at The Variety Playhouse on March 12th. When they came through last year, Doug Martsch did an acoustic set outside the front doors for everyone before the show, and even went around looking for BTS fans who didn't have tickets to the sold out show and put them on the guest list:



Coincidentally, I was listening to the BTS show from 2005 at The Variety Playhouse last night, so here it is for you:

Saturday, May 21st, 2005
Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA

Built to Spill
Stab
Strange
The Plan
When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough
Goin' Against Your Mind
I Would Hurt a Fly
Distopian Dream Girl
Virginia Reel Around the Fountain [the Halo Benders]
Alien Fugue [Caustic Resin]
Big Dipper
Velvet Waltz
Sidewalk
Carry the Zero

encore:
Stop the Show

Mike Johnson and the Evildoers opened.

Brett Netson of Caustic Resin played with the band.

Video of the Day: Four-Eyed Monsters

We don't ever really cover narrative film here on Ohmpark, but today I think we should make an exception. Film, much like music, is in a state of trying to figure out what's next. This is especially in regards to distribution. This film, Four-Eyed Monsters, is one of those little films that could. It has reached outside of the box and began the journey towards figuring new outlets for finding an audience. I highly recommend the film which is literally about two people who meet online and then begin this film project. Its strangely biographical, yet stylish and insightful all at the same time. It touches on parts of the often complicated, modern 20-something relationship and life in the city in honest, often hilarious ways. The film in its entirety is posted below:



These guys also have a very insightful series of video diaries on the film making process that is rather entertaining here.

One other thing... These guys are trying to raise some of their money back through a deal they have created with Spout.com If you have just an extra minute after viewing and enjoying the film, sign up and help these filmmakers out. It literally took me ONE MINUTE to do so...

And last, but not least... Here's a video of Director/ Star Arin Crumley doing a lengthy video discussion about the filmmaking process and some interesting "what's next" ideas. ENJOY!



Four-Eyed Monsters Official Website

What Up In The ATL?

This weekend there are some great shows going on. Thursday don't miss The Orphins and The Liverhearts together at The Earl. Some The Liverhearts:



Friday night WRASfest is going down at Eyedrum:



Saturday night there is this:



And ofcourse Sunday night is the Mistle Toe Jam with Modest Mouse, Silverchair, The Shins, and Silversun Pickups. Other interesting shows coming soon:

12/21/07 Allnightdrugprowlingwolves at The Earl
12/21/07 Midwives at The Drunken Unicorn
12/22/07 Elevado, Antelope, Pistolero at 11:11 Teahouse
1/4/08 Graboids at Lenny's
1/7/08 Dan Deacon at Eyedrum
1/11/08 Club Awesome at The Earl
1/12/08 Yo La Tengo at the Variety Playhouse (Don't Miss This One!)
1/19/08 The Jupiter Watts at The Earl
1/21/08 Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow at The Loft
1/24/08 Feeding Fingers, Tenth To The Moon, Lid Emba at The Drunken Unicorn
1/24/08 Chopper, Fag Static at The Drunken Unicorn
1/26/08 The Selmanaires, Anna Kramer at The Earl (Dual CD release show)
1/29/08 Ween at The Tabernacle
2/1/08 Victor Wooten at The Variety Playhouse
2/14/08 Liars, No Age at The Earl
2/19/08 Atlas Sound at The Drunken Unicorn
2/22/08 Snowden at The Earl

Snowden For The Holidays

Snowden is bringing you the Christmas cheer to get you in the mood. First, Snowden's Dave Payne has brought the band into the blogosphere with his own blog documenting all things Snowden. Check it out. Also, they have re-released their Licorice EP, where Jordan Jeffares gives you his take on some traditional Christmas songs. You can read all about it at Kissatlanta. It's a pretty interesting listen:

White Christmas


Merry Christmas


Christmas Time Is Here


China Light


I really enjoyed the new material they debuted at the Variety Playhouse a couple weeks ago and can't wait for the new album. Go myspace friend them.

The Eternal Hottness: Radiohead

As I eagerly await my In Rainbows discbox, I want to talk about the way it was released. If you are slacking and haven't got a copy of it, go get it now because the free download site closes tomorrow. Radiohead has yet to release any real numbers on how this album release experiment has gone, but all indications from the band members themselves point to it being successful on their terms. The debate that has raged since this all began is what kind of impact will this have on the music industry? There are a few dimensions to this that I want to break down. The first question to be asked is: Can this exact model work for anybody else but Radiohead?

A counter argument that Lily Allen made about this model is that what Radiohead are doing will hurt smaller artists: “They’ve got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven’t done as well...” I'm not sure Lily, who got big in the music industry because of her famous parents, can really relate to struggling bands, but let us take her point seriously. So far only Trent Reznor, who has been hating on the record industry for a while and currently not on a label, has tried this experiment with the new Saul Williams album he produced. The model is slightly different (you can choose between getting it free at 192 Kbps or pay $5 to get a higher quality format), but basically it is the same idea. Numbers have not been disclosed from that either, but even when they do, it's unclear how much of the big picture is going to be revealed. An artist like Saul Williams, relatively obscure compared to Radiohead, may reach a larger audience through this distribution model and the publicity surrounding it and this may increase sales of his music, tickets to shows, and merchandise down the road. But even Saul Williams is backed by Trent Reznor, who is pretty famous and rich himself. Radiohead's response to this argument, in this great interview you should read, is:

Ed: 'But the thing is, so much good music is now free anyway.'

Jonny: 'Yeah, the download culture is there anyway. It's King Canute - you can't pretend the flood isn't happening. This friend of mine bought the Muse album. And his 12-year-old son was just looking at it - "Wow, the real thing!" His son had the album already, he knew the songs, but he'd never held a CD. He just found it a curious object. That's kind of how it is now.'

This is the reality of the situation, and barring an invasion of Sweden, there really isn't much anyone can do to stop piracy altogether. It would be fairly difficult, in my opinion, to find a single album that came out this year that wasn't available somewhere on the internet. The next question, then, is: Does this exact model even have to work for anyone else to be successful?

Another naysayer of the Radiohead model has been Gene Simmons: “That’s not a business model that works. I open a store and say ‘Come on in and pay whatever you want.’ Are you on fucking crack? Do you really believe that’s a business model that works?” Well, maybe this model can't work for everybody, but it could change the game enough to find a better model than exists now. Two smaller bands that no one had heard of a few years ago but now have the potential to emerge as two of the greatest bands to come out of this decade, Deerhunter and Grizzly Bear, each have a blog where they release mp3s of their material for free. They've certainly had a ton of help from Pitchfork and the blogosphere in blowing up, but the reason they have received such a big buzz is completely about the music and performances they do, not because a record label is pushing them to play on the radio. In the current climate of the music world, anybody who makes amazing music can get that music out to the masses, and once they achieve a large fanbase, they can cash in on that success with tours, merch, and the people who still want a physical copy of the album.

Even if giving your music away doesn't end up being a viable economical model, just showing the current model doesn't work may be enough to get a better model together. When the music pirating site OiNK got shutdown recently, Trent Reznor had this to say about it:

"I'll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world's greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted. If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn't the equivalent of that in the retail space right now. iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don't feel cool when I go there. I'm tired of seeing John Mayer's face pop up. I feel like I'm being hustled when I visit there, and I don't think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc. Amazon has potential, but none of them get around the issue of pre-release leaks. And that's what's such a difficult puzzle at the moment. If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it? People on those boards, they're grateful for the person that uploaded it -- they're the hero. They're not stealing it because they're going to make money off of it; they're stealing it because they love the band. I'm not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want."

The music industry doesn't know what the consumer wants. They have not adapted the way they should have to changes in the market. One music company that does get it is Emusic. I've recently become a subscriber to their service and I have to say I've been enjoying it. I pay $25 a month, and I can download 100 songs in high bitrate MP3s that are DRM free. Now the downside of Emusic is that the selection consists primarily of non-major label artists and it can be difficult to find things that aren't obscure, but just think if someone with the money and power in the industry could create a site that combined the Emusic model with the vast selection of OiNK. It would be a great start.

The final question to ask is: What if there is no model that works? The worst case scenario is pirating cannot be stopped and everyone stops paying for albums. In terms of the quality of music, would this necessarily be a bad thing? I mean, I doubt if you read this blog regularly you would think that those that have spoken against this model like Lily Allen, Gene Simmons, and Oasis have made better music than Radiohead and Trent Reznor, right? Viewing music completely as a commodity is not having a full understanding of what music is. I think free-market capitalism is some great stuff in most arenas, but with art, it doesn't seem to do anything but dilute the quality. If people can't make tons of money making music, that doesn't mean music is just going to stop getting made, it means that the people making music will do it for the love of music, not for the money. Now, I want to see the bands I love make money for their work, and I believe they can even in this worst case scenario, but at the end of the day, what matters most to me is hearing great music, and as the industry has been in a tailspin, I feel like I've been hearing more and more great music than ever in my life, so I'm pretty optimistic.

To sum it all up, Radiohead rules.

Here is the first test webcast, Entanglement:

Part 1:



Part 2:



Here is the complete 2 and half hour webcast of Thumbs Down in all its glory:



Now that i've become so familiar with the new stuff, it is cool to go back and listen to the live versions of the songs from last year. Here's a torrent of a show you can download losslessly here, but I've got all the new songs for you to listen to here:

Radiohead
6/14/2006
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
New York, NY

Taper: scb
Source: DPA (B&K) 4022s > Sound Devices 722 @ 24/96
722 > Apple MacBook Pro > Spark XL 2.8.2 (normalize, resample to 44.1khz, dither to 16 bit) > xACT 1.58 > shn
Location: Dead Center, about 20 feet from the stage

Disc 1

01 Intro 02:04.14
02 The Gloaming 03:49.38
03 The National Anthem 05:07.31
04 15 Step 04:31.24
05 Arpeggi 04:33.13
06 Kid A 03:56.39
07 Dollars And Cents 05:22.70
08 Videotape 05:09.07
09 Nude 04:38.49
10 I Might Be Wrong 04:39.20
11 Paranoid Android 07:11.60
12 Bangers 'n Mash 03:46.45
13 Pyramid Song 04:50.39

Disc 1 Total: 59:40.74


Disc 2

01 My Iron Lung 05:31.26
02 Bodysnatchers 04:40.09
03 Myxomatosis 04:24.19
04 No Surprises 04:19.28
05 Everything In Its Right Place 08:36.23
Encore 1:
06 A Wolf At The Door 03:50.30
07 Down Is The New Up 05:28.06
08 Like Spinning Plates 03:10.41
09 Spooks 01:31.27
10 Idioteque 06:41.04
Encore 2:
11 Just 04:28.12
12 The Tourist 06:01.32

What The Hell Am I Listening To?!?

Today's theme, suggested albums from the readers (keep suggesting):

Sea Wolf



Thanks to TJ (check his blog) for pointing out Sea Wolf's Leaves In The River. I might have overlooked this release due to all the artists these days with "wolf" in their name confusing me. This band, fronted by Irving's Alex Church, does indie-pop better than most that remind me a little of Earlimart, Bright Eyes, and maybe even Arcade Fire at times. If you want a nice, low-key album that just sounds beautiful from front to back, this is for you:

Black Dirt


You're A Wolf


Buy Leaves in The River Here

Sea Wolf Myspace


Baroness



Ichuda hit me off with this metal outfit from Savannah, Ga's newest release, Red Album. It's great to see a good band emerge from a music scene that is pretty lacking at best. Baroness on this album sort of sound like a more subdued Mastodon to me. I've been listening to it like crazy lately, and so should you:

Aleph


Wailing Wintry Wind


Buy Red Album Here

Baroness Myspace

Best 2006 Albums Of 2007

Before I inundate you with all of my best of 2007 stuff, I want to do a little addendum to my 2006 top 50 Albums list. Over the course of this year I discovered some albums that came out last year but wasn't aware of because I wasn't blogging and researching obsessively then. These albums here should all have deserved to be on my top 50 list because they are all amazing. Despite being released in '06, though, these albums will always make me think of this year because of all the great times I had with them as the soundtrack. Pick up these essentials:

Beach House : Beach House



Final Fantasy : He Poos Clouds



Midlake : The Trials Of Van Occupanther



Portugal The Man : Waiter: "You Vultures!"



Silversun Pickups : Carnavas



Snowden : Anti-Anti



Untied States : Retail Detail

Underground Hottlanta: This Piano Plays Itself

By now, you know all about the bigger local acts that are blowing the city up, like Deerhunter, Mastodon, Black Lips, Snowden, etc. Well, those superstars aren't the only ITP folks that are churning out the kickass tunes. This new Ohmpark series is going to be all about finding the less known, newer faces that are warrioring the scene. One newer band that is really impressing me and showing a ton of potential is This Piano Plays Itself. After playing a killer set at Home Park Fest (which we will have video up from soon), I got a copy of their "Pre-Demo Demo" and have been jamming it hard lately. They take post-rock and electronica jams and arrange them in more conventional structures that utilize vocals/lyrics and create a really cool hybrid. Give it a listen:

Oh Haste The Proletariat Waits


Awake And Asleep


There Are Segments Of Revolving


All those songs plus more are available on their Myspace page, so go hit them up. I'm excited to see what their finished product is going to be like and expect big things from these guys in 2008.

Photos: Black Lips, Deerhunter, Snowden, The Selmanaires - 11-30-07 @ Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA

The Selmanaires








Snowden










Deerhunter






Black Lips

Post-Monday Mash-Up

Yo La Tengo have added some southern dates to their freewheeling tour where they play acoustic versions of songs and tell stories of the band's long history. They will be at the Variety Playhouse on January 12th and Lambchop's Kurt Wagner will be opening. That show is gonna be so awesome!:



The Black Lips are involved with two different movies. First, they are playing a fictional band in a movie called Let It Be, that is about the story of the movement in underground American music that was known as D.I.Y. Also, they will be featured in Chris Dortch II's upcoming documentary on Atlanta's underground music scene, We Fun, featuring other ATL superstars such as Deerhunter, Mastodon, The Selmanaires, The Coathangers, Anna Kramer and Jessica Juggs.

A great local show to check out this week:



Liars and No Age will be at The Earl on Valentine's Day.

The Selmanaires an Anna Kramer And The Lost Cause are having a dual CD release party at The Earl on January 26th. The Selmanaires:



Silversun Pickups have a remix EP coming out in a couple of weeks.

Marco Benevento of The Benevento-Russo Duo has a solo album called Invisible Baby dropping February 12th.

Ween will be returning to The Tabernacle on January 29th.

The Breeders have a new album coming out in April.

Gnarls Barkley have a new album due out in spring of 2008.

Super Furry Animals will be at The Variety Playhouse on January 30th.

Tom Petty is playing the Super Bowl.

Read up about Atlanta's Battery 5.

Remember the Regins Spektor re-scheduled show is tomorrow at The Tabernacle.

Torrent Of the Day: Joanna Newsom (11-17-2007) Atlanta, Ga

We didn't get a chance to talk about the amazing Joanna Newsom show a few weeks ago so here it is for you to download. She played Ys from front to back with ASO and it was flawless. The second set featured only her 4-piece "Ys Street Band" and some solo action. It was definetly one of the best shows of the year for me. Thanks to Page Hall for some pics:



Joanna Newsom with ASO 11-17-07

Joanna Newsom with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
November 17, 2007
Atlanta Symphony Hall, GA, USA

Source: Creative Zen voice recorder(mono)>USB>Zen Vision M Media Explorer
Audacity to separate tracks>Flac level 6

Location: Row C almost dead center

Quality: 6/10

Disc 1 w/ orchestra, Disc 2 w/ Y's Street Band

Disc 1
1. Emily
2. Monkey & Bear
3. Sawdust & Diamonds
4. Only Skin
5. Cosmia

Disc 2
1. Bridges & Balloons (beginning cut)
2. The Book Of Right On
3. Inflammatory Writ
4. Colleen
5. Peach, Plum, Pear
6. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
7. Untitled
8. Sadie

Here's a sample:

The Book Of Right On