Wednesday Night In The A: Broken Social Scene, Land Of Talk


Land Of Talk (12/15/06)

Tonight’s BSS, LOT show is sold out, but for those of you going, I have a little preview.I finally listened to the new Land of Talk album last night and it is pretty good. It’s not anything really special, just some nice music that will probably make for a great opener. Here’s two tracks I like:

Land Of Talk : Give Me Back My Heart Attack

Land Of Talk : Yuppie Flu

Also, here are a ton of BSS videos to get you in the mood:

“Cause = Time”:

“Anthems For A Seventeen-Year-Old Girl”:


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What Up In The ATL?

This is one of the last big weeks for shows this year, and the biggest show is Broken Social Scene Wednesday night at Variety Plahouse. Tickets were still available at the time of this post, but I would suspect this will sell out at any moment. Friday has a ton of great concerts, but I highly recommend catching Castanets at The Drunken Unicorn. And while I rarely mention Athens shows in my listings, the Danielson show at the 40 Watt eclipses anything else going on in this state Saturday night.

Best Shows in Atlanta November 17 – 23:

Tuesday:

Fag Static, The Sunglasses, Drunkdriver, Skin Problems, High Marks @ WonderRoot

Wednesday:

Broken Social Scene, Land Of Talk @ Variety Playhouse

Thursday:

Neil Halstead (Slowdive, Mojave 3), Long Knives @ The Earl

Friday:

Miles Benjamin Anthony Johnson, Castanets, The Meeks Family @ Drunken Unicorn

Noot D’ Noot, All The Saints, Coathangers @ The Earl

Dropsonic, Lay Down Mains, Whores @ Star Bar

Dragonforce @ The Tabernacle

King Khan & BBQ Show, The N.E.C., Barberries @ Lenny’s

Saturday:

Quintron And Miss Pussycat, Carbonas, Hawks @ Eyedrum

Danielson @ 40 Watt (Athens, GA)

Sunday:

Subtle, Zach Hill (Hella, Marnie Stern), Lyonnais @ The Earl


Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene) : Cocaine Skin
Brendan Canning (Broken Social Scene) : Love Is New
Danielson : Animal In Every Corner
Castanets : Glory B
Zach Hill : Toll Road
Neil Halstead : Oh Mighty Engine

What The Hell Am I Listening to?!?

Brendan Canning (Toronto, Canada)

I feel like this album and the Kevin Drew album from last year aren’t really getting quite their due on the interwebs just because they are solo albums and not proper Broken Social Scene records. I have been listening to a whole bunch of BSS lately, and I think that I almost like this and Spirit If… better than their older stuff because their songwriting has become so much more mature and refined. I just feel like there is no fat on these two records and that they are playing completely to their individual strengths. I might change my mind on this tomorrow, but either way, Something For All Of Us.. should not be overlooked.

Brendan Canning : Something For All Of Us…

Brendan Canning : Possible Grenade

Buy Something For All Of Us… Here

Brendan Canning Myspace


Takka Takka (Brooklyn, New York)

When I first heard of this band, I didn’t really give them a fair shake because they were always tied to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (who helped these guys get big and their drummer produced this album) whom I don’t really like. But after enough recommendations from folks, I finally picked up their latest, Migration, and it is fantastic. Takka Takka do a really great job of incorporating interesting influences and creating an “art-rock” sound that is wholly poppy and accessible. You really need to check this out:

Takka Takka : Silence

Takka Takka : Everybody Say

Buy Migration here

Takka Takka myspace


The New Year (Ithica, NY/Dallas, TX)


photo by Allison Smith

The New Year are a band I wasn’t really aware of until this recent self-titled album, but apparently this pair of brothers have been making great music for a really long time, including their former project in the ’90s called Bedhead. I have yet to emerse myself in their back catalog, but this album masters the simple, pretty, and perfect ideal reminiscent of bands like Deathcab, Grandaddy, and Built To Spill. I like how many of the songs themselves contain great, concise jams that only once push them past 4 minutes. This album is the paradigm of doing more with less.

The New Year : Folios

The New Year : My Neighborhood

Buy The New Year here

The New Year myspace

Humpday Randomnimity

Let’s start off with a Kaki King Daytrotter version of one of my favourite songs this year:

Kaki King : Life Being What It Is (Daytrotter version)

Get the rest of those tracks here.

Speaking of awesome chicks who play guitar, Marnie Stern‘s new album is coming out October 7th and is called This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That. I’m really looking forward to that and Zach Hill‘s solo album out August 26th.

Brendan Canning video:

Portishead are already talking new album.

Opeth, High On Fire, and Baroness will be at Center Stage October 22nd.

The Octopus Project will be at The Earl October 19th.

Best Buy is now selling vinyl.

New Dungen album coming in the fall.

New Of Montreal album coming in October.

Kissatlanta’s new post-DSC event, Eastern Bloc, starts this Friday night.

Sonic Youth‘s SYR8 album is coming soon featuring Jim O’Rourke and Merzbow.

My Morning Jacket‘s Jim James is working on an album with M. Ward and Conor Oberst.

The Sea And Cake‘s new upcoming record is going to be “more upbeat”. I just hope it doesn’t suck like their last one.

Atlas Sound bonus tracks will be on the Let The Blind… US vinyl release very soon..

And here is a youtube playlist of the hott new videos:

Ohmpark’s Guide To Bonnaroo 2008

Less than a week away and I’m ready to go! If you’re going to Bonnaroo this year, the following post will give you what I think is the crucial info and best acts. If you’re not going, you might want to rethink that and buy a ticket. You can read up on some of my stories from the first 5 Bonnaroos here. You can read my review of last year’s fest here. If you want to really obsess about Bonnaroo for endless hours, I highly recommend checking out Inforoo, the Bonnaroo message board. You can get pretty much every single bit of information you could ever imagine about the fest there. I’m going to give you a couple of nuggets that I think are particularly educational for first timers:

Currently, the Weather.com forecast calls for scattered t-storms all weekend right now (up to 60% chance of rain Saturday) and highs in the ’80s. I recommend you get some good mud boots just in case, because even a little bit of rain is going to make that place a big muddy mess. The mud will literally eat flip flops off of your feet, so beware. All my hippier friends swear by wearing crocs during regular conditions, but I always feel more comfortable in socks and tennis shoes. Also on the rainy weather tip, I’ve seen the thunderstorms decimate some campsites, so prepare accordingly. Put tarps under/over your tents. Bring a poncho.

The gates usually open early Wednesday night, but ever since the 3rd ‘roo (when they finally found the best way to deal with traffic), they send all of the first arrivals to the very, very far away Southeastern camping outpost. I’ve been the victim of this several times, and it was annoying. The more you walk, the more energy you’re going to exert, and this will hinder your ability to all out party for 4 days. And don’t expect to get a bunch of sleep, because usually by 8am it is too hot to sleep in your tent. It seems like if you get there late Thursday morning or early Thursday afternoon you can get a spot closer to Centeroo (the area where the stages are), especially if you are coming from the east (like us ATLiens). The downside, less time at the party and longer waits in the line to get in. Think about it.

Speaking of the party, this is a big-ass music fest with circa 75,000 people, so there is gonna be some craziness going on. BUT, this is not the Bonnaroo of your older cousin’s. There will be police sparsely around inside the fest grounds looking to bust folks for illegal activities. The ban on unofficial vendors is heavily enforced now, so “Skakedown Street” is not what it used to be. If you’re smart and just a tad bit careful, you are almost assured have a fun-filled week, just don’t be too stupid.

Ok, so let’s dig into the line-up. The first night has me really excited:

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