Radiohead "The King of Limbs" Review

It's been a while, but now that we're finally settled in out here in Philadelphia I can finally wrap my head around some music.

This weekend I got the chance to download the new Radiohead album, The King of Limbs, thanks to their early digital release. I wasn't really sure what to anticipate going in to my first listen, having been pleasantly surprised by the last Radiohead release (In Rainbows), but knowing that Thom has been doing a lot on the side (see: Atoms of Peace) that leaned more towards the electronic/prog arm I was curious to see how this album would lean.

My initial thoughts, now that I've had a chance to listen through the album once or twice? It's good. It's much more of a return to a steadier electronic sound than In Rainbows, (which I thoroughly enjoyed because it brought a little more of Greenwood's guitar back into their sound), but as long as you don't expect a raucous guitar filled track to lift the album's consistent electronic heartbeat it is a fine album with a lot of delicate subtleties that really lend themselves to Yorke's voice and the music's haunting melodies.

The King of Limbs is a mellow listen but one that moves a pace quick enough that you're not likely to stop paying attention at any point; it begs your attention with each sweeping crescendo and falsetto. Yet, in many tracks Yorke's vocals dance in the background and are overlayed by a smooth beat that drowns both the vocals and the harmony together like a finely choreographed finger paint.

big news

We're moving to Philadelphia!

New single from Matt & Kim, "Cameras," coming soon

Matt & Kim; credit: mattandkimmusic.com

Matt & Kim have always been one of those bands that I've forever flirted with but never made a move on, despite their sexy tracks like "Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare" and "Daylight" which crop up constantly on my playlist like a phone number in a little black book that you always try to ignore.

But with the news that on August 31 the band will be releasing the first single, "Cameras", off their third full-length album, I might have to rethink our relationship. Why's that? This time, they've got producer Ben H. Allen on board, who has produced amazing albums such as St. Elsewhere (Gnarls Barkley), Merriweather Post Pavilion (Animal Collective), and one of my favorite recent albums, In the Dark (The Whigs). This new album is going to be ridiculously good.

Do yourself a favor and catch them on the road when they hit the pavement this fall, and stay tuned for the release of "Cameras".


North American Tour

Sept
15th Westcott Theater # - Syracuse, NY
16th Beachland Ballroom # - Cleveland, OH
17th Newport Music Hall # - Columbus, OH
18th Majestic Theater # - Detroit, MI
19th Metro # - Chicago, IL
21st Majestic Theater # - Madison, WI
22nd First Ave # - Minneapolis, MN
23rd The Granada Theater # - Lawrence, KS
24th Ogden Theater # - Denver, CO
25th Virgin Mobile FreeFest - Columbia, MD
27th The Rickshaw Theater - Vancouver, BC
28th Showbox * - Seattle, WA
29th Roseland Theater * -Portland, OR
30th The Fillmore * - San Francisco, CA

Oct
1st House of Blues * - San Diego, CA
2nd Music Box at The Henry Fonda Theater * - Los Angeles, CA
3rd Music Box at The Henry Fonda Theater * - Los Angeles, CA
6th The Clubhouse * - Tempe, AZ
8th House of Blues * - Dallas, TX
9th Austin City Limits - Austin, TX
11th The Lyric Oxford % - Oxford, MS
12th House of Blues % - New Orleans, LA
13th Club Downunder % - Tallahassee, FL
14th Culture Room ! - Fort Lauderdale, FL
15th State Theater ! - St. Petersburg, FL
16th Masquerade ! - Atlanta, GA
17th Exit In ! - Nashville, TN
19th Orange Peel ! - Asheville, NC
20th Cats Cradle ! - Carrboro, NC
21st The Canal Club ! - Richmond, VA
22nd 9:30 Club ! - Washington, DC
23rd Rams Head Live! ! - Baltimore, MD
24th Starlite Ballroom ! - Philadelphia, PA
26th Webster Hall ! - New York, NY
27th Webster Hall ! - New York, NY
28th Water St. Music Hall ! - Rochester, NY
29th Phoenix Theater ! - Toronto, ON
30th Le National ! - Montreal, QC
31st Northern Lights ! - Clifton, NY

Nov
2nd Higher Ground - Burlington, VT
3rd Port City Music Hall ^ - Portland, ME
4th House of Blues ^ - Boston, MA
5th Toad's Place ^ - New Haven, CT
6th Pearl Street Nightclub ^ - Northampton, MA

# w/ So So Glos
* w/ Fang Island
% w/ Big Freedia
! w/ Donnis
^ w/ Javelin

Learn more at mattandkimmusic.com

Drama Queen Axl Rose cancels tour via Twitter?

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

I'm not sure who is a bigger drama queen: Brett Favre, or Axl Rose?

I'm not sure I even care at this point. Go ahead and play. You're old, and probably not going to be as good as expected.

Funny, that could apply to either one of them.

Frightened Rabbit fall tour

A few of my friends from back East and I recently stared a mix tape exchange in an attempt to infuse some new musical blood into our systems. To make things a bit more interesting, we are also using themes. The first was " Summer Bummer," and one of the tracks that made my list was Frightened Rabbit's "Swim Until You Can't See Shore," a great track.

I became interested in Frightened Rabbit after digging into some recent offerings from other Scottish artists who have been making a name for themselves in the indie scene lately, namely We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Twilight Sad (both of whom also made my Summer Bummer list, which makes me think that summers in Scotland aren't great?). The more I've listened to them, the more I've come to enjoy their sound.

If you haven't yet made the foray into the great Scottish bands on the scene today such as the ones listed above or the ones you may already know (Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian, etc) then spend a few minutes watching and listening to the music video for "Swim Until You Can't See Land" and see if that changes your perspective.

If you like what you hear, make sure you catch them on tour in fall at one of the following stops:

FRIGHTENED RABBIT ON TOUR

August 8 - Chicago, Ill. @ Lollapalooza
October 7 - Seattle, Wash. @ Showbox at the Market
October 8 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Vogue Theatre
October 9 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom
October 10 - San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore
October 13 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Mayan Theatre
October 14 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
October 15 - Anaheim, Calif. @ House of Blues
October 16 - Las Vegas, Nev. @ Beauty Bar
October 17 - Tempe, Ariz. @ The Clubhouse
October 19 - Dallas, Texas @ Loft @ Palladium Showroom
October 20 - Austin, Texas @ Stubbs BBQ
October 21 - Houston, Texas @ Walters
October 22 - New Orleans, La. @ Tipitina's
October 23 - Gainesville, Fla. @ Common Grounds
October 24 - Orlando, Fla. @ The Social
October 26 - Athens, Ga. @ 40 Watt Club
October 27 - Charlotte, N.C. @ Neighborhood Theatre
October 28 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Starlight Ballroom
October 29 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise
October 30 - New York, N.Y. @ Terminal 5
November 1 - Washington, D.C. @ 930 Club
November 2 - Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Diesel
November 3 - Detroit, Mich. @ Magic Stick

Nebraska Pop Festival

First things first. You need to stop reading this, click on "new window", and head over to Muzzle of Bees and wish Ryan congratulations on getting married this weekend. He and his wife Sarah are both lovely, wonderful people and I wish them the best.

All done? Good. Welcome back.

I've been spending time lately trying to play out how to spend the rest of the few remaining "good" weekends here in Wisconsin. Once you get into October, other than the promise of football season, it's pretty much downhill weather-wise until about April. I'm hoping to make it down to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Madison all before the snow flies.

Since Nebraska also has its share of poor winter weather, it might be a good time to plan on attending the upcoming Nebraska Pop Festival if you are around those parts.


The festival, slated to take place September 15-19, will feature 36 independent pop bands from all over the country, as well as some international acts like France's Alone with Everybody.

While there's no heavy hitters in the lineup, there will be a full schedule of music for five straight days, and each day is only $5. That's $25 bucks for 36 bands, a hard deal to beat.

Lineup and schedule below:

Nebraska Pop Festival 2010 lineup of performers

Saturday, August 28th (pre-festival show) @ Barley Street Tavern. Official start time 8:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *21+

1. The Love Technicians (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. The Sleepover (Lincoln, Nebraska)
3. Platte River Rain (Omaha, Nebraska)
4. Mumford’s (Ames, Iowa)
5. I Am The Navigator (Lincoln, Nebraska)
6. The Renfields (Lincoln, Nebraska)


Wednesday, September 15th NIGHT ONE @ Barley Street Tavern. Official start time 8:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *21+


1. Panda Face (Lincoln, Nebraska)
2. You’re So Cool (Gainesville, Florida)
3. Cleemann (solo) (Copenhagen, Denmark)
4. Coney Island (Madison, Wisconsin)
5. The Bedsit Infamy (Denver, Colorado)

Thursday, September 16th NIGHT TWO @ Barley Street Tavern. Official start time 8:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *21+

1. You Don’t Know Me (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. Normandie Wilson (San Diego, California)
3. Boy Of Bark (Salt Lake City, Utah)
4. Dexter Poindexter (Wheeling, Illinois)
5. Electric Needle Room (Kansas City, Kansas)

Friday, September 17th NIGHT THREE @ The Pizza Shoppe Collective. Official start time 7:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *ALL AGES

1. Floating Opera *ex Mercy Rule/ex The Millions (Lincoln, Nebraska)
2. Gilbe (Des Moines, Iowa & Chicago, Illinois)
3. Kissing Party (Denver, Colorado)
4. The Mother Z’s (Chicago, Illinois)
5. Seaside Stars (Berlin, Germany)
6. Alone With Everybody (Toulouse, France)
7. Thunder Power (Omaha, Nebraska)

Saturday, September 18th NIGHT FOUR @ The Pizza Shoppe Collective. Official start time 7:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *ALL AGES

1. Eric In Outerspace (Omaha, Nebraska)
2. Mammoth Life (Lawrence, Kansas)
3. Matty Cries (Seattle, Washington)
4. Paris When It Sizzles! (Omaha, Nebraska)
5. James and the Express (Olympia, Washington)
6. Doug Hoyer (Edmonton, Canada)
7. Maid Marian (Iowa City, Iowa)

Sunday, September 19th FINAL NIGHT @ The Sydney. Official start time 7:00PM with end time approximately 1:30AM (This show is 5 USD at the door) *21+


1. The Open Letters *ex Apples In Stereo (Lexington, Kentucky)
2. Paper City (Long Beach, California)
3. Cleemann *full band (Denmark/Omaha & Lincoln Nebraska)
4. Modes of Resuscitation (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
5. Spencer McGillicutty (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
6. The Homestories (Winterthur, Switzerland)
7. The Wandering Bears (Iowa City, Iowa)

More info available at http://www.myspace.com/nebraskapopfestival

Donate To the ASPCA and Receive Tokyo Police Club's 'Wait Up (Boots of Danger)' Video + Exclusive Songs Including a Remix by RAC

image courtesy of Mrs. Veritas Lux Mea

It shouldn't be a secret that I love animals. I write about pets from 8-5 and the majority of my freelance work revolves around that as well. That being said, I can't believe I missed out on the news that one of my favorite bands, Tokyo Police Club, were collaborating with the ASPCA to secure donations.

Here's the email as it it came through, with my comments noted in [ ]:

Donate To the ASPCA and Receive Tokyo Police Club's 'Wait Up (Boots of Danger)' Video + Exclusive Songs Including a Remix by RAC

Today [er, July 8] , Tokyo Police Club reveals their brand new video for 'Wait Up (Boots of Danger)' at Stereogum.com and TokyoPoliceClub.com.

The video features neighborhood dogs taking off and crashing a neighbor's yard for a pool party. The members of the band are all animal lovers [as if I needed more of a reason to like them?], and came up with the idea for the video, together with director Mike Juneau. The video was shot in the suburbs of Toronto. The dogs were trained and supervised by Jennifer Segal from "Dog Training That Works" http://www.dogtrainingthatworks.com/

Donate to the ASPCA via the widgets on Stereogum.com and TokyoPoliceClub.com to receive the video, an mp3 of the Dom remix of 'Wait Up (Boots of Danger)' as well as a never-before-heard RAC remix of the song (also currently streaming at Stereogum.com).

100% of each sale will be donated to the ASPCA®. Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first humane organization established in the Americas and serves as the nation's leading voice for animal welfare.

'Wait Up (Boots of Danger)' is featured on the recently released Champ, out now from Mom + Pop. Pick it up at TokyoPoliceClub.com, ITunes, Amazon, and EMusic.

Head over to TokyoPoliceClub.com now to donate and check out the video. It's pawsitively a good time, and its for a good cause. Good music, good cause, what do you have to lose?

The Dashing Suns

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

First off, apologies as usual on the posting. Freelance work and spotty Internet help very little.

It's been pretty hot around Northern Wisconsin lately so that has put me in the mood for some surf music. Once I wrapped up work for the evening I hopped on my digital boogie board and hit the inbox waves and lo and behold, came across the Dashing Suns.

Maybe they're not exactly surf music, or beachrock, or whatever eponymous (sic) term they want to consider themselves, but I did particularly enjoy the few tracks I listened to tonight, as they satisfied my desire for some tasty waves and a cool buzz.

The debut EP from The Dashing Suns, Really Like You, will be out August 24, but for now you can check out this music video for the track "My Best Friend" and the track, "Sally Moore," below:

The Dashing Suns - "Sally Moore"


More info at The Dashing Suns MySpace page

Typhoon

Whenever I get an email from a band on the West Coast, particularly from the Pacific Northwest, I pay a little more attention. Why is that? Oh, I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with names like Mother Love Bone, Nirvana, Soundgarden, The Melvins, Mudhoney...do I need to go on? I mean, talk about a track record.

One of the latest Pacific Northwest gems is the conglomerate that is Portland's Typhoon. Consisting of about 17 (17!) friends that have known each other since high school, I liken their sound to a less-European sounding Beirut. The melodies are captivating, the music is intriguing, and their sound as diverse as the band's members, who often find themselves playing unannounced house parties across Portland.

The band has a couple of actual dates coming up in the Northwest that you can check out if you're on that coast (see below). If not, you'll have to settle for catching the ambiance they bring to a room via video for now.


07.17.10 - Portland, OR @ Pix Patisserie NE
07.25.10 - Seattle, WA @ the Tractor Tavern
07.31.10 - Seattle, WA @ Live on-air at 90.3 KEXP at 6 PM
08.06.10 - Turner, OR @ the Great Idea Festival
08.07.10 - Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
08.08.10 - Happy Valley, OR @ Pickathon
09.10.10 - Portland, OR @ Musicfest NW in Backspace

Electric Tickle Machine

When you get as many emails as I do and check them as little as I do, needless to say, they pile up. Unfortunately, a lot of good stuff probably gets lost in the inbox, but one thing I was able to dig out was the news that Blew It Again, the debut full length from Electric Tickle Machine, it out today.

I mean, with a name like Electric Tickle Machine, how could they not catch your eye? After a listen to a few of their tracks, I'm confident they'll catch more than just your eyes, but likely a few of your dollars as well. They've got a fresh, "garage-band that doesn't know any better" feel to their sound and are sure to cause a ruckus in some NYC clubs near you soon.

Check out a few free tracks from Blew it Again, below:

Electric Tickle Machine - "Part of Me"
Electric Tickle Machine - "Honest Injun"

If you need more convincing, you can check out the entire album which is streaming this week at AOL Spinner

Electric Tickle Machine on MySpace

Sunday Open House: June 13, 2010

I cut one of my typing fingers the other day, so I'll keep this short (like myself)

If you missed out on the action at Bonnaroo this year, you can catch the recap at Muzzle of Bees.

One of the artists I was fortunate enough to catch while staying dry at the Verge Music festival was She & Him, who put on a rousing performance Friday night. I particularly enjoyed M.Ward's rendition of "Roll Over Beethoven", which he rocked. They recently covered the classic tune "Fools Rush In" which you can nab for free here. Admittedly, the only other act I caught the entire weekend at Verge was Cold War Kids, who I stood in the cold rain for for an hour for just to see. We were so cold and wet (and sadly, old) that we left hours before Weezer even took the stage, since it would have been another soggy three hours before their set.

I haven't gotten my hands on the new Tokyo Police Club album yet, but in the meantime, I've really been enjoying this "Wait Up (Boots of Danger) (DOM Remix)" which you can snag here.

There's no way I would have found this track had it not been in my email and mentioned the name of my wife, Felicia. But if for no other reason than that, why don't you head over to Myspace and check out the track "Felicia" from The Constellations. My wife found it...interesting. I doubt we'll be catching their June 26 show at Summerfest, though.

Now, a few other notes...

Caught the Season 3 premiere of True Blood tonight. What a great show, although I felt the Season 3 premiere tonight was a little underwhelming. I'm real interested to see how the werewolves come into play this season. As long as there's no team vampire vs team werewolf like in the Twilight series I'll be happy. What did you think of the premiere?

The other night I found myself captivated by the shows Mall Cops: Mall of America and Police Women of Memphis. Not sure what point in my life I've reached to find shows like that satisfying, but hey, might as well embrace it.



Germany had a strong performance in their first World Cup game today, dominating the Aussies, which was nice to see. Was a little worried how well they would play without Ballack but they didn't seem to miss him. After the United States, they are my favorite team in the tournament.