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Friday, June 30, 2006
A Bloody Long Wait 
Nina Gordon, the non-seether ex-front woman of Veruca Salt, will release Bleeding Heart Graffiti, her long-awaited (well, by me anyway) follow-up to 2000's Tonight and the Rest of My Life a full six years later, on August 8th. From the sound of the first single, "Kiss Me Til' It Bleeds," which I bought from iTunes and immediately put on repeat, it'll be more of the same Hot AC found on her solo debut. While it'll probably be mediocrely reviewed, I'd expect the reception to be less hostile than what Liz Phair got for her attempts at mommy-music. That's partly due to the nature of the music -- Nina's not playing XBox on anyone's floor -- but it's probably mostly because hipsters loved Liz way more than they ever loved Veruca Salt. For those like me who still care about Nina but are too cheap too pay the 99 cents, "Kill Me Til' It Bleeds" is streaming on Nina's MySpace. (Thanks to Stereogum for the tip.)
Hmmm. I wonder what "it" is...
NP: Nina Gordon - Kiss Me Til' It Bleeds
posted by Hanson |
1:18 AM
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
For the Kids Ben Lee's coming back to Vancouver. Again. Mark your calendars for August 27th, kiddies. See Ben as he takes on the Commodore all by himself -- ambitious for a pop artist that doesn't get Top 40 airplay or have a terrible amount of hipster cred. Here's hoping his base turns up. For the record, I'll probably be there.
To all the kids watching the France vs. Spain match this afternoon, there are two takeaways. First, if you're Spanish, don't be fooled by a few good performances -- you'll /never/ see your team win any major football championships. Second, cheating /does/ pay -- just ask Thierry "Ain't Too Good To Dive" Henry.
NP: Lily Allen - Oh My God
posted by Hanson |
11:15 PM
Sunday, June 25, 2006
The Sporting Life Being 6-to-1 favourites means nothing on the pitch. Get a result against Ecuador, lads. Do it for Michael Owen. Do it for Gary Neville. Do it for meeee!
LOO-WONG-GO! Say it again now! LOO-WONG-GO! Say it again now! Get youself an educationnnn!
Edit (9:55 am):
Phew!
Edit (1:55 pm):
Holy crap!!
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:33 AM
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Critiquing Critiques Aaron over at pop (all love) doesn't update often, but when he does, it's almost always a gem. His piece today on the inability for annual music awards to recognize future classics -- instead opting to honour flavours of the month -- is spot on. As evidence, he pointed to the winners of the Mercury Prize, Britain's annual hipster-approved top album award. M People, Roni Size, and Ms. Dynamite: not exactly The Beatles, eh?
The post goes on to suggest that an album should be left to age a few years before being given the big critical stamp of approval. Will Illinois and Funeral stand the test of time? Only, um, time will tell.
I can't disagree with the "have-to-let-it-age" theory of music criticism. Coincidentally, Matt and I were talking about just that today. Since the end of last year, my evaluation of Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary has risen steadily, probably due to the fact that I've spent more time listening to it. On the other end of the spectrum is (at the time) my second favourite record of 2002, Phantom Planet's The Guest. That album probably hasn't been in my CD player (or iTunes) in a year, and while I still think it's a nice little record, I doubt it'd be anywhere close to number two if I were to redo that list today.
In fact, looking back at my list of favourites of 2002, I play only about five of them with any regularity now (Bright Eye's Lifted..., Patty Griffin's 1000 Kisses, Pedro the Lion's Control, Pretty Girls Make Graves' Good Health, and Ladytron's Light & Magic). Now, that probably has something to do with my subtly-shifting taste in music -- that Kay Hanley solo record just doesn't do much for me anymore -- but one cannot discount the impact of the "recency effect" on the making of Best-Of lists. (Hello Oscars!)
Will that stop me from doing my annual Top 37 lists? Probably not. I pretty much know it's an exercise in bullshit, but it's fun bullshit. I mean, if not for that, what are blogs for anyway?
PS: Go Aussies!
NP: Park Ave - She's an Actress?
posted by Hanson |
11:55 PM
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
... To Lean On 
Fatigue aside, last night's José González/Juana Molina/Psapp ruled the school. They each played for roughly 45 minutes, give or take, making this more of triple-headliner deal than the typical headliner-with-openers paradigm we're used to.
Psapp, the band that I really wanted to see, started things off with the kind of giddy, earnest exuberance one wouldn't have expected from listening to their records (think Tilly and the Wall, The Brunettes, and Architecture in Helsinki). In the studio, their brand of mellow indie-tronica with unconventional percussion came off cute and pleasant. Live, they took it up three notches, amplifying their sound and upping their energy. They even had a fake-mulletted drummer banging on a large piece of wood! As they performed, they threw little wool animals into the crowd, each with unique names like "Jazz Lesbian".
Their set was filled with many songs about cats, including "Ev'rybody Wants to be a Cat", a cover of a song from the Disney movie The Aristocats (not be to be confused with wickedly different The Aristocrats). They also alleged -- jokingly, I think -- that a couple of their tunes were about vulvas. That got a bit of a chuckle out of the crowd. Hehe. Vulva.
Unlike Psapp, Juana Molina's set didn't quite do it for me last night. As alluded to earlier, I was dead tired, having got about five hours of sleep the previous night. And to make matters worse, her equipment on stage was positioned right between her and where I was standing. So basically, I spent the entire set peeking between her instruments just for a glimpse of her Argentinean, TV-star face. Playing solo, she rocked the loop-n-pedals thing, so naturally, the music was inherently repetitive. It was in the middle of her set that Sarah bailed, claiming she was making her fall asleep. I too was in and out of consciousness throughout, and fearing that José would do the same to me since his stuff is probably even mellower. Luckily, I was wrong. So very, very wrong.
Sitting on a chair on top of a square riser, José González toe-tapped his way into everyone's hearts. His laid-back mellowness was captivating instead of sleep-inducing. He strummed quietly and sang in that whispery, slightly-accented English that gives away his Swedishness. (I mean, González, clearly a fine Swedish name.) His short set covered the bulk of Veneer, and he ended things with a two-cover encore -- Massive Attack's "Teardrop" and Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart", calling the latter "cheesy" before ripping into a heartfelt, decidedly not-cheesy rendition. But clearly, the biggest pop of the night came when José started strumming the first few chords of "Heartbeats."
When Matt first played me "Heartbeats" on his iPod, it was the original by The Knife and I loved it. Then he played me José's version, which I probably liked even more. Now, they're clearly the same song, yet the two versions are so entirely different. Last night, José put the crowd in a slight frenzy with that song, and you can hardly blame them. It was beautiful, the song and the set. I can't say it more simply and clearly than that.
Download: José González - Hand on Your Heart (Live at Konserthuset)
NP: Love Is All - Talk Talk Talk Talk
posted by Hanson |
11:59 PM
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Don't Think Long England vs. Sweden is in 11 hours. Lads, although all that's needed is a draw, some momentum heading into the knock-out stages would be nice. Don't play so many long-balls -- keep it on the ground. Your team's got quality up and down the pitch, so why not use it. Without Stretch up front as your target man, keep it low and let feet of Rooney and Owen their the magicks. Eng-ger-lund! Eng-ger-lund! Eng-ger-lund!
Oh. Oilers. Too bad, I guess.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:46 AM
Monday, June 19, 2006
Pilgrim's Progress 
The third volume of Scott Pilgrim -- subtitled "... and the Infinite Sadness" -- is out! This Canadian drawn and set graphic novel follows the adventures of the bass-playing titular character in his quest fight off 7 evil ex-boyfriends in order to date the roller-skating, Amazon.com-delivery hipster girl Ramona Flowers. Bizarre, witty, and extremely meta, it owes a lot of its aesthetic to manga -- but it doesn't come off like a cheap imitation. In fact, it's probably the first manga-style non-manga that I've enjoyed. It depicts locations around Toronto that I've visited (like Lee's Palace), which is completely bizarre. And I'm sure it'd be even weirder if I actually lived in Toronto. "Look! There's that pizza joint I got a slice at after Final Fantasy show!" Weird, but cool.
Interesting tidbit: the title character is named after a song by the mid-90s Canadian indie-pop band Plumtree. Scott even wears a Plumtree t-shirt in the first volume! (FWIW, I own one Plumtree album, This Day Won't Last At All) According to an interview at Fluxblog, its creator, Bryan Lee O'Malley, was a big Plumtree fan when he was young. If I were to do a comic book, I'd totally name its title character Veruca Salt. Wait, that's taken already...
NP: Paper Moon - String of Blinking Lights
posted by Hanson |
12:12 AM
Friday, June 16, 2006
Aftermath That was too close. Far too close. England lacked paced the whole game, and the 2-0 score line flattered them. If it weren't for John Terry's brilliant off-the-line, volley clearance, England would've very well lost it. Save for that header, Crouch blew donkey balls the whole game, and Owen fared no better. Lampard's performance was probably the worst I've seen from him, flubbing countless opportunities on goal. Meanwhile, the defense lacked urgency, backing up and allow Trinidad and Tobago to run at them instead of the other way around. Beckham was named Man of the Match probably by default, as his set pieces went nowhere the whole game. And Stevie G, the man all of England should be counting on, was below his best (save for that sublime goal). England were lucky to have escaped with all three points.
Full marks go to Trinidad and Tobago for their valiant effort. They held England for most of the game -- though one can argue that England held themselves -- and they really deserved a better result. Still, I can't say I'm not happy with the result -- though I must say, I'm probably more relieved than anything. Next up, the Swedes. Lets hope everyone holding yellows don't pick up another one -- especially you, Stevie.
According to their MySpace, Ladytron hits Vancouver again on October 14th. I'll probably go see them again even though their live shows tend to be lacklustre.
NP: Grandaddy - Geez Louise
posted by Hanson |
12:42 AM
Thursday, June 15, 2006
September Snow Snow Patrol's cancelled Vancouver date will be made up on September 24th 21st at the PNE Forum. Since the capacity of the Forum is probably bigger than that of the Commodore, I'm pretty sure more tickets will be released for the show. Carlos, that means you can pick up some -- or get someone not trotting around Europe to pick you up some.
The World Cup is seriously taken a toll on my blogging. Getting up an hour earlier and working until later is really limiting my blogging time, so much so that I have yet to talk about the wickedly punked-out Fiery Furnaces show on Monday night. Oh, the sacrifices I make to watch live football. Tomorrow, it's England at 9am at against Trinidad and Tobago, which means I'll have to be at work before then -- and work through lunch if i want to get out at a reasonable time. As long as the lads don't let me (and millions other England supporters) down, it'll all be worth it.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:21 AM
Monday, June 12, 2006
No Snow in Van City Snow Patrol's show here on Wednesday has been postponed until September. Allegedly, it's because singer Gary Lightbody's pipes need a little rest. However, I think a little soccer tournament in Germany might have something to do with it. I mean, being in North America during the World Cup? That's like being in Europe for, err, March Madness. I forgive you, Gary. Just promise to do "Crazy In Love" when you play Vancouver next time.
Speaking of football, a win's a win. 1-0 over Paraguay? I'd take that. Just make sure to play more than 20 minutes next time, Becks, or me and my sleep-deprived fists will be shaking at you.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:24 AM
Friday, June 09, 2006
The World is a Stage 
Perhaps the biggest tournament in sports will make its quadrennial visit starting tomorrow. I am, of course, talking about the World Cup. As usual, I'll be cheering on the English lads. They will be fielding their most competitive team in recent memory -- with or without Rooney -- with a midfield that matches up well against any side in the world. Gerrard, Lampard, /and/ Beckham? Oh hells yeah!
England's campaign starts off at the ungodly hour of 6:00am for those of us in Vancouver, but no matter. I'll be up, come hell or high water. The last time I got up for a football match, things went well. Lets hope lightning strikes twice (or seven times...)
Alas, I'm not the only one still mourning the premature lost of Wonderfalls. Best. Only-Aired-For-4-Episodes Show. Ever.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
12:37 AM
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Progress I'm going through my stack, slowly but surely. It doesn't help that Yes, Virginia, Open Season, and Honey from the Tomb all have such addictive qualities. Some might say that that four versions of "Mushaboom" is way too much, but I say foey to that. The K-os and The Postal Service mixes? Quality. Of the three the Dresden Dolls record is probably my favourite. There isn't a runaway pop hit like "Coin-Operated Boy", but the album is stronger overall than their previous work.
Wayne Rooney is fit for the knockout stages of the World Cup. Hooray! Now lets hope England actually gets there...
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:43 AM
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Filling My Digital Urn The queue of my life is probably as full as the queue of my to-listen-to-records. The latter just increased in size today with the arrive of the new ones from The Dresden Dolls, The Lovely Feathers, and (the not-so-new) Thunderbirds Are Now!, not to mention the Love Is All record currently en route via Insound. Add in the ones I haven't bought yet -- the new Grandaddy, Melissa McClelland, Camera Obscura, plus probably a half a dozen more -- and it means probably a whole month of new music to munch on. I'm excited, not to mention a bit overwhelmed. The size of the life queue is why I haven't posted in a bit, despite seeing The Boy Least Likely To /and/ Bright Eyes (with Maria Taylor on drums!) in the past week.
Wolf Parade (Commodore) vs. Sarah Harmer (Malkin Bowl) on August 20th. It'd be a hard choice -- especially since I've seen her close to 10 times -- if I don't already have my Sarah Harmer tickets already. Oh, such is life.
NP: Feist - Mushaboom (k-os mix)
posted by Hanson |
1:50 AM
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Recap, In Short For three days, Sasquatch ruled me like a tyrant on a power trip. No, I don't know what that means either, but shit, it's late, and it was so fucking good. The music, the camping, the hailing, oh, I'll talk about it in detail later. But now, here's the list of bands that I saw:
Bauhaus, Nine Inch Nails, The Shins, The Tragically Hip, Neko Case, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Gomez, Rogue Wave, Beck, Death Cab For Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, The Decemberists, Nada Surf, Arctic Monkeys, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Blue Scholars, Rocky Votolato, and Headphones.
I pretty much stuck to the main stage, not wanting to miss any of the bands I want to see because I was hopping back and forth. Being a Sasquatch virgin, I had to play it safe since start times weren't really on-the-dot like at other music festivals. Still, a had a blast and saw an incredible amount of wicked sets. Favourite? Probably The Shins since it was the first time I saw them when the sound didn't suck. Like I said, more on the 'quatch later.
NP: (nothing)
posted by Hanson |
1:12 AM
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