Andrew Bird on Twisted Ear

It's been a while since I had a review up Twisted Ear, but we're back, baby. Life is good on both sides of the Atlantic. Anyhoo, I got to write up Andrew Bird's latest, Noble Beast and it was pretty good. A little bit long but you've got to go with it. Click here for a helping of musical truth.

Death Cab Launches Spring Tour

Our dear Death Cab for Cutie will be setting off on another tour this spring, starting March 7th in Miami and eventually working it's way through my hometown to finish out in Atlanta on May 6th. Ladies and gentlemen, this is officially a reason to dance. I was worried I wouldn't get to see them, but so long as our diabolical (it's not really diabolical) ticket-buying strategy goes off without a hitch, my friends and I will be getting lost in the musical swirlings of "Bixby Canyon Bridge" and such.

I would post the dates, but I don't want you snagging my tix. Deal with it.

Adventures in Being Musically Inclined

This is Grimey's. Feel free to fall in love.

I wish more days could be like today. A friend of mine and I decided this week that Saturday would be devoted to hitting up some local record stores in pursuit of a new album. That's all. The mission was simple.

Add in two more friends and we spent the better part of the day elbow-deep in racks of cds. It was beautiful. On tap first was a shady-looking little place called The Great Escape that I've been frequenting since I was six. It's a little dingy, a little worn, but it's got character in much the same way that a yellowed album sleeve has character. The damn thing's crumbling, dusty and you're not sure if you even want to touch it-- God knows where it's been-- but there's too much pull to pass up.

I left with a six-dollar copy of Bringing it All Back Home by Bob Dylan. Not too shabby, but settling on it wasn't easy. Possibly my greatest dream is for someone to slap $100 dollars in my hand with the stipulation that it has to be spent on music. I'd have a stroke. Limiting myself to one album is a nightmare. Jackson Browne? Carole King? Radiohead? Bob Dylan? Once I narrowed it down to two, it was like my feet were cemented to the floor until I unlocked myself from that awful limbo of indecision.

Afterward, it was off to Grimey's. This was a new experience. Everything that The Great Escape had ever held for me all these years was shattered and replaced by funky exposed brick and Christmas lights strung from the ceiling. Better selection, deeper catalogue. Used and new. There was one wall in particular that was a Top 10 of sorts and as I scanned albums covers from Fleet Foxes, Ra Ra Riot, Kings of Leon, Of Montreal, and the like, I got the feeling like I'd found some kind of musical Mecca.

On the outside I was relatively un-phased. In my head I was mopping up drool. On a side note, Grimey's was actually featured in Paste a few months back. Cool doesn't begin to do justice to this place.

Let's talk about the speakers they had. I've been working on a review of Andrew Bird's Noble Beast and Grimey's was playing the whole album. What a revelation. An album that I'd been at best lukewarm about, all of a sudden bloomed into a skillfully layered, gorgeously instrumented work that has officially burrowed its was into my brain.

Obviously, either way it's fantastic to dawdle in record stores, but part of the fun was seeing what my friends stop and go "whoa, they've got [insert name]" People would know each other better if they had to spend a day with someone else's iPod.

There was coffee involved as well, on two occasions in fact. Our buddy James Fate was playing Starbucks and I enjoyed a beast of a cupcake.

In sum, I shafted all other responsibilities and sank my time into a music expedition with some excellent people. Best part? No guilt. Music overrides everything because it holds a power that I'm still realizing.

It can have me and I'll gladly go.

The National is Just Around the Bend

Pitchfork brings tidings of the latest from TMI darlings, The National. Their latest is called "Far Around the Bend" and apparently it's classic Matt Berninger. You can hear it streamed here, which happens to be the site of a charity compilation project produced by band members and brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner. More about that song later... happy listening.

Life in Technicolor II, No Strings Attached.

Coldplay as puppets. I wish I could have heard that pitch meeting.

Despite the seemingly misguided choice to turn the band members into Punch and Judy type dolls, the video is actually funny and endearingly self-effacing.

The song is "Life in Technicolor II" and the idea is that Coldplay puppets take over the small stage and turn it into a small scale epic arena concert complete with crowd surfing, pyrotechnics, retractable runway, and an exit via helicopter. It's ridiculous and great.

It's a creative, clever idea, certainly better than either of the "Viva la Vida" videos. The confusion on the faces of the children and parents watching is priceless.

The best part? Coldplay channels The Who and destroys the stage. You won't see that in the flesh. Take a look.

Nick Drake Gets a Tribute Album

Garden State fans/indie music aficionados, heads up! Dave Grohl, Norah Jones, Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson are working on a Nick Drake tribute album. Strange little bunch, isn't it? That's not all either, apparently Heath Ledger was working on a film version of "Black Eyed Dog," which will find a home on an accompanying DVD.

As anyone who's ever heard Pink Moon will tell you, Drake died way too soon at a mere 26 years of age.

Keep an eye out for the project later on this year.

Mykonos by Fleet Foxes on SNL

As I said in last night's post, I missed the first song that Fleet Foxes performed, but I feel better because Pitchfork didn't bother to stay up to watch at all. At least TMI was conscious. Anyhoo, that first song, "Mykonos" has already popped up on Youtube. Check it out before it gets pulled or something.

Fleet Foxes on SNL and I Nearly Forgot

Is it old age? Is it sheer disinterest? No, but I feel guilty. While working on a podcast, I totally forgot about the Fleet Foxes, so I missed their first song, but never fear, TMI is on the scene. Anyway, someone want to explain the new random house band they keep cutting to?

Fleet Foxes are playing "Blue Ridge Mountains" and I'm quite thrilled that they sound so strong live. I don't think I could cope otherwise. On a related note,my friend has been sufficiently inspired to take up tambourine.

They're not the most energetic bunch, but they don't need to be. That haunting, rustic sound is entrancing. I will be searching out the first song tomorrow. Stay tuned.

John Mayer TV Show? Please Don't. Part Deux

I found that infamous one episode on Youtube. Enjoy, friends.



Don't forget about Fleet Foxes on SNL tonight!

John Mayer TV Show? Please Don't.

Once again NME serves up the news of the day. John Mayer is set to shoot a pilot for CBS. What kind of show would Mr. Mayer have, you ask with one eyebrow arched suspiciously? A variety show. You know, the kind that died a couple decades ago. The kind that hasn't been successful since Carol Burnett left the airwaves. The kind that just bombed recently under the care of Rosie O'Donnell. What a fantastic idea.

This could either turn into a full series or several specials. No word on that yet. It gets better. Mayer's dabbled in TV before with the one-episode wonder, John Mayer Has a TV Show.

No, this doesn't seem doomed at all.

TMI's got a lot of respect for Mayer as a musician, but this feels like that infamous ego of his rearing its ugly head. He should cage fight Kanye. That would be awesome.

Since When Have Grammy Posters Been This Fantastic?

Never. Saw this little item today on NME (my music news feed is currently dominated by British publications and it's Twisted Ear's beautiful fault) and didn't think much of it until it popped up on Pitchfork. Let's face it, if Pitchfork is going on about posters, Seattle has either exploded or the posters are cool...but not too cool, just cool enough to be Pitchfork-worthy. Right. Anyway, Coldplay, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Thom Yorke all have their likenesses made out of the lyrics and names of thier favorite artists, albums and songs.

Part of the story here has to do with the Grammys trying to revamp their ad strategy in light of crappy (gross understatement) ratings in recent years. Last year, no surprise, was the lowest rated since '92. Ouch.

The other interesting portion is that Radiohead's Thom Yorke is involved in this. Radiohead is a notoriously and unapologetically not radio-friendly band, God bless 'em. Commercialism isn't really their thing, but I guess if your album gets nominated for album of the year, a poster might be in order, even if it is for the Grammys which are, as Pitchfork put it, "patently lame."

In any case. I found myself some new artwork for the walls.

Fleet Foxes to perform on SNL

Jan. 17 is looking pretty good right about now. Seattle indie group and occupants of the no. 3 spot on TMI Top 10 Discoveries of 2008, Fleet Foxes will be play SNL this coming Saturday. And you were impressed when My Morning Jacket played. So, do I smell some live blogging? Is my name Jane?

Well...actually.

Stay tuned kids.

Death Cab for Cutie in Free Fall

While cruising Rolling Stone this morning, I saw they posted a link to a blog that has an MP3 of Death Cab for Cutie covering Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" live. Why does it seem that whenever anyone gets their hands on a guitar, they play this song? I don't know. Maybe it's me. Anyway, DCFC does a good job. I was dubious at first just thinking that Petty and Gibbard are two very different voices, but the result was definitely a good one. Have a listen. I can only assume that if Rolling Stone posted it, it's perfectly legal. Wouldn't want to be downloading any Communism, now would we?

The New Tale of iTunes

Apple announced recently that things are going to be a little different in iTunes town starting in April. The good: Steve Jobs and co. have added three more major labels (Sony, Universal, and Warner Music) to their arsenal. The better: DRM-free MP3s (digital rights management that prevents easy copying). The "eh": ITunes is getting rid of its flat rate of 99 cents per song and instead basing pricing on popularity and age. 69 cents will get you an older catalogued tune, 99 cents will get you a regular "new" song and a $1.29 will get you the latest single from the Jo. Bros. (that's right, I can't even bear to fully type out the names of this (Mickey) mouse dropping of a band).

So what does that mean for us? There's never been a better time to have obscure taste in indie music and a love for oldies.

As for the DRM-free business, I could care less. What the implications are of making it easier to copy MP3s, I'm sure I don't know fully, but I doubt this will change much. If someone is seriously concerned with copying music, then you've got to wonder if they paid for it in the first place. Just sayin'.

I've been digging around, reading up on the subject. If preventing piracy is so important, then why would seemingly vital protection be compromised in a business deal? Well, some seem to think that DRM was more of a bargaining chip in the first place, something that could be held on to to wrangle price hikes or whatever else. I can buy that theory. Others think it's been a control issue more than a protective measure. Apparently iTunes was "the last major hold out" regarding the protection on its music. Ex. Amazon has been DRM-free over a year now.

Another article I read pointed out that this weakens the link between iPod and iTunes, meaning people could start going for competing products like SanDisk, or iRiver. That's Apple's problem, but I tend to think that there's way too much brand recognition and built-in status in the iPod to seriously worry about potentially plummeting iPod sales. I could see more of an issue in the inverse, like who cares what kind of coffee you put in your Starbucks mug? But, why would you put Starbucks coffee in a regular mug if that's what you're going for? No doubt, there are better products than the iPod, but in many ways they are lesser-known entities and that hurts. On principle, I sell the average consumer short when it comes to technology. And I make no apologies about it.

Taking a step back though, I think iTunes is going to remain king a long time and as long as they don't do something stupid like stop selling music, there's not a whole lot they could do to screw things up.

Enjoy this excellent illustration.

Pale Young Gentlemen: "The Crook of My Good Arm"

While weeding through some new music, I found a single called "The Crook of My Good Arm" by a group from Madison, Wisconsin called Pale Young Gentlemen. The group is a five-piece deal, featuring a cellist which, incidentally, is in part why I'm mentioning them at all. Despite being from the midwest, Pale Young Gentlemen has got this Eastern European thing going on which is pretty intriguing. Think Gogol Bordello but to a lesser degree, definitely less wacky. Like I said, I think the usage of the cello (and some other strings) is somewhat responsible for the gypsy rock vibe. They sound unique without being gimmicky. You can check them out here, and I believe there's a free download somewhere on the page.

This is Your Teenage Wasteland

I had an interesting little moment yesterday while I was spending some time with The Who on YouTube. After bouncing around from a couple different versions on "Pinball Wizard," inevitably I came back to this one concert performance of "Baba O'Riley" that I've probably watched about 173 times in the past four months. For no apparent reason I got focused in on the opening and I realized that the opening of The Killers song "This is Your Life" is crazy similar, just add in The Killers' vocals instead on The Who's keyboard (I think it's a keyboard. We'll go with that for now). Figured that was worth mentioning. Check it out.

TMI Mini Mix no. 2

Is there a better way to start off 2009 than with TMI Mini Mix no. 2? I can think of none. Last week my friend gave me a copy of an album called The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit, a group from Scotland. I've been spending some quality time with the album and I'm liking it a lot. I put a good deal of stock in what my friend recommends and he's yet to suggest a dud.

I thought I'd build the mini mix around one track called "Old Old Fashioned" which as got this awesome skiffle thing going on and that inevitably brought me to "I've Just Seen a Face" by The Beatles and things just spiraled. Anyway, take a listen. It'll be up all month.

Best of luck in 2009, here's to hoping you've sufficiently recovered from last night.

1. I've Just Seen a Face : Paul McCartney
2. Old Old Fashioned : Frightened Rabbit
3. Long Day : Matchbox Twenty
4. Turn On Me : The Shins
5. The Underdog : Spoon