The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Spring 2011, Vol. 2

Songs (cont.)

Keren Ann - "My Name Is Trouble"
Keren Ann has always piqued my curiosity and I've always said "I'll get into her on a steady basis" but while that hasn't materialized, there was room for this charmer.

Buffalo Tom - "Guilty Girls"
Confession. I've never heard of Buffalo Tom before I heard this song. After learning my lesson (via a comp tape found on Ave A), I got all caught up. They've redefined themselves as they've regrouped, and now Buffalo Tom may have hit a stride with this Americana rocker, a perfect burst of rock n roll.

Anna Calvi - "Blackout"
Anna Calvi has a lot of buzz. This song is near justification. What else I've heard...total justification. I will let you know after the Summer.

Crystal Stilts - "Through the Floor"
A band I think I once vowed to dislike since I was sick of distortion pop and bands with Crystal in their name. Oops. This song is fantastic.

Generationals - "Ten Twenty Ten"
I didn't expect Generationals to come back after "When They Fight, They Fight" two years ago but boy have they ever with this peppy prance.

Porcelain Rift - "Tip of your Tongue"
A sweet sounding, slightly fuzzy pop song.

Shrag - "Tight in August"
I HATE the vocals on this song, especially the female vocal. At least the male vocal sounds like a less-over-feminized version of Fred from the B-52's. And yet - in spite (or because of?) the incongruent vocals - the song works. The composition is made for a radio hit and that organ is irrestible.

UNKLE with Nick Cave - "Money and Run"
You tell me how UNKLE sounds. All I know is, anytime that I hear Nick's vocals now, I immediately feel like Grinderman is surrounding me. That's a good thing, just so you know. It may not, however, be a good thing for YOU.

Grinderman @ Best Buy Theater

Grinderman; Armen Ra
@ Best Buy Theater
New York, NY - November 14, 2010

Grinderman can best be described in the moment in which Nick Cave casually threw his tambourine behind him in a moment of rock n roll swagger...only to have that tambourine thwack Warren Ellis right in his face. That lovingly hilarious half-assed cockrockery encapsulates this glorious side project, the Id of the Bad Seeds that first reared its serpentine head in 2007. Back then, Grinderman only appeared at shows in New York and San Francisco. This time, in support of their album sequel, they are embarking on an actual tour and they began their American Sojourn back in the city where they stole the show out from under the White Stripes all those years ago.

The bawdy, delirious, rantings of Cave, combined with the tomfoolery of Ellis - who presumably is holding a family hostage in some Outback shack - and driven by the punk speed thundering of Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos - make for the fittingly disjointed, incongruous, malcontented sounds of Grinderman. Ellis is screaming "Evil" from the floor while Sclavunos is murdering his drums. Cave is changing (or forgetting - as middle aged men are known to do) his lyrics while Casey...well...while Casey discovers his new found beard.

The new record has a sense of epic about it - "Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man", "Worm Tamer", and "Evil" sound big. Live, these songs were quick, bashed, and thrown at the audience. The same treatment was given to songs from the first record - "Get It On", "No Pussy Blues", "Grinderman", "When My Love Comes Down to Meet You" and "Love Bomb". But just when it seemed that Cave and co. were going to level you to the ground, they take "Palaces of Montezuma" and give it the Lanois/Eno-ish mystique (as in Joshua Tree) and prop up the extra cut "My Daddy is an Astronaut" with a shocking sense of grace - the kind of grace that adds a severe twist to the work of the Bad Seeds - the grace that keeps Nick from going back to the Birthday Party.

Armen Ra played the theremin for a half hour. He was the first act that I witnessed get heckled in quite a while. But then he played the theme from The Godfather and that seemed to appease the ruffled.

Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2008: Part 2

Carbon/Silicon
The pie-eyed idealistic lyrics may have been dopey even in our cynical-smashing Obama age, but "The News" and "Why Do Men Fight?" summoned the heart and spirit of Mick Jones' and Tony James' old bands, and served as anthems in this volatile election year.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Did the title track of Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! sound corny at first? Yes. Did it grow on you? Of course it did. Did the album turn out to be a smashing success, maybe the best of Cave's illustrious career? Seems like it. Did last year's turn as Grinderman have an effect on the Bad Seeds? One would guess so. Is not "More News From Nowhere" one of the best long songs ever made? Damn right it is. And you knew the live show was going to be good, no questions needed to be asked.

Chairlift
"Bruises" is certainly what this Colorado-based, naturally-Brooklyn-situated Ipod band is known for, but beneath the quick hype and sold out shows is a solid, little sweet natured pop band. Listen to "Planet Health" if you don't believe me, yah.

Celebration
Based on one single performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in July, and nothing more, Celebration made their mark on 2008. Truly mesmerizing and intoxicating, Katrina Ford and company should be coming back very strong very soon.

Clare & The Reasons
The Movie came out in 2007 but no matter, Clare Muldaur is one of New York's signature songstresses, an ambassador of shameless, authentic love and love of sweet, elegant pop music, and the live set at Joe's Pub in June proved it.

Elvis Costello
"Stella Hurt" was the near-gem off of Momofuku, a record inspired by Costello's duet with Jenny Lewis on the fun and fancy free "Carpetbagger" from her Acid Tongue LP. And then Elvis went ahead and became the new great American talk-show host. Another good year for our man Elvis.

DeVotchKa
With A Mad and Faithful Telling, DeVotchKa returned to the scene but it was their sparkling live show at Terminal 5 that sealed the deal. With a strangely easy mix of showmanship and stealth, Nick and the gang will continue their run in support of the record well into 2009 and we're all better off for that.

The Dirtbombs
The Dirtbombs never really take time off, and they've had their slight share of attention in the past, but in 2008 there was a very strong sense that the band finally arrived. Thanks to We Have You Surrounded, there was a definite uptick in the number of people at shows, with a whiff of significant new fandom in the air. And deservedly so - some of Mick's best ever work now comes from We Have You Surrounded, an album that was too long in coming.
First going on their own triumphant tour before hitching rides with Spiritualized and TV on the Radio and finding time to do not one but two tours of duty in Europe as well as a run Down Under, the Dirtbombs never let up. They even found time to play extra shows in New York (FYI in case you didn't figure it out - despite whatever you may officially be told, New York is the home base for all intents and purposes). The Philly and Bowery shows during the April tour were two of the best nights in a history of amazing nights. Troy Gregory left the band marking the one sad spot in a year of full of highs. It hurt but as with all things Dirtbombs, things keep moving.

Drug Rug
Drug Rug kept popping up in unexpected places in various incarnations but the one thing that was consistent was their incorrigibility. Good for them.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds @ The Theater at Madison Square Garden

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; Bellmer Dolls
@ WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
New York, NY - October 4, 2008

So densely layered and deep and yet at the same time oh so sparse and simple, Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds are an encumbering mindfuck and a freewheeling fiesta all at the same time. Playing some maddeningly good classics like "Tupelo", "Red Right Hand", "Love Letter", "God is in the House", "The Lyre of Orpheus", "Deanna" and the big finale of "Stagger Lee", Nick, Warren, and the rest of the clan breathed life into their dark, rich, thundercrackers as well as Nick's restless hearted but nevertheless calming ballads. The new material played - the title track as well as "Midnight Man" and "We Call Upon the Author" sounded a bit disjointed but not always in that good Nick Cave way. That is a shame because the new record is oh so fine. The exception was the show opening "Hold On to Yourself", which chillingly set the tone for the night.

Before the sonic boom of the Bad Seeds, the crowd was wooed by the Bellmer Dolls, apparent local boys I've never heard of. They were fitting openers, full of that same light-sucking bitter darkness as the big boys but without that whisper of gothic that not only infuses Nick Cave's mustache but his whole body of work.

Finn, Sheff, Cave, and Berryman

Who is John Berryman?

And what does he mean to Craig Finn of the Hold Steady (in "Stuck Between Stations"), Will Sheff of Okkervil River (in "John Allyn Smith Sails", and Nick Cave (in "We Call Upon The Author To Explain")? And why now, 36 years after his suicide?

Oh there won't be any answers here. This is just observation.

Wow! Nick Cave Reads My Mind With New Video "From Nowhere"

So Nick Cave's new record is decent. The best songs, as of the current listens, are the bookends - the opener title track of "Dig Lazarus Dig!!!" and the last track, the 8 minute "More News From Nowhere". Earlier this week, the video for "Night of the Lotus Eaters" was posted on the web. Today on the treadmill, listening to "More News..." I thought, "I know it's a long song, but gee what a great video could be made for this song". I come back from the gym and...voilà!:

She and Him and NPR and Nick Cave And Cormac McCarthy and Michael Chabon and Coens and Movies

Zooey and Matt were interviewed last week on Day to Day, while Zooey was interviewed on Fresh Air a little over a month ago.

By coincidence, I caught The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford this weekend, and it's a film that has, as part of its thoroughly sharp cast, Zooey and Nick Cave (also recently on Fresh Air). Nick - along with Warren Ellis - scored the film's music.

Here's the IMDB page of The Go-Getter, the upcoming film which stars Zooey and includes Matt in his acting debut. And for good measure, here's the IMDB page of Nick's upcoming scripted project, to be directed by John Hillcoat, who directed Nick's previous scripts, notably The Proposition. Hillcoat is currently working on the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, which - based on its own merit as a novel and on the strength of No Country For Old Men - promises to be the movie event of the year. Nick is indeed scoring the music for that adaptation.

Speaking of No Country For Old Men, that adaptation was of course directed by the Coen Brothers, who are putting the finishing touches on Burn After Reading, which stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, the latter of whom I just watched this weekend in The Assassination of Jesse James. The internet campfires state that after the Coens work on their next film, the rumored about A Serious Man, they will get to work on an adaptation of Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I happen to be reading right now.

Nick Cave was in The Assassination of Jesse James with Zooey Deschanel who was in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Sam Rockwell (who was also in Jesse James) who was in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind with George Clooney who was in Ocean's 11 with Brad Pitt (also in Jesse James) and Julia Roberts the latter of whom was in Flatliners with...you guessed it...Kevin Bacon.

Nick Cave on Fresh Air; Tour Dates

After initially scoffing at Dig Lazarus Dig, the new Bad Seeds record is proving to be mildly addictive. Now that promotion time for it has come, Mr. Cave went on Fresh Air yesterday, and tour dates for later in the year were published today, including an October date at WaMu.

Artist of the Week: Grinderman

Let's officially declare right now that Tuesday night's spectacular is as much about Nick Cave as it is about that other band. In fact, the anticipation, the excitement, let's officially call it right now as being most for Grinderman. DAMN!



Who would object to really thinking of Tuesday's show as a double bill or even a triple bill with Mr. Wagoner? This isn't Cold War Kids and Dan Sartain. This is NICK CAVE and Porter Wagoner. Am I right? I said, am I right? Can I get an amen?!