FP Top 5: Throwback Albums

In a key scene in the film Crazy Heart, a washed-up country singer (Jeff Bridges) strums a guitar in bed as he writes a new song. His muse (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is shocked to learn the tune is not a classic. "That's the way it is with good ones," Bridges says. "You're sure you've heard 'em before."

We agree. Some of our favorite records are throwbacks: derivative music that somehow satisfies. For contemporary examples, see FP's reviews this week of the latest records from Dr. Dog, Tame Impala and The Drums.  Below, we present our Top 5 Throwback albums of the last decade.

5. Slum Village, Fantastic Vol. 2  (2000)
Detroit's Slum Village have a smoothness that would work at a cocktail party, afterparty, or block party. The jazz-soul sensibility and laid-back rhymes recall classic records by A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets and the Roots.  No surprise then, that Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes, Pete Rock and  D'Angelo all make guest appearance on Fantastic Vol. 2. But the party didn't last long. Legendary founding member J Dilla died in 2006, followed by fellow-founder Baatin in 2009. Back in February, the survivors released the Villa Manifesto EP,  now streaming on Myspace.

Slum Village, Jealousy

4. JET, Get Born (2003)The debut record from Aussie rockers JET distills the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and, well, every classic rock album between 1965 and 1975 in a way that would make the Black Crowes blush. "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" is basically "Lust for Life." "Roll Over DJ" updates "Roll Over Beethoven." And "Look What You've Done" is "Sexy Sadie," right down to the stolen lyric "You've made a fool of everyone." Yet despite the derivativeness, the songs rock, as evidenced by their ubiquity in bars, shops, and even Yankee Stadium. No offense to Miley Cyrus, but maybe Nick Johnson should switch his walk-up music from "Party in the USA" to "Cold Hard Bitch."

JET, Cold Hard Bitch

3. Crystal Stilts, Alight of Night (2008)
New York's Crystal Stilts are a throwback to the kind of post-punk discussed in FP's celebration of 1979. On their only full-length record to date, the band channels the drone and buzz of Joy Division, with reverb-drenched vocals, guitars, and tambourines that echo the Velvet Underground, whose imitators may never cease and desist. The band also joins the never-ending ranks of Americans who sing with British accents.


Crystal Stilts, Bright Night

2. Surfer Blood, Astro Coast (2010)
 This band is basically Weezer. Their debut album features melodic guitar lines, plaintive vocals, and distorted-guitar melancholy that recalls the tortured genius of Rivers Cuomo and friends.  Add a bit of Beach Boys on songs like "Swim" and voilà: Old whine in new bottles.





Surfer Blood, Fast Jabroni


Surfer Blood, Swim


 

1. The Strokes, Is This It? (2000)
The Strokes have been called everything from the saviors of rock and roll to rich kid poseurs. Despite the vacillations in their reputation, their debut record endures, from the languid title track to the uptempo plea "Someday" to the anthemic single "Last Nite," yet another appropriation of "Lust for Life" (see above).  Julian Casablancas sings like a man on the edge of ruin and complements the pop sensibility of the rhythm section, especially guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. whose solo album Yours to Keep (2006) is among our Top 5 Albums by Sidemen.  More recently, Casablancas has released a solo record Phrazes for the Young (2009). And later Strokes songs like "Reptilia" and "Heart in a Cage" have received the bluegrass treatment from FP Favorites Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers.

The Strokes, Someday

FP Top 5: Throwback Albums

Dr. Dog: No Shame in Throwback

All these indie bands with non-human names must be listening to their parents' records. Over the last few years, Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, Deer Tick, and Animal Collective have revived the sounds and styles of the Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and the Beatles (who were named after Buddy Holly's Crickets). Quick, somebody call Dr. Doolittle. 

Or Dr. Dog. On their sixth album, Shame Shame, the boys from Illadelphia channel the Sixties and Seventies with vocal harmonies, major chord progressions, and an abundance of oohs, ahs, and la-las in the backing vocals. But while the music exudes cheeriness, the lyrics are melancholy memories of disappointment, frustration, and loneliness, with titles like "Unbearable Why," "I Only Wear Blue" and "Stranger."

Dr. Dog, Stranger


Many songs on Shame, Shame feature a lonely guy who wallows over a girl. And whatever the subject, there's a pervasive wistfulness for the past and uncertainty about the future.  In "Jackie's Got a Black Eye," one verse sums up the album's main theme in four lines: "Yesterday's love defines you/Today that love is gone/Tomorrow keeps you guessing/The roller coaster keeps rolling on."

Dr. Dog, Jackie Wants a Black Eye


As on past Dr. Dog records,  Scott McMicken (guitar) and Toby Leaman (bass) split lead vocal duties. True to form, the strategy recalls the Beatles, CSN, and The Band, as well as Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective. But while GB and AC embrace experimentation, Dr. Dog sticks to the basics. The instrumentation is standard (guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard), with a splash of accordion and slide guitar. There are no key changes, time signature shifts, or electronic loops. And songs like "Station" will only fuel comparisons to The Band that have, well, dogged Dr. Dog since their inception.

Dr. Dog, Station


At times, Dr. Dog crutches on cliches and borrowed sentiments, such as "eye of the storm," the "blink of an eye," and even a girl who's an "open book." One chorus borrows from the Beatles' "I should have known better." Another lifts "mirror mirror on the wall" from Snow White.

But if the album lacks innovation, there's no shortage of heart. Dr. Dog brings a earnestness that counters the irony and postures of indie music and fashion. While many bands discard their roots to become citizens of Brooklyn, Dr. Dog revels in its West Philly hometown, with tales of innocence and experience, bike rides and bands in basements  No surprise from a group whose 2006 ode to the weekend includes the line "Let's grab a case of lager/And some old beat-up shoes/Head down to the river/strap on a canoe." And there are worse influences to wear on your sleeve than Lennon and McCartney. The Beatles knew how to fuse world-weariness and exuberance into pop songs that withstand the test of time. And in the words of the music-obsessed hero of Martin Amis's The Rachel Papers "anyone who is against the Beatles...is against life."

Dr. Dog: No Shame in Throwback

Indiephemera Friday, vol. 8

[Special Metaphemera edition: A week in the life of Frontier Psychiatrist.]

Monday
After the first annual FP Barbecue wrapped in South Williamsburg, we hopped the bridge to see Charles Gayle at The Local 269. Before the show, we chatted with the free jazz master who shared his thoughts on air-conditioning, eBay, and where to buy the best sax. We also asked Gayle to play Happy Birthday for a friend.  We assume this happened and that the notes flew by too fast to notice.

Charles Gayle at The Local 269, May 31, 2010 

Tuesday 
Glutted on pork and chive dumplings, we saw Shortwave Sunshine rock the Living Room in celebration of their debut CD, The Breakers, which we reviewed last week. Led by singer-keyboardist Gabe Hays, the band closed the night with a sing-along: "Your car's on fire/You shouldn't put it/ outwith a can of/beer from your backseat." Words to live by. Stream the whole album on SS's website.

Wednesday 
We took a break from live music, rode our bikes, and ate something called a vegetaboli, i.e. a stromboli stuffed with cheese and veggies.  We love portmanteaus.

Thursday 
We hit the Knitting Factory (Vol. 3) and caught the antics of Miniboone, whom we highlighted in May. Last night, the boys leaped, hopped, harmonized, swapped instruments, knocked over drums, and broke guitar strings. Beyond their summery originals, Miniboone pulled off a cover of James Brown's "Livin' in America."The band also claimed that none of them have ever been kissed.

Miniboone - Devil in Your Eyes

Meanwhile, the Dirty Projectors released a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," the day after we posted FP's Top 5 Covers Albums, featuring both Dylan and the DPs. Coincidence?

Dirty Projectors - I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (Bob Dylan Cover)

Also, the Morning Benders released two new songs, a remix of "Cold War" and "Go Grab a Stranger." Well, if you say so.



Friday 
We woke up with a smoothie, then put on Janelle Monae, whose ArchAndroid we called the best record of the year to date. There's a new remix of Monae's 'Tightrope' with B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco.

Janelle Monae - Tightrope (Wondamix featuring B.o.B. and Lupe Fiasco)


Add this to our collection of choice pairings, like B.O.B and Monae's take on Vampire Weekend and Lupe Fiasco's duet with Alicia Keyes.  Also, it's Friday and we're in love. With music. With life. With love.
Bring on the weekend.

Indiephemera Friday, vol. 8

Gonjasufi: Can Your Yoga Teacher Do That?

Your yoga teacher may do the best Downward Dog this side of Park Slope. But can he (or she) make music like FP's favorite yoga teacher Gonjasufi?

On his latest record, A Sufi and a Killer, Gonjasufi teams up with the Flying Lotus entourage for a medley of hip-hop, blues, and Indian music with equal parts haziness and fierceness. Gonja chants, growls, and slurs his way through 19 tracks, most of which are less than three minutes in length.  Often muffled behind distortion, his talk-rap style recalls both G. Love and M. Ward, or rather the bluesmen whom those first-initialed retro guys channel.  And when Gonjasufi sings, his voice cracks and warbles with shades of Cat Stevens and Billie Holiday.

Born Sumac Ecks, Gonjasufi has made music since the early 90s (his cousin is Ishmael 'Butterfly' Butler from Digable Planets). Appropriately, tracks such as "Change" seem like the reincarnation of Cypress Hill. Yet the music on A Sufi and a Killer digs deeper into the past, thanks to the production trio of Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus, and Mainframe.  The samples are heavy on minor-key guitar runs and organ swells once embraced by such psychedelic blues rockers as The Doors and The Animals. And the instrumental intro honors "Bharatanatyam," one of India's oldest classical dances.

Gonjasufi, Change


Gonjasufi, Klowds


In some ways, the record reflects Gonjasufi's yoga practice and enthusiasm for non-Western culture, as in several songs with an Indian troupe of female background singers.  Lyrically, Gonja treads more universal ground. Tales of loneliness and love complement celebrations of life and the natural world.    And despite his name and the album title, Gonja makes few overt references to spirituality. One exception is "Sheep," where he sings "you're my shepherd, babe" and then wishes he were a sheep, not a lion, so he wouldn't have to kill animals to eat. Sunday School never sounded so funky.

Gonjasufi, Sheep


While his famous cousin Butterfly has a new group, Shabazz Palaces, Gonjasufi has dreams of a future
collaboration with Jack White. Not that Mr. Raconteur Dead Weatherman needs another side project, but if he gets restless, we sure wouldn't mind if he experimented with the Gonj.

Gonjasufi: Can Your Yoga Teacher Do That?

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 6: Easy Rider

[FP's weekly column on music before 1990 appears on Sundays]

As we settled into Mem Day weekend with backyard barbecues, we were saddened to learn of the death of Dennis Hopper. In an acting career than spanned six decades, Hopper appeared in more than 115 films, from Rebel Without a Cause to Apocalypse Now to Speed. But his gift to Hollywood (and the culture at large) came in 1969 with Easy Rider, which he directed and co-wrote with Terry Southern. The archetypal road trip movie follows Hopper, Peter Fonda, and a then little-known Jack Nicholson on a drug-fueled motorcycle ride across the country.  The Easy Rider soundtrack is a snapshot of late 60s rock, with cuts from Dylan, the Byrds, and Jimi Hendrix. Combined with a preponderance of long, wordless scenes, the soundtrack makes the film a veritable music video jukebox. Below, three of FP's favorites.

Steppenwolf, The Pusher


The Byrds, The Ballad of Easy Rider


Holy Modal Rounders, If You Want to Be a Bird


And no matter how many times you've heard "Born to Be Wild," it's hard to beat the song's urgency in the opening sequence of Easy Rider when pretty boy Fonda and Hopper, in moustache and cowboy regalia, rumble across the Colorado River.



More recently, Hopper collaborted with Gorillaz on "Fire Coming Out of A Monkey's Head," performed below at New York's Apollo Theater.

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 6: Easy Rider

Nas & Marley: Rap Star Meets Patois

On their new record, Distant Relatives, Nas and Damian Marley are all about fusion. Nas brings the vehemence of the streets and a harsh realism about the state of mankind. "Junior Gong" Marley brings a mellower mood, with faith in Jah and universal brotherhood. Together, the Queens-Kingston duo, who previously collaborated on Road To Zion, portray a dark world where there's still room to hope.

As expected, the new record fuses hip-hop and reggae styles, or as Nas describes the collaboration: “My man can speak patois/And I can speak rap star.” Marley does the bulk of the introductions and all of the refrains, while Nas fills out the verses with rhymes. The backing tracks are a pastiche of funk rhythms, half-time reggae, and African percussion, with the occasional sirens and sharpening swords as sound effects. Other cameos include the ubiquitous Li'l Wayne and the Canadian-Somali poet and rapper K'Naan. Overall, the fusion of sounds and styles elevates Marley from second generation status and benefits Nas, whose records sometimes need a beats disciple.


Nas and Damian Marley, As We Enter


Both MCs embrace their heritage in their lyrics. Nas brings the guns, drugs, benzes, and c-notes that have been hip-hop staples for decades, and name checks revolutionary icons Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, and Geronimo. For his part, Marley references Zion, Babylon, and Rastafarianism, and tips his hat to Shaka Zulu and Burning Spear. And as Nas spells out, the title Distant Relatives refers to both men’s African ancestry and the universal origins of humanity. “We all come from one place,” he says. “We’re all one family.”

Nas and Damian Marley, Nah Mean


Still, the power of the partnership stems from their differences. Marley praise the virtues of friendship; Nas calls out fake friends. Marley envisions the Promised Land; Nas pictures the apocalypse.  Marley praises black leaders; Nas drops the Jena Six. The lyrical dialectic is underscored by the differences in their voices and flows. Nas brings hardness and verbal dexterity, a guy who “balances the streets and the theories of collegiate literature.” Marley is smoother, with dance hall intonation tinged with echoes of his father Bob, who died when he was two years old. (His older brother Stephen, who sings on two tracks, sounds like a reincarnation of the reggae legend.)

Nas and Damian Marley, Dispear


Throughout, Distant Relatives looks to the past, with an eye to the future. In “Promised Land,” Marley imagines a world in which Africa reclaims its cultural heritage and becomes the new America. “My generation” opens with a children’s choir and declares “Our Generation will make a change.” In “Count My Blessings,” Nas rhymes about the birth of his son, whom he hopes to inspire in the same way that Bob Marley inspired Damian. It’s a long way from the guy who lambasted the schmaltz of “We are the World” and bragged how he would “bang bitches at John Jay/Then catch a matinee”

Indeed, Nas has mellowed somewhat with age. Distant Relatives is virtually profanity-free, a shift from the 2008 album that he wanted to call N*gger, but was ultimately released without a title. (That controversy spawned a feud with Bill O’Reilly and Fox News and landed Nas on the Colbert Report). There is only one verse on Distant Relatives about sexual prowess, and even that is tempered with references to alimony and the hopelessness of affairs with married women. And for all his self-assurance, Nas worries about his longevity, wondering “Am I still relevant as a rapper?” The question makes sense for a 36-year-old on his 10th record in 16 years: a hip-hop eternity. His 1994 debut Illmatic predates the The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut and the best work of Tupac Shakur, technically his contemporaries, but practically members of another generation due to their untimely and violent deaths.

Still, Nas is all about the problems of today: the global recession and Wall Street imbroglios,  Shiite bombs, and the poverty and despair that endures in ghettos from America to Africa. At one point, he even calls himself and Marley “Two Obamas.” And the presence of Li’L Wayne suggests that the king of Queensbridge may be ready to pass the torch. But not quite yet. Nas and Marley are on tour this spring and summer, with a New York show July 31 on the Williamsburg Waterfront. Count your blessings.

Nas & Marley: Rap Star Meets Patois

FP Top 5: Double Albums (2000-2010)

(Our Weekly Wednesday Countdown)

At their best, double albums are double the pleasure: musicians push the boundaries of their creativity and fans get extra time with artists they love. In a form that attracts the prolific, the experimental, and the indulgent, there have been successes (The Beatles, a.k.a. The White Album), catastrophes (Tales from Topographic Ocean), and even the occasional sales boosters or shortcuts to fulfilling contracts. 

In the vinyl days, a double album was easy to spot: there were two records in the sleeve. Later many double albums fit on one CD. Now the difference between single and double albums is measured in megabytes. Yet even in the digital age, albums endure and artists continue to make them super-sized.  Here at FP, we're waiting on the corner of Keap and Hope to see if Wolf Parade decides to make their new album a double.

For now, our Top 5 double albums contains no greatest hits collections, anthologies, concert recordings, or bonus remixes. We do, however, allow for the co-release, a trick that dates back to Use Your Illusion. Thanks, Axl. And since we posted our Top 5 double albums of all time on Sunday, today we highlight albums from the last decade.

5. Outkast, Speakerboxx/The Love Below (2003)
Outkast arriveed on the scene as a 21st century reincarnation of George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic machine, with equal parts fashion and funkiness. Their double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below won the Grammy for Best Album, edging out the White Stripes, Justin Timberlake and Missy Elliot. It featured the infectious "The Way You Move" and the ubiquitous "Hey Ya," whose refrain "shake it like a Polaroid picture" was so popular that the camera manufacturer issued a statement warning people not to do that unless they wanted to ruin their photos. We're pretty sure nobody listened. 


Outkast - The Way You Move (Official Music Video) - Watch more top selected videos about: OutKast

4. Tom Waits, Alice/Blood Money (2002)
Over three decades, Tom Waits has unveiled 21 records and almost as many personae, from folky bluesman to lounge piano act to carnival barker to movie star. He's also the songwriter behind one of  our favorite covers album of all time, John Hammond's Wicked Grin. Back in 2002, he released a pair of soundtracks for plays inspired by literary classics.  Alice is based on a play inspired by the relationship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, the original inspiration for Alice in Wonderland. Blood Money features songs written for the play Wozyck, unfinished when author George Büchner died in 1837, remade many times since on stage and screen, and re-adapted by Robert Wilson, who also directed Alice. 

Tom Waits - Alice


Tom Waits - Coney Island Baby

3. Joanna Newsom, Have One on Me
 (2010)   
Ok this one is actually a triple album. That takes guts, especially when you play the harp and sing like a warbly pixie. Moreover, the songs on Have One on Me are so long, there are only six per disc. (The title track is nearly 11 minutes).  Somehow, Newsom pulls off the feat. She meanders and moans, with her harp and voice backed by horn and string arrangements and lusher instrumentation that previous records. And in typical offbeat fashion, she announced the record via comic strip.  
No wonder, she landed the #2 spot in FP's Top 5 American Women

2. Flaming Lips, Embryonic (2009)

If today's topic were quadruple albums, the prize would go to the Flaming Lips' Zareika, a collection of four albums meant to be played simultaneously on four stereos. Bonus points awarded if this sonic experiment occurs at a party in Jersey City. Instead, we give the honors to the Flaming Lips' Embryonic, a double album that includes contributions from MGMT and Karen O, who happens to head the list of FP's Top 5 American Women.  This summer, the Lips are back on the road, with high- profile shows at Bonnaroo and the Central Park Summerstage.



1. Deerhunter, Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
 (2008)
Recorded as two separate albums, Microcastle and Weird Era Cont. were bundled together after the latter accidentally leaked online. We consider the two records of a piece, unified by the pop sensibility, the shimmer and fuzz of the guitars, and the haunting voice of Bradford Cox.
 
Deerhunter, Agoraphobia (from Microcastle)


Deerhunter, Never Stops (from Microcastle)


Deerhunter, Operation (from Weird Era Cont.)

FP Top 5: Double Albums (2000-2010)

Total Eclipse of Our Hearts

We haven't read any of the Twilight books. We haven't seen either of the Twilight movies, though we almost saw New Moon one slow night in Nebraska. And yet, we have our eye on the soundtrack to Twilight: Eclipse, which features some of our favorite bands, including The Black Keys, Vampire Weekend, Bat for Lashes, The Dead Weather, and Florence and the Machine.

Few of the tracks have leaked. Here's one, Neutron Star Collision by MUSE.



And in case you missed the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack, that record features songs from FP favorites Bon Iver & St. Vincent, Thom Yorke,  OK Go, and Lykke Li's "Possibility," performed live here in Stockholm in March.



The Eclipse soundtrack drops June 8, a few weeks before the movie's June 30 release. We'll post music as it becomes available. For now, here's a full list of artists and tracks.

1. Metric- Eclipse (All Yours)
2. MUSE- Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
3. The Bravery- Ours
4. Florence + The Machine- Heavy In Your Arms
5. Sia- My Love
6. Fanfarlo- Atlas
7. The Black Keys- Chop And Change
8. The Dead Weather- Rolling In On A Burning Tire
9. Beck and Bat For Lashes- Let’s Get Lost
10. Vampire Weekend- Jonathan Low
11. UNKLE- With You In My Head (Feat. The Black Angels)
12. Eastern Conference Champions- A Million Miles An Hour
13. Band of Horses- Life On Earth
14. Cee Lo Green- What Part of Forever
15. Howard Shore- Jacob’s Theme

BONUS TRACKS
16. Battles- The Line
17. Bombay Bicycle Club- How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep

Total Eclipse of Our Hearts

FP Top 5: One-Man Bands

(Our Weekly Wednesday Countdown)

What is a one-man band? Is it a troubadour with a guitar and a tambourine on his ankle? Is it the subway trumpeteer accompanied by keyboard bossa nova beats? Is it anyone who plays Guitar Hero?

Indie rock history is rife with one-man bands: from Magnetic Fields (Stephin Merritt) to Neutral Milk Hotel (Jeff Mangum). Journeyman John Darnielle's nom de rock Mountain Goats has a cultish following, including Stephen Colbert, whose sealed his stature as a critic when he asked the Hold Steady if they were rock stars or graphic designers. More recently, wunderkinds Zach Condon (Beirut) and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) are nearly inseparable from their pseudonyms. And then there’s LCD Soundsystem (James Murphy), who has decided to hawk his new record, "This is Happening," in gift packs of CD, vinyl, and MP3 versions of the music, plus an LCD Soundsystem Tote Bag, all for $80. Hm.

We admit that our Top 5 one-man (and one-woman) bands rely on other musicians, both live and in the studio. But it’s clear, to us anyway, that the music stems from their singular talents and visions.












  

5. Neon Indian
All Hail North Texas!  Neon Indian is the brainchild of Alan Palomo, originally from Denton and now with dual citizenship in Austin and Brooklyn.  Since the release of Psychic Indian in October, Neon Indian has played everywhere from Bushwick's Market Hotel to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And in the next few months, Palomo and his backing band are on tour with shows at Bonnaroo, Pitchfork Festival and Brooklyn's own Music Hall of Williamsburg. Not exactly a deadbeat summer.


Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer

 

4. Bat for Lashes
Natasha Khan is a one-woman force. As Bat For Lashes, the London-born daughter of a Pakistani squash player has recorded two albums: Fur and Gold (2006) and Two Suns (2009). She sings and plays piano, guitar, harp, and autoharp, and we've seen her stomp the stage with a staff as percussion.  But she’s not above collaboration. Recently, she joined forces with Beck for a song on the forthcoming Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. More on this record soon, but suffice to say that contributors include FP favorites The Black Keys, Muse, The Dead Weather, and Vampire Weekend (natch). And whatever Natasha does, we totally bat our lashes. Sigh.


Pearl's Dream from Bat for Lashes on Vimeo.

3. Koria Kitten Riot
OK, we confess. We had never heard Koria Kitten Riot until we researched this article. (Thanks, Indie Rock Cafe). The project is the brainchild of Helsinski’s Antti Reiko, who fronts the band Johnny Superhero. Reiko made the KKR record on Garage Band, which makes us wonder if he's  the guy next to us at a certain Brooklyn café where you are required to bring a Macbook. In any case, Reiko plays nearly every instrument on his album, aside from drums and bass. While he sings in English, KKR speaks a more universal language. Hello, makeout music.
 

2. Sunset Rubdown

Canadian Spencer Krug started Sunset Rubdown while on a break from Wolf Parade. SR’s eponymous debut was a solo effort, followed by a full-band record Shut Up I’m Dreaming, both released in 2006. For now, the band is on hiatus with no tour dates posted; Krug is back with Wolf Parade, who tour Europe in May, North America in July, and return to Europe this fall. For a city near you, see the  full tour dates. For now, some choice cuts from 2009's Dragonslayer. 


Sunset Rubdown - Paper Lace


Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart


Sunset Rubdown - Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh

1. Destroyer
Known for his work in the New Pornographers, Canadian Dan Bejar has also recorded and performed as Destroyer for nearly 15 years, from We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge (1996) to  Bay of Pigs (2009).  Listen on Myspace. As Destroyer, Bejar plays solo and with backing bands drawn from the Canadian indieverse. Apparently, our northern neighbors like to hang out together and go by many different names. Those are two concepts we can get behind.


Destroyer - 3000 Flowers

FP Top 5: One-Man Bands

Indiephemera Friday, vol. 5

The National! Punch Brothers! Bear in Heaven! But first the big news:

Frontier Psychiatrist hits the 100-fan mark!!!

(almost)

((look, we tried))

(((but we're really close)))

And all it took was one month of relentless posting and some mild cajoling of friends, family, and lovers. Thus ends Phase One of our strategy. Phase Two: a New York Times profile. Phase Three: Total Media Domination. If you know someone with a gaping void in his or her life that FP could fill, spread the word. And click that MF LIKE button on our Facebook page.

Looking ahead, the big news is the The National's concert on Saturday night in Brooklyn. The show will be webcast live under the direction of the legendary DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, as reported earlier on FP. If you're not blessed with tickets (or for some reason do not live in Brooklyn) fire up your computer tomorrow at 8.00 PM EST and watch the show on Youtube.

Hot on the heels of their tune with Fiona Apple and Jon Brion on the Chickens in Love anthology, Punch Brothers have their second record due in mid-June. Antifogmatic features 10 new tunes, several of which mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and his virtuosic bandmates have played live over the last year. In true indie fashion, there will be a vinyl edition, now available for pre-order. The band is touring this summer, with a show at New York’s Town Hall and stops at Bonnaroo and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where they will be joined by Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose new record Genuine Negro Jig we reviewed last week. Our favorite track from Antifogmatic is "Alex," performed in the WNRN-Charlottesville studios. The Virginia session also includes performances of ‘This is the Song" and the PB’s cover of "Reptilia" by the Strokes.



If all this music doesn't last you through the weekend, Bear in Heaven returns from Brussels to start their North American summer tour. Dear New Yorkers: BIH is playing at Terminal 5 this Sunday (May 16) and outdoors at Pier 17 on July 9 as part of the (South Street) Seaport Music Series. Recently, Bear in Heaven was stranded in the Madrid airport during the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption and made the following. When life gives you ashes, make music videos.


A nice moment during the dust cloud from Bear In Heaven on Vimeo.

Bear in Heaven is opening for Metric, whose new single will be on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, out June 8, a.k.a. Vampire Tuesday.

From all of us here at FP, buen fin de semana.

Indiephemera Friday, vol. 5

Brighton Rock!

While England mourns (or celebrates) its new government and braces for the World Cup matchup against the U.S., the indie part of the population is off to Brighton this weekend for the Great Escape Fest, a.k.a. "Europe's leading festival for new music." We can neither confirm nor deny that claim, but one thing is clear: Great Escape is no small gathering.

The three-day festival (May 13-15) features 350 artists, including FP favorites The Morning Benders, The Big Pink, and Wild Beasts, who recently rocked our world at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Headliners include Broken Social Scene, Manchester's Delphic, and Welsh-Greek chanteuse Marina and the Diamonds.

And don't forget Ellie Goulding, whose debut record, Lights, has been causing a bit of a stir this spring. Goulding's now opening for John Mayer on his current British tour. She's also done versions of Bon Iver's "The Wolves," Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead," and Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold," all available for listening on Pretty Much Amazing.







Deep down in the bill, we were pleased to see the return of Cornershop, because, well, everybody needs a bosom for a pillow. Ours is on the 45.

And speaking of Brighton Rock, look out for a new movie version of the novel by one of FP's favorite authors: Graham Greene, Novelist of the Soul. The original 1947 film starred Richard Attenborough, and was released in the U.S. as Young Scarface. The new film stars Dame Helen Mirren because, well, it's a British movie. And maybe Emma Thompson was otherwise engaged. As for the book, see for yourself:

"Hale knew, before he had been in Brighton three hours, that they meant to murder him." Read Brighton Rock on Google Books

Brighton Rock!

Chickens in Love: Bawk Bawk

The combo of pop musicians and children's entertainment is nothing new. Sesame Street has hosted everyone from Johnny Cash to Justin Timberlake. The 1980 record (and FP childhood favorite) In Harmony featured James Taylor, Carly Simon, and the Doobie Brothers. Thanks, hippie parents. The anthology For Our Children had Paul McCartney, Sting, and Bob Dylan's version of This Old Man. And in the 90s, indie rockers like Blind Melon and Pavement recorded Schoolhouse Rocks Rocks!, new versions of hits from the classic television show.

The latest in the genre is Chickens in Love, written by kids in Los Angeles in workshops with John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard of The Submarines and recorded by indie musicians, including Fiona Apple, Cold War Kids, and She and Him. The album is "coming soon," but for now you can listen to all 12 songs on 826 LA's Chickens In Love Facebook Page.

826 Los Angeles is a branch of 826 National, author Dave Eggers' network of tutoring centers and writing workshops for kids ages 6-18. The original 826 Valencia opened in San Francisco in 2002; the organization now has chapters in 8 cities, including Brooklyn, Chicago, and Seattle.

The songs on Chickens in Love drip with irreverence and exuberance. The title track, performed by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, has the chorus: “Chickens in Love/Bawk Bawk.” The bleepy tune “Am I Going Crazy” by Tim and Eric begins: “I think I saw the ghost of Michael Jackson/He was reading a book and eating fruit." Our favorite track, “So Sleepy” starts as a lullaby with Fiona Apple's growl and Chris Thile's mandolin. Then the Punch Brothers and Jon Brion enter and the song becomes a rowdy call to staying up all night.

More broadly, the album testifies to the continuing influence and work ethic of Dave Eggers. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000), his memoir of raising his brother after his parents' death, spawned a decade of literary autobiography and anticipated the explosion of blogging culture. His satirical magazine McSweeney’s has more hipster imitators than we can count. And recently, Eggers has gone Hollywood, co-writing the screenplays for Where the Wild Things Are and Away We Go. Meanwhile, the guy has a social conscience. Besides the 826 tutoring centers, his novel What is The What (2007) tells the story of a Sudanese boy and his journey to America; Zeitoun (2009) follows a Syrian-American father in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

If there's a theme to the Eggers empire, it's a fascination with the energy, creativity, and resilience of youth. A former wunderkind now in his 40s, Eggers seems to want to pass the torch to the next generation of writers, musicians, and artists.

Chickens in Love: Bawk Bawk

Frontier Summer: The (New) Summerstage

[Today begins a new miniseries about outdoor music events. -FP]

Back in 2008, Vampire Weekend played opening day at the Central Park Summerstage, that magical spot where the city unrolls the fake turf and turns Rumsey Playfield into an outdoor concert venue. As if we had never been to a free show before, we arrived a mere two hours early and found thousands of people waiting on line. OK, we said. Let’s stand behind the stage and listen. Who needs to see skinny quasi-Ivy League boys? So we gathered in a grove to wait. Then came the storm, or rather, the monsoon. One by one, our friends and girlfriends called to say they wouldn't be coming. But we stayed. We played beach volleyball in the mud. We patronized a man selling Baltika from a trashbag. And somewhere in there, Andrew W.K. and Kid Sister played. At last, Vampire Weekend appeared and we decided that we actually did want to see them. So we counted to three, hopped two fences, outran the security guards, and dissolved into the crowd.

This year, the Summerstage celebrates its 25th anniversary, with its usual shows in Central Park and, new this summer, more than 100 performances at 16 parks in all five boroughs. There’s a range of genres from hip-hop to ballet to jazz to comedy. And you won't need a Hot Tub Time Machine to see: the Specials, Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Living Color, Lisa Lisa (sans Cult Jam), etc. Oh, and Pavement. Who said Generation X is having a midlife crisis?

Here at FP, we’re thrilled about three indie shows in the first two weeks of August: St. Vincent (8/1); The xx and Chairlift (8/6);
and White Rabbits (8/12).

And while Shakespeare in the Park has Al Pacino in Merchant of Venice, we're also curious about about the Summerstage remake of our favorite epic poem by Banana Bag and Bodice (8/25-8/27).

Beowulf – A Thousand Years of Baggage hearkens back to the raw and rowdy style of storytelling in the old Scandinavian mead halls – with a passion for fierce poetry and a pint of thick beer. Monsters and professors collide in blood-soaked Scandinavia as this hefty poem is rescued from 1,000 years of analysis and transformed into a defiantly raucous dissertation on art and violence. With an 8-piece band including dueling trombones, bass clarinet, accordion and saw, Beowulf combines Weillian cabaret, 40's jazz harmony, indie rock, punk, electronica and Romantic lieder into a cacophonous swirl.

And speaking of time machines, apparently St. Vincent and Beck also love the 80s.


Record Club: INXS "New Sensation" from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Frontier Summer: The (New) Summerstage