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

FP Top 5: Covers Albums

(Our Weekly Wednesday Countdown)

Since its incipient days, rock music (and later hip-hop and electronic music) has thrived on the juxtaposition of the innovative with the familiar.  In no instance is this more apparent than that of the cover song, that guiltiest of pleasures.  A re-working of a timeless tune allows a band to pay tribute to its idols while simultaneously discovering something new in the dusty depths of musical memory.  

It should be no surprise, then, that on numerous occasions bands have devoted entire LPs to the music of their predecessors, often with spectacular results.  Today we bring you our top 5 cover albums from the last 10 years.  Because we like to keep things contemporary, you'll find no Fakebook or Mermaid Avenue here, although you should certainly try finding them at your local record store.  And, because we limit ourselves to the genres mentioned in the opening, you will not find perhaps the greatest cover album of the last 10 years, David S. Ware's and Matthew Shipp's rendering of Sonny Rollins' hard-bop classic Freedom Suite.   Still, we think you'll find plenty here to please the ear.

5. Phosphorescent - To Willie (2007)
With the possible exception of Johnny Cash, no country-western songsmith embodies the spirit of rock n' roll more than Willie Nelson.  It stands to reason, then, that a generation of indie kids might be drawn to the occasional wonders of country music through the songs of the Red-Headed Stranger.  Athens, Georgia's Matthew Houck, aka Phosphorescent was once one of these indie kids, and his record of Nelson covers is the sincerest form of flattery.

Phosphorescent - Too Sick To Pray (Willie Nelson Cover)

4. Beck, St. Vincent, Liars, and Os Mutantes - Kick (2010)
This is not really an album, but then again this is not really a pipe, so, you know, think about that.  In August 2009, famous Scientologist Beck Hansen decided to get a group of friends together and cover several classic albums track by track.  While his early attempts (The Velvet Underground and Nico, Songs of Leonardo Cohen, Oar) were perhaps a bit too ambitious, INXS' prom-night classic Kicks is the perfect type of record for re-interpretation: beloved but not taken too seriously.  We have posted entries from this series previously, and the album can be viewed in its entirety at the Beck Record Club website.  Below, one of our favorites:

3. Easy Star All-Stars - Dub Side of the Moon/Radiodread (2003/2006)
You're probably thinking the same thing we were on learning of the existence of full-on reggae revisions of Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer.  You're thinking, "if I saw this in the 99-cent bin at Wal-Mart, I would laugh, turn away, and start wondering what I was doing in Wal-Mart."  But, if you place your faith in Frontier Psychiatrist and give these records a listen, you'll be thinking, "wait...awesome."

Toots & The Maytals - Let Down (Radiohead Cover)


Morgan Heritage - Electioneering (Radiohead Cover)


Gary "Nesta" Pine & Dollarman - Money (Pink Floyd Cover)

2. Various Artists - I'm Not There (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2007)
A double album composed entirely of Bob Dylan covers that somehow we have yet to discuss.  The best way to describe it is: imagine if every good band covered Bob Dylan on one record.  Sold?


Iron & Wine with Calexico - Dark Eyes (Bob Dylan Cover)


Yo La Tengo - I Wanna Be Your Lover (Bob Dylan Cover)

1. Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (2007)
Dave Longstreth's Dirty Projectors became indie royalty with the 2009 release of Bitte Orca,  but this re-imagining of Black Flag's seminal hardcore record Damaged remains the band's finest work.  This is a covers album in the loosest sense imaginable; with the exception of the lyrics, Henry Rollins' and Greg Ginn's initial songs are rendered unrecognizable.  And yet, even the most dedicated Black Flag purist would have difficulty finding fault with this record.  The Projectors have captured the true spirit of popular music: familiarity mixed with innovation.

Dirty Projectors - Rise Above (Black Flag Cover)


Dirty Projectors - Thirsty And Miserable (Black Flag Cover)


That's it for cover albums!  Coming next week: album covers.

FP Top 5: Covers Albums

David Byrne Approaches Limit of Awesome

Earlier this week, the folks at The Kitchen honored David Byrne for being awesome. An RISD dropout who mastered three instruments (guitar, accordian, violin) before high school, he's a pioneer in sampling, a videographer of volcanic ash clouds and a well-nigh genius of sound. In his free time, he puts together theater pieces, goes hiking and attends conferences on New Urbanism. Let's face it. Awesome.

This is what we imagine it would be like to be friends with Byrne:

(Setting: your apartment. A dinner party. It's been great -- you feel good, positive, pleasant. It's just past the peak of the party, say maybe 1:30am. Everyone is having fun. You're relaxed. The doorbell rings. It's DAVID BYRNE.)

YOU: Oh! David! David Byrne! How are you?

(DAVID BYRNE's skin is young, taut, almost ... is it ... sparkling? His white hair is punk-tousled from the ride on, oh what's that there? Just a friendly kangaroo. Somehow, he's smuggled a marsupial into the country, trained it and ridden it to the party. He tosses his housekeys to the animal, who catches them in its little pocket.)

YOU: Oh. You can. Park him ... in the ... ?

DB: No, no, no trouble; I'm just stopping by to say hello. How are you? (kiss, kiss) You look great. I brought guacamole! It's all local and organic (hands you a bowl of it: fresh, aromatic, bright). How are your parents? How's your broken heart? I heard about the loser. You are so much better, so dynamic and wonderful and gorgeous (hug. Pulls out a manuscript). I just finished writing a short story about a hypothetical relationship between Kant, Einstein and Eno. Keep it, read it, tell me what you think. (Then, presenting a bottle of Veuve.) Champagne?

YOU: Ummmmmm

DB: Hey (cocks head to one side). I know that look. Don't worry, I'm just like you. My head gets buzzy when I drink Champagne too. I too feel awkward when I foray into unknown territories. Just ask Norm. Oh crap. I have to go; I have a bowling date with Cindy Sherman. Gotta get there early; last time she slew me. Two turkeys! What a slut. (Climbs onto the kanga.) It was really, really, really nice to see you. I really mean it about the loser. You are worth so much more than that. Call me, will you? I missed you when was in Atlanta. (He taps the side of the beast, smiles, laughs, soars into the air. A flying drum circle trails him, rhythmically thumping into the night.)

Esoteric analogy? Perhaps. The point is: Byrne may be unpredictable, his work disarming, but he remains accessible. He is willing to take risks and look ridiculous, but he knows how to make it work. He's the guy that out of nowhere, comes up with a brilliant idea ... then actually follows through. Here Lies Love, his latest album (available in full on MySpace), is a collaboration with Fatboy Slim and some of the best female vocalists around, exploring the life of Imelda Marcos, beauty queen, shoe enthusiast and widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. It also might be an upcoming musical at the Public.

Obviously we're Byrne fans over here (see: gushing above). And there are some truly amazing parts to Here Lies Love, i.e., Alice Russell power-wailing "Men Will Do Anything" (p.s., get some good headphones and wait 'til minute 2:30 in that song ... it'll make yer head spin), the wildly catchy eponymous first track, sung by Florence Welch ("I know that when my number's up/When I am called from God above/Don't have my name carved in stone/just say here lies love"), Sharon Jones' "Dancing Together." A sultry Natalie Merchant shows up for "Order 1081" and it's even nice to hear from Tori Amos again in track three.

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim - Men Will Do Anything (featuring Alice Russell)


David Byrne and Fatboy Slim - Dancing Together (featuring Sharon Jones)


Some parts are oddly self-conscious: "Ladies in Blue," sung by Theresa Andersson, evokes the opening credits of a cheesy 80s movie -- but even this is a ride we're willing to take. It demonstrates his most appealing quality: from Talking Heads to unlikely musical collaborations and beyond, Byrne may not know where something is going, he's always fearlessly looking for the next great thing.

P.S. Our favorite Byrne-quoting-Dylan quotation: "'I was so much older then/I'm younger than that now.' It's like I feel like I'm getting older but in some ways feeling younger."

David Byrne Approaches Limit of Awesome

D.A. Pennebaker To Film The National

This morning, I had breakfast with my grandmother. As usual, she told stories about her childhood in Brooklyn: her father's barbershop quartet; her grandmother's job as a taxi dispatcher when cabs were still pulled by horses; the outer-borough cemeteries where our family is buried. And today I learned that my late grandfather once lived on Bedford Avenue, back in the days before irony. He did, however, have a penchant for plaid shirts, skinny pants, and porkpie hats. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose. Or in the words of my great-grandmother: There are no new tricks.

Meanwhile, another lively character in his 80s, D.A. Pennebaker, is off to Brooklyn. On May 15, the legendary director (and his wife Chris Hegedus) are filming The National at BAM. The performance will be webcast on Youtube.

Pennebaker is the godfather of music documentarians, best known for Don’t Look Back, Monterey Pop, and Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. (He and Hegedus also collaborated on The War Room, a look at Bill Clinton's rise to the presidency). His films include some of the most iconic moments in pop music history, from Dylan's flipping cards with the lyrics to 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' to Jimi Hendrix making sweet love to his amplifier then lighting his guitar on fire.

Bob Dylan -Subterranean Homesick Blues


Jimi Hendrix - Wild Thing (performance starts at 2:40)


Having filmed so many musical legends from previous generations, Pennebaker has done well to partner with The National. While they're not quite a household name, few indie acts have more stature and credibility, thanks to a decade of touring and recording and critical acclaim. The band recently performed on Jimmy Fallon and got the royal treatment in a New York Times profile. And their sixth record, High Violet, drops next week, and can be streamed now on NPR. It's been on repeat here at FP.

The show at BAM benefits the Red Hot Organization, which raises money to fight AIDS. Over the last decade, RHO has released twenty compilation albums, from the Cole Porter tribute Red Hot + Blue (1999) to the indie anthology Dark Was the Night (2009), produced by none other than the National's Aaron and Bryce Dessner.

With the Red Hot-Pennebaker combo, it's a decent assumption that other Dark Was The Night artists will join the National on stage. You might even start a pool with your pals. Think Kentucky Derby, but with the Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear instead of horses.

Meanwhile, Pennebaker is busy. His latest film Kings of Pastry, opens at the Film Forum in September. And in 2011, he and Hegedus will get the retrospective treatment at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria. May we all rock so hard in our old age.

D.A. Pennebaker To Film The National