New Portishead Single

With their first album in a decade, Third, due out April 29th on Mercury/Island, the new single, "Machine Gun", is a tantalizing promise of what is in store from Portishead. For those of us that have been listening to PNYC (aka, Live at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC) as though it were the last we'd ever hear of the Bristol, England trio, news of the appropriately named third LP was a welcome communiqué indeed.

As their debut, Dummy, and self-titled sophomore release became the soundtrack to high school angst, the live album sufficed as background score to young adult depression. Defying any categorical genre other than trip-hop (a tragically short-lived genre, to be sure), Portishead made atmosphere music full of acid jazz, cabaret vocals, and spy movie synesthesia. Simply and honestly put, no other band ever sounded like Portishead.

A ten year hiatus will have the tendency to put some pressure on an upcoming release for a band in their position. So far all we have is the single, which is ultimately gratifying because the band at once sounds like the Portishead we remember, and what we would hope the progression of their sound would result in. "Machine Gun" is a minimalist track of drum machine and wandering synth, would-be theme music to Fritz Lang's Metropolis, had cinema included audio in 1927 Germany. Only the vocals of Beth Gibbons provides anything organic in this industrial composition; but even her fractured warble only last the first two-thirds of the song, giving way to the mechanical assault of drums. The chilly synth melody that brings "Machine Gun" to a close is reminiscent of Vangelis' score to Blade Runner.

Strange, perhaps, that the song recalls two classic science-fiction films. Then again, the fantasy of science-fiction past has a way of becoming eerily similar to modern-day (i.e., the future) reality. "Machine Gun" manages to sound fitting in both worlds.

Here is the video/mp3:



Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/portisheadalbum3.

Favorite Song of the Day

From the favorite album title of the day, Saturdays=Youth, which drops April 14th, this is M83 with "Graveyard Girl". Don't know much about them yet, other than that this song sounds like it would belong on the soundtrack to whatever John Hughes movie he ever makes, if he ever makes another movie (please make another movie, John!).





Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/m83.

-J2

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH...

We all know how important a good band name is (yes, I went to see the band I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness based solely on the name), but with so many bands out there and the English language being limited as it is, things sometimes get confusing. We want to clear up just a few of them...


1) EVANGELICALS vs THE EVANGELISTS

Evangelicals
Despite the nightmarish album cover, The Evening Descends is atmospheric pop laden with big-stage histrionics and low-fi soul. Their sound is most certainly dreamy, though, and comparisons to the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah may be inevitable thanks to the earnest tenor of lead vocalist Josh Jones. Lyrically, however, Jones delves into the darkness of the unconscious, straddling the line between surreal and insane, awakening in time remember which side is which.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH...

The Evangelists
Self-proclaimed freaks of nature, Northern Ireland's punk rockers are part Primus, part Frank Zappa, part Talking Heads, and all sorts of eccentric. With song titles like "Pervert", "Virgin Queen", and "Homicide", The Evangelists stake no claim in the intelligentsia. But they're likely more interested in blowing your ears clean off your head with raucous basslines and machine gun-drums.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) BLACK KIDS vs BLACK LIPS

Black Kids
Yes, yes - only two of the five members of this Jacksonville guitar pop set are of the African-American variety, so just don't worry about it. Black Kids make pop music they way it should be made, inspiring all the toe-tapping and head-bopping you can handle. Similar to the Shout Out Louds, imagine The Cure minus the goth and you come close to their sound.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH...

Black Lips
Somewhere between garage rock and vintage rock, this Atlanta foursome also slip in that southern rock element as well. Irreverence is the name of the game with these kids - writing a love song to a girl from New Orleans named Katrina; urinating on stage... occasionally into their own mouths (who are we to judge?). Given this convergence of sounds and ideas, perhaps psycho-billy is the most apt description. Don't be fooled, though: Black Lips know exactly what they're doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3) JOE JACKSON vs JACK JOHNSON

Joe Jackson
Remember that sweet 80s song, "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"? Turns out that was Joe Jackson, and he's not even remotely a one-hit wonder. One of the forerunners in bringing New Wave to the US, the Brit is still making tunes. Now based in Berlin, Jackson just released Rain earlier this year. A minimalist sound of piano, bass, drums and vocals, Rain is more hit than miss, and Jackson is a talented musician to be sure.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH...

Jack Johnson
Is this really the sound of surf music? I grew up wanting to learn how to surf (and sky-dive) because F.B.I. Agent Johnny Utah made it look so cool. If you recall, though, the Point Break soundtrack is a complex mix of Ratt, LA Guns, and Public Image Ltd. Even Frankie and Annette would be bored listening to Jack Johnson. Somebody call Dick Dale.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stay tuned for upcoming NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH... posts featuring:

Fuck Buttons vs Holy Fuck

Black Mountain vs The Mountain Goats

Deerhunter vs Deerhoof

Magnetic Fields vs The Field

Vampire Hands vs Vampire Weekend

The Go vs The Go! Team

-J2

middleCoast Is On Hiatus

The middleCoast is on hiatus for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. We music nerds are also college basketball nerds. Go figure.

Check back Monday...

Go Jayhawks.

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Five Questions: Jesse Elliott from These United State

In a recent interview for UR Chicago Magazine, These United States ringleader, Jesse Elliott, was kind enough to take a few minutes in the midst of the band's 33 shows in a span of 38 days to answer a few questions. Here are a few that didn't make it into the published article (due out April 1st).

middleCoast: You mentioned that you spent some time growing up in Elgin, IL, and that you lived in Chicago. What are your thoughts of Chicago and what are you looking forward to about playing The Hideout (April 3rd)?

Jesse Elliott: My family moved around a lot when I was little, all over the Midwest, but finally settled in this old beautiful river town called Elgin. Northern Illinois, banks of the Fox River, used to be the world’s greatest watch manufacturer. Pocket watches on the river. Gorgeous, old brick and rails. Took those rails down into Chicago pretty often starting in 8th grade, told my mom I was headed just 20 minutes down track to this burb called Bartlett where some friends lived – but just stayed on the extra 30 into the big bad city. Really my benchmark fr big bad cities, Chicago is, to this day. What a place. Wrote a song called Brick and Wind about it once – someday that’ll resurface, I imagine, and then all my thoughts on the subject will become transparent. Fond fond fond. Wintertime, always. Winter is always the last time and place I was in Chicago, it seems. And the Hideout is always the shelter from the storm.

mC: Your sound can be described as Americana. Being on the road (in your case, touring) is pure Americana as well. Describe some of the encounters you get to have thanks to driving through small towns instead of just flying from urban airport to urban airport.

JE: We’re in Shreveport, Louisiana right this moment, with our new friends The Peekers. Place we’re staying, there’s a cat named Meatpie, a dog named Feelings, another cat named Susan B. Anthony. They used to have a cat named Dirtbike, too, but they speak about it in hushed tones. Who knows. I think that pretty much sums everything up.

mC: There exists the argument that technology is isolating people, yet your Myspace page and blog really display a connectivity between the band and your fans. How do you view the current relationship between technology and music?

JE: I’m a technophile, personally. Probably 'cause I know relatively little about it, so it all seems like a strange infinite dream. Connections to people is perhaps the thing I live most for. Hard to argue that the possibility for connection hasn’t increased, even if we haven’t all figured out the most responsible and loving ways to embrace it yet. We will, tho, we will!

mC: Your line, "We'll burn this bridge when we're over it" has been running through my head for days. It's far more interesting (and uplifting, personally) than the idea of crossing said bridge when we come to it - yes, yes, of course we'll cross it, but we're also going to leave it behind us in ashes. What is your take on people interpreting your lyrics? Do you care that they may get it wrong? Or are you just pleased that they're getting something?

JE: I love interpretation and re-interpretation! I love people taking the proverbial ball and running with it! Go all the way! It's in yr Hands now, right where it should be! That’s [the] idea behind this whole tour.

A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden is out now on United Interests.

"Burn This Bridge" mp3


-J2

Mash-Ups & Covers & What-Have-You

These are by no means new, but creative and still highly enjoyable.

Blondie vs The Doors, "Rapture Riders":


LCD Soundsystem (who killed with Nilsson's "Jump Into The Fire"), doing Joy Division's "No Love Lost":


John Cale (co-founder of The Velvet Underground, thankyouverymuch) covers LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends":



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The Dude Abides

Lebowski Fest hit Chicago this past weekend, and if there is one thing we at middleCoast truly geek out over (other than new music) it's The Big Lebowski. Enjoy some pics:

Next Big Thing Alert: Fleet Foxes

Another Seattle band poised to take the indie scene by storm is Fleet Foxes, recently signed to Sub Pop Records. The quintet's five-song EP, Sun Giant (available here), is remarkably promising and cohesive in and of itself. Self-described as baroque pop, there are obvious comparisons to My Morning Jacket (in a good way - a very good way), both musically and in Robin Pecknold's vocals that are reminiscent of Jim James, to be sure. But Fleet Foxes are most assuredly their own band with their own sound, despite any inevitable comparisons to MMJ, label-mates Band of Horses, or the tinges of Fleetwood Mac that make themselves more apparent in the harmonizing of "Mykonos".

Still digging for more info about these fellas, but this quote from Pecknold is lovely:

"I don’t really know what I’m trying to say with this. It’s not good to romanticize a time of great hardship, hardship I’ve never known and am not conditioned to understand. I’m also not interested in a ‘back to nature’ thing, as nature as it was is gone for the time being and it would take a very big leap of faith and common sense to ignore that. But, music to me is just as awe-bringing as the world maybe once was, and I just love it a lot.”

Couldn't agree more.

On tour now, they'll make their way through Chicago April 6th at Schubas. A full-length LP is due out on Sub Pop this summer. In the meantime, we'll be listening to the 19 minutes of Sun Giant over and over and over...

Here are a couple tracks to entice:

"Drops in the River"



"Mykonos"



Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes.

-J2

New Gnarls Barkley Song, Video

Remember how horrible pop music was just ten years ago, when boy bands and the Macarena and Celine Dion were top of the charts? Thankfully, all that remains a decade later is Justin Timberlake. The new Kings of Pop, Gnarls Barkley (Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse), brought quality back to pop radio in 2006, and their sophomore release, The Odd Couple, is due out April 8th. The first single, "Run", is sure to draw unfair comparisons to "Crazy", but will no doubt hold its own this summer. Check it out (yes, that is JT making a cameo):



-J2

No Gray Area

{J2 reviews The Hives show for UR Chicago.}

A Few Songs About Boozin'

Wednesday is the best day for boozing. Cheers.

Albert Collins, "I Ain't Drunk"


The Magnetic Fields, "Too Drunk To Dream"


Tom Waits, "Jockey Full of Bourbon"


The Pogues, "Fairytale of New York"


-J2

Sending the Four-Star City to the Lone Star State

South by Southwest gets going in Austin later this week, and those in attendance will see some real talent this year from Chicago. If you can't make the trip down south, be sure to stop by The Hideout this Saturday to help make sure that the artists can. Beginning at Noon, bands take to the stage and will continue on for the following 15 hours. In total, 18 bands will perform, and all of the proceeds will be divided up equally between them to help cover transportation costs to the festival. So your $10 admission is really going to a good cause. Like charity, so you can feel good about yourself while you down PBRs. SXSW is sure to bring national attention to these acts, so this is your last chance to be able to say you've seen them back when...

The lineup (as listed by the hosts):
12:00 Sybris
12:45 Apteka
1:30 Cameron McGill
2:15 Mittens on Strings
3:00 JT and the Clouds
3:45 The Hood Internet (DJ STV SLV)
4:30 Hollywood Holt
5:15 Bound Stems
6:00 Make Believe
6:45 Reds and Blue
7:30 Pit Er Pat
8:15 Waco Brothers
9:00 Tight Phantomz
9:45 Killer Whales
10:30 Icy Demons
11:15 Tom Schraeder & His Ego
12:00 Ezra Furman & the Harpoons
12:45 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

-J2

A Message From Juevos

Yo Yo -

What up friends. Today: Friday, February 29th at 9:30pm a good friend of mine, Hum. V, and his group The Cleptoz are performing at Funky Buddha Lounge here in Chitown. Hum. V has been making music for about a decade now and the Cleptoz have been on the Indy scene since '01. They bring quality hip-hop and have opened up for big boys like Kayne, The Roots, Wu-Tang, Twista, Common, Jurrasic 5 and The Clipse. Hum. V is currently in talks with Capitol Records and is hopefully close to signing a deal. He certainly deserves it, it's been a long time coming.

Sooo....if you don't have anything crackalackin on Friday night and wanna see an excellent hip hop show, be sure to stop on by. You won't be disappointed. (PLUS....you may just see yours truly - Sweet Eggz on stage performin' an old track Hum. V and I did together in college...well worth price of admission!!) Check out their music through the websites below.

Please forward this email on to as many peeps as you wish. We plan on packin' this joint! Here are the details:

When: Friday February 29th
Time: 9:30pm - 11:00pm
Where: Funky Buddha Lounge - 728 W. Grand (Grand, Milwaukee, & Halsted) - http://www.funkybuddha.com/
Cover: $12-15 - Normally it is $20 to get into Buddha...so your savin $$$!

Check out Hum. V's website & make friends @:
http://www.myspace.com/humvmusic

Check out The Cleptoz website & make friends @:
http://www.myspace.com/cleptoz

Some articles about them in the press:
http://www.nuvo.net/articles/hum_v,_the_cleptoz,_lazarus,_lynda_sayyah/
http://www.nuvo.net/article.php?title=the_cleptoz_get_back_to_work

Thanks ya'll - see you Friday,
Eggz

Pledge Your Allegiance

KEXP needs our help again. It's the time of year for the Pledge Drive. Click on over to KEXP and give what you can. They are consistently one of the best sources in the US for finding new music of all genres. And they just happen to be one of the few ways to hear music for free without advertising interruptions. So please help keep it that way. This is important.

KEXP Blog

KEXP Playlist (the best in the biz)

KEXP On Demand (Streaming, Live Archives, Podcast)
- mp3: Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, "I'm Not Gonna Cry" Live
- mp3: The Frames, "Devil Town" Live (Daniel Johnston cover)
- mp3: M.I.A., "Paper Planes" Live from KEXP Studios
- mp3: Thurston Moore, "The Shape Is In A Trance" Live
- mp3: The National, "Start A War" Live

Also, they have sweet gifts for people that donate...

-J2

Next Big Thing Alert: These United States

These United States is quite the apt band name for a group that is quintessential Americana. At once the sound of yesteryear and tomorrowland, TUS exist outside of time and outside of the neat little categories in which we music critics live and die. Expect to hear much more about these D.C. musicians from the middleCoast in the coming weeks (a real-life interview to come soon!), but in the meantime, kick back and enjoy a few live tracks. They're debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden, drops next Tuesday, March 4th.

"So High So Low So Wide So Long"


"We Go Down To That Corner"


"Jenni Anne"


See them in Chicago April 3rd at The Hideout.

Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/theseunited.

-J2

The Importance of Swagger

swag·ger
-verb
1. To walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air
2. To brag or boast noisily
-noun
1. Ostentatious display of arrogance and conceit

Generally associated with hip hop and athletes (read: black people), the term Swagger contains either a positive or negative connotation depending on your point of view. If you're a basketball fan disillusioned with the NBA, Allen Iverson is the poster child for everything wrong with swagger. God forbid you mention practice in the presence of The Answer. But the flip side of that coin is that without his swagger, the six-foot-nuthin' baller would never have become one of the most prolific and consistent scorers in the history of the game. Certainly talent is what it is, but perception is reality - the more AI believes in himself and the more he projects that confidence-cum-arrogance, the more his competitors believe it too. Next thing you know, the one-time Slam Dunk Champ, Vince Carter, doesn't even attempt to block the six-inch-shorter Iverson's dunk.

The same holds true for music - especially hip hop (but also rock, which we'll get to in a sec). There are the pros and cons (so to speak), but it is virtually impossible for a hip hop artist to become a huge star without first telling everyone listening what a huge star he is. Whether your braggadocio is related to how much street cred you deserve - in the amount of blow you used to sell (Biggie, Clipse, etc), how many times you've been shot (50 Cent), how straight ghetto you are (Wu-Tang) - or simply to laying claim that you're the greatest rapper alive (Jay-Z, Lil' Wayne), the industry is based on swagger. As a result, artists with mediocre talent can become enormously popular (T.I.), while an artist like Black Thought - arguably the greatest MC to walk the earth - will never reach that status. Swagger alone can automatically demand respect.

But look at the career of Kanye West: once just a good producer that couldn't even get a record contract as a rapper (because he was thought of as just a good producer), he's now a Grammy-winning recording artist with three of the highest-selling hip hop albums of all time. It was his unflappable belief in himself that launched him from fine print to top billing, but it was when that self-belief took on an arrogant, narcissistic tone (aka, swagger), that he truly became a superstar.

Kanye West Joins Daft Punk Aboard Their Spaceship

As I mentioned at the start, there is a certain amount of latent racism at play here. Swagger has existed in rock 'n roll from the very beginning; from Elvis Presley to Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop to Jim Morrison, it was swagger that made rock 'n roll the fear-inducing beast it became in the 50s and 60s. The fear that these icons caused, however, was due in large part to the type of music they were playing - the "devil's music" was really just appropriated Blues (i.e., black music). And the more fearless an artist, the more fear they induced, and, simultaneously, the bigger a rock star they became. Censored by all forms of mainstream media, it was their swagger that convinced them to persist, and convinced fans that they should pay attention despite - or in spite of - that censorship.

Beyond lyrics and beats, swagger extends to how you carry yourself. From the chains around your tattooed neck to the coke-white sneakers on your feet, your appearance defines your swagger too. Commonly referred to as Image, your aesthetic, and that of those you surround yourself with (be it entourage or posse), is an essential element in the music business. In the early days it was Elvis' pelvic thrusts and Jagger's pouty-lipped strut; but it is hip hop that took swagger to the next level. LL Cool J, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Tupac, UGK, Dr Dre - these are the artists that established swagger without saying a word. More importantly, though, they established swagger as a marketable tool, and made it synonymous with hip hop itself.

Clearly not all musicians are interested in becoming superstars, and many superstars achieve that status without eternal boasting. Today, the term swagger stretches beyond Webster's abridged version, and beyond hip hop. Whether conscious of it or not, the Arcade Fire have swagger - not because of self-aggrandizement, but because of a certain self-importance that sidesteps bragging. They refuse to sell any of their songs for commercial use, they write grandiose orchestrations full of political dissension, and their sheer presence - at least seven members all dressed in Amish-like outfits - make them something bigger than the sum of their parts. And that too is swagger, and that too is why they have become the entity they are today.

So let's add one for Webster's:

swag·ger
-noun
2. Indelible quality that advances the rocker to the Rock Star, the MC to the Superstar.

-J2

Strange Bedfellows

MiddleCoast fave Danger Mouse is actually a real-life superhero, making the world a better place. After producing some of the best albums in the past five years (see: The Grey Album, Demon Days, The Good The Bad & The Queen, St. Elsewhere), not to mention pulling one of the best pranks ever in 2006, Mouse is still at it. He teams up with Cee-Lo once again (hallelujah) with a new Gnarls Barkley release, The Odd Couple (due out in April); he's produced the newest from Martina Topley-Bird (of Tricky's Maxinquaye fame), entitled The Blue God; and perhaps the most interesting pairing is with Ohio garage-rockers, the Black Keys.

As the story goes, Danger Mouse was planning an album for Ike Turner, a fallen idol he'd hoped to return to his rightful glory. Mouse and Ike had employed the Keys to write the songs (it was to be billed as Ike Turner & the Black Keys), Mouse would produce, and Ike would sing, as well as play guitar, organ, and piano. When Turner passed away last December, the songs the Keys had written simply became the basis for their own new album, and Danger Mouse stayed on to produce Attack & Release (due out April 1st on Nonesuch).

The first single, "Strange Times", is evidence that the pairing worked, giving the middleCoast our favorite song of the year thus far. The minimalist blues-rock of the Keys, which owes so much to Turner's career, gets infused with the sound of soul that Danger Mouse has brought to all of his rock 'n roll projects. Here is a sneak peek:



The Black Keys hit Chicago April 12th at The Riv.

Make more friends at:
http://www.myspace.com/theblackkeys
http://www.myspace.com/martinatopleybird
http://www.myspace.com/gnarlsbarkley

-J2

Weekend Roundup

It's a good weekend to live in Chicago (despite the sub-arctic temperatures, of course). Aside from Wilco's winter residency at The Riv, this weekend also sees Iron and Wine performing in the Edman Chapel at Wheaton College, Super Furry Animals at The Metro, and Holy Fuck at Schubas (with A Place to Bury Strangers opening).

A few highlights to entice:

Wilco, "What Light"


Iron and Wine, "Boy With a Coin"


Super Furry Animals, "Run-Away"


Holy Fuck, "Lovely Allen"



Make lots of friends:
http://www.myspace.com/wilco
http://www.myspace.com/ironandwine
http://www.myspace.com/superfurry
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck

-J2

Monkeys & Robots

Kool Kid New Yorkers already know about these guys, but we in the Middle are just now getting word about electro-rock-opera connoisseurs, Apes & Androids. Described by another (an aforementioned NYC Kool Kid that has had the opportunity of seeing A&A live) as "David Bowie meets 'Bohemian Rhapsody' meets Godspell meets Tron", the Brooklyn-based quintet released their first full length, Blood Moon, last month. The Queen and Bowie comparisons are impressive - and justified - but it is their live show that is getting all the attention. Sparing no expense, Apes & Androids goes the theatrical, Spinal Tap route, complete with hanging skulls staring at the crowd with blazing red eyes, intergalactic make-up adorning their faces, and costumes perhaps stolen from the original Logan's Run. For example:

For a taste of their sound, here is their music video for "Radio":



Hopefully they'll be making their way to Chicago soon.

Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/apesandandroids.

-J2

Music and Politics, Pt 2

Last week we posted the inspiring video for Barack Obama entitled "Yes We Can" (watch it here). Well, assuming he knocks off Hillary, his presumed republican counterpart will be John McCain, who has a similar video:



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Free Is the Best Price for Things

We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol 3: The Spirit of Competition (We Just Think We Better)

While it is still to be determined what impact artists (such as Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and now Pearl Jam) giving their album album away for free online will have on the record industry, there are still more and more artists following that path. Hip Hop has always thrived on the mixtape (free today to get cheddah tomorrow), and while Lil' Wayne may be most prolific, it's Clipse that make it an art form. Not surprisingly, over tracks once belonging to Kanye ("Good Morning"), Jay-Z ("Roc Boys"), Obie Trice ("Cry Now"), and others on this latest collection, Pusha T and Malice inform us that they did, in fact, deal drugs in the past. That they can essentially repeat this notion over and over (see: We Got It 4 Cheap Vols I-II, Lord Willin', Hell Hath No Fury) and still drop lines that make the whitest boy in the room say, 'Cot Damn', is evidence that these mixtapes are not simply thrown together on a whim. The Clipse are as much poets as they were ever pushers, and each line they drop is clearly accounted for as thoroughly as each key they sold.

Witness Pusha spitting fire (from "Re-Up Gang Intro"):
"No mentions of the best without mentionin' the 4
The tales of movin' powder like the Yeti's the allure.
The writers scream more yet they don't run to the store
With all this money in the streets to write a verse is like a chore.
Ignore the lies that they tell
Under my cuticle proof the pos' that I sell.
Guess life in jail's just a manicure away
Well I don't feel like gettin' my nails done today."

The spirit of competition has Malice not wanting to be outdone by his partner. And so (on "Cry Now"):
"We the R-E-U-P Gang, that's us brah
Yes I said Gang although it's a faux pas
Funnelin' the cane, how we do is not folklore
Bitch in Vera Wang, and the kid's got gold card
Cook the heroin till it's black like Bopa
Ill with the composition, I'm Mozart
You don't want this fig' to start spittin' so don't start
Not to mention I'm everywhere like Gold Starr
Prolific like W.E.B. Dubois
Seventeen in a nickel 'n I'll fuck witcha boy"

Oh, did we mention that the Gang is giving the whole album away for free? When have you ever been able to re-up for free? Go get it here.

If you need to feed the monkey, here is the mp3 for "Cry Now":

Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/clipse.

-J2

Music & Movies

Generally speaking, the movie musical is a painful experience. Watching a character break into song when it makes absolutely no sense to do so is almost embarrassing to watch - embarrassing for the actors. Very few movie musicals have managed to pull it off without cringe-worthy numbers, and usually they must be set in some space and time foreign to modern viewers (see: Singin' in the Rain, Grease: Parts I & II). For a movie musical to be set in contemporary society with realistic characters is a gamble, but we certainly get lucky with Dubliner John Carney's award-nominated 2007 film, Once.

A musical about musicians - there's a novel idea. Characters breaking into song when the context is, specifically, breaking into song. The fact that the songs themselves are gorgeous and consuming compositions, though, are what truly set the film apart. Glen Hansard, lead singer for Irish indie rockers, The Frames, is the main character of this tale of difficult love, and it's almost exclusively Hansard and The Frames' music that comprises the soundtrack. The plain beauty of Czech-born female lead, Markéta Irglová, is made far more enchanting upon hearing her lovely voice harmonizing perfectly with Hansard.

Now why can't Hollywood figure out how to make love stories like this one?

Enjoy a few clips from the film, but put it in your Netflix queue immediately.





-J2

The Cynicism Test, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love a Politician

When was the last time you were truly inspired by someone? I'll let you think of an answer....

Now when was the last time you were truly inspired by a politician? If you're under the age of 30, odds are the answer to that question is Never. Well here's your test, fellow cynics: bear with the slow beginning of this video of middleCoast-endorsed Barack Obama from last night's speech until the final two minutes or so, and if you don't get the chills then your cynicism has gotten out of hand and you should go watch E.T. or something.



Please vote.

New Music Tuesday

We at middleCoast have a bit of a soft spot for one-hit wonders that keep us wondering over the years. Cool kids and dweebs alike loved Nada Surf's 1996 hit, "Popular", in all its ironic glory. Well with twelve years and three albums gone by since, the trio shakes any hint of that one-hit wonder status with their newest effort, Lucky, released today on Barsuk. With a sound reminiscent of The Jayhawks or label-mates Death Cab for Cutie, maturity sounds good on Nada Surf. With an album title like Lucky, it seems a given that you'll hear some upbeat, life-affirming jams, which we certainly get with "From Now On" and "Whose Authority". But since Nada Surf happen to make some of the best saccharine indie rock out there, they also give us the sweet melancholy of "See These Bones", "Are You Lightning?" and "The Film Did Not Go 'Round". Somewhere in the middle this combination results with an overall tone recalling The Eels, and it just sounds good. Plain and simple.

Nada Surf make their way through the Middle in Chicago April 4th at The Metro (label-mates What Made Milwaukee Famous opens).

Enjoy "Whose Authority":


Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/nadasurf.

-jT

Music and Politics

Normally we at middleCoast only muster a mild annoyance at celebrities getting involved in politics. However, this is actually rather inspiring (assuming there is a greater ratio of celebrities-you-like to celebrities-you-hate represented here).

So yes The middleCoast is officially endorsing Barack Obama. Deal with it:


http://www.barackobama.com/

-jT

Music For Peasants

We are most certainly living in a golden - or maybe platinum - era of new music. And god bless the internet gods for allowing us such easy access to it.

New mC fave of the day is Welsh sextet Los Campesinos! - another stellar artist on Wichita Recordings. With their debut LP, Hold On Now, Younster..., set to drop at the end of the month, these peasants are poised to become britpop royalty. Sounding like a punk version of Stars, the mixed gender vocal interplay over the pulsing drum beat and various guitars/keyboards/strings/glockenspiel/bass/horns accompaniment, Campesinos! are what fun sounds like. Simple as that. If they didn't have the hap-happiest damn time making music together then they are brilliant actors. With song titles like "We Are All Accelerated Readers" and "This Is How You Spell 'HAHAHA, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams of A Generation of Faux-Romantics'", a sense of humor (or should we say 'humour') is self-evident.

Released as a single last summer, "You! Me! Dancing!" combines a Ted Leo-esque riff with the dance-pop enthusiasm of The Go! Team to create a wholly enjoyable tune. If you're not dancing halfway through - or at least tapping your foot and bobbing your head - then go see a doctor and get help.



Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/loscampesinos.

-jT

Schubas Is the Place to Be in February

Four of the best indie bands in the country will be performing over two nights at Schubas in February. Due to such high demand, they added a second show on February 8th for Next Big Things MGMT and Yeasayer (sorry - both shows already sold out). The very next night brings in Tulsa, opening for The Whigs, both remarkably talented bands with plenty of promise.

Hailing from Boston, Tulsa is a trio of east-coasters that sound more like they really are from Okie Country, recalling the southern-tinged psych-rock of My Morning Jacket or Kings of Leon. Releasing two critically acclaimed seven-song EPs in 2007, and hitting the studio with the likes of producers Phil Ek (Band of Horses) and David Newfield (Broken Social Scene), mean that a 2008 debut LP will be highly anticipated and almost certainly well-received.

Check out "Breath Thin" from I Was Submerged, broadcast earlier this week as a KEXP Song of the Day:

Tulsa - Breath Thin

Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/tulsamusic.


Headlining on the 9th are The Whigs, who just released their first album in four years, Mission Control, one week ago. There is good reason for some comparison to fellow ATO Records mates, My Morning Jacket and Gomez, as well as the ever-present alt-country influences of Sun Volt and (early) Wilco. Comparisons aside, though, these guys bring plenty of their own Athens, GA flavor to the table, and the live show is sure to be a treat.

Here they are on Letterman a few nights ago:


Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/thewhigs.

-jT

Posts From Other Coasts: Next Big Thing Alert!

Seattle quintet The Hands don't yet have plans on touring the Middle, but if you listen closely you should still be able to hear them. Described by another writer more clever than I: The Hands are like The Strokes - if The Strokes were lumberjacks instead of silver spoon-fed rich kids that went to boarding school. Their 2006 EP So Sweet contained seven songs of gut-wrenching garage rock of the Stones-meets-Sonics variety. Their self-titled debut LP (released through Selector Sound, February 19th) promises a bit more complex compositions, but plenty of the plain and simple Rawk, with ten new tracks and two re-recorded faves from the EP.

Check out the mp3 for "Lies Lies Lies", one of the two re-recorded tracks:



Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/handshandshands.

-jT

Favorite Websites of the Day

So if you need to take a smoke break but you're trying to quit, or maybe you don't like standing still in negative-25 degree windchills, but you need to kill seven minutes to get away from whatever other mundane shit is going on, then peruse one or both of these enjoyable websites, sure to bring a smile to your face.

Sleeveface describes itself simply as: "one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion." And it is simply a collection of just that. Now maybe that sounds like some dorky shit your dad did on vacations, but witness the evidence of the skilled photography that is http://www.sleeveface.com:

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The other fantastic murderer of time requires speakers and a bit of patience (it takes a minute to load). But at http://rorrimkcalb.com/arcadefire.html you get to play producer and remix your own version of Arcade Fire's "Black Mirror". The mysterious video accompaniment manages to work well with whatever version your sick mind comes up with. We highly recommend killing the drum beat for the final 30 seconds at least - absolutely beautiful. Have fun.

And if you don't feel like getting creative, here's the official music video for the song:



-jT

New Music Tuesday

Sometimes Tuesdays feel like Christmas. With all the anticipation and build-up of what's inside that strangely-shaped box wrapped with that giant red bow, opening the present either results in massive disappointment or utmost exultation. And so occasionally the music industry's designated day for new album releases carries with it that same excitement and anxiety, specifically when a highly-touted new act with previously leaked tracks finally gives us their first full-length.

For months we've been teased with the same two or three tracks from Next Big Thing Vampire Weekend. Well today their self-titled debut finally dropped, and it truly is a gift. With a throw-back sound recalling Peter Bjorn & John, the NYC quartet moves quickly through each track (the whole album is a brief 35 minutes) of post-new wave pop. Perhaps it is simply that each song is only two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minutes long, but not a single one dissatisfies. "A-Punk" may be the preppiest punk ballad ever, but it may also be the most accessible and enjoyable, and "I Stand Corrected" is a pleasant admittance of wrongdoing that denies refusal of forgiveness. Added to previously released/leaked "Mansard Roof", "Oxford Comma", and "Walcott" - each duly creating the aforementioned hype - this is a most promising debut. Let's hope they get to the middleCoast soon. In the meantime, enjoy the mp3 for "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", the reason for all the Paul Simon comparisons:



Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend.

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Joining in the gift-giving this holly Tuesday are Portland duo The Helio Sequence, with their fourth release (their second for Sub Pop), Keep Your Eyes Ahead. These indie rockers have always been masters of creating atmosphere, and the soaring guitars and ethereal vocals on "The Captive Mind" and title track "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" continue that virtuosity. What Helio Sequence manages to pull off on this most recent LP, though, is to evoke shades of (dare we say it?) Bob Dylan. "Shed Your Love" is gorgeous melancholy, a tale of love lost and the self found. Finale "No Regrets" has all the country thump and lo-fi production of a Guthrie-cum-Zimmy track, harmonica and all. The two styles combine for cultivated collection of truly endearing dream pop.

Unfortunately, the closest these fellas are planning on getting to the middleCoast is Denver, so you can check out their live performance from today's KEXP broadcast here, or enjoy the mp3 for "Lately" here:



Make friends at http://www.myspace.com/theheliosequence.

-jT