December 2007

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Over the Weekend, 12/28-12/31

Filed under: Over the Weekend

The calendar is kind to the party-minded this year, on the cusp of 2008. A long weekend of music began Friday night, carried through yesterday evening ... and now it's New Year's Eve. As you rest up for tonight and prepare to swear off drinking forever (again, and not until morning), check out a few dispatches from events of the past three days.

Conor Oberst and his Not-Bright-Eyes Band

Contrary to the rumors, Portland's M. Ward was not part of the new band Conor Oberst brought to 400 Bar for two shows Saturday and Sunday. But the prolific practitioner of indie rock still packed the house for two concerts, though they were shrouded in mystery -- he wouldn't answer questions about what type of backing band he'd have, and would only say that it wouldn't be a Bright Eyes show. And it wasn't, as his group played 10 new songs before "covering" three from the Bright Eyes canon. See the slideshow with photos by Daniel Corrigan.

Mothership Connection: DJ ESP at the Foundation

Seminal electronica figure DJ ESP (Woody McBride) stopped in Minneapolis during his "I was abducted by aliens" tour on Friday night. Prominent in the early 1990s Twin Cities music scene, ESP dropped beats for a particular purpose. "My job is to remove the 'False Self' from the party-goers ... and then apply a thick layer of psychic salve directly to the hair, ears, eyes and skin," he says.

Daniel Corrigan was there from set-up and sound check through the entire show. See DJ-perspective photos of the show by Corrigan here.

On the topic of that venue: Tonight is the last night the club will be open for some time, so if you're a Foundation-goer, check it out.

She Blinded Me With Science: A Day in Pompeii

It's now the final week of the Science Museum of Minnesota's "A Day in Pompeii" exhibit, and your intrepid correspondent dutifully attended.

The verdict: well worth the $20 admission fee. Artifacts -- including food, like an ancient bread loaf, to accompany furniture, coins and other accoutrements -- are worth the price of admission alone. The exhibit's true power lies in the fascinatingly morbid plaster casts of people in their death throes. The things are full-on creepy (especially the one of a manacled slave), but it was the replica of a faithful dog left behind to guard a villa that really got to me.

The exhibit runs through Jan. 6. Reservations in advance are strongly encouraged.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 31, 2007 7:41 AM | Comments (0)

 

My Top 10 albums of 2007

Filed under: Music

Let's get one thing straight right out the gate: these are my favorite releases from 2007. The list below reflects nothing more than personal taste.

My feeling is, if you try to represent that your list makes up the quote, "Best Music of 2007," unquote, then you end up with problematic entities like the Onion AV Club's list or the amalgam of NPR lists, which purport to be objective but fall victim to the same vagaries of individual preference that every other list does.

(Onion people, are you seriously trying to tell America that not a single hip-hop record is among the Top 25 Best CDs of 2007? See, this is the problem with flagging a list as "Best Of" anything. Music's subjective, and that's fine. This is Stuff You Like. If you're a lily-white indie rock nerd, you're probably not digging on UGK. If you're a devotee of Norse black metal, you probably don't see the big deal about Radiohead. So it goes.)

None of that "objectivity" here. Other than the overarching this-is-stuff-I-like rule, I had a few other guidelines. First, only music actually released for the first time in 2007 is eligible. Charles Mingus is still really great and Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" is a classic landmark that listens well even today. Those are old records that were re-released, so they don't make the list. Also, I'm not going to make you endure my thoughts on any obscure free jazz or Japanese noise bands I was listening to just to show you that see, I listen to music you've never heard of. No one cares, not even me.

A bunch of my favorite bands (Wilco, The Weakerthans) released material that just missed this list. Why? In terms of Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky," I liked but didn't love it, and found it less interesting than the group's more experimental releases. The Weakerthans' "Reunion Tour" came out late in the year, and just hasn't had time to grow on me, as John K. Samson's story-songs inevitably do. I also feel plain awful leaving Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings off this list, but I didn't know where to slot, them, so ... I'll just say "you should really buy that record." You won't be sorry.

These are the releases that have already crawled their way inside my skin.

10. Busdriver, "Roadkill Overcoat"

The post-rap whiz kid is back with the most innovative, genre-busting record of the year. Okay, that title might well be applied to the M.I.A. record, but Busdriver's album is the most innovative, genre-busting record that actually sounds good. Less immediately accessible than "Temporary Forever" and "Fear of a Black Tangent," "Roadkill Overcoat" is more sonically adventurous than either.

9. Andrew Bird, "Armchair Apocrypha"

Just when you thought indie pop's boundaries had been stretched far enough that any further expansion would result in its metaphorical bursting, along comes a new Andrew Bird album. OK, maybe you didn't think that about indie pop, but I did. "Heretics" is one of the year's most intriguing and challenging songs, and -- this is a high compliment -- it is impossible to be bored listening to this album.

8. Okkervil River

Will Sheff writes songs that are more like stories, which is especially evident on the Okkervil's older effort “Black Sheep Boy.” So it's no surprise to see him turn the band into a literary conceit for “The Stage Names,” and it's almost expected that literary allusions will creep into the tunes. In a way, this makes him a slightly gentler Craig Finn, since both men have even written songs about John Berryman (“John Allyn Smith Sails” is an exquisite offering from Sheff). This album marks a step forward for Okkervil, making songs more tuneful and upbeat while maintaining the captivating lyrical qualities evident in albums past.

7. New Pornographers, "Challengers"

There's something for everyone on this record – four vocalists are on display, including the inimitable Neko Case – and though that same quality might engender a too-many-cooks feel if the members were less talented, that doesn't happen here. Also, Pitchfork didn't like it, so you know it's awesome.

6. Aesop Rock, "None Shall Pass"

Remarkably, isn't making any best-of lists, hip-hop or otherwise. Why? Because people that hated the too-far-out-there "Bazooka Tooth" continue to sleep on the new disc? Because nerd rap has found other darlings? How about because the world has gone insane, that is why. Because a world where the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle collaborating with one of rap's most interesting lyricists does not immediately catapult a release into the top 25 is a world of madness.

5. Of Montreal, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"

One of my close friends saw Of Montreal tour behind this record, and says that show was a disaster. Kevin Barnes was more concerned with playing David Bowie via costume changes than he was with singing, and the year in Norway seemed to have driven him (even more) batty. That's unfortunate, because this is a tremendous album, catchy and light with a dark edge. “Hissing Fauna” proves you can rock with a high voice and a drum machine, and sing lyrics like “I spent the year on a verge of a total breakdown while living in Norway” while people hum along. It also includes possibly the year's hookiest pop song, "Heimdalsgate as a Promethean Curse," which you may know not by that silly, overwrought name, but as "that Chemic-uh-oh-oalls" song. If you don't know it, here, and you're welcome:

[Also: Best. Video. Ever. Never lose the costumes, Kevin.]

4. Brother Ali, "The Undisputed Truth."

Look, I'm not going to go all KEXP-of-Seattle on you and just start kissing local butt. If this record was bad, I'd say so. If it was mediocre, I'd leave it off the list. But this is an explosive record, at turns emotional, introspective, full of anger and hope, with technically masterful rhymes and expertly-tailored beats. Confessional, political and eminently listenable. On repeat.

[Back on that KEXP note: look, I've lived on the West Coast most of my life. I like the Blue Scholars a lot. I like Lifesavas a bit, too. Unless you're Geologic's mom or drove Vursatyl's school bus growing up or something, Top 10 Hip-Hop Records of the Year territory is a bit much. Actually, a lot much. And yeah yeah yeah, there are two MSP bands on this list, so I'm almost as much a homer. KEXP can sue me if they want. I've got a good lawyer.]

3. Saul Williams: “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust”

A lot of people hate on this record. Do not listen to those people. We have a word in English for them: "wrong." Yeah, the title is a sophomoric play on words. Sure, you may prefer Saul's spoken word or Trent Reznor (who helped produce) in Nine Inch Nails. You may even think it's unacceptable to cover "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Do yourself a favor and put that aside, because I think if you just listen to this two or three times, you will hear that rarest of qualities: the truly unexpected.

2. Stars, "In Our Bedroom After the War."

If you bought this record expecting "Set Yourself on Fire," you might have been disappointed. If you viewed this disc on its own merits, you were likely blown away. Incredible vocal work from Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan here, and while the album might or might not be as strong top-to-bottom as Stars' previous triumph (apples, oranges, cross-apply above analysis), the high points of this disc are among 2007's finest musical moments. This includes my favorite song of the year, the title track. The choral last minute, where the strings hit, is utterly transcendent and represents one of the reasons I listen to music at all.

1. Cloud Cult, "The Meaning of 8"

That's right, it's a local band. Regret it? Nope. Said it? Yep. The songs are stellar, surrounding you with cello, trumpet and flute to accompany the traditional rock instruments. Craig Minowa's unique voice is the perfect vehicle to deliver lyrics that are at times simple -- but often it is this quality that lends them their potency, as with the single “Chemicals Collide”. Thematically organized and replete with peculiar characters (the deaf girl; the Alien Christ), “The Meaning of 8” rewards repeated listens. That's why it's No. 1, and that's why it's glued inside my iPod with authority.

There's one man's opinion. What's yours?

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 28, 2007 12:00 PM | Comments (10)

 

Five Songs About ... The New Year

Filed under: 5 Songs About

Ah, the New Year. Time of transformation, time of bubbly-spawned magic, time of awkward passes and resolutions you mean at the time. While you're preparing for the long sled ride down Hangover Hill, here's some topical listening material.

5. Death Cab for Cutie, "The New Year"
"So this is the New Year ... and I don't feel any different." Who among us cannot identify with these sentiments? The ennui associated with arbitrary calendar-flippage? We've all been there at one point, and this captures one aspect of the nouvelle annee experience: sitting around and waiting for life to start. Some years are like this, running in place while holding a drink. Try not to spill.

4. The Zombies, "This Will Be Our Year"
A delicious pop nugget from decades past, this track isn't explicitly about the New Year, but about starting a new romantic relationship with an old friend. The words I'm looking for to describe it are "thoroughly charming." Share it with someone you love -- or ensure that it's playing when a longtime pal you have a crush on walks by. More recently, OK Go covered this song, and that version is also well worth listening to. You can find it here. But I think the video below, with decades-old footage of somebody's parents shot with a Super 8, fits the tune's feel.

3. Asobi Seksu, "New Years"
About a metaphorical rather than literal New Year, this song (which you can hear streaming here) is the finest track from one of 2006's best albums. Yeah, its almost all in Japanese. Yeah, you'll enjoy it anyway, even if you don't speak the language. You can see people wrestling with the tune's English meaning here.

2. ABBA, "Happy New Year"
You cannot go wrong with ABBA. It is an immutable law of physics. So when you get them all together around a piano, singing out a blessing for the annum to come, you feel it, you believe them, even if you keep waiting for the chorus to be "Happy New Year, Happy New Year -- may we all have a beer." Go on, listen, and tell me that wouldn't be perfect.

1. The Dismemberment Plan, "The Ice of Boston"
We started with the paralyzing effects of the New Year, and now we move to flip side -- being drunk in a hotel room far from home, and you end up covered in booze, naked, exposing yourself inadvertently to two million strangers.

What, hasn't that happened to anyone else? "Pop open a bottle of bubbly … yeah, here’s to another goddamn New Year." Indeed, Dismemberment Plan. Indeed.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 28, 2007 5:10 AM | Comments (2)

 

Anti-Semitism Vs. Criticizing Israel

Filed under: 3 Questions

Cecilie Surasky is no stranger to being misunderstood, having her faith questioned, and giving the world her two cents. The Philadelphia native was raised in the city of brotherly love, and now she’s in the business of joining two seemingly irreconcilable peoples by stopping historically unchecked hatred and some of the worst violence human beings have committed.

Surasky is the director of communications for Jewish Voice for Peace, a San Francisco organization that calls for (gasp!) both Israeli and Palestinian concessions in order to bring about long-term peace. As often happens to those willing to compromise, Surasky and Jewish Voice for Peace are often the target of organizations and individuals with unyielding opinions on violence, sovereignty, and religion. But she weathers the criticism for what she considers the ultimate cause. “It's like the biggest topic ever!” she says of the conflict. On Thursday Surasky will bring her and JVP’s call for peace to Macalester College with a speech titled “Silencing Peacemakers in the Middle East: Anti-Semitism Vs. Criticizing Israel.”

CP: What was it about St. Thomas University’s canceling Desmond Tutu’s speech that made you so angry, that prompted you to take action?

Cecilie Surasky: There are a couple of things. Certainly Archbishop Desmond Tutu is one of the great peacemakers of our time, bar none. And he’s certainly been outspoken on human rights. The idea that he was being banned from campus and being called anti-Semitic for saying things that were documented by international human rights organizations and Israeli human rights organizations was an outrage. And it was further upsetting that there was no campaign from the Jewish community to have him banned from the university. It seemed that University of St. Thomas Fr. Dennis President Dease took this action to preemptively censor him. But the message people got was that Jews even want Tutu off campus. So that was also upsetting. In the end it actually creates more anti-Semitism and it diminishes the chances for peace to bar peacemakers from dialogue. We absolutely support dialogue, but part of what’s happening isn’t barring people and calling people anti-Semites. They’re people we desperately need to help move the peace process. And those are the people being attacked and called anti-Semites. The other piece of it is that one of the primary pieces of evidence used to condemn Archbishop Tutu was a lie. He was smeared. He was quoted as comparing Israel to Hitler and we knew that was wrong, we knew that it came from the head of a Zionist association, and we knew he never said that. And it appeared over and over again as proof that he was an anti-Semite. It’s stunning to see how this happens, but it does.

CP: What is the single action that the U.S, Palestinians or Israelis could take that would lead to increased peace?

CS: We believe that if the US suspended our military aid of three billion a year until Israel ended its occupation, that would give us the leverage for Israel to back out. Israel should just pull out to its 1967 borders. I don’t think people realize that they’re just building colonies, houses on land that isn’t theirs. It’s astounding. Imagine somebody building a walled fortress with green lawns and sometime swimming pools on your family farm. And there is nothing they can do about it. There is no compensation for people. And the Israelis are not just taking your land--they’re taking your water. The very first thing, no question, is to stop launching Quassam rockets outside of Gaza. That is their primary mechanism for terrorizing Israelis. And I would just say put a ban on killing and harming civilians for both Palestinians and Israelis. The JVP is filled with rabbis, orthodox Jews, former Israeli military--we are from the same family, the same communities, and we might have sat next to them at the same Seder. We are in every single family already, I know it.

CP: Your speech is titled “Silencing Peacemakers in the Middle East: Anti-Semitism Vs. Criticizing Israel.” Explain that a little bit. Do people confuse Jewish Voice for Peace’s stances with anti-Semitism?

CS: Most people when we get out to talk about a just and lasting peace get it. They say ‘Look, Israel is a state like the United States is a state, and they have to abide by certain laws and certain behavior.’ It’s a relatively small group and loose network that call themselves the pro-Israel lobby which is a misnomer. This is a conflict about land, and both sides need to make concessions. They think the best way to support Israel is to make sure they make no concessions. And you see this happening time and time again. There are efforts to torpedo diplomatic relations. They say this is a terrible thing for Israel. And what they’re doing is dooming Israelis and Palestinians to another hundred years of fighting. Many Israelis understand this. So what happens is this charge of ant-Semitism is used to silence people who are working for peace. This happens to people who see that it’s impossible to have a peace based on checkpoints and assassinations. You can not have peace based on that. You can’t bring peace through total submission from military domination--which is what’s happening now. So when people like Tutu and Jimmy Carter speak up about this, they level charges that you’re an anti-Semite, that you’re a self-hating Jew, you’re a terrorist. You hear these things time and time again, and they’re doing Jews a great disservice because they’ve cheapened the charge. It’s the boy who cried wolf. There’s a fear that the charge has been cheapened. There are anti-Semites out there, and it is an issue. And it makes it impossible to deal with it when you open your mouth and are called an anti-Semite. Polls show that most American Jews want concessions on both sides. What is equally pernicious is the campaign to demonize Muslims. The people we should support, who want a pluralistic society and moderate Islam--even those people are being demonized because this battle over there has been brought here to the United States. There’s this fear that any Muslim or Arab is a terrorist, and that’s dangerous. Having a difference of opinions, that’s the American way, and it’s the Israeli way. But silencing dialogue is not.

CP: What does the American Jewish population at large think of JVP? Do they see you as something of a traitor, or are you seeing more and more American Jews wanting political changes similar to those JVP is calling for?

CS: If you followed us by what American Israeli Public Affairs Committee and other groups show us to be, you’d think American Jews wanted to go to war in Iraq, and want to bomb Iran. We’re the largest religious group to oppose the War in Iraq--70 percent of Jews opposed it. A plurality of American Jews say we need to make concessions. There is a huge chasm between what American Jews think and what those who say they represent them. It’s a terrible thing that with some people, especially older generations, even saying ‘Palestinian’ or acknowledging that they exist is very emotional. I have spent time with people of every stripe politically, and we can get to a certain place politically where we agree. Nobody wants Israel to be at war forever. People think they’ve been fighting forever, but it’s a conflict over a piece of land. And that’s why it can be resolved. It has taken on religious overtones, no question, but that’s not what it’s about at the root. Yes, it’s uphill battle because it’s such an emotional issue. And JVP is growing, it used to be all-volunteer, and there are other peace groups too that are growing.

CP:Are you hopeful about the new peace talks that just started, or will this amount to one more half-hearted attempt that ultimately will be meaningless?

CS:Well, it’s absolutely easy to assume that it will fail. That’s why those of us that are deeply committed to real peace not just in name only that exploits people, have to do what we can to support it. It’s too early to say. Palestinians have been waiting generations to get out refugee camps, and Israelis have been waiting generations for some kind of sense of peace and an ability to live their lives. So we have no choice but to continue on. Yes, we have many reasons to be cynical--younger Jews are even more willing to make concessions. Our parents and grandparents’ generations have a lot of trauma, as we all do. We have fear from our experiences, and the idea of making concessions is terrifying. Younger Jews, across the board, show significant generational shifts happening. Younger Jews are much more interested in a peace that allows Palestinians to be self-determining as well as the Israelis. I am extremely hopeful about that, it’s changing and will change. It’s a big year. People are talking about negotiations, and that’s good. That’s better than when they’re not. This is our year. I would say it’s an opportunity.

CP: What do you think Americans on the whole don’t understand about the fighting in Israel? What’s the point that we just miss? Or what is the press not telling us?

CS: The no. 1 myth is that people believe that Muslims and Jews have been fighting for thousands of years--nothing could be further from the truth. What they don’t understand is that Israel is occupying land that is in a conflict. In 1967, they got it, they took possession of it, and it’s much more land that the UN charter gave them. They know they can’t annex it--they can’t legally just take it. If they took it, they’d have to give Palestinians legal rights, and they don’t want to do that because they fear they would lose the Jewish character. They’d rather have the Palestinians leave. They’ve made life there increasingly unbearable. They can come in at any time and take your home while you’re standing there screaming with your children. They have checkpoints not for safety but to make life miserable. We hear about this wall on the de facto border, which isn’t real because Israel hasn’t declared its borders. But it’s not built on the border--parts of it are built on Palestinian land, keeping some people from their own farmland. Americans know people are fighting, but they don’t realize that it’s essentially about stolen land. If people did one thing to educate themselves, they should read an Israeli newspaper for a week, read the Haaretz, it’s like the New York Times of Israel. You would be stunned to read what people openly talk about. Read it everyday for a week, and you will never see this conflict in the same way. You will feel betrayed. The American media only lets us know that people are fighting, not why. The good news is that this is not a conflict about religion; it’s about land. And if you realize that it’s about land, you realize there is a resolution. This will not go on forever.

CP: Are you optimistic that there will be peace in the region within ten years, or will it take longer? How much longer?

CS: I can’t say. Things happen overnight as we’ve learned in. In South Africa, we learned that things happen overnight, but as we also learned in South Africa, changes take decades. It’s typically American for us to get excited for a few years, and if it doesn’t happen, we move on. Palestinians and Israelis have been waiting for a solution for years, and there is no question that it is one of the biggest issues today and it will continue to impact the world until we come together and stop it. Our government has clearly failed us. We have to push them to do the right thing. What we do is important--the U.S. is so important. We’re the key to the puzzle. If we said tomorrow that we would not give Israel any money for weapons until they stop the occupation, they would have no choice but the stop. The U.S. supports the worst part of the Israeli government with massive amounts of military aid. It’s a sick process that feeds our military industry, then we dump all these weapons on Israel.

Surasky will speak at Macalester Plymouth United Church on Thursday. Her speech is sponsored by the Mideast Committee of Women Against Military Madness, and the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Free; donations accepted. 7:00 p.m. 1658 Lincoln Ave., St. Paul; 612.379.3565.

Posted by Ben Palosaari at December 26, 2007 11:38 AM | Comments (22)

 

Five (times two) Songs About ... Christmas

Filed under: 5 Songs About

For this edition of "Five Songs About," we decided to double our pleasure. Christmas is a special time of year, and we found way too much here (and way too little we could justify leaving out) -- so you get 10 songs for the same low, low price.

Moreover, we tried to go a little further off the beaten sleigh path in most cases. Anybody can tell you to go buy White Christmas or the Love, Actually soundtrack. We delved a little deeper for these tracks.

Don't like 'em? It's the holidays, so kindly forgive me my trespasses. Leave anything out? Of course I did. Tell me all about it in the comments. And be sure you get all the way through, for a special appearance by local heroes, and the song that has been determined by science to be the finest Christmas carol of all time.

10 and 9: Two from Tom Lehrer
My uncle would never forgive me if I didn't mention Tom Lehrer's scathing, brilliant "Christmas Carol." Unfortunately, only the lyrics are available on-line, and the only performance of the song is a dreadful reading performed by the even more dreadful Christopher Hitchens. Do Not Want. On the brighter side, we can do a different-denominational holiday Lehrer experience with the peppy "Hannukah in Santa Monica."

8. Harvey Danger, "Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas."
In a nod to my current personal activities at this time of year, I must mention this track from Seattle's Harvey Danger. Permit me a little lyrical alteration: "The restaurants are closed/so are the banks and bars, the Wall Drug and so's the lefty book store/But City Pages is always open. And I always have to open."

7. Of Montreal, "Christmas Isn't Safe For Animals"
Kevin Barnes has a penchant for odd Christmas songs. Besides this preciously weird, violin-backed indie tune, his band has also produced two goofy Christmas-themed songs on their early record "The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower." But this is the most accessible of the three, and features a bizarre radio montage in the middle. Excelsior! Get the lyrics and the MP3 download here.

6. Dean Martin, "Jingle Bells (Dan the Automator remix)"
Lounge never felt so cool as it does in this gentle remix that is (gasp!) true to the original. The beatmaker behind Del and Handsome Boy Modeling School does the Rat Pack proud, and I bet even your mom will dig. Download it here.

Top Five after the jump.

5. Asobi Seksu, "Merry Christmas"
Who doesn't love The Ramones? They practically invented pop punk, they wrote "Cretin Hop" after seeing Cretin Avenue on a trip to St. Paul, and they penned a bittersweet holiday song called "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)". But truth be told, NYC-based indie band Asobi Seksu (the name means "playful sex" in Japanese) has a version that blows the doors off Joey et. al.'s original. Sacrilege, perhaps. True, though. Yuki Chikudate's girlish vocals over the fuzzy guitar mix just perfectly. Hear it at Asobi Seksu's MySpace page.

4. Donny Hathaway, "This Christmas"
One of soul music's most beloved voices ought not be forgotten this holiday season, and if you listen to this track, I guarantee you won't.

3. Run-DMC, "Christmas in Hollis"
I cannot believe 2007 marks the 20th anniversary of Run-DMC's gem. This staggering revelation narrowly edges Run's sporting a Portland Trailblazers jacket (from the Clyde Drexler era!) in personal significance. It's a classic song and a campy delight of a video that doesn't end until that elf's final "niiiiiiice."

2. Sean Na Na, "Please Daddy (Don't Get Drunk This Christmas)"
Local boys represent on this one. Recorded in 1998 by Sean Tillman (Har Mar Superstar, Sean Na Na) and our own Jeff Severns Guntzel (The Dynamiters) in Tillman's Chicago kitchen. Tillman plays guitar and sings. Guntzel plays a snare drum on a folding chair. The results are an exact mix of plaintive and hilarious, as Tillman's voice is confection-sweet over the bitter lyrics. Listen here:

1. The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, "Fairytale of New York"
What can be said about this? A song so bleak, it starts in the drunk tank, and that's as hopeful as it gets. A song so salty, the Beeb thought of censoring it. A video that includes a young Matt Dillon. A song so beautiful, you won't be able to feel anything but happy after listening to it.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 25, 2007 4:44 AM | Comments (0)

 

Over The Weekend: 12/24

Filed under: Over the Weekend

Despite a relatively thin slate of events this week due to the rapidly oncoming holidays, there was still plenty to find around town to entertain yourself. At least, there was if you were me. Which, as far as I know, you aren't. (And if you are, one of us needs to pay our parking tickets and get the starter in the car looked at -- so hop to it after you get done reading this, please.)

SOUL ASYLUM AT FIRST AVENUE
Nothing says Christmas like Soul Asylum. Dave Pirner and his merry band performed at First Avenue on Friday night. Pirner's brother, Paul, was not in attendance -- his band (the 757s) was playing elsewhere -- but for some of us music, like the holidays, is a family affair that works better when the relatives aren't around.

Soul Asylum packed First Avenue on Friday night. Check out our gallery with photos by Daniel Corrigan.

TWO WILD TILTS
I know Thursday's game isn't technically a weekend game, but it featured Marian Gaborik's historic performance, a live report from me and roughly 1097 percent more holiday cheer than the Dec. 22 loss to the Red Wings. Hence, I consider it much more worthy of remembrance, and even meritorious of a post-hat trick photograph.

As for the next game, the actual weekend game, well ... Detroit's likely still steaming over our designation as The New Hockeytown, and they took it out on the Wild in a 4-1 defeat. The best part about Saturday night's contest? Well, have a look at it:

If four of us had somehow thrown the free commemorative pucks they gave out past Dominik Hasek and into the net, it might have been a better night.

RICE PARK WINTER SKATE
After teasing us with temperatures that reached 36 on Friday, I reasoned a Saturday night checking out the Rice Park Winter Skate was the way to go. This would have been an even better time if temperatures hadn't plunged more than 20 degrees during the time it took to eat dinner and head for the ice.

Skating: good times. Ears: still attached. Double your pleasure.

For some reason, though the big tree wasn't lit on Saturday night. What gives? Some sudden twinge of environmentalism? A random guy kicking out the plug after six Grain Belts? Or (my personal favorite theory) one solitary burned-out light forcing an intern to spend six hours climbing through the branches, twisting bulbs and grumbling?

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 24, 2007 5:39 AM | Comments (0)

 

Van Morrison like you've never heard him

Filed under: Concert Review

Van Morrison, who played last night at the Northrop Auditorium, has a long and storied history as a musician. He also can be a noted curmudgeon, and I mean that in the best possible way.

We all know the feeling of obligation. We all wish we could have responded like Van Morrison did, back in 1967. Forced by Bang records to fulfill a contractual demand to record a final album for the label, Morrison decided to crank out 31 improvised songs on the spot. Boy, did he deliver. And I thought Neil Young was bad-ass for "This Note's For You."

That link has all 31 tracks, which are a blend of ridiculous, vengeful, nonensical and fanciful. If you don't have time to check out all of them, start in the middle. The bile really starts to rise from Van's liver, and it spills out in surreal ways. Start with "The Big Royalty Check."

The real highlights of the record are "Ring Worm" (now I have a song for my next obscure-diseases-themed mixtape!) and "Dum Dum George," which contains a soundbite that -- an all seriousness -- will be my next ringtone. "You Say France and I'll Whistle" is nice, too. In fact, listen to them all. Tell me that's not time well spent, I dare you.

The meta-commentary offered by the titles is plenty amusing, too: "Freaky If You Got This Far," for one, is actually an amusing listen, while having two songs back-to-back called "Blow in Your Nose" and "Nose in Your Blow" is almost dadaist genius. Then there is the enigmatic George, featured on multiple tracks ... and not in a good way.

Kick back, enjoy Emily Utne's photos from the show last night, and be glad you aren't George.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 21, 2007 9:09 AM | Comments (0)

 

The Week of Eyedea

Filed under: Local Music

It's a big week for local favorite Eyedea; he returns from tour tonight to play two shows with two different bands over the next three days. He spoke with us from the road home today.

City Pages: You've got two concerts this week, one an Eyedea & Abilities show and another with Face Candy. How do you go about transitioning from hip-hop to more rock-oriented music?

Eyedea: I just do whatever I want at the time, you know? I don't really think as much about how it's going to affect a career, or what it's going to mean. I just picked up a guitar and started writing songs on a guitar and that was that.

CP: Is there an adjustment from a performance perspective when you have two shows the same week on such different projects?

E: It's not that much of an adjustment. The way it breaks down, I have three different bands. I have Eyedea & Abilities, which is – whatever it is. It's the one that's been successful, that's been a staple in my life, thats helped take me all around the world. Then there's Face Candy, which is an all-improvised idea. There isn't much thought that goes into the actual preparation or anything, because it's all improvised music. Then there's Carbon Carousel, which are songs I write on guitar and piano, and then bring to the band, and we make a movement that way.

In each of their veins, they're so different as far as approach and aesthetic, it's easy to know what a Carbon Carousel show feels like, what a Face Candy show feels like, what an E&A show feels like. And they all for me fulfill different parts of what I want to do.

CP: Lots of people are wondering if there will be a new E&A record soon.

E: We're working on new music. It would be kind of premature to say when that would come out, but we're definitely working on new stuff. And there's some new stuff that we get into a little bit [on this tour].

CP: How do you think E&A as a band have evolved over the years?

E: We've matured so much individually that it's a lot more defined and deliberate than it used to be. When we were young, we were experimenting making records and desperately trying to find out identity, and I think that's very apparent on some of the stuff that we've done.

Now, we're a little bit more secure, and know a little more about what we don't want to present to the world – which helps us figure out what we do want to present.

CP:You have three bands already. Any new projects on the horizon?

E: Actually, I may have just started a fourth one – OK, I did start a fourth one, but we'll see how that evolves. It's a band with my girlfriend, where we write write comedic joke songs about a couple that hates each other.

That's one thing I was really lacking – a place to put some comedy. Carbon Carousel seems to border on being aggressive and dark and displays some of the more painful things in life. Face Candy is trying to do the exact opposite, and E&A is trying to do both. But I didn't have a place to be funny, to make songs that just make people laugh. So maybe you'll hear some of that sometime, too.

CP: I want to read a line Peter Scholtes wrote about you from a story we did in 2001. “He may even travel to India to study yoga. You never know how this hip-hop thing will pan out.”

E: That's hilarious.

CP: Is that pretty removed from your experience now?

E: I still do yoga. I definitely didn't move to India, though. [laughs]

I think that was just a young guy searching. These days I understand that it's part of human nature to want to become, and want to search. Rather than actually saying out loud, “I'm going to go do this,” I just sit down and understand that it's natural for the mind to want more.

Eyedea and Abilities play tonight at the Triple Rock Social Club (18+, $12, 9 p.m.). Face Candy plays on Saturday at Whiskey Junction (21+, $10, show starts at 8 p.m.)

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 20, 2007 12:44 PM | Comments (0)

 

Fire Dance With Me

Filed under: 3 Questions

Steve Poreda lives something of a contradictory life. He owns a toy company, his nickname is Mr. Fun and he calls his home the 'Funhouse.' But he has a serious side too. And comes out on stage, lighted by fire. Poreda formed Illumination Fire Performance Troupe in 2000, and since then, he and his band of pyro-amorous performers have spread the art of fire dancing all over the Twin Cities. The way he talks about fire is the way a sailor talks about the sea: with great appreciation for such a beautiful thing and with a respectful amount of fear. He is says he’s spiritually connected to flames, and he wants others to see it the way he does. This Friday Illumination will perform a Winter Solstice celebration at the Cedar Cultural Center.

City Pages: How did you get into performing with fire?

Steve Poreda: I own a toy company, Mystik Toyz, and we would do a lot of festivals and events. In 1999, I was at a festival with staff, performing and teaching the toys. Some of my west coast friends working with me were performing with fire, and I was seeing them perform with fire for the first time. So as a result of my performing and juggling, it was just a natural fit to get into fire spinning and dancing. Over the past 7 years, we’ve created a fire spinning community that we’ve been harvesting through classes and events ever since. It’s something that once somebody sees, they never forget.

CP: What is the difference between fire spinning and fire dancing?
SP: Spinning and dancing. Spinning is learning, but dancing is using what you learn in an artistic way. And It manifests itself beautifully after that. And I brought what I learned to the community. It’s through non-fire props that people learn the skills.
Every other Thursday we have a spinning class with mostly non-fire props. We also hold a fire props making workshop every fall and spring. There are a lot of fire spinners in the community, but a much small percentage of them actually dance. And a handful of them are committed to the troupe.

CP: Break down of what some of the acts are.
SP: Fleshing: Body burning. It’s most commonly done with white gas, like Coleman camping fuel. But lamp oil is also popular. White gas burns white and the least odorous fuel. It’s also more combustible and it evaporates, so if you spill it, the flame doesn’t go with it. Lamp oil smells, but burns longer and has an orange flame. Sometimes you mix them if you want to have a mix of the colors. You dip your wand in the fuel, and you leave streaks of flame on your body, on your arms and on your chest. The fuel is primarily is what’s burning, but if you push harder, you’ll feel it and get a burn, no doubt. But, part of the dance move is blowing it out. It’s such a delicate art.
Pyrotechnics is the antithesis of fire dancing.
Fire poi: I’d say it’s the most familiar, the most popular. It’s the gateway prop. It’s something that, on a general level without the fire, many, many people through North America, Europe and Australia have really taken to it. It started out as poi, the Hawaiian food derived from taro root. It’s hard, so the women of the Maori people of Polynesia would gather the poi and wrap it with flax leaves. Then they would wrap a cord around it and beat it to tenderize it so they could eat it. A rhythm and song was created from the tenderizing. Artistically, it started out just spinning one, but then they started spinning more and more. The Maori traveled to Hawaii, and my theory is that the fire of the volcanoes inspired them to light the poi on fire. Modern fire poi is Kevlar wicking with a bolt and pin in it, with a chain attached. Then it’s dipped in gas and set on fire. It allows you to engulf yourself in a circle of flame.
Fire Eating: The worst thing you can do is inhale. You smother the flame by exhaling on it gently while the flame is in your mouth. After that, you can light another torch with the fumes in your mouth.

CP: What sort of clothing or cosmetic safety guidelines do fire performers follow?
SP: A lot of us have long hair, and we’re not cutting our hair for it. So, for your head, wet down your hair and body and it’s a good idea to wear some kind of headpiece. My partner usually covers her hair with a bandanna. Most of us hippies don’t wear hairspray, but any chemicals should be avoided. Leather, not only looks cool but is practical. I usually wear light leather pants, and sleeveless shirts. For the most part, it is safe if done correctly.

CP: What is worst injury you’ve sustained or witnessed from fire performing?
SP: Cori, Illumination’s choreographer, she was wearing loose skirt and one of the people next to her caught her skirt on fire. Then, trying smother the flame, they wrapped her skirt but wrapped her up in it. Really they should have torn skirt off. The fire spotter, the person responsible for watching for dangerous situations, wants to swipe the fire off, not smother it. Cori got some second-degree burns from that accident.

CP: Tell me about the Winter Solstice Drum, Dance and Fire Jam at the Cedar Cultural Center on December 21.
SP: Illumination is participating, but the solstice is more about a community event. It’s a very rooted, organic experience. There’s this dichotomy of dark and light. It’s the darkest night of the year, and we bring the light.

CP: It seems like frightening job, do you ever get scared?
SP: No. I feel that fear can lead to hesitation. And I feel that hesitation leads people to stumble and it takes you out of your moment. There is always the slight element of fear, I’m conscious of it. But the fear takes you in. it takes the audience’s attention and it takes the fire dancer’s attention. You have to be more alert and clear minded and focused. The more alert you are, the safer you’ll be and the more beautiful your dance will be.

CP: What do your friends and family think of your profession?
SP: To tell you the truth, they’re not surprised. I’ve had a very interesting life and my family and friends and community have always supported me. My immediate family is kind of like ‘Oh there he goes again.’ But they’re not afraid for me. They’ve come to understand over the years that to know me is to trust in all the crazy things I’ve done in my life. And they see that this is supporting something beyond myself. It’s building and inspiring community such that people will carry on this flame metaphorically. We need a spark in our life. The fire is certainly an element that is 100% creation and 100% inspiration. And it’s so symbolic. When you sit around a fire with your friends or family, you feel grounded. We connect with it. It brings that out of us. And when we dance with it, we bring that grounded energy and you’re manifesting a language.

CP: What is the appeal of playing with fire? It’s dangerous and difficult, why do you put yourself through that?
SP: It really gets people’s attention. You can reach somebody on a deeper level, on a spiritual level, and they might not even see it that way. I believe that the nature of the act of fire dancing is something that will transform other people.

CP: What are you suggestions for anybody who wants to get into fire performing?
SP: Use local resources, for instance, take one of my lessons through community education. If you feel drawn to it, observe it and observe what that person performing is expressing through their fire dance. If you’re intuitive, you can learn from what they’re dancing.

See Poreda and the Illumination Fire Performance Troupe at the Cedar’s Winter Solstice Drum, Dance, and Fire Jam. Those attending are encouraged to bring their own drums and participate.

Posted by Ben Palosaari at December 20, 2007 10:06 AM | Comments (0)

 

Apocalypse Wow: Desiree Weber Reviews Andrew Bird

Filed under: Concert Review

Andrew Bird
Dec. 16, Cedar Cultural Center
Review by Desiree Weber
Photos by James Tran

“An Intimate Afternoon with Andrew Bird” is how the Sunday matinee at the Cedar Cultural Club was promoted – and indeed that’s how it turned out. After two sold-out shows at the Guthrie Friday and Saturday night, a crowd of about 400 were treated to a closer listen. Bird’s return to the Cedar stage was somewhat of a homecoming, this being the last show on a tour that started in the same space 136 shows ago, with the support of local heroes Martin Dosh (drums/keyboard), Haley Bonar (vocals) and Jeremy Ylvisaker (guitar/bass).

The ultimate (of three) Andrew Bird shows from the weekend. More photos by James Tran.

The whimsical staging set the mood with multi-headed spinning gramophones, glittery snowflakes lovingly arranged against a velvety blue backdrop and an assortment of amps that would make even a guitar store blanche. The space (not unlike an elementary school gym) plus the stage setting yielded what would happen if your 6th grade music teacher hadn’t been an aging flower child whose sense of egalitarian politics extended to every kid getting to shake the maracas. Instead, Bird delivered a real education in why music matters: skilled musicianship and expertly constructed songs seemed effortless and raised the question why we don’t spend every Sunday afternoon taking in a show.

For the first few songs, Andrew Bird commanded the stage alone in a marathon effort to play at least three instruments per song. Using a dizzying array of pedals, he layered sample over sample and looped them together to create a mosaic of sounds that formed the basis for each song. His technical skill as a musician and versatility as a tunesmith was exhibited on violin, guitar, glockenspiel and even in his whistling – which ranges from happy-go-lucky to quite eerie on a song like “The Giant of Illinois.”

For the rest of the set, he was joined by Dosh and Ylvisaker, with Bonar providing occasional backup vocals. Crowd-pleaser “Fiery Crash” was amazing and followed up by two more songs from his 2007 release Armchair Apocrypha. While his word play could be easily dismissed as convenient songwriting, it turns out that there are real stories behind the whimsy. For example, the song “Spare-Ohs” is about his last batch of chickens which he described as “dysfunctional” and who were fated to meeting their end by conniving raccoons.

Somewhere near the middle of the almost 2-hour set, the audience was treated to 4 brand new songs. “Fits and Dizzy Spells” is a fast, upbeat song with prominent and complimentary guitar and plucked violin parts, while “Section 8 City” is a melancholic, largely instrumental track. Another new song (“Tenuousness”) is a narrative set to an interesting bass line, on which Bird’s resonant vocals almost echo a mournful Johnny Cash.

For these new songs, he explained that he has turned from the post-apocalyptic themes of the previous album to a renewed interest in “language, nature, nomenclature, brains (pause) and snakes.” Make of that what you will; either way Andrew Bird definitely sees the world through a different set of eyes. We should just count ourselves lucky that he has the skill to translate his visions into indie pop as amazing as the first sunset.
--Desiree Weber

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 17, 2007 3:08 PM | Comments (0)

 

Over the Weekend: 12/17

Filed under: Over the Weekend

Before we get into this weekend's exceptional music slate, with Andrew Bird supported by Haley Bonar, the hip-hopstravaganza that was the Doomtree Blowout and so forth, I would like to be sure one item about the Wu-Tang Clan remains unforgotten. You'll get to read Nate Patrin's full review below, too.

See, the Wu-Tang Clan isn't really the Wu-Tang Clan without Ol' Dirty Bastard. This is not to denigrate the remaining MCs: the world is not the same without ODB, one of the truly larger than life figures of our times. Did you know he once pulled a four-year-old from a burning car? It's true. But the moment I'd like to remember him by is his bumrush of the Grammys stage, where he made a few points -- all salient, all hilarious:

Puffy is good. Wu-Tang is the best. And he loves us all -- never forget that. RIP ODB.

With that being said, the weekend:

ANDREW BIRD

We in the Twin Cities love us some Andrew Bird. The idiosyncratic multi-instrumentalist sold out two shows at the Guthrie and there was still substantial demand for a third show Sunday afternoon at Cedar Cultural Center.

Andrew Bird played an array of instruments this weekend. See more of James Tran's photos here.

Here's one anecdote that demonstrates his popularity, even among media types that get to see tons of different artists. Photographer James Tran went to both Guthrie shows and wanted to hit all three. When I solicited freelance music writers about possibly reviewing one of the concerts, more than one said "Let me know which one you want me to review -- because I want to buy tickets to the others."

By all reports, the shows (which support Bird's latest effort, Armchair Apocrypha), lived up to expectations, with the artist performing on guitar and violin among other instruments, and sometimes playing two at once.

WU-TANG CLAN

Wu Tang Clan
Sunday, Dec. 16, First Avenue
Review by Nate Patrin

Ghostface Killah, Method Man, GZA, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, U-God, Ol’ Dirty Bastard (in spirit) – almost everyone in the Wu-Tang Clan, including 10th/9th member Cappadonna, took to the stage at quarter after 11 p.m. Sunday night. But even though his presence loomed large through the speakers that pounded his legendary beats, founder and leader the RZA was completely absent from this second stop on the Wu’s winter tour. Weirder still: they released an album last week, the solid-to-great 8 Diagrams, mentioned it once near the end of the show, and played approximately zero tracks off it.

This should tell you most of what you need to know concerning the Wu-Tang Clan’s current state of flux right now. To recap: 8 Diagrams, the first Wu-Tang group effort since 2001’s Iron Flag, is a dense and frequently weird record that is alternately more melodic, more psychedelic, more subdued and more fractured than any of their previous records. Raekwon and Ghostface have gone on record as not being entirely thrilled with RZA’s production work, and there’ve been rumors spreading of the Wu going forward in the future without him.

It seems almost unthinkable from a group unity standpoint, but as concerts go it seemed to go off pretty well – Meth reprised his role as stage-diving, crowd-amping dynamo, Ghostface shouted out his verses with a scary intensity that made his commanding performance at the Varsity last summer look subdued (no small feat), Raekwon did his Only Built 4 Cuban Linx classics justice, Cappadonna got a couple chances to tear shit up acappella, Deck and Masta Killa rounded out the mic front lines, and even though he spent a few minutes at the back of the stage tinkering with his cell phone, GZA showed the flashes of brilliance that another Varsity crowd was lucky to see a year ago.

And even though their setlist was more than familiar to Wu diehards – most of it came from the first wave of greatness that started with 1993’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) and continued over the next couple years with solo records like Method Man’s Tical, GZA’s Liquid Swords and Raekwon’s Cuban Linx – it was something different to hear lines that were delivered by one man on wax belted out by three or four or more MCs on stage. Even without their founder the RZA and their most outrageous member ODB (the latter of whom was given a fitting medley/tribute with a quick run-through of “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” “Brooklyn Zoo” and the hook to “Got Your Money”), they sounded, if not complete, at least massive.

DOOMTREE BLOWOUT

The third annual Doomtree Blowout occurred at First Avenue Friday, Dec. 14. The huge night for the hip-hop collective was documented in photos by Daniel Corrigan.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 16, 2007 8:43 PM | Comments (0)

 

Ike Turner Dies

Filed under: Music

Derided and scorned by the larger culture since I, Tina, Ike Turner's reputation as a wife-beater has eclipsed his legacy as a rock'n'roll pioneer. But even though "Hey relax, Ike!" has become shorthand for "Oooh, don't hit me, man," Turner, who died this morning at age 76, still has his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And on the "Best of Tim Meadows" Saturday Night Live DVD.

Posted by Sarah Askari at December 12, 2007 4:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

I'm Givin' You a Beyonce-gasm

Filed under: Music

Check out this transcendent YouTube video, The 10 Most Ridiculous Things About the Beyonce Experience.

Posted by Sarah Askari at December 11, 2007 3:19 PM | Comments (0)

 

The Spice of Life: Aimee Mann's Christmas (Variety) Show

Filed under: Concert Review

Aimee Mann's Christmas Show
Monday, Dec. 10, 2007
The Guthrie Theater
Better Than: Any other holiday show not involving a drunken Hannukah Fairy rapping while dressed in a blue tutu

From the opening strains of "The Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies," it was clear that the evening would have a distinctly holiday feel. Aimee Mann and her merry band of troubadors did not complete the Nutracker tune, though they did run through several holiday standards, and the whole room from stage to back walls was just suffused with festive.

Footage from last year's first annual Christmas tour, which did not hit Minneapolis

Mann's second Christmas tour came to the Guthrie last night. A concert it was, yes, but more than a nod was given to the old-time variety show. The live comedy stylings of Paul F. Tompkins were on display, as were recurring videotaped skit segments involving big-name Hollywood types like Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk and others. Musical guests (Nellie McKay, Adam Levy of The Honeydogs) were woven in and out of the set until all the congregants joined together onstage at performance's end.

The common element was Mann, the ringmaster who kept the circus together, and her singing lent a real poignancy to songs we've all heard more times than we can count. Mann's resonant alto brought the plaintive elements of "I'll Be Home For Christmas" to the forefront. A hint of melancholy circled around the edges of "The Christmas Song" as well.

Other numbers were played equally for laughs, such as the lounge-tinged duet with Tompkins on "Baby It's Cold Outside" ("Babies will be conceived in Minneapolis tonight!" he quipped during the song's intro). And who doesn't love a live version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch?" Mann proved well able to poke fun at herself throughout the evening, too. At one point, Ben Stiller advises her to be sure she plays "that one song of yours ... you know, the one about being really depressed."

There wasn't much place for anything but lightheartedness this night, though. "Usually, I'm a hater, and fairly bitter," Mann joked, "but I actually do really love Christmas ... I've been on a Christmas journey of my own." And she's taken us with her.

Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: If you're going to have a video screen behind you during a holiday show that involves comedy, that screen had better play "Santa Claus Conquers The Martians" at some point during the evening. It did, during Nellie McKay's three-song interlude.

Random Detail: The faux snowflakes dropping from the ceiling during encore constituted the exact GPS coordinates where kitsch meets sincerity.

By the way: A (video) cameo from Weird Al Yankovic put the cherry of surreal on top of the night's comedic sundae.

Sample MP3 files: "I'll Be Home For Christmas" (:30)
"Baby It's Cold Outside" (:30)
"She's the Motherfuckin' Hannukah Fairy" (:30) <---- Admit it, you thought I was making this up. And yes, that's Mann on background vocals.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 11, 2007 7:30 AM | Comments (3)

 

What's In Nellie McKay's Mind

Filed under: Music

Nellie McKay has one of those timeless voices. It's how she chooses to use it that differentiates her from the jazz divas and torch singers the singer-songwriter counts as influences.

Nellie McKay: Music to Go Vegan By

McKay (it's pronounced "McEye") is capable of delivering a silky-smooth piano number, sure, but you'd best expect biting social commentary along with that. An eclectic talent, the East Coast artist has produced cabaret-style tunes about topics like animal rights ("Columbia is Bleeding") and gay marriage ("Cupcake") that are as catchy as they are subversive. This isn't dry, pedantic music by any means: McKay's often hilarious, spinning anger into scathingly funny moments ("Sammy, oh let me put away the kettle/Oh, no honey, your arrogance is what makes you special") during songs like the countrified feminist ditty "It's A Pose".

And all the while she uses that voice, uses it to sing, to speak, to laugh and to scream, sometimes seemingly all at once.

McKay hits Minneapolis next week while touring behind her new album, Obligatory Villagers, but that's not all that's in the works. Current projects include a musical film now in pre-production called “The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom” that's based on a graphic novel by Katherine Arnoldi ("I'm sure we're going to fuck it up in the movie; it's just too perfect already,” McKay says). She's also working on a musical about a tenant's organization she hopes will be done in the early part of next year.

While speaking with her by phone just after she had stopped for lunch in Perry, Utah, I found that she has both the breathy, dulcet speaking voice one expects of a singer and the wicked sense of humor her songs suggest.

City Pages: How would you compare Obligatory Villagers to your previous two releases?

Nellie McKay: They don't sound much like each other – they're kind of all over the place. Other than that, this one is shorter.

CP: Was that a conscious decision? It's interesting that you would release a shorter album after the much-publicized fight with a record label where you wanted the longer version of your work released.

NM: Usually, I kind of feel pressure from myself to put everything on there, because who knows when your next album is going to come out? But It's all about the song mixture. It should be less about length, and more about how the various songs complement each other.

CP: On each of your albums, there are overtly political songs. Were you an activist before you were a musician, or vice versa?

NM: You have a lot of I think that an activist is anyone who sees something they consider unjust and does something about it – and it can be a very small thing. If you complain about something to someone in a position of power and that person does something about it, then you're an activist, so I guess that came first. But I always loved music.

CP: There's a new song on your website that's not on the new album, "A Christmas Dirge." It's a different kind of holiday tune, one that urges people not to cut Christmas trees. How did that song come to you? And people who download the song are asked to donate to the "Nellie McKay Disaster Fund." Can you tell us about that?

NM: Well, we're not making any money, that's how the disaster fund came up. And I am a walking disaster, so that fits too. [Laughs]

I've always considered it very sad that, the day after Christmas, you'll see the sidewalks littered with these Christmas trees that have just been thrown out. It just seems such a waste. I've also written a more upbeat Christmas song, too. I'll be performing that in Minneapolis, and that's called “Take Me Away.”

CP: Your songs are diverse musically. When you compose a song that combines genres – like "Sari", which incorporates hip-hop elements – do you set out to try to combine styles in a certain way, like “Hey, maybe I'll shout here, maybe I'll put a quiet piano part here”?

NM: I have no idea. [Pauses, laughs] With "Sari," basically nobody in the studio had any experience producing hip-hop, so we were wandering around the studio randomly asking people “is this funky? Does this sound funky to you?” But it is nice to always have fresh things.

CP: What's one fresh thing you can tell us about yourself that people ought to know, but don't?

NM: [long pause] I'm secretly a Republican.

CP: It's obvious. So, when should we invade Iran? Tomorrow, or next week?

NM: We should've invaded them last week. Motherfuckers. I hope we continue our militaristic, capitalistic, fascist domination of the planet until it finally buckles under our iron grasp.

Nellie McKay plays with Aimee Mann at the Guthrie Dec. 10. Hear her last answer in this interview as an MP3.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 6, 2007 10:54 AM | Comments (0)

 

Fired Up at the Orpheum: Desiree Weber reviews Modest Mouse

Filed under: Concert Review

Modest Mouse
December 3, 2007
The Orpheum Theater
Better Than: God's Shoeshine.

Modest Mouse took the stage Monday night at the Orpheum, the hotly anticipated Minneapolis stop on their We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank tour. Some fans in the crowd were undoubtedly there last April when a show was canceled. Luckily for them and everyone else, it was clear that Isaac Brock and his merry men meant business from the first moments of 'Satin in a Coffin.' And just in case the sounds of Johnny Marr's guitar, Jeremiah Green’s drums and Brock's voice weren’t enough to fill the Orpheum, they brought two drummers instead of one.

I saw them in Cleveland in August, when Band of Horses opened for them, and I was curious to see if my impressions would hold true in a vastly different venue. The sound, which could not have been worse in Cleveland, was loud and at times unrelenting, but overall the effect was amazing. Brock’s banjo parts on 'Satin' and 'Bukowski' seemed to be the only excuses for the volume to be turned from the usual 11 down to 10. Overall, even the more subdued parts on the new album, like the first three minutes of 'Fire It Up,' ended up less the jangly guitar that Modest Mouse is known for and more a wall of sound. An awesome wall, however. 'Paper Thin Walls,' a gem from their opus The Moon & Antarctica, was an excellent balance of the intimate vocal style and instrumentation of yesteryear, and the ramped up sound of the last two albums. Two hits from their current album followed ('Dashboard' and 'Education'); both were boisterous enough to get even the controlled Isaac to join Johnny Marr in bopping around and singing his heart out.

Sidestepping the question of whether Modest Mouse are "sellouts" or not, I will say that the bigger label has meant a bigger crowd and a bigger sound, but bigger is not better in all instances. I think the concert experience would have been helped if the arrangements had varied more depending on the song. A slow stunner like 'Trailer Trash' deserves a different treatment than an anthem like 'Dashboard.' Instead, the breakout guitar crescendo that usually happens only 3 minutes into the song was almost swallowed by the already established volume. Part of what makes songs like 'Tiny Cities Made of Ashes' work so well is how Isaac manages to be menacing and subtle at the same time, with muscular drumming providing the rhythmic backbone to his low growl.

That being said, the undeniable energy of the show was catching. Fans even in the balcony were on their feet, or at the very least, bouncing in their seats.
-- Desiree Weber

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 4, 2007 3:22 PM | Comments (1)

 

Folking Twins: Pat O'Brien Reviews Tegan & Sarah

Filed under: Concert Review

Tegan & Sara at Pantages
Friday, Dec. 1, 2007
Review by Pat O'Brien
Photos by James Tran

Tegan & Sara Quin are full of surprises. That in itself is a bit of surprise since their melding of folk and the really, really good section of The Cars catalog seems to be pretty straightforward, but they have a few tricks up their sleeves. They are both extremely witty and proved to be good storytellers without the benefit of their instruments, as well (Sara told a particularly funny story about her roommate building a bookshelf out of a discarded couch.)

Twins Tegan & Sara brought rock, folk and mullets to Pantages. More photos here.

Since their last offering, So Jealous, they have wisely ditched the “are they or aren’t they?” antics (they are), and in an even more canny move, employed wunderkind producer Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie for their latest, The Con, which is most likely going to end up on many critics’ year-end top ten lists, and rightfully so. The Con is a far better album and it showed as the girls (with backing band) sort of halved their set, playing new songs first and mostly older stuff for the latter part of the set.

Mixing the set up would have proved a bit more interesting, as this decision made it clear that their insanely catchy hit from So Jealous, “Walking With A Ghost”, would arrive near the end of the set, but, more importantly, also made the superiority of The Con glaringly obvious. However, the songs took on an air of immediacy and seemed generally less folky -- even the really folky ones -- and that was big plus.

Making a seated concert seem like a club date was a masterstroke, as well. People tend to tone it down in a bit at seated venues but they had more than half of the main floor of the theater jockeying for position right up front (they also had people follow them to Minneapolis from the previous night’s gig in Chicago) and for a moment it seemed like we were all around the corner in First Avenue’s mainroom. So what does it all mean? Well, it’s not totally clear yet, but for the moment Tegan & Sara are the craftiest indie-folkers of the pack.

Posted by Jeff Shaw at December 3, 2007 7:15 AM | Comments (1)

 

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