Stereolab December dates.

12 - Cork, The Pavilion
13 - Dublin, Tripod
14 - Belfast, Black Box

HOLY FUCK!!!

Academy, Dublin October 20th.

Kurt Wagner's last solo gig in Ireland was a bit of a gem.

So I figure that a full band Lambchop one might be too.

On sale this Monday.

Lambchop
Saturday November 1st

Tripod

Tickets €24.50 & €32.50 (inc. booking fee) available from Ticketmaster, Road Records, City Discs, Sound Cellar and usual outlets.

Guess this can be mentioned now.

There's been something of a "press embargo" on this for a couple of weeks so I've been sitting on it but as it got mentioned in the ticket today I guess it's fine.

A couple of my buddies are putting out an album. Maple Drive is the first album from Storkboy Choons and Colours Move and will be available for free with some copies of the soon to be nationally launched Analogue Magazine which should be available for free around the country on August 1st.

I almost never write about the music of people I know here because a) if I like it there's an obvious conflict of interest and b) if I don't like it and publicly slate it it's not worth the tears and recriminations resulting because many musicians are fucking babies so I choose to privately hate it and save myself the headaches. That being said I played a gig on Monday night with the lads and I thought they were good. As for myself I hope to one day enjoy playing live music again, it'll probably correspond to the time when I start playing what I consider to be good gigs.

I should mention I suppose that I've written for the Analogue Blog before too.

So I guess I'll be getting a HWCH ticket then.

Frightened Rabbit on the bill.

Neon meat dream of an octofish

Today I am ticking one of those "must listen to at some point" albums off the list.





Not as difficult a listen as I'd been led to believe. Possibly because I like a lot of stuff that it's obviously influenced.

MP3: Sweet Sweet Bulbs

New Animal Collective song.

From their appearence at the Pitchfork Fest. "Lion In A Coma".

Bon Iver Daytrotter session.

Here.

The flanged up (at least it sounds like flange) "Creature Fear" is ahem, "interesting", however that big extended outro they do gets me every time. The take on "Flume" they did with banjo and piano though is outstanding.

Perhaps I should just edit one of the two earlier posts I had about it

Here's the "full" Calvin Johnson tour:

Friday 25th - hideaway house, deansgrange. Starts 7pm. admission 5 euro

Saturday 26th - Road Records, Fade st. Starts 2pm. Admission free.

Monday 28th - Bell, Book and Candle, Galway. Starts 5pm. Admnission 5 euro

Tuesday 29th - Stitchy Press Barn, Co Leitrim. Starts 5pm. Admission donation

Another Calvin Johnson gig.

Calvin Johnson (ex-BEAT HAPPENING, THE HALO BENDERS, DUB NARCOTIC, founder/owner of K Records).
Crayonsmith (Out On A Limb Records)

The Hideaway House, Deansgrange.
Friday, July 25th.
6pm, €5.

Deerhunter covering Jay Reatard.

The latest in Jay Reatard's 7" series for Matador is a split with Deerhunter. He covers the title track from Deerhunter's Flourescent Grey EP while Bradfords Cox and co. take on "Oh It's Such A Shame" from Blood Visions.

Neither cover really hold a candle to the original but I think it's Deerhunter that make a better fist of things.

MP3: Deerhunter - Oh It's Such A Shame

Calvin Johnson to play Road Records instore.

K records founder and ex-Beat Happening and Dub Narcotic Sound System member Calvin Johnson will be playing an instore in Road Records on Saturday the 26th of July.

Exact times still to be confirmed, but it's all terribly exciting.

More gigs

Get yer dancin' shoes, maybe this time they'll have more than 2 songs.

I'm From Barcelona
The Academy
Dublin, IE
Fri, 12/12/08
On Sale Sat, 19/07/08
---

New record has been getting great reviews. Stodgey Rock n' Roll says I.

The Constantines
Whelans
Dublin 2, IE
Fri, 12/09/08
On Sale Wed, 16/07/08

---

Insert rotting fruit gag here.

Adam Green
The Sugar Club
Dublin, IE
Tue, 26/08/08
On Sale Thu, 17/07/08

Islands to return.

I don't care what other people said. I enjoyed their last Whelan's gig, no matter how ultimately dissapointing the new album was.

Auntie Annie's, Belfast - September 19th. Seven of the Queen's pounds. On sale now.
The Hub (really?), Dublin - September 20th. Twelve and a half of Nicolas Sarkozy's (for the next 5 months or so) Euro. On sale tomorrow at 9.

First Impressions: Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

All good things, they say, must come to an end. And Okkervil River have had a pretty good run. From 2002 to 2007 the Austinites released 4 albums which varied in quality from at a bare minimum very good (last year's The Stage Names) to exceptional (Black Sheep Boy and Don't Fall In Love With Everyone You See). The Stand Ins however is their first genuine misstep.

The album is comprised mainly of off cut from last year's record with a few newer songs thrown in for good measure. It's not the first time that the band have put out the leftovers from an album, The Black Sheep Boy Appendix EP was sandwiched in between albums 3 and 4 and worked really well as both a creative exercise and as a housekeeping one. Listening to The Stand Ins it strikes me that the band might have been better off once again going with the EP route. There's only a couple of songs on the album, "Blue Tulip" and "On Tour With Zykos" that stack up to what they've done before and the rest, for the most part, feel like filler. M.O.R. filler at that. In fact the best thing about the album could be the short instrumental breaks that crop up throughout the record, and that's quite disheartening considering how good a songwriter Will Sheff usually is.

MP3: Okkervil River - Blue Tulip from The Stand Ins

Okkervil River play in the Acadamy, Dublin on November 7th.

Electric Picnic additions ...

Grace Jones, Joan as Policewoman, Dan Deacon, Booka Shade, Deadmau5.

Rescheduled Shearwater dates.

Chris Martin couldn't keep them trapped in his opening act prison for long.

FOREVER presents

Shearwater
plus guests
Friday Sept 19th, 2008
Whelans, Dublin
Tickets: €15.00 inc booking fee
www.tickets.ie - tomorrow
www.ticketmaster.ie - Friday

Original tickets purchased for July 16th show are valid

They also play:
Belfast, Speakeasy Sep 20th
Galway, Roisin Dubh - Sep 21st

London for Halloween?

Have to say it's tempting.

ATP's Release The Bats:
The Forum, London
Tickets £22.50

Lightning Bolt
Pissed Jeans
Wooden Shjips
OM
Les Savy Fav
Shellac
Andy Wetherall DJ

www. Seetickets. com
www. Wegottickets. com
www. Gigantic. com
www. Stargreen. com.

Radiohead "House Of Cards" video.

An interesting idea but not all that brilliantly executed.

Kraftwerk and songs about fucking.

As noted by Jim this morning Kraftwerk are playing Luggala Estate in Co. Wicklow on September 13th as part of the A Day In The Life festival.

I was listening to Big Black's final album yesterday. It was, up till then, one of those records on a lengthy mental list I have of albums I want to get around to listening to at some point (though yesterday's ticking off of Big Black means that I've almost had a look at every band featured in Michael Azerrad's exceptional Our Band Could Be Your Life [Minor Threat recommendations welcome, then I'm done]) and the second song on the record is this cover of probably Kraftwerk's most famous song.

MP3: Big Black - The Model from Songs About Fucking

Despite the previously unfilled Big Black hole in my life I'm not completely unfamiliar with their leader Steve Albini. Whether it be through his other musical projects, his writings; be it his glowing Spiderland review, his hate filled screeds against major labels or most entertainingly of all, his final tour diary with Big Black; or through his recording (note: not "producing" he hates that) of countless albums, a list of which can be found here and I think you'll probably find at least a couple of records you really like if you peruse it.

Recording projects aside one thing shines through from his work, he's an angry dude and possibly not all that pleasant a one. And it all makes me wonder, should allowances be made for anti-social people if their body of work is so important and impressive? Even ones who claim that they fucked my sister.

MP3: Big Black - Bad Penny from Songs About Fucking

Albini will be in Ireland in October with Shellac, playing The Roisin Dubh on October 27th and The Button Factory the following night.