New Beck song, “Chemtrails”
“Chemtrails,” a song from the upcoming, Danger Mouse-produced, as yet untitled Beck disc, is now streaming at Beck.com. The song is not a single, but if it is any indication of what we will hear, this is unusually airy, regal space-pop and a characteristic wild pitch after the glitch-electro of last year’s “Timebomb.” Nice indeed.
Live in Oklahoma for May 19, 2008
Breathe Electric
Breathe Electric and The AB Theory play Convergence, 1755 NW 16, and the Kane Welch Kaplin Band performs at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley.
And of course, for all you five-finger button warriors, there’s Guitar Hero Mondays at Lit, 209 Flaming Lips Alley.
Countdown to David vs. David vs. Staticblog: Two Days
Yes, from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, I will be time-coding the long hard slog of the ”American Idol” results show with a live blog. Join me in my carpal tunnel misery as we root for David and cast aspersions against David.
Liz Phair to Perform “Guyville” Live in NYC, Sparks to Perform Everything They’ve Ever Done in London
Russell and Ron Mael of Sparks
The trend of trotting out seminal works in their entirety is working up a head of steam: according to Idolator, Sparks will be playing 21 dates in London in which the Mael brothers will play each of their albums in order, from 1971′s Halfnelson to the upcoming Exotic Creatures of the Deep.
Liz Phair
And as she begins her mea culpa tour, Liz Phair will perform Exile in Guyville from start to finish June 25 at New York’s Hiro Ballroom. And that’s all well and good, but what we’re really wanting to know is whether she will finally and completely live up to all of the promise of Guyville when her new studio disc is completed this fall, and whether all the super-slick Lavignisms of her sellout period will completely subside with her ATO Records debut.
Who would you like to see trot out their classic?
Watch It! for May 19, 2008
“How I Met Your Mother” wraps up the season on CBS.
Season finales continue tonight with “How I Met Your Mother” (7:30 p.m. CBS) and “Two and a Half Men” (8 p.m. CBS), and there will be much cha-cha’ing with Kristi Yamaguchi on “Dancing With the Stars” (7 p.m. ABC). Meanwhile, steroidal clowns will perform funny stunts on “American Gladiators” (7 p.m. NBC).
And then there is “Gossip Girl” (7 p.m., CW) which Entertainment Weekly waxes rhapsodic over and is popular with the Trachtenbergian segment of the Staticblog readership, but I’ve yet to embrace. If you love the show — and that would be you, Dr. Pants — please expound. My TiVo needs something to do this summer.
NKOTB Hangin’ Rough on “Today”
I expended a metric ton of energy from 1988 to 1991 hating New Kids on the Block — in those days, I considered getting a few veins to pop out on my forehead a good anger workout instead of a cautionary medical situation. But the NKOTB reunion was a sure sign that I’ve mellowed, because my initial reaction was not pig-biting anger — it was more like, “Well, good for you guys. Stay off reality television and don’t do drugs.”
But this performance from Friday on “Today” shows why Donnie Wahlberg needs to concentrate on his acting career. These were not good songs by any just measure, and I’m not sure if it’s NBC’s godawful mix or the group’s attempts to graft modern rhythms onto tinny late ’80s pop, but this didn’t sound ready for prime time, vocally or musically.
And it’s a shame, really, because my charitable streak is tied to hoping that former pop stars of a certain age don’t embarrass themselves. There is a thriving industry that profits on the misery of people who no longer occupy the A-list, and I’d like to see that industry sacked like Rome.
Via Idolator.
Random 10 for May 19, 2008
1. Black Kids, “I’ve Underestimated My Charm (Again).” The excellent Jacksonville, Fla. band’s Wizard of Ahhs disc can be had for free, but it’s worth handing the band five bucks at their next show. This is not an official video — it’s footage from the classically terrible 1966 horror movie, “Manos: The Hands of Fate.”
2. The Shins, “So Says I.”
3. The Twilight Sad, “That Summer, At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy.”
4. Hot Chip, “Over and Over.”
5. M.I.A., “Jimmy.” This is a cover an early ’80s Bollywood song, done by one of Staticblog’s favorites. And thanks again to Rihanna for covering “Paper Planes” at the Ford Center, because every little bit helps.
6. Scarlett Johansson, “Anywhere I Lay My Head.”
7. Tracey Thorn, “It’s All True.”
8. MGMT, “Kids.”
9. Art Brut, “18,000 Lira.”
10. Todd Rundgren, “Time Heals.” A childhood favorite from the true early days of MTV — not Viacom’s revisionist history that says it was all Billy Idol and Duran Duran. Any freak with a clip could get on the network back then, and Todd Rundgren, the pop genius who helped pioneer the modern era of music video, was an exceptional freak. A poster on this YouTube video says this sounds “like Hall and Oats (sic),” but if you know your stuff, you understand that the opposite is true.
Video of the Day: Saul Williams, “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
Williams came out of the Nuyorican poetry slam scene in New York, and was first seen in Paul Devlin’s great 1998 documentary, “SlamNation” (which also featured Oklahoma City-born poet Beau Sia). He has since gone on to act in several films and record two superb solo discs under the tutelage of Trent Reznor. This video recasts the U2 anthem as a cry for help on behalf of street people in Los Angeles.
Fair Warning: Staticblog to Live-Blog the “American Idol” finale, 7-9 p.m. Wednesday
Yes, it’s as bad as it sounds, but being a staunch advocate of wretched excess and blogariffic indulgence, I will be live-blogging as Davids Cook and Archuleta fight it out for that great 19 Entertainment binding contract on the season finale of “American Idol.” Be here from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday for time-coded, up-t0-the-minute snark.
Video of the Day: The Futureheads, “Radio Heart”
The Futureheads add another great new wave radio love song to the canon, and continue their unabashed XTC worship on their new disc, This is Not the World, due May 27.
Courtesy: Pitchfork.tv
