December 2008 Archives

A couple more lists, this time straight from Metro Pulse, before Christmas: the Best Albums and the Best DVDs of 2008. 

Best albums, in alphabetical order, are:
AC/DC, Black Ice
Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Part One (4th World War)
Beach House, Devotion
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
El Guincho, Alegranza
Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Motorhead, Motorizer
TV on the Radio, Dear Science.

Only one of those--Lil Wayne--was mine. I second lee's selection of Gang Gang Dance, though. I didn't even bother to make a full list of my own, but it probably would have included Wetnurse's Invisible City, Torche's Meanderthal, and Tricky's Knowle West Boy, and maybe Amon Amarth's Twilight of the Thunder Gods.  

Rumor has it that Scott Miller will be playing at Patrick Sullivan's in the Old City on New Year's Eve. The bar's online calendar has a frustrating teaser. Miller's calendar doesn't have the show listed.

Related: The owners of the former Barataria in the old Blue Cats space, now known as the Catalyst, have scheduled the everybodyfields for New Year's Eve, just a couple weeks after confirming the cancellation of Miller's traditional NYE show because they never could have afforded to pay Miller anyway. (That's after they reportedly stiffed him on his deposit for the show.)

Kag at the News Sentinel has this link to a blogger who gets some real shit from Oxford American editor Marc Smirnoff for her comments about the magazine's most recent music issue and the accompanying CDs.

I posted my own thoughts on the OA music issue a few weeks ago.

Which big-name hard-rock and metal bands from the '80s released new albums this year? Find out in St. Louis alt-weekly the Riverfront Times' list of the best metal albums of 2008. Metallica's Death Magnetic tops the list.

Friday, Dec. 19: On Black Horizons with a bunch of other local metal bands to raise money for Disabled American Veterans at DAV, 6 p.m., $6, all ages. Also: Taking Back Sunday at the Valarium, Circle Modern Dance's Modern Dance/Primitive Light at the Laurel Theater, Leslie Woods at Pilot Light, and KSO's A Holiday Peace concert at Knoxville Civic Auditorium.

Saturday, Dec. 20: Quartjar at the Bistro, the Melungeons and old-timers Black Velvet Dogs at Patrick Sullivan's, and Three Man Band with New Madrid and Double Muslims at Pilot Light.

Sunday, Dec. 21: A naughty little variety show at World Grotto called Revue.

Ohio violinist/noise merchant Burning Star Core has reportedly been added to the lineup for the Big Ears Festival set for Knoxville in early February. 

Pitchfork has started its cavalcade of year-end lists. So far, results are up for songs of the year, honorable mentions for album of the year, and reader picks. 

RollingStone.com reports that sources say a reunited Phish will play Bonnaroo next year. Better news: Bruce Springsteen might headline the closing Sunday night lineup. 

Friday, Dec. 12: Local klezmer band Dor L'Dor headlines a five-act lineup at Alive After Five at the Knoxville Museum of Art at 5:30 p.m., Christabel and the Jons celebrate the release of their new CD, Custom Made for You, at the Laurel Theater at 8 p.m., and Mic Harrison and the High Score play at Manhattan's at 10 p.m. You could fit all three in if you try.

Saturday, Dec. 13: Dance night! DJ Mark Farina at World Grotto with DJ Mic One, late. 

Sunday, Dec. 14: Robert Lovett and Wade Hill at Irish Times at 1 p.m., Robinella at Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria at 8 p.m., as usual.  

Blogger and New Yorker critic Sasha Frere-Jones has his list up. Notes on some selections are here. 

Time Magazine's list of the best albums of 2008:

1. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
2. TV on the Radio, Dear Science
3. Metallica, Death Magnetic
4. Girl Talk, Feed the Animals
5. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
6. Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak
7. Santogold, Santogold
8. Portishead, Third
9. Lucinda Williams, Little Honey
10. Duffy, Rockferry

The Tennessean, prompted by The New Republic, says the Indian Outlaw might be thinking about. 

Three hours of Coldplay might be enough to make anybody reconsider downtown living, as it seems to be doing for local blogger the Sunsphere Is Not a Wigshop.

Idolator's not listing its top albums of the year (or singles, or videos, or compilations). Instead, the music blog's writers are naming "the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008" in a list they call 80 '08. 

A little more than a year ago, David Byrne made some local headlines for his comments on his blog about downtown Knoxville:

At the Holiday Inn in Knoxville, I saw a sign for the historic town center. Thinking it might contain some character and restaurants, we head there in search of dinner. There's no one on the streets -- not metaphorically, but literally not a single soul is out and it's not even 8 o'clock. Eventually, we reach Market Square where we see people sitting at some outdoor seats. There are few restaurants, so we're in luck. They serve me wine in a tiny plastic airplane bottle and we share a nice salad and some salmon. We wonder, where is everyone? Do they come to town to work, some of them, and then go home and stay in at night? Or do they go to restaurants and bars in suburban strip malls?

Some totally unconfirmed reports have Byrne, who performed at the Tennessee Theatre on Sunday, riding his bike around the same downtown this weekend, as well as having dinner with Ashley Capps at Cafe 4 on Market Square.

Pitchfork has picked up the news about the Big Ears Festival coming to Knoxville in February and featuring Philip Glass, Pauline Oliveros, Antony and the Johnsons, Matmos, Fennesz, Michael Gira, and Jon Hassell. 

From musicOMH:

1. Elbow, The Seldom Seen Kid
2. TV on the Radio, Dear Science
3. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
4. Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
5. Portishead, Third
6. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
7. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
8. Laura Marling, Alas I Cannot Swim
9. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!
10. Fuck Buttons, Street Horrrsing

Saturday, Dec. 6: The Square Room on Market Square officially opened with a well-attended set by My Brightest Diamond. The space is something of a marvel--hardwood floors, immaculate fixtures, a stage that seems to be visible from anywhere, and stunning acoustics. And who were all those people?

You've got several chances to try the place out before the end of the year: The Ten Out of Tenn singer/songwriter showcase stops in on Wednesday, Dec. 10, and locals Scott Miller, Todd Steed, and R.B. Morris play together on Wed., Dec. 17.

Sunday, Dec. 7: David Byrne mixed a bunch of Talking Heads covers and versions of songs from his two albums with Brian Eno during his concert at the Tennessee Theatre, according to Jack Neely.

I wouldn't know, since I was across downtown at the Valarium, watching Animosity, Annotations of an Autopsy, All Shall Perish, and Job for a Cowboy. The place was near capacity just after the doors opened for several hours of deathcore (and one set by a band that sounds like Shadows Fall).

Things to do in Knoxville this weekend:

Friday, Dec. 5: It's First Friday, so wander around downtown, eat and drink for free, and check out some local art and music. After that, head to Metro Pulse's Christmas Party at the Valarium with the Dirty Guv'nahs, the Cornbred Blues Band, and DJ Slink.

Saturday, Dec. 6: The Square Room is hosting its first show on Saturday night with New York cabaret-rock band My Brightest Diamond.

Sunday, Dec. 7: You have to pick between David Byrne at the Tennessee Theatre or Job for a Cowboy with Hate Eternal, All Shall Perish, Annotations of an Autopsy, and Animosity at the Valarium. (I'm probably going with Hate Eternal.)

EDIT: Sunday's decision might have just gotten easier for some of you. Hate Eternal singer/guitarist Erik Rutan was hospitalized last week for a kidney infection and the band won't be playing.

The London-based Fact Magazine Top 20 Albums of 2008:

1. Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna
2. No Age, Nouns
3. Zomby, Where Were U in 92?
4. Portishead, Third
5. Late of the Pier, Fantasy Black Channel
6. Jay Reatard, Matador Singles 08
7. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
8. Thomas Brinkmann, When Horses Die...
9. Deerhunter, Microcastle
10. Flying Lotus, Los Angeles
11. High Places, High Places
12. Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules and Love Affair
13. Ponytail, Ice Cream Spiritual
14. 2562, Aerial
15. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
16. The Bug, London Zoo
17. Kelley Polar, I Need You to Hold On While the Sky Is Falling
18. Claro Intelecto, Metanarrative
19. Hush Arbors, Hush Arbors
20. M83, Saturdays = Youth

Fact also released its Top 20 Mixes of the Year, Top 20 Videos of the Year, and Top 20 Reissues/Compilations of the Year. 

I don't have anything interesting to say about the 2009 Grammy Award nominations released yesterday. 

AC Entertainment and a few other locals (including Jason Boardman of Pilot Light and Chris Molinski of Art Gallery of Knoxville and Knoxville Museum of Art) have officially announced the Big Ears Festival, which will bring Philip Glass, Antony and the Johnsons, John Hassell, the Necks, Michael Gira of the Swans, Fennesz (performing with Sparklehorse), Matmos, and Pauline Oliveros to Knoxville in February.

From the press release:

The weekend of February 6 - 7 - 8, 2009 will see the maiden voyage of a new "boutique" music festival concept called BIG EARS in Knoxville, Tennessee.  The mission of BIG EARS is to create a dynamic cross-genre music and arts festival experience. Spearheaded by Ashley Capps, president of AC Entertainment and longtime fan of cutting edge music, the BIG EARS experience will include concerts by legendary innovators along with young cutting edge visionaries and experimentalists crossing a variety of genres. The festival will also include art installations, exhibitions, performance art, seminars with artists, and interactive experiences.

Perhaps best known as a founder and producer of the acclaimed mega-festival, Bonnaroo, Capps envisions a very different experience at Big Ears, "Big Ears is conceived as a boutique festival, appealing to a very focused audience of music fans with adventurous tastes.  We're hoping to sell a thousand tickets to our inaugural event, but we intend for everyone who attends to have an extraordinary experience."

Capps envisions BIG EARS as happening several times a year in different cities - with each festival loosely defined by a unifying thread.  In keeping with its moniker - BIG EARS is a term often used to describe especially gifted and insightful listeners-  the inaugural festival's concept is about listening.  "I have a compelling interest in music that demands your complete attention, that quietly insists that you slow down and listen -  and that transports you into another world. It seems that there are others who long for that experience as well.  And this is a quality common to the music of many of the artists performing at BIG EARS in February," says Capps.

Artists confirmed include enormously influential composer/performer Philip Glass;  2005 Mercury Prize-winning cabaret act Antony and the Johnsons; trumpet wizard Jon Hassell and his multi-cultural trance fusion band, Maarifa Street; Australia's improvising ambient groove trio The Necks; Swans-founder and godfather of the new avant-folk movement Michael Gira; sonic anarchists Negativland (presenting their subversive "live" radio show "It's All in Your Head"); the richly textured electronic soundscapes of Fennesz - performing solo and with alternative rock band Sparklehorse; the ever-inventive electronic group Matmos; and, last but not least, renown composer and electronic music pioneer, Pauline Oliveros will present her meditative Deep Listening experiences.  More additions to the weekend line up will be announced soon.
 
The selection of Knoxville, Tennessee as the launching pad for Big Ears is not an accident.  "We wanted to create a 'getaway' event, outside of the usual major cultural centers, and Knoxville is a great choice.  There are two fabulous historic theaters with extraordinary acoustics (including the 750-seat Bijou which celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2009) along with a variety of other great venues, including the legendary experimental music outpost, The Pilot Light, and the Knoxville Museum of Art; excellent restaurants, and downtown  hotels...and they're all within a short walk of one another...plus, it's our hometown and we want to show it off!"

Weekend festival passes - which offer admission to all festival concerts (subject to available capacity) - are priced at $195.00 plus applicable service fees and will be available beginning Friday, Dec. 5 at 10:00am Eastern.   They may be purchased through www.bigearsfestival.com or by calling 865.684.1200 ext. 2 between the hours of 10:00am and 5:00pm eastern.  More festival details, including travel and hotel information and up-to-the-minute news and additions to the line up, are also available at the BIG EARS website.

The offical website.

Hubba hubba. Ten discs of chart-topping singles from Motown, the Miracles to Erykah Badu. 

So what exactly does "Southern" mean? In the editor's note in The Oxford American's new music issue, Marc Smirnoff pre-empts my perpetual complaint about the studiously researched CD anthology that accompanies the series--that is, that the magazine's definition of Southern music is an aesthetic one, and not a geographic one, i.e. it includes old rock and country, folk, bluegrass, and soul but excludes typically urban music like dance music, hip-hop, and contemporary R&B and country. (David Banner's "Cadillacs on 22s" did make last year's disc.)

Even though the cover of the two-disc set that comes with this year's issue clearly says "TWO SOUTHERN MUSIC CDS," Smirnoff writes:

"I'll say it aloud: The Oxford American covers old music...mainly...though not exclusively. I would feel badly, I hope, if our looking back contributed to people ignoring great contemporary music. But, come on, there are many more blogs, magazines, websites, TV spots, radio shows, and MySpaces hyping and analyzing contemporary music than there are useful and thoughtful guides to past music. My point is, simply, that there's room for a publication or CD that focuses on scratchy recordings."

That's fine--but maybe you should add the adjective "old" to the CD cover. Because when you just call it Southern music, I expect, every now and then, to hear some Miami bass, some KC and the Sunshine Band, some reggaeton, some OutKast or Lil' Jon, some electro, even some classic Tampa death metal. There's tons of exciting music that's come out of the urban centers of the South in the last 30 years, a lot of which still sounds vital and fresh today. Just because it doesn't have a banjo doesn't mean it's not Southern. (You'd also be hard-pressed to convince me that Neko Case, who's spent most of her life and almost all of her recording career in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, qualifies as "Southern." Or "old," for that matter.)

In case you were wondering whether Bonnaroo was going to take place in 2009, dates for next year's festival were announced today. The eighth edition of the multiday hippiefest and music extravaganza will be held June 11-14.

The lineup will be announced in January or February.

Vice Magazine dissects the year-end list. 

From XLR8R, in alphabetical order:

Atlas Sound Let the Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannon Feel 

Beach House Devotion 

Brenda Ray Walatta 

Bun-B Il Trill 

Daedelus Love to Make Music To 

Dizzee Rascal Maths + English 

Flying Lotus Los Angeles 

Foals Antidotes 

Glass Candy Beatbox 

Jeremy Jay A Place Where We Could Go 

Kelley Polar I need to Hold on While the Sky is Falling 

Lindstrøm Where You Go I Go Too 

Lone Lemurian 

M83 Saturdays = Youth 

MGMT Oracular Spectacular 

The Notwist The Devil, You + Me 

Portishead Third 

Syclops I've Got My Eye on You 

Spiritualized Songs in A & E 

The Mole High as the Sky 

Throw Me the Statue Moonbeams 

Tobacco Fucked Up Friends 

Xiu XiuWomen as Lovers 

Yelle Pop-Up 

Zomes Zomes