Teenage Love (officially Teenage Love13 these days) will be celebrating 25 years together on Jan. 9 at Pilot Light. That's a quarter century of Rus Harper pulling his pants down to a soundtrack of scary punk.
December 2009 Archives
A bunch of MP contributors listed their favorite albums of the year here. Feel free to argue.
I've only heard 10 of the 24 discs on the list--at least a few (Oneida, Nels Cline, Gay Witch Abortion, Mastodon, and Baroness) might have been on my ballot if someone else hadn't picked them. Other contenders for me:
Converge, Axe to Fall
Miranda Lambert, Revolution
Liturgy, Renihilation
Jim O'Rourke, The Visitor
Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Wolves in the Throne Room, Black Cascade
Yob, The Great Cessation
The xx, xx
I've only heard 10 of the 24 discs on the list--at least a few (Oneida, Nels Cline, Gay Witch Abortion, Mastodon, and Baroness) might have been on my ballot if someone else hadn't picked them. Other contenders for me:
Converge, Axe to Fall
Miranda Lambert, Revolution
Liturgy, Renihilation
Jim O'Rourke, The Visitor
Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Wolves in the Throne Room, Black Cascade
Yob, The Great Cessation
The xx, xx
Billboard Live will broadcast the Brian Setzer Orchestra's show at the Tennessee Theatre from Dec. 8 online on Christmas Eve.
Mp contributor Michael Haynes wrote a short preview of the show here.
Photo by Russ Harrington
Mp contributor Michael Haynes wrote a short preview of the show here.
"Christmas has more music than any other holiday. We don't have Easter carols. We don't have a soundtrack for Memorial Day, Halloween, or Labor Day. But we dust off the Christmas classics year after year. Next week at the Tennessee Theatre, though, they'll get polished up by a pro who's made a multi-platinum career out of dusting off the old and making it new again.
After leaping onto the scene as frontman for the postmodern rockabilly band the Stray Cats, Brian Setzer twisted and twanged his way through the '80s before fusing his down-and-dirty guitar boogie with the ballsy brass of big band to create the Brian Setzer Orchestra in 1990. While '40s big bands kept the guitar buried behind the stand, strumming out rhythm, Setzer brings his Gretsch and Fender out front and center for a seamless blend of swing and rockabilly.
The three-time Grammy award-winner's Seventh Annual Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza will feature a seasonal showcase of Christmas tunes with Setzer and the Orchestra ripping the wrapping off everything from "Jingle Bells" to "Run Rudolph Run." The band puts the blue suede in "White Christmas," and as Setzer sings: "Oh, what fun it is to ride in a '57 Chevrolet."
Photo by Russ Harrington
I wrote last week that Gretchen Wilson's a pretty complicated country performer. She didn't make anything any simpler at her show at Cotton Eyed Joe last night--she and her band of hotshot Nashville cats turned in an arena-sized concert crammed onto the club's dancefloor, skipping traditional country (no "Come to Bed" or "When I Think About Cheatin'") in favor of her hardest rocking hits ("Here for the Party," "All Jacked Up") and a couple of classic rock covers (Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" and Heart's "Barracuda"). There was even a drum solo.
Wilson presents herself as both a hardcore country traditionalist and as a trailer-park version of the girl next door. She's not really much of either--her idea of country tradition only goes back about 30 years, to Hank Williams Jr. and Charlie Daniels, and she's a polished, professional, veteran entertainer. (She killed that show last night--it was one of the best concerts I've seen all year.) It's a knotty package--celebrity that sells itself as grassroots populism. It's no coincidence that the working-class anthem "Redneck Woman" is exactly what made her rich and famous. (Wilson told the audience she'd like to stay and hang out at the club for a couple of hours after the show. Within minutes of the concert's end, though, she was on her way out a side door to her gigantic tour bus, surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards. It was a TMZ kind of moment.)
(There's a dark side to that kind of populism these days, though. Wilson dedicated "Politically Uncorrect" to the military personnel in the audience--I didn't particularly appreciate the conflation of the armed forces with conservative politics, but whatever. The song segued into a Thin Lizzy-style twin-guitar-lead rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." When it was over, Wilson asked from the stage, "Isn't it great to live in America?" Somebody near me in the crowd shouted back, "It used to be!")
Wilson presents herself as both a hardcore country traditionalist and as a trailer-park version of the girl next door. She's not really much of either--her idea of country tradition only goes back about 30 years, to Hank Williams Jr. and Charlie Daniels, and she's a polished, professional, veteran entertainer. (She killed that show last night--it was one of the best concerts I've seen all year.) It's a knotty package--celebrity that sells itself as grassroots populism. It's no coincidence that the working-class anthem "Redneck Woman" is exactly what made her rich and famous. (Wilson told the audience she'd like to stay and hang out at the club for a couple of hours after the show. Within minutes of the concert's end, though, she was on her way out a side door to her gigantic tour bus, surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards. It was a TMZ kind of moment.)
(There's a dark side to that kind of populism these days, though. Wilson dedicated "Politically Uncorrect" to the military personnel in the audience--I didn't particularly appreciate the conflation of the armed forces with conservative politics, but whatever. The song segued into a Thin Lizzy-style twin-guitar-lead rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." When it was over, Wilson asked from the stage, "Isn't it great to live in America?" Somebody near me in the crowd shouted back, "It used to be!")
Here's to all my sisters out there keepin' it country.
Gretchen Wilson, tonight, Cotton Eyed Joe. I sort of feel like I need to explain why I think she's one of the awesome country singers of the decade, but screw that. If "Redneck Woman" and "Here for the Party" don't make you want to drink beer outside and pass a bottle around a bonfire, nothing I can say would change that.
Here's the latest single, from the forthcoming I Got Your Country Right Here, due out in March.
Gretchen Wilson, tonight, Cotton Eyed Joe. I sort of feel like I need to explain why I think she's one of the awesome country singers of the decade, but screw that. If "Redneck Woman" and "Here for the Party" don't make you want to drink beer outside and pass a bottle around a bonfire, nothing I can say would change that.
Here's the latest single, from the forthcoming I Got Your Country Right Here, due out in March.
Calvin Johnson--formerly of Beat Happening, Dub Narcotic System, the Go Team, and the Halo Benders, founder of K Records, one of the most important figures in the history of Northwestern indie rock, and probably the one person most responsible for the word "twee" becoming part of the pop music lexicon--is playing a show at the Birdhouse on the day after Christmas.
This clip for the song "Indian Summer," from Beat Happening's 1988 album Jamboree, is a good introduction to Johnson's distinctive voice and vision.
This clip for the song "Indian Summer," from Beat Happening's 1988 album Jamboree, is a good introduction to Johnson's distinctive voice and vision.
When the first round of the Big Ears lineup was announced last week, the response ranged from "looks like someone's trying to sell a few more tickets this year" to "Shitty." Ashley Capps explains the lineup--and promises some surprises--here.
The initial lineup for Big Ears 2010 has just been announced: In addition to artist-in-residence Terry Riley, the weekend will include Vampire Weekend, Joanna Newsom, St. Vincent, the Calder Quartet, Andrew WK, The Ex, Gang Gang Dance, Clogs, 802 Tour (Nico Muhly / Doveman / Sam Amidon with Nadia Sirota), The xx , Javelin, DJ/Rupture (solo), DJ/Rupture and Andy Moor, My Brightest Diamond, Gyan Riley, and jj.
From the press release:
From the press release:
The groundbreaking Big Ears Festival - slated for the weekend of
March 26-28, 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee - is excited to unveil the
initial line up for this year's event. Building on the visionary
programming of last year's inaugural festival, the 2010 Big Ears
expands with a remarkable line up of even greater depth and breadth
than its predecessor...with over 30 artists/bands expected to perform
some 50 concerts in at least 8 venues this year. In addition, there will
be art exhibitions, installations, film screenings, workshops, interactive
experiences, lectures and discussions.
...
As previously announced, visionary American minimalist composer
Terry Riley has been confirmed as artist in residence. Celebrating his
75th birthday in 2010, several of Riley's compositions will be performed
throughout the weekend, including an all-star ensemble for his seminal
In C and performances by the composer himself.
Bryce Dessner, best known as guitarist for the acclaimed rock band
the National, has signed on this year as a curator for the festival. He's
involved in selecting artists to perform during the weekend,
commissioning new work, and conceiving of several unique programs.
The Inner Ear Weekend Festival Pass goes on sale Friday, December
11, at 10:00am Eastern. This limited edition pass offers premium
access to all Big Ears happenings throughout the entire weekend
(subject to available capacity) as well as exclusive invitations and
access to select special events as well. 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.
Tickets for individual concerts and events will go on sale in early
January. At that time, the schedule of events for the Big Ears
weekend will be announced as well.
The Oxford American Music Issue showed up in the mail this morning, along with the annual two-CD anthology of Southern music.
This one's got the 1987 track "So Much" by the Windbreakers, the '80s college rock band co-fronted by Tim Lee, who's been a Knoxvillian for going on a decade now and currently leads the Tim Lee 3 with his wife, Susan Bauer Lee on bass and Rodney Cash on drums.
In the accompanying essay, novelist Will Clarke doesn't say much about the Windbreakers' music ("It's gorgeous," in reference to "Stupid Idea," is the extent of his analysis) but muses on songs and bands he missed during his own adolescence. It's pretty typical middle-age nostalgia, but the Windbreakers are indeed a classic example of a band that should have been bigger. As Clarke writes:
This one's got the 1987 track "So Much" by the Windbreakers, the '80s college rock band co-fronted by Tim Lee, who's been a Knoxvillian for going on a decade now and currently leads the Tim Lee 3 with his wife, Susan Bauer Lee on bass and Rodney Cash on drums.
In the accompanying essay, novelist Will Clarke doesn't say much about the Windbreakers' music ("It's gorgeous," in reference to "Stupid Idea," is the extent of his analysis) but muses on songs and bands he missed during his own adolescence. It's pretty typical middle-age nostalgia, but the Windbreakers are indeed a classic example of a band that should have been bigger. As Clarke writes:
"The Windbreakers' undeserved obscurity defies my explanation. They had the songwriting chops. They had the sound. They even had the indie-hitmaker producer. If this was all laid out on a spreadsheet, the sum total of this equation should have equaled rock stardom."
