Review: Animal Collective; September 25, 2007 at the Cannery Ballroom; Nashville, TN
So I went to see the Animal Collective play again, this time in Nashville as opposed to Birmingham, which cut the drive in half.
But let me tell you something. I would have driven to Iceland to see these guys again. I’m typically a fairly cynical guy, but seeing these guys is almost a spiritual experience.
Deerhunter – Fluorescent Grey
2007, Kranky
With this EP, Deerhunter accommodates fans put off by Cryptogram’s decidedly freaked-out sound, without alienating the hopheads and experimentalists who reveled in their full length’s woozy washes and white noise symphonies.
The Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse
2007, Jagjaguwar
“Disaster,” the opening track on Are the Dark Horse, by The Besnard Lakes, sounds like it was lifted whole and intact from the cutting room floor of the Pet Sounds sessions. It’s goddamn breathtaking.
Pitchfork Music Festival 2007 (II)
Note: Photos in this essay depict re-enactments of actual events, not the events themselves.
Thursday, July 12
McCaskill picked me up at my folks’ house at 9PM. We weren’t planning to leave Jackson until about 1 or 2AM, but we’d decided to hang out a while and say goodbyes because, naturally, we may never come back.
Instead of going to the bar, for obvious reasons, we opted for dinner. Regardless, as with alcohol, we are both bottomless pits for food. The meal was uneventful, save for the fact that our waitress had apparently served McCaskill once before, and had taken offense to a conversation about foreskins. Despite this, the food was palatable and (hopefully) spit-free.
Girl Talk – Night Ripper
2007, Illegal Art
I can see Gregg Gillis, late at night, hunched over his laptop, sweat trickling down his brow in the unhealthy LCD glow, as he rips apart other artists’ works, and re-stitches the parts into a hellaciously funky monster that simply demands dance, all night.
Interview: Gregg Gillis (Girl Talk)
Owl&Bear: Where did you get the name Girl Talk and what does it signify, if anything?
Gregg Gillis: I was trying to pick the most intimidating name possible, something that when people hear it, they just sense insanity.
Liars – Liars
Liars have made a pretty damn accessible album (compared to their past two), without compromising their sound one little bit.
Animal Collective: Miscellaneous Tracks From “Strawberry Jam”
I got my hands on 6 tracks from the upcoming Animal Collective album, Strawberry Jam, and I am floored.
Bonnaroo 2007
When I left Thursday afternoon, I felt like shit with an ungodly case of mono and, apparently, Lyme disease. I thought I might die there, but by Friday, I felt much, much better. It may be stupidly-named, but Bonnaroo apparently cures all ills.
White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
Do you like your Indie rock itchy, nervy, and rhythmically complex, with tuned angular guitars that suddenly shift into funky, almost tropical figures?
Frightened Rabbit – Sing the Greys
Scotland-based Frightened Rabbit mix folk, punk, and pop into a wonderfully Indiemotional brew.
Review: Animal Collective; May 28, 2007 at the Bottle Tree Cafe; Birmingham, AL
Birmingham is four hours from where I stay, so I don’t often visit just to see any flavor-of-the-week indie rock band. Nope, if I’m gonna invest the time in an epic journey across state lines, time, and space, it’s going to have to be special. Last time, it was Califone, this time the Animal Collective. Was it worth it? Telling this early would be no fun.
Dan Deacon – Spiderman of the Rings
Dan Deacon’s music-school experiences obviously taught him the ropes of playful, complex, musical deflation.
Andrew Bird – Armchair Apocrypha
2007, Fat Possum Records
If you loved Andrew Bird’s Mysterious Production of Eggs, then you’ll probably think that Armchair Apocrypha is the bees’ knees.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
2007, First Look International
It’s easy to imagine this one fucking up a family of four that thinks they’re in for another family-friendly superhero movie.
The Last King of Scotland
Call me critical, but a film billed as one of the greatest films ever made should be damn mindblowingly good.
Envy – Insomniac Doze
2007, Temporary Residence
Don’t let the album cover fool you, with its picture of a diesel truck on a lonely, lost Hank Williams highway: this is not the stuff of urban sprawl.
The Sea & Cake – Everybody
2007, Thrill Jockey
Everybody is a good album, and The Sea & Cake’s new, improved sound might just attract scads of new listeners.
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
2007, Nonesuch
Wilco have put out great albums for so long that even a mediocre one might disappoint. This one is on the brink.
The Wrens – The Meadowlands
2003, Absolutely Kosher
Amazingly, even people who consider themselves “in the know” are unfamiliar with both The Wrens and this album.
The Twilight Sad – Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters
2007, Fat Cat
The Twilight Sad’s latest album, Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters, is less sad than cathartic.
Their name is somewhat deceiving; those expecting funereal, ethereal, twilit soundscapes need not even give the band a second glance. If, however, you think that My Bloody Valentine sorely needs an accordion and a thicker accent, well, then this is the album for you.
Classic: Mean Streets
Mean Streets
1973, Warner
A
It’s a crime that more people haven’t seen Martin Scorsese’s first major picture.
