Vic Chesnutt died today.
Holes in his sweater, fluid in his lungs; the experts say
there are things he should have done better, but instead he is just dying young.
Category Archives: video
Jason Segel with The Broken West – ‘Dracula’s Lament’ (Video)
The Late Late Show‘s Craig Ferguson celebrated his 1000th episode on Tuesday night, and he did it in style. Save for the occasional scantily-clad backup dancer, the show consisted entirely of puppets. As if that weren’t cool enough, Ferguson also enlisted the aid of the always-game Jason Segel, who performed his “Dracula’s Lament” ballad from Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
In keeping with the puppet-only theme, Segel’s backing band was hidden, but if they hadn’t been you would’ve seen that they were Merge Records band The Broken West. The group fleshed out the song admirably, tweaking it with lush instrumentation and a rock and roll backbeat absent from the Marshall version. We’re not exactly sure how a band gets a gig playing backup for Jason Segel and a puppet vampire, but we do know we want their agent. Check out the festivities yourself—the song starts around the one-minute mark—in the clip above.
Lay Low – ‘By And By’ (Video)
Welcome to Iceland Appreciation Day at Owl&Bear—or “Owl och Björn†in Swedish, which we assume sounds pretty close to Icelandic—where we spotlight up-and-coming musicians from the subpolar island country. Incidentally, Iceland boasts a population of 320,000 and its popular dishes include liver sausage and cured ram scrotum. You heard me.
Okay, it’s not actually Iceland Appreciation Day, but we did just run a story on Seabear, so I figured I’d roll with it. Our next artist to be featured from the land of the great Strokkur geyser is LovÃsa ElÃsabet Sigrúnardóttir, better known as Lay Low.
The Patsy Cline-inspired singer/songwriter has already developed an immense following in her homeland, claiming the country’s top-selling original album last year with her debut, Please Don’t Hate Me. Lay Low will be turning her sights on the US with the release of her new album, Farewell Good Night’s Sleep, on March 9th, to be followed by an extensive tour. Continue reading
Boy Without God Never Sleeps
Boy Without God‘s Gabriel Birnbaum isn’t just godless; he’s also restless. The overachieving singer-songwriter released Your Body Is Your Soul earlier this year, a captivating album propelled by Birnbaum’s insightful lyrics and creaking baritone. But while other musicians might be content to rest on their laurels, Birnbaum is already at work recording his follow-up to Soul, entitled God Bless the Hunger.
As if putting out back to back full-lengths weren’t enough, Birnbaum is also releasing two free EPs of material recorded in between those albums. The first EP, Eight Delicate Olives Slowly Chewed at Midnight, is already available as a free download from the Boy Without God blog. The second EP is due for release in a couple of months. Here’s what Birnbaum has to say about Olives: Continue reading
Shout Out Louds Get To ‘Work’ (Video)
Shout Out Louds came storming out of the gate with their 2003 debut, Howl Howl Gaff Gaff, one of the finest records in a year rife with great music. Unfortunately, the Swedish band stumbled a bit with their follow-up, 2007’s overly-polished Our Ill Wills. With its high-production sheen and Cure-esque posturing, the sophomore effort was listenable but frustratingly sterile and derivative. Thankfully, the band seems poised to return to their former glory with the upcoming album Work.
Set for release February 23 on Merge Records, the album forgoes ornate strings and percussion in favor of a more stripped down sound. Work is produced by Phil Ek, who has done right by bands like The Shins, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses in the past. The first video from the album, entitled “Wallsâ€, gives further cause to be excited; its driving guitar, inviting vocals, and perfectly placed piano leave no doubt that the band is in fighting form. If you like the song, you can download an MP3 of it here.
The band will be playing a special album-release show on March 1st at the Music Hall of Wlliamsburg in Brooklyn before embarking on a tour for most of 2010.