Monthly Archives: November 2013

New Music: Stream Vertical Scratchers Garage-Pop Gem, “These Plains”

Vertical Scratchers is guitarist John Schmersal (formerly of Brainiac and Enon) and drummer Christian Beaulieu (ex-Triclops!).

“I love Christian’s drumming because he approaches it like a songwriter, as he is one in his own right,” Schmersal says in a Merge Records press release. “There aren’t really drum fills—more like rhythmic accents that punctuate what is happening at that point in the song itself.”

As for the guitars: “Part of the aesthetic we were establishing when writing Vertical Scratchers songs was to maintain a sense of urgency and raw energy without relying on volume and distortion,” Schmersal says. “I wanted the guitars to sound light and jangly, and most songs were purposefully sung in a soft falsetto.”

The duo’s debut, Daughter of Everything, will see release February 25, 2014.

Watch: Full 1993 Velvet Underground Reunion Concert In Hamburg

This video of the Velvet Underground performing in Hamburg at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle on June 11, 1993 starts in darkness, but after a minute or so the lights come on and you can see all of them playing. The sound quality is OK, but good enough.

Watch & Listen: Director Jim Jarmusch Makes Noise-Rock

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Director Jim Jarmusch is known for his films but he also plays guitar.

For his film “The Mystery Of Heaven” he collaborated musically with classical lutenist Jozef Van Wissem.

Now there’s a video for the instrumental, “Etimasia,” directed by filmmaker Jacqueline Castel, which you can look at while you hear the duo’s minimal music.

Miles Davis The Painter? Who Knew?

Turns out Miles Davis painted and drew for many hours each day.

His art is damn good. Some reminds me of Basquiat.

A book, “Miles Davis: The Collected Artwork,” was published recently.

You can see 12 examples of his painting and drawing at The Daily Beast.

Miles’ heirs are working away at keeping the legendary jazz musician in the spotlight, and bringing Davis’ music to younger generations. Some of their plans — remixes by hip DJs — seem sketchy, others — ties and scarves? — seem sacreligious. But a biopic is a great idea, and I welcome more music.

A story in todays New York Times details some of what his three heirs are up to.

Listen: David Lynch’s “Bad The John Boy” Arrives Too late For Halloween

Ooh, scary! Too bad David Lynch didn’t get this track out sooner.

It’s out as a limited edition 12″ tomorrow.

I’m not thrilled but maybe you want to hear it?

Working For The Man: How Selling Out Saved Indie Rock

Tegan and Sara want their music used in advertisements.

I remember when the idea of a musical artist letting one of their songs be used in a commercial was the end of the world. Neil Young wrote a song about it called “This Notes For You,” in which he sings:

Ain’t singin’ for Pepsi,
Ain’t singin’ for Coke,
I don’t sing for nobody,
Makes me look like a joke,
This note’s for you.

Not any more.

Jessica Hopper wrote a fascinating story on indie rock and advertising.

“A tiny sliver of bands are doing well,” says Tegan and Sara’s Sara Quin. “The rest of us are just middle class, looking for a way to break through that glass ceiling. The second ‘Closer’ got Top 40 radio play, we were involved in meetings with radio and marketing people who said, ‘The next step is getting a commercial.’ I can see why some bands might find that grotesque, but it’s part of the business now.”

Read the whole story at Buzzfeed.

Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova “Missing” For 20 Days

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Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been out of contact with her family and her lawyer for 20 days, according to Tolokonnikova’s husband, Pyotr Verzilov.

The location of Tolokonnikova remains a mystery. She was removed from Penal Colony No. 14 in Mordovia on October 21, and has been inaccessible to her family and legal representatives ever since.

Russia’s Federal Penal Service (FSIN) said in a statement released to Interfax Friday that Tolokonnikoca is still on her way to a new penal colony. Inerfax is a Moscow-based non-governmental news agency.

In the statement, the FSIN claims that Tolokonnikova is in satisfactory health and that “no complaints have come from her.”

“May we reiterate that,” the FSIN statement said, “under Article 17 of the Penalty Enforcement Code of the Russian Federation, the administration of [the penal colony] will notify only one relative of the convict (to be chosen by the latter) about her arrival at the institution, and will do so no later than within 10 days of her arrival.”

Amnesty International has demanded that Russian authorities immediately disclose where they are holding Tolokonnikova.

Last Tuesday (Nov. 5, 2013) Verzilov told Rolling Stone that his wife was being transferred to a prison in the city of Krasnoyarsk, 2,600 miles east of Moscow, in the heart of Siberia.

“It’s 100 percent that it’s Krasnoyarsk region,” Verzilov told Rolling Stone during a phone interview. The information came from a source in Russia’s prison administration, Verzilov said.

Verzilov said he believed his wife was headed for Colony 50, near the town of Nizhny Ingash, which is 190 miles from the city of Krasnoyarsk. This prison is in a much more remote location than Penal Colony No. 14.

On Thursday however, The Daily Beast called the prison and was told Tolokonnikova was not there. “An unindentified woman at the prison, who answered The Daily Beast’s phone call, told reporters that ‘Tolokonnikova is not being kept at #50,’ The Daily Beast reported.

Watch: My Bloody Valentine Blow Minds On U.S. Tour

My Bloody Valentine played at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia the other night, and at the House of Blues on Nov. 7, and at the Metropolis in Montreal the night before that. The first three clips are from the Electric Factory.

Check out “Soon”:

“When You Sleep”:

“To Here Knows When”:

“Soon,” House of Blues:

“Feed Me With Your Kiss,” House of Blues:

“You Made Me Realize,” Houe of Blues

“Only Tomorrow,” Metropolis:

Ringo Starr, The Photographer: A Gallery Of His Beatles Photos

Photo by Ringo Starr via The Hollywood Reporter.

A book of photos by Ringo Star, “Photograph,” was published earlier this year. Turns out the Beatles’ drummer and sometime singer is a pretty good photographer.

You can check out a gallery of his photos (24 of them) at the CBS News site and there are nine different photos by Ringo at The Hollywood Reporter. It’s definitely work a look if you care about the Fab Four.

Watch: New Songs From Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

New music from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ upcoming album, Wig Out At Jagbags, plus covers of “Stairway To Heaven” and “Beginning To See The Light.”

The Jicks played these songs last night at the Crystal Ballroom in the band’s hometown of Portland.

Check out these videos most of which the good folks at Stereogum were kind enough to extract off YouTube.