Songs of the Week 35/08

• Archers of Loaf: "White Trash Heroes" (Alias)
• The Wrens: "Happy" (Absolutely Kosher)
  
• The Streets: "Heaven for the Weather" (sixsevenine)
• Adam Lane: "Last of the Beboppers" (Clean Feed)
• Report Suspicious Activity: "Bush Is Brezhnev" (Alternative Tentacles/Revolver)
  

Paper Thin Walls R.I.P.

Paper Thin Walls closes down. Spreading the word on the internet isn't always easy.

Songs of the Week 34/08

• Wampire Weekend: "Everywhere" (Fleetwood Mac Cover)
• Fujiya & Miyagi: "Uh" (Groenland)
• Jenny Lewis: "Carpetbagers" (Rough Trade)
• Big Black "Kerosene" (Touch and Go)
• Jessie Evans: "Scientist of Love" (MySpace etc.)
  

Songs of the Week 33/08

• William Parker: "Lights of Lake George" (Arts For Art/AUM Fidelity)
• K'naan: "I Was Stabbed By Satan (Track and Field inc./CD Baby)
• Bottomless Pit: "Red Pen" (Comedy minus One)
• Kronos Quartet: "Marquee Moon" (Elektra, 1990)
• Spoon: "Peace Like a River" (Daytrotter Sessions)
  

Reviews

Forgot to mention I have two recent reviews at the Norwegian free monthly Plan B; Original Silence and Lars Horntveth (both are in Norwegian).

Both are interesting records, but share one problem albeit for slightly different reasons: themes.

OS is a noise/improv band, and I've often felt that noise works best live where the physical aspect of the music comes to the fore. Listening to records is a more "intellectual" excersice, so I feel the need for some form thematic structure or propulsion is necessary to keep you listening. Luckily, OS has a terrific rhythm section in Paal Nilssen-Love and Massimo Pupillo who keep the momentum going and makes sure not everything hangs mid-air, so to speak.

Horntveth's record - a 37+ minute suite of sorts - while often quite beautiful suffers from too many ideas or themes, and sometimes you don't quite know how you got from one part to the next.

Songs of the Week 32/08

(No songs this week, but a "top 5" of the gigs at Øya '08.)

• Girl Talk (Wed. 08/06/08)
• Kenge Kenge (Thur. 08/07/08)
• Sonic Youth (Thur. 08/07/08)
• Clipse (Fri. 08/08/08)
• My Bloody Valentine (Fri. 08/08/08)

Well, I must add

• No Age (08/09/08)

Also, R.I.P. to Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac.

Need to recoup. Until then.

I Want the LP-version of Double Nickels... on my iPod. + Øya '08.

You have the CD-version. You rip it. Then you download "Mr. Robots Holy Orders", "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love", and the brilliant "Little Man With a Gun In His Hand" from the Mike Watt approved Corndogs.org. Edit in accordance with the original track-listing, and hey presto!, you're good to go.

The Minutemen - "Little Man With A Gun In His Hand" live at the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, 1984

Øya is up and running. I'm not, but I'm going anyway. Los Campesinos! and Girl Talk both put on good shows yesterday, but the area is too crowded this year with the addition of one more stage, meaning I just had to give up on Lykke Li and others. They have to consider whether this was a good move or not for next year (my money is on "not".)

Songs of the Week 31/08