(Photo taken by J.J. McCarthy) JTE @ Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Ga.
So I’m comparing the Nicole Atkins black and whites I uploaded a couple weeks ago to the Justin Townes Earle black and whites I uploaded a couple days ago. In terms of YouTube views, the latter is thriving while the others have all but flatlined. I think it’s because there’s so much footage available of Atkins that those kind of just got lost. However, because my JTE videos are doing relatively well, I’ve decided I’m going to upload some clips from the show in Decatur, Ga., sometime soon–probably closer to the weekend because of my schedule.
What will be included this time? Again, I’m going to have to take a look at the footage to see what’s decent, but I can almost guarantee there will be at least one more new track and a cover. Perhaps more. It should be noted this is the show Mr. Cory Younts missed because he had previously broken a bottle and his eye was on the receiving end of some glass. Ouch!
(Photo taken by J.J. McCarthy) JTE @ The Kent Stage
Continuing the Inglourious Black and White series we bring to you, as promised, live footage of new Justin Townes Earle tracks. These gems in particular come from a June 4 set at the Kent Stage in historical downtown Kent, Ohio.
A little background.
I had just gotten back to home in Ohio from my internship in Georgia about two weeks earlier, so the spirit of ol’ Dixieland was alive and well inside me. Naturally, seeing Earle in an old theater was an added bonus. But it wasn’t just the music and the setting, mind you. I’d spoken with Earle a couple times while down South: once on the phone for a Buddy Holly piece in either late-January or early-February, the next time in person during his U.S. tour when he swung through Decatur. Seeing him a second time in less than three months in my own backyard was oddly nostalgic. The scene–a static camera capturing the dynamic performer–thrown in black and white seems to fit with that.
Below are four songs in three clips. The first two videos contain three new tracks: “Learning to Cry,” “One More Night in Brooklyn” and an untitled newbie I like to call “Tennessee Pine.” (OK, for all I know, they’re all untitled. I’m just guessing on the other two.) The last clip is one of my favorite JTE covers, “So Different Blues,” originally performed by blues guy Mance Lipscomb. Theoretically, I’d love to upload the entire show, but 80 minutes is just too much. But if there’s a favorite JTE song you’d like me to post, lemme know in the comments section.
(Photo taken by J.J. McCarthy) Justin Townes Earle @ The Kent Stage
After uploading Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea’s entire Cleveland set from last week, I feel emboldened. I’m thinking of digging into the archives (March and June 2009) and continuing the Inglourious Black and White series with new material from one of the greatest, most entertaining modern singer/songwriters, Justin Townes Earle. Is he country? Honky-tonk? Folk? A little rockabilly with a punk-rock attitude? How ’bout all of the above and more? I just need to take a gander at the lazy, static footage I have and make sure it’s acceptable. Stay tuned…
Wow, this is strange. Pleasantly strange, to be sure, but strange nonetheless. I was sitting in the family room watching Seinfeld earlier tonight when I heard a familiar tune featured in a Payless Shoes Airwalk commercial. A few seconds in, it hit me… and I gotta say, I kinda liked it. It was The Prissteens, the wonderful almost-all-girl group and McCarthy’s Media Menace favorite that released the lost gem of 1998, Scandal, Controversy & Romance. The song: “Someday.” Unfortunately, it ran only 15 all-too-short seconds. No matter. It’s still pretty cool.
You can check it out at the link below. Click the second commercial, “Cozy Airwalk!”
(Photo taken by J.J. McCarthy) Guitarist Bradley York and Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins and her new band, the Black Sea, are currently on the road promoting their upcoming album, which Atkins says her and the guys will record this January. On Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, Atkins and her Jersey posse breezed into Cleveland from Chi-town. McCarthy’s Media Menace was there to capture it. Well, sorta. I was armed with my Sony DCR-HC21 mini-dv camcorder along with all my other journalism stuff, but the thought of holding a camera an entire set without break seemed daunting. Long story short, after chatting with Atkins and making small talk with the rest of the group, drummer Chris Donofrio nudged me into undertaking the project on which I was teetering.
So, enough prose. Here, in order, are all 11 songs Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea performed that night presented in digitized Inglourious Black and White. (Note: I missed the first few seconds of the first song.)
When Vampire Weekend formally debuted a new track from its upcoming album in March on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, it was only a matter of time until they formally announced a new album. Shortly after playing “White Sky,” a song the band had included in some of their live shows, Fallon asked frontman Ezra Koenig when we could expect the next record. “Hopefully fall,” he replied.
So yesterday on VW’s MySpace, the quartet delivered the news fans have been waiting for: Album #2 is on its way. Except in typical music industry fashion, it’ll drop months after the original ETA. Contra, looking eerily (OK, maybe not eerily) similar to the self-titled debut, text and all, will hit stores Jan. 12, 2010 and feature 10 tracks, including the aforementioned “White Sky.”
Check out one of the other new tracks, “Cousins,” performed live in Copenhagen:
A few months ago, I laid out a bunch of updates/things you had to know about Nicole Atkins and her long-awaited sophomore album. Instead of going into a big long story, I simply numbered and rattled off a slew of updates, which is what I’m going to do here because there’s just too many happenings. So, without further ado…
1. It’s no longer Nicole Atkins and the Sea; it’s Nicole Atkins and the Black Sea. This one is fairly obvious because like I said before…
2. …there’s a completely new lineup. In the other update, I wasn’t 100 percent sure about who had joined the band. That appears to have been cleared up by the MySpace page. The newbies are Bradley York (guitar), Anthony Chick (bass) and Chris Donofrio (drums), all courtesy of the band Sikamor Rooney. There’s also someone named Eytan, but I’m not sure what he does (probably keys?) or from where he came. My only guess is that he’s replacing the one and only Dan “Cashmere” Chen.
3. If you’re curious to hear how the new band sounds recorded, check out the haunting cover of Michael Jackson’s“Ben.”
4. If you’re curious to hear how the new band is shaping the epic track “The Tower,” which Atkins debuted at Austin City Limits Festival with her old band one year ago, head over to her MySpace. A recent live version is currently the very top track.
5. I’ve looked up and down to see where I heard this, and I finally found it on a June 29 posting on Facebook.
“excited to finish the new demo of “i wait for you” shit is sounding heeeeaaavy.”
That’s pretty neat, considering this track has become a live staple since early 2008 and there’s been little mention of it in regards to the new record. This seems to affirm it will be on the new record. Check out Dave Cromwell’s Aug. 6 video of the song with the Black Sea:
It’s difficult to tell from this video, but the track appears to be lacking the grand orchestration Cashmere provided in the earlier versions.
6. Also, if you’re interested in more video from that show, check out these professional-looking clips on Vimeo, including “The Tower” and “Hotel Plaster.” One is a new track I haven’t heard before, “Heavy Boots.”
7. Ms. Atkins is no longer with Columbia Records. I heard this a little while back, and here’s the official announcement from her blog (where you can find a lot of this info):
“as most of you have probably read columbia and i have parted ways. don’t fret, nothing terrible happened. i really enjoyed releasing neptune city with them and all of the help with touring and promo that they gave me. i learned a lot and am definitely grateful for the doors that they opened for me with my career. they gave me a great jumpoff and tis only the beginning. in the end, we just were not a good fit anymore. regardless, the record is ready to be recorded. we are talking to a few good labels that i really like and respect and will have some news to report to you guys shortly on that front so hang tight bunnies.”
From what I can gather, Columbia just wasn’t getting the job done. Apparently, turnover at the label was/is pretty rampant, making it difficult to get going on something (i.e. making an album). The Raveonettes also left the label for similar reasons a couple years ago.
So there you have it. Updates aplenty. In the meantime, the band is touring this fall. Here are the dates:
September 19 – New York, N.Y. @ Webster Hall
October 18 – Boston, Mass. @ House of Blues 20 – Iowa City, Iowa @ Englert Theater 21 – Madison, Wisc. @ The Barrymore Theater 22 – Urbana, Ill. @ The Canopy Club 24 – Chicago, Ill. @ Subterranean 26 - Cleveland, Ohio @ Beachland Tavern 27 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Club Cafe 29 – Huntington, W. Va. @ Keith Albee Theatre 30 – Louisville, Ky. @ Louisville Palace 31 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium
Yes, my blog visits have almost flatlined. No, I’m not dead… yet. Just looking for work and failing miserably.
Anyways, as a McCarthy’s Media Menace favorite, I thought I should update you on some important Raveonettes news. The band released the first single from the forthcoming album, In and Out Of Control (released Oct. 6 through Vice Records). You may already be familiar with the track as it was one of the demos we heard earlier this summer. The finished version of the track “Last Dance” is currently available through Entertainment Weekly’s website. Where the demo sounds somewhat flimsy, this one is perfectly and powerfully polished. Mainstream? Yes. Watered-down? Nah. I’d say if anything, where the band cut out a very exclusive audience with past releases, this song not only includes those folks, but many of the indie-snobs who thrust bands like Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit into the spotlight.
The Raveonettes have finished recording their latest album, In and Out of Control, due out on Vice Records Oct. 6. Throughout the process, the Danish twosome gave us an intimate in-studio glimpse through the release of rough demos and the transmission of live video chats and recording sessions.
Now, two months away from the record’s release, the band is teasing us yet again with the track “Suicide,” which is available for listen and download through Pitchfork. This basically reinforces what I’ve already speculated in earlier posts regarding the new record: bubblegum pop progressions and harmonies mixed with pitch black, darker-than-ever lyricism. The combination of the sparse surf guitar and drum machine in the verse creates the perfect setup for the booming, tightly wound chorus.
As mentioned above, the new album is called In and Out of Control. So where is the self-titled track we were treated to earlier? The 11-song tracklisting is available to view at Barnes & Noble, but “In and Out of Control” is nowhere to be found, leading me to believe they changed the name. Honestly, I think that would make a great album-opener, so perhaps that track became “Bang!” We shall see…
Here’s the full tracklist for your viewing pleasure:
1. Bang!
2. Gone Forever
3. Last Dance
4. Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)
5. Heart of Stone
6. Oh, I Buried You Today
7. Suicide
8. D.R.U.G.S.
9. Breaking Into Cars
10. Break Up Girls!
11. Wine
It is with great regret that I report the breakup of a band I hardly knew: The Manhattan Love Suicides. I regret it because, well, I only ever heard of the Leeds quartet earlier this year through a friend and loved what I heard on their MySpace page. A track like “Johnny Boy” had a Ramones/Jesus and Mary Chain feel to it injected with the sweet girl vocals of Caroline. (The band only used first names.) It was an exciting fusion of noise, and I wanted to know more. But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be anything longterm.
Here’s (briefly) how it all went down. In 2006, the band released its debut. Already, there were claims that the band was working on a second record. Then, in 2008, MLS released Burnt Out Landscapes, a 27-song collection of rare tracks. In June of this year, they rereleased their debut, complete with 11 extra tracks and a DVD. Again, it was said that the group would release its second album later this year. Fastforward to today, July 25. It doesn’t look like that new album is happening. The reason? In the band’s own words, “We’ve made our point.” Via MySpace bulletin, here’s the rest of what the band had to say:
After 3 years, 1 album, 6 singles, a 27 track compilation CD and a DVD, plus more hit and run, feedback and noise drenched 20 minute gigs than we can remember… The Manhattan Love Suicides have decided to split.
The reason? Quite simple really: We’d made our point.
Some bands form, and they keep going for many years. The Manhattan Love Suicides were never about that. We were never career driven; we just wanted to make an impact, like 4 sticks of dynamite thrown into a stale music scene. And in our own way, we did what we set out to do.
The music remains, and that is the most important thing. We’re all very proud of how much we did in the short time we existed. The last thing we ever wanted was to become stale. End it while it’s still fresh, while it’s still vital. While it still counts.
So, thanks to everyone who came to see us , to everyone who appreciated the music and to everyone who supported us. This is not the end: it’s just a new beginning. Adam and Rachel have formed The Medusa Snare and the debut album will be released by Squirrel Records soon, Caroline and Darren are contributing vocals and guitar respectively to Ailsa Craig, as well as working on new material together which will be released later in the year.
There’s not a whole lot of information on the band, but here’s a short, informative bio from All Music, which strangely enough cannot be found on allmusic.com.
