The original Happy Gilmore trailer...

Album of the week

The Sea and Cake
Everybody (Thrill Jockey)

The Sea and Cake could make elevator music for fashion, art and music companies alike. This may seem an unappealing tag for The Sea and Cake, but if you heard their music you would spend a lot more time in the elevator. It's the perfect music to be heard accompanying a modern art museum -and their album covers could very well be on display in MOA musuems. Everybody even includes 3 artsy B&W stills. Simply, it's effortlessly, serene music that for me, is perfect for a day on the coast. Sam Prekop and co. haven't changed their sound much since they released the excellent The Fawn back in 1997. But Everybody does sound a bit more aggressive and urgent than their past few releases with the edgier "Crossing Line" and quasi-rockish "Middlenight," which are some of their best songs to date. They even opt for the bossa nova style on the excellent, "Exact To me." But this territory is abandoned for their signature sound as the album progresses, which is by no means a bad thing.

The Sea and Cake have never made an effort to delve into the mainstream and you get the sense that they know their music doesn't belong there and it's all the better for it. It's as if they are untouchable to personal criticism. They construct beautiful songs so casually that they most likely don't care what others think -they are aware that they "get it." Then again, they are pioneers to the modern indie scene. Highly respected and often named-dropped as influences to other bands, The Sea and Cake seem to be comfortable with their pace, even if this is their first release in over 4 years. Lush vocalist, Sam Prekop, and renowned guitarist, Archer Prewitt have the equation down -an equation exclusive to The Sea and Cake. And Everybody only amplifies that equation.



















hear: Too Strong, Crossing Line, Middlenight, Exact to Me

www.theseaandcake.com
www.thrilljockey.com

Bjork @ United Palace Theatre 5.5.07

I saw Bjork 3 weeks ago but the experience is most definitely still framed in my mind. Seeing Bjork live was a hit-and-run. She came out- and I think it was because I was in so much awe that i was actually at a Bjork concert- that when she skipped out after the finale, "Declare Independence," it seemed as if only a half-hour or so had passed. She has always been an icon for me -someone who only existed figuratively- so just as it was when I saw Morrissey the first time in person, it was utterly surreal. There has always been a lot of hype behind Bjork's live performances and justifiably so. The environment was eclectic: decked out with banners, flags, giant screens, and an ensemble that included a dozen or so merry Icelandic back-up singers dressed up like they were straight out of a set of "Wlliy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory". The United palace Theatre is an ideal atmosphere for Bjork, with its red felt seats and fresh golden interior, it is incredible and the best larger-size venue in New York City. We had a great view from the first row of the lower loge. She had some guestsfor a couple of the numbers, including Antony on one of the highlights of the night, "Dull Flame of Desire", a song from the recently released Volta. The biggest crowd-pleaser seemed to be "Army of Me", and the biggest surprise -at least for me- was the finale of her first set, "Pluto". Personally, the even-better-than-the-real-thing version of "Bachelorette" was the most exciting point of the night. She started everything off strong with the dance-happy "Earth Intruders", the first single from Volta. I mentioned to my friend after the show that half the fun of seeing Bjork in concert is just being there with her, listening to her adorable voice as she introduces her guests, and watching her jump around the stage defying age. She's oh so cute.
Setlist: Cover Me/Earth Intruders/Hunter/Immature/Dull Flame Of Desire/Oceania/I See Who You Are/Pleasure Is All Mine/Pagan Poetry/Bachelorette/Army OfMe/Innocence/Wanderlust/Hyperballad/Pluto//Declare Independence

Bjork.com

Album of the week

The Clientele
God Save the Clientele (Merge)










The Clientele have been one of the most consistent rock bands over the past 10 years. An indie band in every sense of the word -originally releasing only EPs on vinyl until they combined the greatest from the bunch and formed their first proper release, the heaven-sent Suburban Lights- The Clientele defend their consistency with their latest offering, God Save the Clientele. Their music is similar to what The Beatles would have sounded like if Edgar Allen Poe had been the producer. It's haunting dream-pop. On the track, "Bookshop Casanova", they even offer lyrics that reference the Beatles. But comparisons between the two would prove futile. The Clientele filling rock stadiums seem antithetical to their music, which wraps around memory and nostalgia to such an extent that they seem to be wrestling with the concepts personally("Isn't life Strange?"). No one produces moody pop music quite like The Clientele. But the distinguishing factor on God Save is that the moody has embraced the light.

If I'm driving through the fog, especially at night in California or London -or if it's simply Autumn, then I want The Clientele close by. But God Save the Clientele should serve as an appropriate Summer companion, as they alter things by flipping the pop onto its optimistic, sunny side. The loyal shouldn't worry though, this still very much sounds like The Clientele: there's haunting, idiosyncratic analogies a plenty, and the nostalgia switch is in place: "I realize now that his delicate frame could only have been nourished by medieval foods: turnips, blood sausage, perhaps songbirds roasted in a thin, toxic sauce of mercury" whispers Alaisdair MacLean on "The Dance of the Hours". The Clientele's songs are often webbed in dreams, evoking feelings that seem familiar. On the gorgeous opener, "Here Comes the Phantom", Alaisdair yearns "My heart is playing like a violin/ Sunday and she called again/ All of the dreams that you dream/ I hope that they are all of me". There's not a bad track on this record, thus highlighting their consistency even more. And it's nice to know in a time when music is at battle with itself as bands from every angle try to awe us with some new sound, that there are bands like The Clientele who remain constant - constantly good.

hear: Here Comes the Phantom, Isn't Life Strange?, The Queen of Seville, No Dreams Last Night, Bookshop Casanova, Dreams of Leaving

www.theclientele.co.uk
www.mergerecords.com

Best movie you didn't see in 06...

..because it was never officially released. However if you happened to be in the greater New York City area last year during the month of April, you could have caught it at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Farewell Bender


Directed by Matt Oates of Sacramento, the movie follows the lives of 3 high school grads(Eddie Kaye Thomas, Josh Cooke, Kip Pardue) as they reunite in their small hometown -and old school- for the funeral of a friend. The period was 1996, which is the year I graduated. Also, since it was actually shot in the central valley, it felt somewhat familiar. It featured music from the 90's which definitely increased nostalgia -as well as an excellent original score from Red House Painters, who are based just west of the central valley in San Francisco.
It's a raw film with real feeling and it will make you wish you were going 120 down that isolated road with STP blasting once again.
See the trailer here
Disclaimer: These photos and trailer do not necessarily depict what my high school experience was actually like.

Album of the week

Panda Bear
Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)









I Don't know about you but I feel exhausted by the endless monotonous music that seems to be pouring out of the music world for the past half-year or so. It's not that I haven't heard some rad records during this time, but with a few exceptions nothing has really delivered as promised, and the invariable bands with assorted aliases are running me over. Enter Panda Bear, the solo project by Noah Lennox of Animal Collective. With vocals reminiscent of 60's pop groups and a seemingly endless arsenal of instruments at hand, he has given us -or just me- a revelation. But it's not just that it's a new sound -it's also an inspirational and rewarding record in its entirety.

Lennox doesn't settle with a moniker to Animal Collective on Person Pitch. The album kicks off effortlessly with the gorgeous track, "Comfy in Nautica," which comes off as a call to arms of sorts, with it's march-like beat set in reverb, accompanied by earnest vocals echoing courage. It's unclear whether any other humans occupied the studio space with Lennox during the making of this album. There is such a diverse collection of sound that it's plausible he transfused it all manually. Each track alone is quite diverse in itself, like the amazing "Bros" and upbeat "Good Girl/Carrots," which is framed mostly by African-influenced sound until he lets his vocals loose in the 2nd half. Many songs are lengthy, navigating for a while and then at times falling sparse, giving small hints of innocuousness. But Lennox doesn't dwell in the same territory for too long, experimenting with the music and letting his heavenly vocals take center stage.

hear: Comfy in Nautica, Bros, Good Girl/Carrots

www.myspace.com/rippityrippity
www.paw-tracks.com


QUICK LICK: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Baby 81 (RCA)









Looks like someone put Psychocandy back into the CD player. After successfully trying their hand at the americana genre, San Francisco's BRMC return with their signature, raw, distorted rock that put them on the map in the first place. Baby 81 is 13 tracks of the best pure rock and roll to come out in a while.

hear: Berlin, Weapon of Choice, All You Do is Talk, American X, Am I only









www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

New video from Low

Video for "Belarus", off of their recent release, Drums and Guns. Low has promised a pluthera of videos for this record.

Album of the week

The Innocence Mission
We Walked in Song (Badman)









There are some artists who you never want to change...you don't want their music to "evolve" or to become "more mature." The Innocence Mission have been putting out some of the best tranquil rock music in the past 15 years. Their music never has been immature, it came evolved, and although their sound hasn't changed much for the past 4 releases, each record stands on its own and needs to remain as its own chapter. Their recent release, We Walked in Song, is a solid new chapter in The Innocence Mission's catalogue, offering those meek, lush, sincere vocals from Karen Peris along with the modern folk-rock, singular, comforting sounds that have always defined them.

This isn't to say The Innocence Mission's sound hasn't changed during the past 2 decades. Umbrella and Glow contained a more punchy, early 90's-type vibe and are still their finest releases to date -along with 2003's Befriended, which is much more stripped down like Song. But as I said before, this record is solid and it won't disappoint long-time or rookie listeners. The strongest sequence of tracks is 3-5, including the most memorable songs, "Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning" and "Lake Shore Drive." Just as with their previous records, the lyrics are centered around the basic nature of mankind as it relates to their own experience("Brotherhood of Man") wrapped around in hope and nostalgia("Song for Tom", "A Wave is Rolling"). As Karen once said, the "innocence mission" is more about a place than a journey. And every time you listen to their records you can go to that place, where worries disappear and hope carries its flame.

hear: Brotherhood of Man, Love That Boy, Into Brooklyn,Early in the Morning, Lake Shore Drive, Since I Tell You My Every Day











www.theinnocencemission.com
www.badmanrecordingco.com