News / RSS
“Red Rocker” Hagar: Not So Red?
Sammy Hagar calls for change in new song/video.
By Randy Harward
Sammy Hagar's donations to George W. Bush and California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R) evidently-and insistence that he doesn't mind that McCain used his Van Halen song "Right Now" at the RNC-don't indicate he's a true redhead. The title track to his new album Cosmic Universal Fashion (Roadrunner/Loud & Proud) was an online collaboration between Hagar and an Iraqi musician name Steven Lost. The video calls for ideologues from all sides to remove heads from heinie-holes and enact real change.
The clip picks up where VH's "Right Now" video left off-in fact, it's the same concept, and they admit as much at the beginning. "In 1992, 4 minutes and 18 seconds caught the world's attention in a universal fashion," flashes onscreen before a patchwork of images and "right now" statements lament the state of the world. The war and the current administration are ostensibly taken to task over the faltering economy, exorbitant fuel prices, health care, global warming, world hunger, American gluttony, rockstar politicians/political rockstars, fear-mongering and godlessness (although he appears to be non-denominational, showing pictures of Ganesha, Buddha and Christ). True to his partyin' motherfuckerness, Hagar also bemoans spammers and the fact that strippers can't retire on tips. (Oh, and he covers the Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right To Party" on the album.)
Really, though, Hagar calls for everybody to pull their heads out and get serious about the country's direction instead of continuing the red-blue slap fight. "We are light years ahead of where we thought we'd be in 1992, yet there will always be issues that continue to need our attention," Hagar says in a press release. "With the upcoming election, global and national issues are at the forefront of everyone's minds. "Cosmic Universal Fashion" is not about supporting left or right, blue or red, but rather an attempt to appeal to people on a personal level to get involved."
This notwithstanding, it's interesting to note that Dubya gets spanked twice, perhaps thrice, in the clip. When the song complains about presidential scandals, Bill Clinton is shown, then we see Bush shaking hands with Tony Blair. In another spot, a picture of the lame duck, lame-ass president is accompanied by a statement says he's more an entertainer than politician. And Hagar and ex-VH bass player Michael Anthony stand arms folded to these words: "Right now it's time to finish what you started." We assume these pertain to the Iraq War as well as Hagar's "do something" theme.
And mind you, the Red Rocker has never claimed to be overly Republican, citing a brand-conscious desire to be outwardly non-partisan. As he told USA Today last month, "I can't take the stage and preach to people, because unfortunately there will always be folks out there who'll say, ‘Oh, he thinks that, then I'll never go to his club again.' So I just do what I do, and hope I don't insult anyone.
"We're at a crossroads, for sure. If we don't make the right changes, right now, we'll have an even bigger depression and more wars. The best thing we can all do is not wait until the government does things, but instead just get involved in our own communities to help those around us."
New Tift Merritt iTunes E.P.
As Autumn closes in, Merritt asks someone to "Please Break the Stillness"
By Brian Creech
Tift Merritt has had a busy year. After recording her latest album, Another Country, in France earlier this year, she took to the road and has been there ever since. She's taken a trek across the US, with a tour of the British Isles thrown in for good measure. She performed on Leno and Letterman, and got to sing a duet with Emmylou Harris. As autumn sets in, you'd think Tift would be in the mood to throw on a sweater, curl up next to the fire, and take a bit of a break.
Not so. On September 16th, Fantasy Records released an exclusive iTunes digital only 5 song EP entitled "Please Break the Stillness of the Middle of the Night". It features two unreleased Merritt originals, "Wayward and Weary" and "Last To Know," and a cover of George Harrison's "I Live for You". Also included are a remixed version of Merritt's "Morning Is My Destination" and an acoustic version of "Tell Me Something True", both from Another Country.
Given Merritt's calming vocals and her tendency to write seductively comfortable songs, this record is sure to become one of this year's best albums to get cozy too. Merritt is on tour through October 2nd, so why don't you slide into your slippers, grab a glass of milk, and settle in for a relaxing show.
Tour Dates:
Fri Sep 19 '08 (7:30 PM) Norfolk, VA Attucks Theatre
Fri Sep 26 '08 (7:30 PM) Jackson, WY Center Theater
Sat Sep 27 '08 (8 PM) Boise, ID The Grizzly Rose
Mon Sep 29 '08 (7:30 PM) Seattle, WA The Triple Door
Tue Sep 30 '08 (8 PM) Bend, OR The Annex
Wed Oct 1 '08 (7:30 PM) Eugene, OR The Shedd / John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts
Thu Oct 2 '08 (6 PM) Santa Rosa, CA KRSH Backyard Concert Series
Too Cool: Ben Kingsley does Minor Threat
Ben Kingsley rocks balls on Minor Threat cover.
By Randy Harward
You have to see this. Mean magazine got Sir Ben Kingsley to get onstage and bark Minor Threat's "Minor Threat." We're speechless, slackjawed at this new dimension to the Oscar-winning actor's talent. He truly rocks balls. Original link to the video is here, or see below.
Sir Ben Kingsley STOMPS into the shoes of Minor Threat's Ian MacKaye from Mean Magazine on Vimeo.
Airborne Toxic Event Vs. Pitchfork
Meow! Somebody got a new asshole ripped last night!
By Blurt Staff
It's The Thing That Dare Not Utter Its Name: a bad record review. No sooner had Pitchfork posted a 1.6-rating review of Airborne Toxic Event's self-titled album yesterday (sample entry: "... sounding more inspired by market research than actual inspiration. Congrats, Pitchfork reader-- the Airborne Toxic Event thinks you're a demographic.") than the L.A. band had fired off a scathing An Open Letter To Pitchfork via its publicist.
The letter can be viewed at the band's official website, but since we snagged a copy of it off the recycle bin in the alley behind the BLURT compound this morning we're taking the liberty of reproducing it in full below. Let's watch those thin skins, guys.
Meanwhile, you can also read BLURT's review of the album HERE. And we're taking bets via our bookie service whether or not Pitchfork prints the letter. Currently the odds are running 3:1 in favor of yes - but with the reviewer's snarky rejoinders included, since rock critics tend to want to get in the last word (solicited or not).
***
|
An Open Letter to PItchfork Media from the Airborne Toxic Event |
|
Dear Ian,
Thanks for your review of our record. It's clear that you are a good writer and it's clear that you took a lot of time giving us a thorough slagging on the site. We are fans of Pitchfork. And it's fun to slag off bands. It's like a sport -- kind of part of the deal when you decide to be in a rock band. (That review of Jet where the monkey pees in his own mouth was about the funniest piece of band-slagging we've ever seen.)
We decided a long time ago not to take reviews too seriously. For one, they tend to involve a whole lot of projection, generally saying more about the writer than the band. Sort of a musical Rorschach test. And for another, reading them makes you too damned self-conscious, like the world is looking over your shoulder when the truth is you're not a genius or a moron. You're just a person in a band.
Plus, the variation of opinions on our record has bordered on absurd. Most of what's been said has been positive, a few reviews have been on the fence and a few (such as yours) have been aggressively harsh. We tend not to put a lot of stock in this stuff, but the sheer disagreement of opinion makes for fascinating (if not a bit narcissistic) reading.
And anyway we have to admit that we found ourselves oddly flattered by your review. I mean, 1.6? That is not faint praise. That is not a humdrum slagging. That is serious fist-pounding, shoe-stomping anger. Many publications said this was among the best records of the year. You seem to think it's among the worst. That is so much better than faint praise.
You compare us to a lot of really great bands (Arcade Fire, the National, Bright Eyes, Bruce Springsteen) and even if your intention was to cut us down, you end up describing us as: "lyrically moody, musically sumptuous and dramatic." One is left only to conclude that you m ust think those things are bad.
We love indie rock and we know full well that Pitchfork doesn't so much critique bands as critique a band's ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic. We don't match it. It's true that the events described in these songs really happened. It's true we wrote about them in ways that make us look bad. (Sometimes in life you are the hero, and sometimes, you are the limp-dicked cuckold. Sometimes your screaming about your worst fears, your most trite jealousies. Such is life.) It's also true that the record isn't ironic or quirky or fey or disinterested or buried beneath mountains of guitar noodling.
As writers, we admire your tenacity and commitment to your tone (even though you do go too far with your assumptions about us). You're wrong about our intentions, you're wrong about how this band came together, you don't seem to get the storytelling or the catharsis or the humor in the songs, and you clearly have some misconceptions about who we are as a band and who we are as people.
But it also seems to have very little to do with us. Much of your piece reads less like a record review and more like a diatribe against a set of ill-considered and borderline offensive preconceptions about Los Angeles. Los Angeles has an extremely vibrant blogging community, Silver Lake is a very close-knit scene of bands. We're one of them. We cut our teeth at Spaceland and the Echo and have nothing to do with whatever wayward ideas you have about the Sunset Strip. That's just bad journalism.
But that is the nature of this sort of thing. It's always based on incomplete information. Pitchfork has slagged many, many bands we admire (Dr. Dog, the Flaming Lips, Silversun Pickups, Cold War Kids, Black Kids, Bright Eyes [ironic, no?] just to name a few), so now we're among them. Great.
This band was borne of some very very dark days and the truth is that there is something exciting about just being part of this kind of thing. There's this long history of dialog between bands and writers, NME ripping apart the Cure or Rolling Stone refusing to write about Led Zeppelin -- so it's a bit of a thrill that you have such a20strong opinion about us.
We hear you live in Los Angeles. We'd love for you to come to a show sometime and see what we're doing with these lyrically moody and dramatic songs. We're serious about this stuff. You seem like a true believer when it comes to music and writing so we honestly think we can't be too far apart. In any case, it would make for a good story.
all our best--
Mikel, Steven, Anna, Daren, Noah the Airborne Toxic Event |
Langerado Moves To Miami
2009 edition to be held March 6-8 at Bicentennial Park...
By Blurt Staff
For six years, the Langerado Music Festival has kicked off the United States' burgeoning festival season with a full weekend of music and art in South Florida. Langerado has grown enormously since it's inaugural year; from 3,500 in attendance in 2003 at Fort Lauderdale Stadium, to nearly 25,000 per day in attendance at 2008's festival at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation.
For 2009, the Langerado Music Festival loose itself from the Fort Lauderdale area and trek south down the coastline to Miami's Bicentennial Park on Biscayne Bay. The seventh annual festival will take place March 6-8, 2009.
A line-up for the 2009 festival is yet to be released, but Langerado's past performers include R.E.M., Beastie Boys, The Black Crowes, My Morning Jacket, Matisyahu, Wilco, Ben Harper, the Flaming Lips, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Thievery Corporation, Girl Talk, Ozomatli, 311, and Ani DiFranco.
Miami government officials have expressed excitement over the move. "The City of Miami is utterly delighted to welcome the Langerado Music Festival. . .With a myriad of artists representing a great many musical genres, Langerado's lineup will be as diverse as Miami's population," said Robert Parente, Director of Film and Cultural Affairs for Miami's Mayor's Office.
Along with music, Langerado will offer local arts and crafts, food vendors, family friendly activities during the day along Bicentennial Park's spacious waterfront. Langerado will also take advantage of the infamous Miami night-life, hosting official late night shows and parties at venues in South Beach, the Design District, Coconut Grove.
Initial artist lineup announcements and ticket information for Langerado 2009 will be announced in early November. Stay tuned to www.langerado.com for additional details.
Ike Levels Hayes Carll’s Home
Storm washes singer-songwriter's Texas hometown Crystal Beach into the sea.
by Brian Creech
While the total destruction Huricane Ike wrecked on the Texas coast is still being gathered, the residents of small Crystal Beach are left without a town to come home too.
Crystal Beach is a vacation community, at one time filled with empty summer homes that were leveled by a 12 foot storm surge on September 12th. With an estimated population between 800 and 1600 people, it is the largest community on Bolivar Peninsula where the steely independent residents have fought to stay unincorporated.
Texas singer-songwriter Hayes Carll calls Crystal Beach home and spent four years honing his songs in the bars frequented by posh vacationers, shrimpers, and oil workers alike. The eclectic characters he met while playing these bars fill the songs in his catalog. His self-released 2005 album Little Rock topped Americana charts and Lost Highway released his third album, Trouble in Mind, earlier this year.
Carll hosts the Stingaree Music Festival on Crystal Beach each April and his Highway 87 label is named after the road that takes you to the seaside town. He has said about the town, "When I started, I moved down to this place called Crystal Beach, Texas where you need to take a ferry from Galveston across the bay to get to this little peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico. It's this isolated coastal community with a wild assortment of people either hiding out, hanging on or getting lost-- a lot of drugs and drinking, a fair amount of violence, but at the same time a lot of really interesting people with great stories to tell. Folks in the bars there weren't necessarily interested in what I had to say as a songwriter-- they wanted to hear David Allan Coe and Merle Haggard, and other stuff they knew. So that's what I did six nights a week for four years. I haven't run into tougher crowds since. It was an initiation into becoming a performer."
He is currently on tour in England where, manager Mike Crowley says, "He's devastated about the complete destruction of Crystal Beach." Crowley says Carll is writing something that he'll post soon on his web site: www.hayescarll.com "It's all gone," Crowley says of the working class town on Galveston Bay's Bolivar Peninsula. "I've seen the footage and it looks like a tornado hit. It's just concrete slabs."
Hayes Carll in Crystal Beach Memories:
New Blurt Digi Mag! Live! Free, even!
By Blurt Staff
Mmm... glom that groovy pic of Jenny Lewis! That and much more can be yours
absolutely free for the viewing (and downloading).
We've put the finishing touches on the third issue (September 2008) of the Blurt digi-mag and it's a corker. In addition to our cover story on Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis there are in-depth features on the Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer, New Orleans musical legend Bobby Charles, comedian Lewis Black, ex-Hella drummer Zach Hill, funk/soul icon Isaac Hayes (a special remembrance penned by former Stax Records studio engineer Terry Manning) and French electronica mavericks Daft Punk. We've also got coverage of Dead Confederate, Damien Jurado, Ben Folds, Tindersticks, Rachael Yamagata and loads more, plus the usual slew of CD, book and DVD reviews. In the latter section we shine the spotlight in particular on the brilliant new release from the Cold War Kids, Loyalty to Loyalty, and the brilliant old release from Johnny Cash, At Folsom Prison: Legacy Edition; a new biography on Sly Stone, I Want to Take You Higher; and the Julian Schnabel-directed film Lou Reed's Berlin.
Speaking of Amanda Palmer: we've also got behind-the-scenes footage of her photo shoot and a special video interview to go with our magazine article. And dotting the issue are plenty of embedded MP3s from artists featured in the issue, all for your one-stop reading/listening pleasure. You can read BLURT #3 on the web or download it as individual pages or in its entirely in printer-friendly PDF form.
Just click on the magazine image on the right side of our homepage and follow
the instructions...
Incidentally, we haven't been exactly neglecting this website you're on - as of September 16 we had posted our 500th review. Pardon us if we pat ourselves on our back, but that's not bad for a music portal that's only been operative for 3 months. Scroll down the page to locate our vast archive of CD reviews, and then below that are Books, DVDs and Concerts.
Blurt + Band Of Horses For Post-ACL Show
Yep. The rumors were true. Blurt corralled BOH w/opener James McMurtry for a Sept. 27 benefit concert for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. Better get your tickets fast, bubba.
By Blurt Staff
SILVER SPRING, MD - Blurt Online - the new music website and digizine brought to you by the creative team behind the lauded HARP Magazine - is proud to present THE BLURT LAUNCH PARTY, featuring Band of Horses at The Parish Room in Austin, Texas on Saturday, September 27. Doors will open at 10:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the day's music at the 2008 Austin City Limits Music Festival. Famed BLURT blogger James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards are slated to open with music beginning at 11 p.m.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Central TOMORROW, Friday, September 19, 2008 at Front Gate Tickets HERE. Tickets will be $18 in advance and $21 at the door on the night of the event.
A portion of the proceeds from the concert will benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide access to affordable healthcare for Austin's low-income, uninsured working musicians. For more information, please visit the Heath Alliance website.
"HAAM thanks Band of Horses, James McMurtry and the guys at BLURT very much," says Carolyn Schwarz, executive director of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. "Beyond their generous financial support, the visibility an event like this provides helps to raise awareness of the hardships working musicians face when trying to access basic healthcare. It's a problem we're actively working to change."
"It's tough to set aside money for health insurance when you need to pay your rent or put some gas in the van to get to the next gig," says Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell. "Organizations like the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians serve a noble purpose in helping those not fortunate enough to help themselves. We're honored to do what we can to help raise money and awareness."
"This is the first in what we hope will be a series of BLURT LIVE concerts where we team two artists together we admire, but whose audiences might not necessarily overlap, with a worthy charity that benefits the local community," says BLURT Associate Editor Andy Tennille. "All of us at BLURT are huge Austin-philes, so we figured it was high time to give back to a city that's given us so many great memories over the years. We couldn't think of anyone better to do it with than James McMurtry and Ben Bridwell and the guys in Band of Horses."
"This is BLURT's coming out party," says BLURT Editor-in-Chief and Founder Scott Crawford. "With Harp's demise in the spring and the launching of BLURT this summer, we haven't had a lot of time to catch our breath. I'm looking forward to celebrating everything the BLURT brand has to offer both as a music/culture web site and digital magazine in a town that feels like my second home."
BLURT wants to thank Chris Wilson (www.christopherwilsonphoto.com) for the poster design and the good people at The Parish Room, C3 Presents, Silva Artist Management, Vector Management, Musicmakers Pro Backline, Synaesthesiax Lighting and Excalibur Enterprises, Inc. for their collective support.
About HAAM
Health Alliance for Austin Musicians was founded in April 2005 when the Seton Family of Hospitals and St. David's Community Health Foundation Leadership joined forces with The SIMS Foundation to provide medical, dental, and mental health care to the city's hard-working, low-income musicians. More than 1,200 musicians, most 35 and younger, have been serviced. For more information, please visit: www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org.
About BLURT
Brought to you by the creative team behind the lauded HARP Magazine (called "America's best music magazine" by NPR's Bob Boilen and "the best music magazine in the country and the one that musicians always read" by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl), BLURT's digital magazine raises the bar for modern music and entertainment magazines by combining insightful features, irreverent interviews, relentless reviews, and first-class design standards while the site contains provocative blogs, exclusive videos and countless reviews and MP3s. Visit us at www.BLURT-ONLINE.COM.
Links
www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org/
www.christopherwilsonphoto.com
For more information, contact:
Scott Crawford
Editor-in-Chief, BLURT
Andy Tennille
Associate Editor, BLURT
Antiseen Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Blowfly's fave band (and touring mates) are at it again. Watch out for the blood.
By Fred Mills
That pounding in your head? It's the sound of 25 years worth of destructo rock catching up with you. Or, more accurately, the sound of Antiseen, the Tarheel terrorists who've been taking names and kicking asses since first slithering out of the Charlotte punk scene in 1983. (I should know; I was there.)
Don't know Antiseen? Shame, bubba: go to the band's official website and get a quick education. Suffice to say that the group's been extant longer than pretty much any band from the Carolinas, and it remains as uncompromising - and by some measures, controversial (not that the boys care) - as ever. They make 99% of the punk bands in YOUR town look like pussies. So there.
If you've glommed the poster above, you're no doubt thinking about hopping in the car and heading down to the show. Be very, very afraid. It's called and ANTI-versary
The gig takes place this Saturday night, Sept. 20, at Charlotte's Tremont Music Hall (plenty of info provided at the band site), with opening acts Polecat Boogie Revival and Joe Buck Yourself.
Meanwhile, there's gonna be a pre-party the night before, Sept. 19, also at Tremont with entertainment provided by the Flat Tires, Before I Hang, Biggie Stardust, The Not Likelys and Tom O'Keefe & the Shit Birds. Sweet! (Tom used to be in Antiseen all those years ago. Tom, if you're reading this, BLURT loves ya!)
‘Nuf said.
Dresden Dolls’ Palmer For Tour, Blurt Interview
Supporting her new solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer.
By Blurt Staff
This week sees the release of Dresden Dolls singer/pianist Amanda Palmer's solo debut, Who Killed Amanda Palmer, on Roadrunner Records. Sharp-eyed BLURT readers are already noticing that we have an exclusive feature on Palmer in our new digital issue - go HERE to read it.
Titled as a tongue-in-cheek homage to David Lynch's "Twin Peaks", Who Killed Amanda Palmer, was co-produced by acclaimed artist Ben Folds. In addition to multiple appearances by Folds himself, the album features collaborations with the likes of East Bay Ray (of Dead Kennedys), St. Vincent's Annie Clark, cellist Zoë Keating, string arrangements by master composer Paul Buckmaster.
Palmer has also recently been at work with acclaimed graphic novelist Neil Gaiman on a companion Who Killed Amanda Palmer book (Gaiman also contributed to the liner notes for WKAP).
Fun Facts: Obsessive Dresden Dolls fans crashed not one, but three websites dedicated to pre-ordering the debut. With various price points featuring an assortment of extra album-related material, Palmer's fans, who had been tracking Palmer's every move through a series of eight DIY videos of songs from the album, littered forums and blogs with their unbridled excitement about the album's release. These posts, coupled with a contest wherein the first prize is a performance by Palmer in the winner's living room, helped traffic reach critical mass. According to Palmer's blog, "We're all sort of in shock. According to [the massive online retailer hosting the pre-order], we outdid AC/DC."
Palmer will tour this fall in support of WKAP. It was The Dresden Dolls' encapsulating live show, carefully crafted to perfection through years of relentless tour, which helped to amass many of the band's rabid following and Palmer's handlers predict that "things will be no different with Amanda's tour in support of Who Killed Amanda Palmer."
Palmer will be assisted by longtime friends and collaborators, The Danger Ensemble, a butoh-based physical theater troupe from Australia that's been working with her over the course of the year to guarantee that these shows are unique. Says the Palmer camp, "This tour will definitely prove to be the sort of gut-wrenching, laughter-inducing, sing-along cathartic affairs her fans have come to know and love."
Tour dates:
11/12/08 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
11/14/08 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
11/15/08 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
11/16/08 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
11/18/08 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
11/19/08 New Haven, CT @ Toad's Place
11/21/08 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
11/22/08 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
11/24/08 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/25/08 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
11/29/08 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small's Theatre
11/30/08 Toronto, ONT @ Mod Club Theatre
12/2/08 Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
12/3/08 Chicago, IL @ Cabaret Metro
12/5/08 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue Nightclub
12/6/08 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre
12/8/08 Salt Lake City, UT @ Murray Theatre
12/10/08 Vancouver, BC @ TBA
12/11/08 Seattle, WA @ Showbox Theatre
12/12/08 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
12/13/08 Sacramento, CA @ Harlow's
12/15/08 San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo's 365 Club
12/16/08 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theatre
[Photo Credit: Dennis Kleiman]
