Holcombe Waller & The Magnetic Fields @ The Neptune, Seattle, WA, 3/22/2012

There’s few things more rewarding than being a dedicated (and bold) fan. I was first in line at the Neptune, and when I got in it wasn’t a frantic race to the front, so I took a leisurely stroll up there, got to enjoy the empty venue to myself for a second before marking my territory front-center stage. I chatted a bit with the people around me so they’d hold my place.

I was at the merch booth srsly salivating over a colored vinyl copy of “Love at the Bottom of the Sea” and the last Holcombe Waller album I never got, when Holcombe just popped up out of nowhere and I was like, “um, hi?”

And I go into blubbering fangirl mode (“such a big fan”/”love your stuff”/”this song blew me away”/”you go on my mixtapes”/”loved ya from the beginning”/misc. squeeing)

He was like ORLY? when Boom! I whip out the press release full-length demo of his first album.
He was like, amazed: “Where did you get that?? I sold out of those a long time ago… I made this when I was 23! They’re going for $50 on ebay now. Wow… you really weren’t kidding!” He seemed really happy :)
I offered a sharpie and he joyfully signed it:

<3 June!
Thank you for making
my day! I still
love this album!!
H Waller <3

To top it off he said, “Did you get my last album?” I said “No, I—” but before I could finish he just gave me one (listening to Into The Dark Unknown now!!)
And then asked me for a request from the demo.
I swooned over a favorite, and his eyes lit up and he was like “yeah we can definitely do that, if I just go arrange…” and then he gave me a huge hug and scampered off.
He played an amazing set (with my song!) and finished with a cover of “Fast Car," forgetting some of the lyrics, and then laughing it off to his bandmate, “haha, I sound like Jeff Buckley now.”

…and I got his setlist too. FANGIRL HEAVEN!

shadow martyr
atlas
literally
risk of ch.
into the dark
qu’appelle
—> need +16 min
(baby blue) [played “hands that bathe you”, my request]
hardliners
moses
i can feel it

The Magnetic Fields:
Stephin is who he is, not one for stage banter or showmanship because the lyrics are enough to pack a hall for two nights. It was a redeeming show for me: I’d only seen them once before, Bumbershoot 2000, when I was standing in the back-corner of a packed opera house, just hearing the dots below.

Twelve years and 4 albums after 69 Love Songs I needed to catch up. The set opened cheerfully enough with “I Die” and was a good mix of material from the new album, 69 LS sing-along favorites, and oldie-classics from Charm of the Highway Strip, Holiday, and Distant Plastic Trees.

Claudia noted the theme of the tour was “marriage and death. Not necessarily in that order.”

Always interesting and lovely to hear even his most electronic and synthesized pieces—like the new “Andrew in Drag”—arranged into a 5-piece band with Stephin on Melodica and the rest of the gang standing by in their usual positions (piano, guitar, cello, ukelele). They said their next video will be for the song “Quick.”

I hope it comes out… quick! :) in the meantime, Imma scan the internets for photos of tonight’s show and if I find some good ones (and a setlist) I’ll share!

Swinging London!

So I just got back from a whirlwind trip to London. I was technically there for educational purposes (I was taking a course on e-publishing), but between the tours of libraries, museums and other antiquities I managed to squeeze in a some time for music and music-oriented musings. Here are the highlights:

-I finally saw the Avett Brothers live. Of course it's only logical that my friends and I see a band that excels at crafting twangy Americana when travelling across the pond. This totally ruled for several reasons... A) the crowd was epically friendly and polite (a massive departure from the typical Brooklyn hipster scene I've apparently grown immune to) B) it only cost 10 pounds! (that's like 14 American dollars, a fraction of the price I'd pay to see them in the States, which is like over 30 bucks) C) in a venue a fraction of the size I'd see them here (they're scheduled to play the cavernous Radio City in October). Oh and naturally they sounded great, bounding with energy dressed to the nines in their vests and ties.

-Speaking of vests and ties, Harrods (while terribly overrated in my book) was having a 25% off sale on Etro clothing. For those of you who don't know, that's Mountain Goats' bassist Peter Peter Hughes favorite brand for tour wardrobing. And we can't really blame him despite the high price, the designs are so intricate and the fabric so sumptuous. In other words, I'll take any excuse to post this photo of his vest:

-Being able to identify Tube stops from song, i.e. Mornington Crescent and Waterloo Station. Shout out to Belle & Sebastian and the Kinks!

-Hearing Okkervil River's The Stage Names its ENTIRETY being played in an airport gift shop at Heathrow. Instead of waiting at the gate for my flight, I just loitered in the store and enjoyed hearing one of my favorite album's of 2008 being played in the most random of public spaces. I finally got up the nerve to thank the clerk behind the counter for playing it. We chatted about music for about 10 minutes and he even showed me The Hold Steady tattoo on his index finger, (basically just the words "the hold steady" in lowercase typewriter font). If you happen to find yourself in the HMV in Heathrow's terminal 4, tell the man behind the counter I say hi.

And now the only song I know that references both London AND Libraries:
Swinging London - The Magnetic Fields

What I love in 2010 (so far)

I'm still alive!

Apologies for all but leaving our belov'd blog behind while I ran away to culinary school in Montpelier, Vermont and then home to Seattle, but now that life has some pauses I intend to fully make good with the MP3s and such! So let's find a basic starting point: What're the fresh and ripe picking for ears this season?

Some might say I've taken a turn to the dark side with a newfound affinity for pop, or could it be that suddenly there's actually good pop music out there? Lady Gaga's endlessly changing looks and enviable stage productions take already awesome songs and elevate them further. From personal experience, The Fame Monster is an excellent album to cook or bake to.
Lady Gaga - So Happy I Could Die.mp3

"Broken Bells, sounds like the guy from the Shins with a DJ." Close, it's the Shins' James Mercer with Brian Burton of Danger Mouse. Local station KEXP made a good point: After listening to the album, wait 2 hours, then try to sing one of the songs. You can't, because they completely lack hooks of any kind. The Shins' least-poppy songs are still poppier than anything from BB but don't categorize them with artists like Fiery Furnaces just yet. They hold their own musically and deserve multiple listens. Here's the first track off the album:
Broken Bells - The High Road.mp3

Considering most of my preferred viewing fare is along the lines of Breaking Bad and The X-Files, Glee is a wonderfully refreshing change. The musical dramedy's impeccable attention to detail, the incredibly talented cast, and fresh writing make this show a true gem.
Glee taught me two things: 1, the influence of Bollywood supports the idea that culture doesn't (and shouldn't) move strictly from west to east, and 2, that in recession times people cut back on the serifs and flourishes of life but that singing and dancing will always be popular. Glee does it right with a healthy dose of snark. If you like cover songs as much as we do, then this is a bandwagon you should definitely get on.
Glee - Total Eclipse of the Heart.mp3 (Bonnie Tyler cover)
Glee - Poker Face.mp3 (acoustic Lady Gaga cover... aw yeah)

Now that hipsters have decided to move on from the 80's to the 90's, I'm hoping for a revival of some of my favorite artists from that decade. 20 years ago, Jeff Buckley worked on his first fledgling recordings: the Babylon Dungeon Demos and an album with Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas. Here're two songs from that time:
Jeff Buckley - All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun.mp3 (Rare, high-quality studio recording with Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins)
Jeff Buckley - Unforgiven.mp3 (aka Last Goodbye, this early version is from the Babylon Dungeon Demos)

I love Stephin Merritt. It's too bad that he's a gay 40-something smoker with a tiny dog named Irving Berlin; otherwise, we'd be perfect for each other. I love his lyrics, his gravelly voice, his depressing demeanor and deadpan, dry wit. His straightforwardness in even titling songs is a nice balanced reflection opposing the previous album, Distortion, which was electronica artfully obscuring music. In Realism we have a reprieve, where Mr. Merritt steps away from the keyboard and sits down with his fellow bandmates to bring songs back to their raw element. Even the cover art is almost meta-literal about this. It's one of the best Magnetic Fields albums in some time.
The Magnetic Fields - The Dada Polka.mp3

The classic 1988 punk album Beelzebubba contains the same raw anger and youth passion as albums from a decade before, but with more toxic under-sink solutions (sniffing glue, drinking bleach, smoking banana peels) and hilariously ill-informed attempts to woo through song. Without being overly grating, this energetic album is totally awesome as a soundtrack to working or grocery shopping.
The Dead Milkmen - Born to Love Volcanoes.mp3

I was lucky enough to attend the Mountain Goats show @ Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon on May 30. It was a bit rough in production but very full of love. JD lived only blocks from the venue at one time, with mixed but intense memories that he shared with the crowd in a high-energy "hometown" show They ran through a nice selection of favorites. JD attempted a new song from the "Going to" series, "Going to Brazil," but he couldn't remember the lyrics so we only got the first line and he moved on to "Going to Bogotá."
Only about a half-dozen pictures of the show are on flickr, from one guy, and nothing you haven't seen before. Tons more are of the Sasquatch festival, which I suspect might be due (in part) to JD complaining in Portland about how there's nothing worse than one really serious guy in the front trying to hold a phone up the entire time. JD said if you're in the mental health field, you just immediately get the urge to help, like "oh you look so sad" and you need to fix them... but mostly it's annoying.
Aand if you don't already have a copy, know tMG have and listen to Hi, We're Not the Mountain Goats, with proceeds going to the purchase of a goat from Farm Sanctuary.
the Mountain Goats - Going to Bogotá.mp3

Sure, I could try to justify why I bother with this bubblegum teen-pop at all. Like cheap candy and butterflies, this 16-year old pop star provides absolutely nothing of value or substance, but is always an immensely entertaining draw nonetheless. Who says guilty pleasures should be guilty? S/He who is without New Kids on the Block or Beatles(!) fandom, cast the first comment.
Justin Bieber - Common Denominator.mp3

Yes, yes I know:

Consider this offering of Mashups an olive branch:

Life's a Bitch, Loser (Nas vs. Beck).mp3
Ghost Beasties (Ghostbusters Theme vs. Beastie Boys).mp3
Seasons Of Juice (Chambaland vs. Rent).mp3
The XX Gon' Give It To Ya (DMX vs. The XX).mp3
Tipsy In The Sun (Weezer vs. J-Kwon).mp3
Tik Tok Seattle (Ke$ha vs. Owl City).mp3
Heartbreaker Baby (Justin Bieber vs. MSTRKRFT).mp3

Shameless Plug Alert

Attention all New York-based Volume Knob readers. Looking for an awesome way to spend your Wednesday night? Come out to Housing Works, that wonderful bookstore that helps to prevent homelessness and AIDS for a night of stories, songs, heartache and hilarity - all a part of the Cassette From My Ex book launch party. What is CFME you ask? Well, it's this super new book featuring 60 essays from writers and artists such as Rick Moody and Rob Sheffield about mixtapes from past loves, including one by yours truly. Plus that girl from the Magnetic Fields will be there! Less excitedly so will I! Please come out and support this little blogger. The fun starts at 7 on October 28.

Cassette From My Ex Book Launch and Mixtape Variety Show
Celebrating the release of Cassette From My Ex: Stories and Soundtracks of Lost Loves, editor Jason Bitner presents along with contributors Claudia Gonson (The Magnetic Fields), Joe Levy (Maxim Magazine), and Michael Hearst (One Ring Zero). Our expert panel will shed light on the power of mixtapes and share their own tales of tapes given and received, crushes turned to heartaches. And special bonus! Illustrator Arthur Jones presents his hilarious loss-of-virginity tale as a Post-It Note Story.



It Started With a Mixx - Los Campesinos!

Story of My Life: The Musical!

A meme circulating around Facebook about one's Top 25 Most Influential albums needs new life here, if you'll allow the indulgence. These're in chronological order. This might help explain my musical weirdness, or it might just confuse you:

The Early Years (1981 - 1993)

1. Tickle Tune Typhoon - Circle Around ...Kinder-pop!

2. Firesign Theatre - Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers / I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus ...This was not by choice; it was my dad's pick
Side A of "Don't Crush That Dwarf".mp3

3. The Beatles - Revolver ...Mom's pick
And Your Bird Can Sing.mp3

4. Steely Dan - A Decade of Steely Dan ...From both parents
Reelin' in the Years.mp3

5. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream ...I have listened to this album far, far more than any other.
Geek U.S.A..mp3

The Teen Years (1993 - 1999)

6. U2 - Achtung Baby ...Can YOU pick out the (supposed) 11 oral sex references throughout the album?
Even Better Than the Real Thing.m4a

7. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill ...Quintessential angsty mid-90's femme-rock

8. Radiohead - OK Computer ...Revolution #1: Changed the way I listened to music
Let Down.mp3

9. Tori Amos - Boys for Pele ...So, so important
Father Lucifer.mp3

10. Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
Kinda I Want To.mp3

The College/Bellingham Years (1999 - 2003)

11. Jeff Buckley - Grace ...Revolution #2, and my top "desert island" album pick
So Real.mp3

12. They Might Be Giants - Flood
Istanbul (Not Constantinople).mp3

13. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs ...I still worship Stephin Merritt as the lyrical god he is
Epitaph for My Heart.mp3

14. Velvet Goldmine OST ...Ah yes, the important Bowie/glam phase
Placebo - 20th Century Boy (T. Rex cover).mp3

15. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
Words and Guitar.mp3

The Post-College Years (2003 - 2008)

16. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans / Illinois ...Revolution #3. Sufjan is my hero.
To Be Alone With You.mp3

17. Elliott Smith - XO
XO (Waltz #2).mp3

18. Andrew Bird - Weather Systems
Weather Systems.mp3

19. the Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree / Ghana ...Revolution #4 -- an epiphany! John Darnielle and Peter Hughes as friends and influences
Going To Kirby Sigston.mp3

20. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
My Body is a Cage.m4a

These Days (2008 - Present)

21. Jens Lekman -When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
You Are The Light (By Which I Travel Into This And That).m4a

22. Cut/Copy - In Ghost Colours
So Haunted.m4a

23. Islands - Arm's Way ...My pick for best album of last year. Epic! Move over, NMH
J'aime Vous Voire Quitter.m4a

24. the Mountain Goats - We Shall All Be Healed ...A whole new perspective
Mole.mp3

25. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals ...Ridic catchy. I think this album'll last the years.
Set It Off.mp3

cover song you need to hear now

It's spooky, ethereal and would probably soundtrack a haunted carousel just dandy:

Nothing Matters When We're Dancing (Magnetic Fields cover) - The Antlers

Yeah! Oh, Yeah!

Between his deep, deadpan voice and dry witticisms, Jens Lekman was practically bred to cover Stephin Merritt. And now finally he has. His take, along with Tracey Thorn on the Magnetic Fields classic "Yeah! Oh, Yeah!" on Score! 20 Years of Merge, The Covers is utterly glorious. One thing's for sure: we'll never fall out of love with Jens. Yeah, Oh Yeah!

Yeah! Oh, Yeah! - Jens Lekman and Tracey Thorn (Magnetic Fields cover)

Songs for Presidents

Another beautiful Presidents' Day! While normally we'd be out enjoying our days off, courtesy of Honest Abe and George Washington, we're grateful to have a new president to look up to. Here're some songs for this under-appreciated holiday!

Sufjan Stevens - Presidents & Magistrates.mp3
Death Cab for Cutie - President of What?.m4a
The Magnetic Fields - Washington, D.C..m4a
Lurch & Holler - Walt Whitman's Letter to Lincoln.mp3
They Might Be Giants - James K. Polk.mp3
The Presidents of the United States of America - Naked & Famous.m4a

Top 26 Songs of 2008 (Jess Edition, Part 1)

Here's my list of fave songs of the year. Stay tuned for the other gals' lists of songs. And then check back at the end of the month for our cumulative top albums list.

26. Mykonos – Fleet Foxes
This is the song that convinced that Fleet Foxes were waaaaay more then Grizzly Bear-lite. Swelling harmonies and tribal rhythms rarely sound this compelling.

25.Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) – Gnarls Barkley
It’s all in the little “woos” and “las”. Simultaneously menacing and dizzyingly fun.

24. Slapped Actress – The Hold Steady
With this song, The Hold Steady finally managed to become epic. Massive crescendos, lots of “woah woah woah-ing” and Craig Finn’s as-always urgent delivery work in perfect unison.

23. Pieces of You – Islands
Ultra-bouncy and deceptively intricate song that bubbles its way into full-fledged orchestral grandeur.

22. Another Day – Jamie Lidell
The sunniest single Motown never released (by a British white boy, no less).

21. Too Drunk to Dream – The Magnetic Fields
The title says it all –a bitingly witty (and boozy) ode to my two favorite verbs.

20. Chasing Pavements – Adele
While most of the British neo-soul songstress’ debut album errs a bit on the sleepy side for my taste, this song just explodes once it hits the chorus. Heartbreak rarely sounds as bombastic as it feels.

19. The Crook of My Good Arm –Pale Young Gentlemen
Theatrical crooning, a clanging bell and one of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard all year (RUN! RUN!) make for an awesomely frantic song - from a damn-underappreciated band at that.

18. Dying is Fine – Ra Ra Riot
e. e. cummings’ poetry and rocking cello make for an epic combination.

17. Heart of Chambers – Beach House
Victoria Legrand, oh my, your voice! Oh my, this song! Where does it come from? I’m thinking it’s gotta be from some otherworldly realm where Nico and woozy organ drones collided to form a black hole of exponential melancholy.

16. Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear (Live on Letterman)
It’s a bit more sprightly then their usual hazy-as-codeine sound. And by that I mean it has a lot of bouncy keyboards. Yet it still retains the haunting-as-fuck aesthetic of anything they’ve ever recorded. In other words, it’s the sound of a group howling at the moon while dancing in its light.

15. Raincoat Song – The Decemberists
Songs about rain and loneliness are by no means a rare thing and Colin Meloy manages to breathe a breath of fresh air into the fowl weather canon with a sparse acoustic melody and wistful lyricism. “You sleep like a spinster and you’re twenty-eight/ you’ve been thinking late, you couldn’t catch a cold” Sadly, some of can relate.

14. Id Engager – Of Montreal
Sure the album, was a bit choppy (and let’s face it, nothing’s gonna top last year’s Hissing Fauna) BUT we’re talking about songs here and as far as songs go, you don’t much more audaciously sexually playful then this (unless of course you’re Prince). Kevin Barnes coos out from a jungle of swooping synths and a self-proclaimed “phalocentric tyranny”. Baby, I’ll play with you any day!

Stay tuned for the final 13 songs later in the week...

I love a parade!

Currently liveTwittering the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for VK:

http://twitter.com/Volume_Knob

If you haven't followed us yet, check it out now!

The Magnetic Fields - Parades Go By.m4a

EDIT: Now that the parade is over and there's no danger of ruining "spoilers" for anyone, here's our Tweets, in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest):

• Kermit has had, sadly, one of the best voices we've heard today.
  
• @mirandate no bari sax for Jess... this is from June's experience. 
  
• Marching with a bari sax? From experience I can tell you: not easy.
  
• @Sarakenobi I'm sure it'll be up on YouTube before the end of the day.
  
• Gotta admit: Charice has an incredible set of pipes.
  
• RICKROLL!!!!!!!!!!!
  
• Skinny Al Roker is creepy.
  
• a marching band played gary numan's "cars" my life is complete!
  
• Disco-soul-funk remix of "The Age of Aquarius"... thumbs down.
  
• Clique Girlz = Hanson???
  
• I think I have this song on my Sesame Disco! tape from 1979: http://tinyurl.com/67n2qr!
  
• There is nothing man has ever dreamed of more than scaling the mighty rhinocerous! (but srsly, WTF?)
  
• Conch shell is the new cowbell.
  
• hey june you crack your alter-twitter-ego up -can u also post them on vk too??
  
• "Fantasia on Georgia Tech Themes" could possibly be the least inspiring music title ever
  
• James Taylor has seen better days.
  
• I love the Rockettes so much. They should team up with Bono to make world peace happen sooner. Or something.
  
• I was hoping for the Simpsons version of this song. Still, some childhood illusions are being ruined right now.
  
• Harry Connick, Jr.: stick to music, not jokes plz.
  
• @doctoracula Did you notice that their poodle skirts actually had reindeer on them? Awesome. (I swear I'm not 60 years old) 
  
• One of the greatest musicals of all time to be sure, but South Pacific isn't the same without Robert Guilet. 
  
• Finally, a holiday musical for those of us who miss Lawerence Welk! 
  
• When it comes to recent musicals about NY neighborhoods, In The Heights < Avenue Q
  
• liveblogging the Macy's Thanksgiving parade: did Girl Talk do this opener for the cheerleaders?
  

And in case you've ever doubted the power of the internet, yes, the Macy's parade got RickRolled! Observe:


EPIC WIN.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Psychopharmacology & Rock n Roll

A hedonistic lifestyle practically prescribes sex and drugs, with rock n roll bringing up the rear. It seems these three activities combine well: Case in point, I Googled "psychopharmacology" and this image came up on the first page. Songs about sex seem almost as popular with rockers as having sex on drugs... while listening to rock. Anyway you slice it, the sinful trifecta of pleasure had been done.

But what of songs about drugs? Not nearly as many as about sex, and they have always tended to be more cloaked in mystery than in outright bragging joy. Out of curiosity I compiled a mix of songs when I noticed that so many particular drugs were mentioned by name--which seems to be a relatively recent development, far as song writing goes.

These are listed in chronological order. In general, there's clouded discussion starting in the late 1960's and 1970's to the well-known illicit substances at the time. With poetic metaphor, description and nicknames for the drugs of the era, acid (LSD), cocaine, marijuana and heroin were sung of in terms of various degrees of love/hate relationships. Should the topic of a song be called into question, it could all too easily be passed off as a cryptic tune about a lover.

As we progress into the 1980's, we see the appearance of those old standbys come out as more boldly spoken about, especially in the context of getting rehabilitated for addiction. "Angel dust" (PCP) peaked in popularity in the early 1980's so it should be no surprise that this song was written then (imminent to the group's disbandment).

In the 1990's, however, the drugs get more complex, as do the songs about them. Newer, "designer" drugs (Ketamine, Ecstasy) and commonly abused name-brand prescription drugs, most commonly painkillers, (Thorazine, Dilaudid) make their rise in music. The question is, is this a reflection of a rise in the use of said substances, or just a commentary on a culture that more openly tolerates discussions about it? (Perhaps, if you can answer this question, you deserve the Master's degree and not me.)

Finally, in most recent years we see a longing to return to the days when drugs were just the medicine in great-grandpappy's medicine kit. Morphine? Codeine? I'm waiting for a song about whiskey being used as a toothache cure before the year is out.

The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.mp3

The Velvet Underground - Heroin.mp3

Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf.m4a

Peter Laughner - Amphetamines.mp3

The Ramones - Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue.mp3

Odyssey - Angel Dust.mp3

Nirvana - Lithium.mp3

Eels - Novocain for the Soul.mp3

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire - Tea & Thorazine.m4a

The Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstasy With Me.mp3

Jolie Holland - Old Fashioned Morphine.mp3

Placebo - Special K (Timo Maas Remix).mp3

the Mountain Goats - Dilaudid.mp3

John Vanderslice - Tablespoon Of Codeine.mp3

Sia - The Girl You Lost To Cocaine.mp3

Finally, one for the namesake of this post:
Firewater - Psychopharmacology.mp3

Cover Song Bacchanalia II!

Two more cool chains I worked out. Trying to find some that are longer than just 4/5 artists though.

The Killing Moon --->
You Oughta Know --->
Alanis Morissette --->
Fake Plastic Trees --->
Radiohead --->
Sunday Bloody Sunday --->
U2 --->
Love Will Tear Us Apart --->
Joy Division --->
Atrocity Exhibit

Foo Fighters --->
Keep the Car Running --->
Arcade Fire --->
Born on a Train --->
The Magnetic Fields --->
Heroes --->
David Bowie --->
Wild is the Wind --->
Nina Simone --->
Lilac Wine

Easter mix

Just a few songs, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, about the bizarre Christian holiday. (You're lucky I'm not cracking out the way tasteless jokes).

The Doobie Brothers - Jesus is Just Alright.mp3

The Magnetic Fields - Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits.mp3

Sufjan Stevens - Enjoy Your Rabbit.mp3

My Brightest Diamond - Magic Rabbit.mp3

Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus.mp3

Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit.mp3

Peter Peter Hughes - The First Day of Spring.mp3

Sleater-Kinney - Buy Her Candy.mp3

King Missile - Jesus Was Way Cool.mp3

Lyle Lovett - Church.mp3

Echo & the Bunnymen - Killing Moon.mp3

"I just got broken up with and we weren't even dating."

Received the following email yesterday (names have been changed):

You need to work some magic. I feel like I just got broken up with, and we weren't even dating. Steve sat me down VERY nicely and wanted to clarify with me that he doesn't return the feelings I so clearly and artlessly display for him on a regular basis. I am a mess. I feel broadsided. He was WONDERFUL about it which sucks because if he was an asshole, I would be angry and bitchy and feel justified in hating him. As it is, his actions were carefully and deliberately designed to preserve our friendship, which he hopes, sincerely, will last forever.

And it probably will.

But I still feel like I just got run over by a dump truck. And I'm angry at myself because oh shit have I been here before; I'm walking in relational circles.

So, here's my request. I would like for the mix masters of VK to make for me and my stupid wounded heart a playlist with the theme, "I just got broken up with and we weren't even dating."

If you all don't have time, by all means I understand. But I think it would make for an excellent theme, and a good challenge, anyway.

We ladies here at VK know your plight and feel your pain. Here's an hour and a half of tunes we wrangled together to commiserate and help you deal, in confusion sadness and anger (or lack thereof):

Barcelona - Why Do You Have So Much Fun Without Me.mp3

The Bens - Bruised.m4a

The Beatles - I'll Follow the Sun.mp3

Beulah - Landslide Baby.mp3

Brendan Benson - Feel Like Myself.m4a

Eamon - Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back).m4a

Jude - I'm Sorry Now.mp3

Lady Sovereign - Love Me Or Hate Me.mp3

The Lucksmiths - A Hiccup in Your Happiness.m4a

The Magnetic Fields - I Thought Your Were My Boyfriend.mp3

The Magnetic Fields - The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be.mp3

The Mayflies USA - I Was the One.m4a

of Montreal - Eros' Entropic Tundra.mp3

OK Go - It's Tough To Have A Crush When The Boy Doesn't Feel The Same Way You Do.mp3

OK Go - Get Over It.mp3

Rufus Wainwright - 14th Street.mp3

Rufus Wainwright - Danny Boy.m4a

Smashing Pumpkins - An Ode to No One.mp3

The Smiths - I Know It's Over.mp3

Sufjan Stevens - Dumb I Sound.mp3

They Might Be Giants - Snail Dust.mp3

Tori Amos - Cruel (live).mp3

Tori Amos - Over It (B's Over the Pool mix).mp3

Tori Amos - here. in my head..mp3

The Vandals - My Girlfriend's Dead.mp3

Wilco - We're Just Friends.m4a

2 recent Umbrella songs!

Two recent cover/collaborations involving umbrellas, eh.
All the Umbrellas in London - Arcade Fire (Magnetic Fields cover)
This version features a graceful poignancy lacking in the original. It's hauntingly restrained, which is refreshing coming from a band that is usually anything but.

Umbrella - Rhianna and The Klaxons
The R&B princess joins forces with Britain's leading rave-rockers for a spacey take on last year's massive summer jam. All together now: Ella, ella, eh, eh. (It never gets old)

"The Nun's Litany" - Live on Fair Game

Here's a live rendition of the Magnetic Fields' "The Nun's Litany" with Stephin Merrit on lead vocals, as mentioned in my previous post. It's an interesting contrast to the album version not only because of the male perspective, but because of the stripped down arrangement.
The Nun's Litany - The Magnetic Fields (Live on Fair Game)

The Magnetic Fields @ Town Hall, New York, NY 2/22/08

It's been four years since the Magnetic Fields have toured, but you'd never know it from the impeccable tightness and professionalism of their live shows. They played for a little over two hours (barring a fifteen minute intermission), giving ample time to old and new material alike. Songs off "Distortion " sounded even better the live acoustic setting, freed of the noisy reverb of the album. Melodies and lyrics that got somewhat buried shown through the striped-down piano and cello arrangements.

Highlights included a slowed-down piano version of "Take Ecstasy With Me" and Stephin Merritt (rather then Shirley Simms) singing lead vocals on "The Nun's Litany". Hearing his lush baritone utter "I want to be a topless waitress...I want to be a porno starlet" was utterly hilarious. Of course there were plenty of 69 Love Songs as well, "All My Little Words", "Grand Canyon' and the majestic "Papa Was A Rodeo" among them. The band continues their four night residency at New York's Town Hall tonight and tomorrow. While both shows sold out months in advance, you still might have a chance at picking up an extra ticket at the box office an hour or so prior to the show. Believe me, it's definitely worth a shot.

Sadly I forgot my camera. However I can assure you Stephin Merritt stuck to his wardrobe color of choice.

The Nun's Litany - The Magnetic Fields

Give him some Merritt

They're Not There: Disguised as Magnetic Fields and Cat Power, Stephin Merritt and Chan Marshall are still playing games with the singer-songwriter archetype.

Passing on an article from salon.com asking why certain singer-songwriters, who channel their single talents into those of an entire band, seemingly hide behind a mask. The author implies that with age and maturity, transparency is the natural result. To do anything else, he suggests, betrays the artist's true self, and thereby, the fans.

That's where I disagree. While the piece repeatedly name-drops Jesus and Mary Chain as an influence and John Darnielle as an example of what should be done, it fails to note the basic fact that regardless of what our favorite musicians develop, the fans will judge them on their art, not maturity. The mask a musician dons, especially if an act of preserving a definitive personal self that's different from the stage persona, seems an act of higher development.

Here's a smattering of songs mentioned in the article:
The Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstasy With Me.mp3 (off Holiday)
The Magnetic Fields - California Girls.m4a (off Distortion)
Cat Power - Metal Heart.mp3 (off Moon Pix)
Cat Power - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.mp3 (Rolling Stones cover) (off The Covers Record)

Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll AND DEATH!

This is a special mix your resident Volume Knob heathen just made for a friend. It was tentatively titled "Michael in 2008!" but with the record of indulgences that rank unpopularly with the voting circuit, I decided to call a spade a spade and title this mix what it's really about: Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll, and Death.

22 tracks total / 1:19:53 total time

Side A:
1 Placebo - Pure Morning.mp3
I’m fairly certain this song has a little bit of everything.

2 The 6ths - The Dead Only Quickly.mp3
By Stephin Merritt. To know him is to love him.

3 The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You.mp3
“up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start” I heard this cheat code for the first time a few weeks ago. So the theory goes that every male under the age of 30 has the Konami Code embedded in his DNA. True?

4 Matt & Kim - Yea Yeah.mp3
Such an addictive song! And the video is really fun. Also, go onto YouTube and pull up the super cracked-out remix of this. It’s like Sesame Street on 2C-I.

5 Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire.mp3
Another song-like-crack-like-whoa. It sounds totally 80’s but I think it came out in ’06. Those crazy Australians!

6 Jens Lekman - Into Eternity.mp3
My favorite track off the best album of last year. During the last part of the song, with the cowbell and drums and claps, I think all you need to do is add a whistle and it’ll sound like a Brazilian street party. And thus concludes the “super happy dance-y” part of the mix.

7 Jukebox the Ghost - Hold It In.mp3
I saw this band live in NY—the lead singer emotes with his entire face. It’s incredible.

8 Tori Amos - Happy Phantom.mp3
The happiest song about death EVER!

9 Peter Peter Hughes - I Don't Smoke.mp3
A solo-act song by my friend Peter (of the Mountain Goats). I think the lyrics are apt.

10 a-ha - Take on Me.mp3
lolololol. Forever on I will think of that scene in Family Guy when I hear this.

11 Beirut - Scenic World.m4a
I am currently SO obsessed with this song. I will listen to it on repeat and and the swaying, bouncy strings just keep capturing me, especially with the paired-down percussion and that brass.

12 Manu Chao - Me Gustas Tu.mp3
I took two years of Spanish in high school. I like this song because I can understand 90% of the lyrics. “I like your kitchen?” Whatever. It’s damn catchy.

13 The Cat Empire - Hotel California.mp3 (Eagles cover)
I’m hoping you don’t have this song. Je ne parle pas Français.

Side B:
14 the Mountain Goats - Two-Headed Boy.mp3 (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
The Mountain Goats! Covering NMH!!! Be still my heart!! (Yes, this is a blatant attempt to butter you up and say “Cooooome to the PDX showwwww!”)

15 Justin Timberlake - Lovestoned.mp3

...The Sincey is what allows us bloggers to tell everyone, “Look, I’m not just some narrow-minded indiephile, I am open to all music,” but the obligatory nature of the annual practice and the nerdiness by which we go about explaining our mainstream affection merely reaffirms our individual hipster personas.

It reminds me of the time one super hipster co-worker of mine played a mix on her iPod, and the songs were, in order, a really obscure Stereolab song, a really obscure Magnetic Fields song, and then “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes, complete with an instant “I don’t care what anyone says, I love this song” disclaimer.

Part of being a hipster is being deliberately mainstream at optimally calculated opportunities, and as long as that remains the case, I’m sure I’ll continue to find myself arguing in favor of the “unadulterated pop greatness” of “Hey Ya” with my T-shirt-clad peers at many a Brooklyn bar in the forseeable future.

16 Flight of the Conchords - Banter.mp3/Robots (live).mp3
This is what you missed when you were, um, busy.

17 Avenue Q - I Wish I Could Go Back to College.mp3
You don’t know how good you have it right now! I secretly suspect this song is the driving force behind my going to grad school.

18 Sufjan Stevens - Size Too Small.mp3
I don’t know if you have the album Seven Swans. It lacks some of the highs of Illinois and A Sun Came! but is by far a more consistent, cohesive opus. It’s my favorite album by Sufjan, and one of my 10 “desert island” albums.

19 Knife/Heartbeats (Grizzly Bear vs The Knife).mp3
One of the most fantastic and masterful mash-ups of recent.

20 The Magnetic Fields - Take Ecstasy With Me.mp3
I’d like this.

21 Tom Waits - Cemetery Polka.mp3
This song sneaks onto a lot of mixes because it’s short. Also, death. Also, I love the line “as independent as a hog on ice.” Also, Tom Waits is who you’ll sound like if you smoke Lucky Strike unfiltereds for 30+ years.

I Dream Alone

Considering the Magnetic Fields penchant for self-descriptive album titles, the fuzzy reverb-soaked aesthetic of Distortion (out January 15) should come as no surprise really. Its almost lo-fi feel harkens back to Holiday and is a far cry from the shiny, polished pop of 2004's I. Out with the orchestra, in with the synths. Check out "I Dream Alone" one of the albums best offerings.

I Dream Alone - The Magnetic Fields