It's here! OMG guys, it's here! The first video from Peter Peter Hughes epic Fangio album is out! It's for "My God is an Angry God".
We've already gushed enough about it in previous posts (is it bad that when I hear New Order now, I think "WOW that sounds just like Fangio?!" instead of the other way around?), so just enjoy the video.
The Fangio LP is officially out September 7.
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
"Some exciting news: early in 2010 Fayettenam will be releasing FANGIO, a new album by Peter Peter Hughes. You may know Peter Peter (minus one "Peter") as bass player for the Mountain Goats and Nothing Painted Blue, or as the frontman of the late, great DiskothiQ. FANGIO is pretty different from anything by those bands. It's an LP-length electro-pop paean to deceased Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio. Yes it is. It's also smart, catchy, novelistic in its detail and really great.
FANGIO will be out on LP and digital download, and will be preceded by a 7" single. More details soon..."
Dear Readers,
The indie-verse works in mysterious ways.
It's been a loooooong two days. Yesterday I flew down to Florida to visit my grandma for the Thanksgiving holiday, with the intent of catching the Mountain Goats show in Orlando. However upon deplaning I was greeted by the most saddening voicemail ever from co-blogger Julie: the show was canceled on account of John Darniele getting sick! NOOOOOOOOOO! EPIC FAIL. Get well soon JD! (However a concert did end up going on. Final Fantasy played and Peter Hughes did a solo set, as did various other performers. A seperate post is pending to justly describe the awesomeness.)
BUT I was also greeted with a super-awesome email from Tim Harrington, the zany and wonderful lead singer of Les Savy Fav. I didn't recall signing up for a LSF mailing list or personally emailing him, so I was colored confused. I click the mouse. Here's what the message said:
Hey You guys remember how you sent me pictures of your cats lo those many months ago? Well, I've finally posted the BEARDO episode I used them for- it is kind of an endurance joke but your cute cats are all up front- Thanks So much, I hope you enjoy!
...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.
