In this totally awesome new video for his lead single Sing Again, Walla gets all Life Aquatic on you, singing his song in various locales in glorious hi-def wearing a tasteful spin on the Team Zissou outfit (intentional or otherwise). Count the indie rock celebs in the pool of walla look-alikes and leave them in the comments. Enjoy the video (streaming and downloadable) and the mp3 below.
[mp3] Chris Walla – Sing Again
Download the video here.
Tonight the leader of the free world will go on television to address you & I about how things are going. I’m guessing rather than addressing things of great importance (the troops we keep re-deploying, the estimated hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s we’ve killed, etc, etc, ya know, all the little stuff) he will spend an hour talking about how awesome the economic stimulus package is that he didn’t veto (nothing stimulates the economy like giving people 300 bucks to spend on something we imported from China).
Hail to the chief.
[mp3] Death Cab for Cutie – President of What?
[mp3] The White Stripes – The Union Forever
[mp3] Rufus Wainwright – Oh What a World
To put it very bluntly and without much poetic effort: there aren’t many bands I love more than Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin. There are few bands who write more subtly addictive melodies, such sweet harmonies, and such perfect sing-alongs than the Missouri quartet.
Often bands come along and people wax poetic about their “Beatles-esque songs.” What this really means is that they make purposely lo-fi records and play viola basses while trying to sound like the Beatles. Then there are bands like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, who write the kind of melodies that harken Paul & John’s effortless sense of perfection with the same amount of ease. Frontmen Phillip Dickey & John Caldwell is completely unaware, I think, of how wonderful the melodies he writes are, and that is precisely what makes them so special; there is no pretension or effort to be great, it just happens.
Below is a song from the band’s debut 2005 LP Broom (‘Pangea’), A b-side (‘Let’s Get Tired’), & a brand new song, titled Glue Girls, from their second LP Pershing (April – Polyvinyl). It’s a wonderful new look at the band’s progression; same great melodies, only with far superior fidelity than the band’s previous efforts (thanks, Walla).
[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin – Pangea
[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin – Let’s Get Tired
[mp3] Someone Still Loves you Boris Yeltsin – Glue Girls
And I feel fine. The best show on television, and coincidentally the only one I care about, makes it’s triumphant (albeit abbreviated – thanks writers strike) return to the airwaves (cabling) one week from today. Get excited. Go crazy, go nuts.
[mp3] Hank Williams – Lost Highway
[mp3] Daft Punk – Television Rules the Nation
There are those who are involved in an already established band who long for a selfish outlet of creativity in which they hold the sole power of veto. Often, if not usually, when these people step out from behind their shadows to do so, the results are dismal….if not catastrophic. Maybe they got ahead of themselves, maybe they just overestimated their own creative powers without the aid of their friends, but whatever the case, they fail.
Then there are those who bleed time signatures, dream in chord inversions, and write melodies while they eat. One of these people is a man named Chris Walla. You could know Chris from any number of things, the most significant being his role as Lead guitarist, producer, and co-writer in a little band called Death Cab for Cutie. Additionally, Mr. Walla has tweaked knobs and given advice under the guise of a “producer” to folks like Teagan & Sara, The Decembrists, Hot Hot Heat, So Many Dynamos, & more.
So maybe you don’t care, that’s fine too. Field Manual will have no issues winning over fans who couldn’t tell him from any other shaggy-headed man-boy in the cosmos as well. There is so much desperation in these songs, a quality, or at least a level of which, has been lost in some recent efforts from his day job’s records. Perhaps it’s a feeling that can only be achieved by someone who has just started anew, perhaps its just that these are really good songs (they are) but for sure it’s there.
Over the course of around fifty minutes, a lot of doors open and a lot of doors close, furthermore a lot of doors slowly wither from their hinges and fall to a million tiny irreconcilable pieces right in front of your eyes. There is unfaliling desperation in Unsustainable, political unrest in Archer V Light & Everyone Needs a Home, pop perfection in Geometry & C, and heartbreaking amounts of longing in A Bird is a Song. If that’s not your thing maybe the pulsating bass and thundering drums of St. Modesto would be more your thing.
In closing, dear readers, I offer you a solution: Proceed, immediately, to this link and buy the album in basic digipak or deluxe clothbound hard-cover format (the latter complete with Chris’ original photography) where you will get 3 bonus mp3’s just for doing so if you order by February 4th. There are deals and there are no-brainers, I think we know which this one falls under.
or confirmed, rather. I already knew the American media was mostly a bunch of heartless, soulless people out to make an extra buck in advertising or gain a new pair of eyes in shares and ratings, but events like this are always a dismal reminder.
As footage of his dead body being wheeled to an ambulance was interspersed with footage of his freshly grieving parent’s begging reporters for a few days of privacy I began to realize how sad the whole situation was, not just because of his death, but because of how the family he left behind will be harassed for juicy new details (under the disguise of heartfelt interviews) for weeks, if not months, to come.
That’s the tragedy within the tragedy.
[mp3] Radiohead – Last Flowers to the Hospital
[mp3] The Good Life – Some Tragedy
So here’s the deal, I’ve been waiting for Stars to bring their heartbreaking brand of baroque pop my way for a loooong time. Finally, after years of yearning, I will get to see said brand of baroque pop in Nashville. Luckily it’s not the only place they’re stopping (Nashville one-off’s aren’t very popular unless you’re someone like this guy), so you can get your Stars on too.
Stars 2008 Tour Dates:
Euro
01-22 Galway, Ireland – Roisin Dubh
01-23 Cork, Ireland – Cyprus Ave.
01-24 Dublin, Ireland – Tripod
01-26 Aberdeen, Scotland – Moshulu
01-27 Glasgow, Scotland – Oran Mor
01-28 Birmingham, England – Barfly
01-29 London, England – Koko
01-30 Bristol, England – Thekla Social
01-31 Manchester, England – Academy 3
02-02 Nottingham, England – Rescue Rooms
02-03 Sheffield, England – Leadmill
02-04 Brighton, England – Concorde 2
02-06 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
02-07 Hamburg, Germany – Knust
02-08 Brussels, Belgium – AB Box
02-09 Paris, France – La Maroquinerie
02-10 Frankfurt, Germany – Mousonturm
02-11 Cologne, Germany – Gloria
02-12 Berlin, Germany – Kesselhaus
Aussie
02-13 Vienna, Austria – Flex
02-23 Adelaide, Australia – Laneway Festival *
02-24 Melbourne, Australia – Laneway Festival *
02-27 Sydney, Australia – Spectrum
02-28 Melbourne, Australia – East Brunswick Club
02-29 Brisbane, Australia – The Zoo *
03-01 Brisbane, Australia – Laneway Festival *
03-02 Sydney, Australia – Laneway Festival *
03-05 Osaka, Japan – Club Quattro *
03-06 Tokyo, Japan – Liquid Room *
US
03-19 Baltimore, MD – Sonar
03-20 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
03-21 Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
03-22 Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
03-24 Birmingham, AL – Workplay
03-25 Nashville, TN – The Belcourt
03-26 Louisville, KY – Bomhard Theatre
03-27 Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
03-28 Madison, WI – Barrymore Theatre
03-29 Detroit, MI – Crofoot Ballroom
03-30 Pittsburgh, PA – Mr. Smalls
03-31 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
04-01 Buffalo, NY – The Tralf
04-25 Indio, CA – Empire Polo Field (Coachella)
[mp3] Stars – Genova Heights
In the world of long, ironic, & long and ironic bandnames, Say Hi To Your Mom was a member of the royal court. Maybe it was the cross-country move (recently re-located from Brooklyn to Seattle) or maybe he just had a moment of clarity after reading “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” on paper but Eric Elbogen upped and dropped all the love for your mother, changing the name to simply, Say Hi.
The Wishes & The Glitch, is the second album I’ve owned from Elbogen & his revolving cast of band members, and it lends itself well to the first theory in the preceeding paragraph. 2006’s Impeccable Blah’s, the pre-cursor to The Wishes & The Glitch, was a concept album about a certain pop-culture vampire icon bubbling over with moping synths and creepy sing-alongs. Fast forward to now and Eric is all grown up, admitting his character flaws, mourning how easy he is falling for you, and admiring your dance moves over liquid basslines, much more subtle synth work, his most dynamic drumming to date, and without doubt his most priceless melodies so far. Not to mention he gets by with a little help from his friends, John Roderick (The Long Winters) and David Bazan.
I have listened to this record at least twenty-five times in the past two weeks. Walking on campus, driving to work, driving six hours, laying in bed, etc. I must say I don’t even remember being so taken with these songs, it just happened very quickly. One day I didn’t know them and the next they were glued firmly to the walls of my subconscious. You may buy the record and do the same below. Samples provided.
[mp3] Say Hi – Northwestern Girls
And an old one
[mp3] Say Hi To Your Mom – Blah Blah Blah
Buy Say Hi (To Your Mom’s) Music.
-or-
Catch them on tour (On tour now)
After promising to return to normal blogging mode, I did for a week and then took another week vacation….lame, I know.
The good news is: i’m for real this time, no more first week of school to distract me. On to the cooler things:
In the next few months at HTFAF:
See you tomorrow,
Caleb
Congratulations to Neil Morris, the winner of our Eels giveaway! Look for your cd’s/vinyl in the mail soon, Mr. Morris.
Congrats.
Caleb
Hard to Find a Friend - A Music Blog 