crazy four beanz

Madonna - Confesions on a Dance Floor
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Broken Social Scene - ~
Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel
Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better
Ladytron - Wiching Hour
My Morning Jacket - Z
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift
Sonic Youth - Goo (Deluxe Edition)
Super Furry Animals - Love Kraft
Supergrass - Road To Rouen
The Boy Least Likely To - Best Party Ever

I didn't say it. Rolling Stone did!



Cat Power's the Greatest
Al Green and Booker T. alums back Chan Marshall on dark new CD

Known for breaking down during performances only to finish through the encouragement of her audience, Cat Power's Chan Marshall is channeling some different support for her early 2006 release, The Greatest.
"Playing with these guys makes it a more joyful, country kind of thing," Marshall says of Al Green alums Teenie and Leroy Hodges and Booker T. and the MG's drummer Steve Potts, who recorded it with her at Memphis' Ardent Studios in just about five days. "Just to have them sitting around, telling me stories about Ike and Tina [Turner], was really amazing," says Marshall. "And there was some corn liquor that Teenie brought in -- it was a good time."

Though sonically cheery, the album veers into subject matter as dark and introspective as her previous effort, You Are Free. The title track is a ballad about a little boy who dreams of being a boxer. "It's an homage to the unsung hero," Marshall says. "On tour, you meet these characters, and it seems like everyone is just working, working, working -- and struggling to keep up."

And, of course, there's an old-fashioned love song, "Could We." Says Marshall, "It's the breakup song, the fall-in-love song, the summer-love song."

LAUREN GITLIN

The only reliable news I heard of about Cat Power since last time:

Material we''ve yet to hear has been completed in the lovely city of Memphis, TN. More details about the all-star players to follow. Or appear in Pitchfork if someone over here sleeps on it.

Other than that, some images I decided to look up on the internet, which I'll post as soon as I got more infos/news.

Sonic Youth Announce Details of Goo Reissue

Kati Llewellyn reports:
In January 2004, while you were bitching about your New Year's Eve hangover, Sonic Youth were writing and recording the at-the-time untitled Sonic Nurse, revving up for festival performances, planning a DVD, and thinking something along the lines of "Hmmm...and after those are crossed of the to-do list, maybe...just maybe we could release a remixed and remastered version of Goo! We'll even throw on some bonus tracks for good measure!"

I'll bet you're feeling pretty unaccomplished right about now, huh? Well, if you can muster up the motivation to head to the record store later this summer, there might be something there around, say...September 12 that will make you feel a little better about your life.

After over a year and a half of hype, Sonic Youth have announced via their official website that the 2xCD deluxe edition of the early 90s album is nearly ready to go with a 4xLP vinyl box set following soon after from the the band's own Smells Like Records.

The set is home to 31 songs including the remastered original album as well as remixed/remastered renditions of the band's 8-track demos. 8-track demos? Whoaaaa. Some other notables are a Beach Boys cover ("I Know There's an Answer"), b-sides "The Bedroom", and "That's All I Know Right Now" (a Neon Boys Cover). Still not good enough for you? In addition to all this, Sonic Youth has thrown in a 24-page full-color booklet (16 pages for LP buyers) featuring an interview-essay by Byron Coley, an essay by former Geffen A&R man, Mark Kates, and of course, some never before seen photos.

Now, what you've all been waiting for:

>>CD 1
01 Dirty Boots
02 Tunic (Song for Karen)
03 Mary-Christ
04 Kool Thing
05 Mote
06 My Friend Goo
07 Disappearer
08 Mildred Pierce
09 Cinderella's Big Score
10 Scooter and Jinx
11 Titanium Expose
12 Lee #2
13 That's All I Know (Right Now)
14 The Bedroom
15 Dr. Benway's House
16 Tuff Boyz

>>CD 2
01 Tunic
02 Number One (Disappearer)
03 Titanium Expose
04 Dirty Boots
05 Corky (Cinderella's Big Score)
06 My Friend Goo
07 Bookstore (Mote)
08 Animals (Mary-Christ)
09 DV 2 (Kool Thing)
10 Blowjob (Mildred Pierce)
11 Lee #2
12 I Know There's an Answer
13 Can Song
14 Isaac
15 Goo Interview Flexi

Also, in case it slipped your mind, they've got some tour dates coming up:

08-12 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08-14 St. Malo, France - La Route Da Rock
08-16 Reykjavik, Iceland - Nasa
08-17 Reykjavik, Iceland - Nasa
08-19 Dublin, Ireland - Marlay Park
08-20 Chemlsford, England - V Festival
08-21 Stafford, England - V Festival
09-04 Los Angeles, CA - Arthur Festival
10-26 Paris, France - John Lennon Tribute at Cite de la Musique
10-27 Paris, France - John Lennon Tribute at Cite de la Musique

News posted today on Matador site

M. Ward
Following a stellar performance at London's Hammersmith Lyric Theatre, M. Ward will be appearing on BBC2's "Later With Jools Holland" this coming Friday night (June 10) at 11.35pm. In addition, the following dates have just been confirmed:

Tuesday 28th June - Paris, La CitȠde la Musique (w/ Arto Lindsay)
Saturday 9th July - Bologna, Festival (w/ Coco Rosie)
Sunday 10th July - Modigliana, Strade Blue Festival


Cat Power
Aside from a one-off date at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall on June 22, the big news is that Chan Marshall has been recording her next album in Memphis. Teamed with producer Stuart Sikes (who previously worked on Cat Power's 'What Would The Community Think'), the early reports from Tennessee have been intriguing to say the least. And that's all we're gonna say, until we've got more to say.

I wanted to post this real nice picture, no success. Maybe some other time.

Cat Power's Moon Pix on close your eyes

Josh Homme plans new Desert Sessions.

He said to NME he might get started yet this year. No definitions on the guests to the project yet, tho. Could it be even better than 9&10?

Some ppl asked for the comments comeback. We'll see how it goes.

New Cat Power live photos at last!

April 20 - Copenhagen, Denmark

More releases:
Caribou - The Milk of Human Kindness
British Sea Power - Open Season
Decemberists - Picaresque
Patrick Wolf - Wind In The Wires
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
Louis XIV - The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
Eels - Blinking Lights and Other Revelations
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Superwolf
Nouvelle Vague
The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree

Cat Power's return to Australia:
MAY
Tuesday 10th: Brisbane Convention Centre with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Thursday 12th: Bulli, Heritage Hotel (headline)
Saturday 14th: Sydney, @ Newtown (headline)
Sunday 15th: Sydney, Luna Park Big Top with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Monday 16th: Sydney, Luna Park Big Top with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Tuesday 17th: Melbourne, Northcote Social Club
Thursday 19th: Hepburn Springs Palais
Friday 20th: Melbourne Festival Hall with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Highlight upcoming In Studio guests on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic:
Eels - Monday, May 9
Aimee Mann - Wednesday, May 4

Recent performances available in stream (Real audio or Real video):
The Decemberists
Beck
M. Ward
Kathleen Edwards
Stars
Bloc Party
Ben Lee
Smoosh
Arcade Fire
(former The John Spencer) Blues Explosion
Jesse Sykes and Phil Wandscher
Wilco
Le Tigre
Willy Mason

Highlight upcoming In Studio guests on KEXP - 90.3 Seattle:
British Sea Power Thursday April 28
Damon & Naomi Saturday April 30
The Raveonettes Saturday May 7
Stephen Malkmus Tuesday May 24
Of Montreal Friday May 27

Some recent performances available in stream:
Jesse Sykes
Damien Jurado
Stars
Ben Lee
The Kills
The 22-20's
Graham Coxon
The Decemberists
M. Ward
Kings Of Convenience
Tegan and Sara

Here are releases in 2005 I'd like to call your attention to. In no particular order:

Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
Yo La Tengo - Prisoners Of Love
The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, Its Morning
Kasabian
Interpol - Slow Hands /Evil / C'Mere
Brazilian Girls - Brazilian Girls
Death Cab for Cutie - The John Byrd EP (their last Barsuk release)
Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
Beck - Guero (back to the origins)
Iron and Wine - Woman King EP
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Worlds Apart
Vic Chesnutt - Ghetto Bells
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities
Snow Patrol - The Trip
Kathleen Edwards - Back to Me
Flaming Lips - LateNightTales
Dead Meadow - Feathers
Doves - Some Cities
Mogwai - Government Commissions
Damon and Naomi - The Earth Is Blue (after 5 years, it's something to celebrate)
Willy Mason - Where the Humans Eat (kids doing it -not THAT- right)
Idlewild - Warnings / Promises

to be continued

Today I listened to Luscious Jackson playing "Let It Snow" on woxy.com, saw a bunch of good (and recently released, I might add) CD's and DVD's at affordable prices on the net and Launch.com has M. Ward in their archives, I actually had the chance to hear "One Life Away" just now. Is the world becoming a better place after all?

As soon as I have non-working brain cells: just-released CD's I recommend, even if i didn't listen to some.

Hard-Headed Woman: A Celebration of Wanda Jackson

1. Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad - Carolyn Mark & The Room-Mates
2. Sticks and Stones - Nora O'Connor
3. Funnel of Love - Asylum Street Spankers
4. Box It Came In - Anna Fermin's Trigger Gospel
5. Right or Wrong - Kelly Hogan
6. Brown-Eyed Handsome Man - Neko Case
7. Tears at the Grand Ol' Opry - Robbie Fulks
8. Weary Blues from Waiting - Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter
9. This Gun Don't Care Who It Shoots - Cornell Hurd Band
10. In the Middle of a Heartache - Rosie Flores
11. Rock Your Baby - Candye Kane
12. Fujiama Mama - Trailer Bride
13. One Day at a Time - Jane Baxter Miller
14. Let's Have a Party - Wayne "The Train" Hancock
15. This Should Go On Forever - Kristi Rose
16. Wasted - Laura Cantrell
17. Cool Love - Kim Lenz
18. Kickin' Our Hearts Around - The Bottle Rockets
19. If You Don't Somebody Else Will - The Ranch Girls & Their Ragtime Wranglers
20. Why I'm Walking - Gina Lee
21. Both Sides of the Line - Jesse Dayton

Poor Boy: Songs of Nick Drake

1. Cello Song - Bill Horist
2. Clothes of Sand - Kate Hammett-Vaughan
3. One of These Things First - Chris Gestrin
4. Three Hours - Chris Gestrin
5. Hanging on a Star - Veda Hille
6. For Nick/Horn/Know
7. Poor Boy - Kate Hammett-Vaughan
8. Fly - Mike Dumovich
9. Parasite - Friendly Science Orchestra
10. Road - Veda Hille
11. Things Behind the Sun - Bill Horist
12. River Man - Jesse Sykes
13. Black Eyed Dog - Eyvind Kang
14. From the Morning - Mike Dumovich

Matador at Fifteen

Disc: 1
1. Pretty Girls Make Graves - This Is Our Emergency
2. Interpol - Obstacle 1
3. The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed
4. Mission Of Burma - Dirt
5. Cat Power - Free
6. Stephen Malkmus - Church On White
7. Yo La Tengo - Don't Have To Be So Sad
8. Cornelius - Drop
9. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Money Rock'n'Roll
10. Dead Meadow - The Whirlings
11. Guided By Voices - My Kind Of Soldier
12. Preston School Of Industry - Caught In The Rain
13. Bardo Pond - Inside
14. Seachange - Forty Nights
15. Belle and Sebastian - Don't Leave The Light On Baby
16. Thalia Zedek - 1926
17. Matmos - For The Trees
18. Mogwai - Hunted By A Freak

Disc: 2
1. The New Pornographers - Graceland
2. Interpol - Specialist
3. Pretty Girls Make Graves - C-30 C-60 C-90 GO!
4. M. Ward - Duet For Guitars #1
5. Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - It Kills
6. Mogwai - Hunted By A Freak (Boom Bip Remix)
7. Dead Meadow - Everything's Going On (Alternate Version)
8. Yo La Tengo - Deeper Into Movies (Acoustic Version)
9. Mission Of Burma - Fame & Fortune (Live)
10. Guided By Voices - Free Of This World
11. Cat Power - The Party
12. Seachange - Seven Calls
13. Preston School Of Industry - Tone It Down (Pablo Wong Remix)
14. A.C. Newman - Homemade Bombs In The Afternoon
15. Matmos - Cymbals & Aspirin (A Breakthrough In Pain Relief)
16. Cornelius - Wataridori

Disc: 3
1. Mogwai - Stanley Kubrick
2. Pavement - Spit On A Stranger
3. Mary Timony - Dr. Cat
4. The Wisdom of Harry - Ladies & Gentlemen (In The Woods)
5. Stephen Malkmus - Discretion Grove
6. Cornelius - I Hate Hate
7. The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed
8. Interpol - PDA
9. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - She Said
10. Cat Power - He War
11. Pretty Girls Make Graves - This Is Our Emergency
12. Matmos - Stars and Stripes Forever

Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered

1. My Life Is Starting Over Again/Teenage Fanclub with Jad Fair
2. Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Your Grievience/Clem Snide
3. Impossible Love/Gordon Gano
4. Living Life/Eels
5. Walking The Cow/T.V. On The Radio
6. Good Morning You/The Rabbit
7. Sorry Entertainer/Calvin Johnson
8. Devil Town/Bright Eyes
9. Dream Scream/Death Cab For Cutie
10. True Love Will Find You In The End/Beck
11. Go/Sparklehorse w/ Flaming Lips
12. Blue Clouds/Mercury Rev
13. Love Not Dead/Thistle
14. Like A Monkey In The Zoo/Vic Chesnutt
15. Dead Lovers Twisted Heart/Starlight Mints
16. Story Of An Artist/M. Ward
17. The Sun Shines Down On Me/Guster
18. King Kong/Tom Waits

Old Enough 2 Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records

Disc: 1
1. Neutral Milk Hotel - Song Against Sex
2. Superchunk - Cool
3. Butterglory - She's Got The Akshun!
4. 3D's - Beautiful Things
5. East River Pipe - Shiny Shiny Pimpmobile
6. The Clientele - (I Want You) More Than Ever
7. Guv'ner - Break A Promise
8. Lambchop - Your Fucking Sunny Day
9. Pram - Track Of The Cat
10. Polvo - Tragic Carpet Ride
11. The Magnetic Fields - Long Vermont Roads
12. Portastatic - Noisy Night
13. Buzzcocks - Jerk
14. Spent - Excuse Me While I Drink Myself To Death
15. Rock*A*Teens - Hwy R
16. Ganger - Cats Dogs & Babies Jaws
17. Beatnik Filmstars - Now I'm A Millionaire
18. The Ashley Stove - Dancing Music
19. Breadwinner - Exploder
20. Pipe - Chula
21. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Mistakes & Regrets

Disc: 2
1. Spoon - Anything You Want
2. The Ladybug Transistor - Oceans In The Hall
3. M. Ward - Outta My Head
4. Versus - Eskimo
5. Third Eye Foundation - In Bristol With A Pistol
6. Imperial Teen - Ivanka
7. Bricks - A History of Lies
8. Matt Suggs - Where's Your Patience Dear?
9. Annie Hayden - Slip Is Showing
10. David Kilgour - Today Is Gonna Be Mine
11. Seaweed - Thru The Window
12. Erectus Monotone - Old New
13. Destroyer - Modern Painters
14. Paul Burch - Isolda
15. Mad Scene - Spilled Oranges
16. The Essex Green - Late Great Cassiopia
17. The Karl Hendricks Trio - Naked And High On Drugs
18. The Rosebuds - What Can I Do?
19. The Clean - E Motel
20. The Music Tapes - An Orchestration's Overture
21. Spaceheads - Angel Station
22. Orchistration's Overture - Music Tapes
23. Angel Station - Spaceheads

Disc: 3
1. M. Ward - One More Goodbye
2. Angels Of Epistemology - Fiction Romance
3. The Radar Brothers - Painted Forest Fire
4. Portastatic - Some Small History
5. The Ladybug Transistor - Jersey Streets
6. Camera Obscura - San Francisco Song
7. Shark Quest - Monsters
8. East River Pipe - Chrystal Queen
9. The Essex Green - Mendicino
10. The Clientele - Where The Universes Are
11. Richard Buckner - Dogwood
12. The Rosebuds - Happily Ever After
13. Crooked Fingers - La Maleta Fea
14. Spent - Corvette Summer
15. Spoon - Decora
16. Destroyer - Streethawk II
17. Lambchop - The Gap In My Education (Berman)
18. Superchunk - Freaks In Charge
19. David Kilgour - On The Outside

My newest obsession, Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter, also made a lot lately, and no sign of stopping.
Touring all over the Northern hemisphere AND w/ the whole band, some gigs for free. Performance on KEXP, Nick Drake's "River Man" cover on a tribute, Hank Williams' "Weary Blues From Waiting" cover on a compilation.

M. Ward dearest, whose new album is as lovely as is full of guests, has even made a Beach Boys cover, hasn't stopped working on a few other projects, which includes appearances on both Matador and Merge 15th anniversaries compilations (both real good), a tribute to Daniel Johnston, singing "Story Of An Artist". I can't forget to mention he also played on KEXP - Seattle radio station - last March 14th. Guess that's it.

Latest cover songs (I've heard of):
*Wolf Among Wolves (Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
*Hello Mr. Soul (played on Neil Young's Tribute)
*I Want To Be The Boy To Warm Your Mother's Heart (White Stripes)

New album might come out yet this year, though news about it have stopped quite a while ago. as a die hard fan, I'll stay tuned.

Hope u're ready for the update. In this section, news on the blog itself:
*no more comments. people have always preffered to use the e-mail anyway.
*the e-mail is still on.
*updates will most likely happen on weekends.

New Smog Album Set for May Release

Rob Kleckner reports:
Call it a dozen. Lead Smog-man Bill Callahan is back with his 12th (!) full-length album, A River Ain't Too Much to Love, and first since 2003's Supper. With someone this prolific, it's hard to excuse the five-year absences of other bands, especially considering the breadth of Callahan's work is consistently good.

A River features Connie Lovatt of Containe on bass and Jim White of Dirty Three on drums. Never one to shy away from guests, here Callahan employs the talents of Thor Harris (hammer dulcimer, air drum), Travis Weller (fiddle), and fellow Drag City artist Joanna Newsom (piano, but not harp). The album was engineered by Steve Chadie, mastered by Nick Webb (at Abbey Road, no less), and produced by Callahan himself. One track, "I Feel Like the Mother of the World", was mixed by Chris Smith in Austin. Scheduled to be released by Drag City on May 31, here's the tracklist:

01 Palimpsest
02 Say Valley Maker
03 The Well
04 Rock Bottom Riser
05 I Feel Like the Mother of the World
06 In the Pines
07 Drinking at the Dam
08 Running the Loping
09 I'm New Here
10 Let Me See the Colts

* Pitchfork Review: Smog: Supper
* Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com/

ach, I don't know who updates this site, but they've become my hero(in).

Speaking of M. Ward, today is Transistor Radio's release. A couple reviews:
*The Guardian
*Pitchfork

Whoever lives where there are Starbuckses around, this is not a bad purchase, at all. Instead of buying a tiny snack there, u buy a lovely album.

Sweetheart: Love Songs
1. My Funny Valentine (Rodgers and Hart-Ella Fitzgerald), RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
2. Let My Love Open the Door (Pete Townshend), M. WARD
3. Buckets Of Rain (Bob Dylan), NEKO CASE
4. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division), CALEXICO
5. She's Got Everything (The Kinks), OLD 97'S
6. How Can I Tell You (Cat Stevens), GARY JULES
7. Give Your Mama One Smile (Big Bill Broonzy), MADELEINE PEYROUX
8. The More I See You (Cole Porter-Chet Baker), SONDRE LERCHE
9. I Only Have Eyes For You (The Flamingos), MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD
10. There Is A Lite That Never Goes Out (The Smiths), JOSEPH ARTHUR
11. Your Sweet Voice, MILTON MAPES
12. Use Me (Bill Withers), JIM WHITE
13. Forever (Beach Boys), DEAN WAREHAM
14. Inutil Paisagem (Jobim), VINICIUS CANTUARIA
15. A Nightingale Sang In berkeley Square, MINDY SMITH

a little update: Cat Power tour

FEBRUARY
monday 21 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory
tuesday 22 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar
thursday 24 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda TheaterFilter Magazine tsunami benefit

MARCH
wednesday 09 Brooklyn, NY @ Southpaw

APRIL
thursday 28 London, GB @ Queen Elizabeth Hall
saturday 30 Glasgow, Scotland @ Henry WoodHall

MAY
sunday 01 Edinburgh, Scotland @ Liquid Room

New Cat Power tour dates, so u can buy tickets or lie down in foetus position:

MARCH
13 Auckland, NZ @ Maidment Theatre
14 Wellington, NZ @ Paramount Theatre
19 San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
21 Los Angeles, CA @ Knitting Factory
22 Costa Mesa, CA @ Detroit Bar

APRIL
28 London, GB @ Queen Elizabeth Hall