The Current Music Blog: August 10, 2007 Archive

The Stream 08/10/07

Posted at 8:51 AM on August 10, 2007 by Barb Abney

The Amy Winehouse saga continues. Did she overdose?

Mystery Jets reschedule tour dates.

The low down on this year's CMJ Festival so far.

Today In Music History:
1940 - Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers) was born.
1943 - James Griffin (Bread) was born.
1947 - Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) was born.
1947 - Ronnie Spector was born.
1959 - Several members of The Platters were arrested in Cincinnati. Radio stations across the Country removed the band from their playlist due to the scandal.
1961 - Jon Farriss (INXS) was born.
1964 - Mick Jagger was fined for driving without insurance and speeding.
1972 - Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Sweden and fined for possession.
1985 - Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) was air lifted to safety when his boat overturned near the English coast.
1987 - Wilson Pickett was found guilty of possessing a shotgun with intent to endanger life following his involvement in a bar fight.
1999 - Paul 'Bonehead' Arthur announced he was quitting Oasis
2002 - Lisa Marie Presley married Nicolas Cage.

Live On Air Blogging 08/10/07

Posted at 9:20 AM on August 10, 2007 by Barb Abney

Noonish - Tunes On The Telly Tonight:
Flight Of The Conchords on Letterman
El-P on Jimmy Kimmel
Gogol Bordello on Henry Rollins

11:30 a.m. The National
They recently performed the tune "Fake Empire" on Letterman.
They are playing at The Fine Line on September 20th.
They did an in-studio back in September, 2005.
More National stuff..

11:20 a.m. Fountains Of Wayne
They're playing the State Fair along with The Suicide Commandos on Sunday August 26th.
They dropped by for an in-studio performance earlier this summer.

11:05 Band Of Bees
Read all about the building of their new studio here.

10:40 a.m. Beastie Boys
Read their tour journal and check out their upcoming regular dates, festival dates and instrumental gala events on their official site.

10:25 a.m. St. Vincent
St. Vincent IS Annie Clark, former guitarist with Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. She will be wil be the opening act for The National's show at The Fine Line on September 20th.
She dropped by a couple of weeks ago for an in-studio.
Get more info and tour dates here.

10:10 a.m. Song Of The Day Info - Local Music - A Night In The Box
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring A Night In The Box with the tune "Conductor Man" from their release The Hustle, The Prayer, The Thief. Hear from A Night In The Box again this Sunday night on The Local Show with David Campbell.
Upcoming dates and more info here.

9:45 Fionn Regan
His album, The End Of History has been shortlisted for a Mercury Music Prize.
He'll be playing The Austin City Limits Festival next month.

9:30 a.m. The Brunettes
The Auckland band has been recording for nearly a decade.
Their latest, Structure & Cosmetics was released stateside earlier this week.
Learn more about them here.
They're playing The 400 Bar on September 24th.

9:20 a.m. Tegan & Sara - CD Of The Week
The Con is The Current's CD Of The Week.
Get your own copy when you support The Current online.
They'll be playing Pantages Theater on November 30th.

9:10 a.m. Wilco
Will be playing Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth next week.
More Info
Mary Lucia will have your last chance to win tickets later today between 3-7.

"My 3 Songs" for Friday

Posted at 2:12 PM on August 10, 2007 by Steve Seel

Byron From Mpls says, "I am being transferred and I don't know if my new boss will be as cool as my current boss who lets me listen to The Current everyday over the net. I'm going to miss all of you a great deal if I can't listen at work anymore. You have sustained me through so many days of boredom. So I wanted to say goodbye and thank you to The Current. The first song is to say goodbye (or hello to something new), the second is to say 'thank you' to The Current, and the third is just one I want ot hear on the airwaves because it's too cool."

1) The Beatles, "Hello, Goodbye"
2) Danielson, "Five Stars and Two Thumbs Up"
3) The Bad Plus, "Iron Man"

Byron, wherever you are, we hope you're still listening!

Your Moment of Zen

Posted at 7:07 PM on August 10, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (1 Comments)

I have to admit--sometimes I get a little overwhelmed by all the new music out there. I get--dare I say it--rock'n'roll overload. A certain numbness comes over me, where I start to feel a little ... don't tell my boss ... bored with modern music. But just when I start to get bored, I'm always saved just in the nick of time by some incredible piece of music. This time--it's Austin's Okkervil River that shook me out of my musical complacency. I just picked up their latest album, The Stage Names, expecting to be moved by Will Sheff's impassioned yelping, but I got a lot more than I bargained for. The album ends with a song, "John Allyn Smith Sails," that seriously knocked me off my orbit. The song is about poet John Berryman's suicide in 1972--he jumped off the Washington Avenue bridge. Maybe the song gets to me because I'm a poet, too. Or maybe it's just that, lately, any mention of bridges makes me feel emotionally raw. Or maybe it's the really inventive way Okkervil River sneaks in The Beach Boys' "Sloop John B" in one of the best marriages of irony and heartfelt emotion I've ever encountered. And the picture in the liner notes of the Brass Rail on Hennepin--it all makes sense now. Apparently, Sheff came up with the idea for the song while standing on the Washington Ave. bridge. He'd been a fan of Berryman for some time, and credits his poetry as inspiration for their last album, Black Sheep Boy. All I can say is: Man, does this song get me, right there. And also--why isn't this band getting more recognition? And--one more thing--why no stop in Minneapolis on their tour? Something to do with bridges? (Maybe we can convince them to stop through and do a bridge benefit.)

I didn't know anybody that was hurt or lost in the I-35 bridge collapse, but like a lot of you, I still feel somehow connected to it all. And what I feel right now is this weird contradiction--I want to grieve and I want to celebrate at the same time. I feel sad and grateful. And this album is really speaking to me. Something about this band's energy, and Sheff's howling--that guy howls in a way that seems to convey the beautiful pain of being alive. I feel like that's the moment when something stops being just music--something you hum in the shower--and starts being art. When it knocks you out of your orbit. And it's why I love being part of The Current and public radio: because I know I won't hear music like this--this soul-shaking type of stuff--anywhere else. Heavy stuff for a Friday night, I know--but wherever you're headed tonight, I hope you'll enjoy the gifts the world has to offer: great music, good friends, the simple miracle of being alive.

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R.I.P. Tony Wilson

Posted at 7:47 PM on August 10, 2007 by Mark Wheat (3 Comments)

Tony Wilson
was the bloke behind the Factory label that put out the early Joy Division records and he opened the legendary Hacienda Club in Manchester, he was 57. If you saw "24 Hour Party People" you will remember him as a main character, might watch it again this weekend now.

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Guest DJ Set ; Ewan Pearson "fabric 35"

Posted at 9:45 PM on August 10, 2007 by Mark Wheat (46 Comments)

Ewan put out another fine mix that we have played as two seperate sets before called "Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi." Volume 1. This makes him the most frequent guest and perhaps makes him my favourite DJ in the world right now?!?
MySpace is a great thing when it is used like this, follow along to tonights set, we played Track 2 thru 7...
maybe the rest next week, what do you think, any other suggestions?

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