The Current Music Blog: March 24, 2008 Archive

The Stream 03/24

Posted at 8:55 AM on March 24, 2008 by Barb Abney

Was Consolers of the Lonely, the new Raconteurs album accidentally leaked on iTunes?

3 Be Your Own Pet tunes judged to be too violent for US release.

Corinne Bailey Rae's hubby found dead.

Today In Music History:
1945 - Billboard published the first US album chart. Nat King Cole's A Collection Of Favourites was #1.
1960 - Nena ("99 Red Balloons") was born.
1979 - The Bee Gees tune "Tragedy" was #1.
1970 - Vincent Mason (Mase of De La Soul) was born.
1992 - A Chicago court settled the Milli Vanilli class action suit by allowing $3. cash rebates to anyone who could prove they bought the group's music before November 27 1990 (when it was revealed they didn't actually sing on the album.)

Live Blogging 03/24/08

Posted at 9:29 AM on March 24, 2008 by Barb Abney

10:40 a.m. R.E.M.
They will release Accelerate on April 1st.
Michael Stipes speaks out!
More.

10:30 a.m. Mia Doi Todd
Is currently touring with Jose Gonzalez.
More...

10:15 a.m. Local Music - Dan Wilson
He will be joining Ingrid Michaelson at The Fineline Music Cafe on March 31st for the sold-out local date on their Hotel Cafe Tour.
More..

Song Of The Day Info - The Kills
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring The Kills with the tune "U.R.A. Fever" from Midnight Boom.
They're playing The Triple Rock on May 11th.
More...

9:45 a.m. Bob Mould
He was in recently for an in-studio performance.
Here's a great interview with Stereogum.
More info here.

9:40 a.m. Local Music - Atmosphere
Slug will be appearing at one of our upcoming Fakebook performances.
They'll be releasing their new album next month.
More...

9:30 a.m. MGMT
Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes and MGMT's Andrew Wyngarden have formed new sideproject, Blikk Fang.

9:20 a.m. Local Music - Kid Dakota
They're playing our Third Annual Listener Appreciation Event on April 2nd with Big Trouble, Solid Gold and The Alarmists.
More...

9:10 a.m. Basia Bulat
She's playing First Avenue with Devotchka on May 7th.
More...

"My 3 Songs" for Monday

Posted at 1:24 PM on March 24, 2008 by Steve Seel (2 Comments)

With the oscars a not-too-distant memory yet a few weeks ago, Jeremy Olson of Cannon Falls MN writes, "I just wanted to pay tribute to Oscar nominated songs that didn't make me cringe." Here's to that, Jeremy. I mean, they're not always terrible, as the following demonstrate. What hurts is when good songs lose ... to pitiful ones. The first is a pretty perfect example of such a tragedy.

1) Elliott Smith, "Miss Misery" (Good Will Hunting)
2) Aimee Mann, "Save Me" (Magnolia)
3) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, "Falling Slowly" (Once)

Do you remember what Elliott lost to? That's right: "My Heart Will Go On." Now, it's hard to imagine anthing overcoming the juggernaut of that song that year, sadly. But seriously, the memory of Elliott up there in his ill-fitting white tux, looking terrified and so out of place still breaks my heart. But actually, it warms it at the same time -- being that it is a reminder of how a troubled genius with a preternatural gift for song and a whispery, vulnerable voice that offered a big fat "no" to the prevailing whomp and bombast of the day could somehow still inflitrate the glossy, plastic machine of Hollywood through the sheer audacity of music so lovely that it simply couldn't help but reverberate and connect with people, and in turn, with the nominating members of the Academy. Now that's a nice thing to have as part of your legacy, among other things.

The Aimee Mann nod was quite nice at the time too, since it's easy to forget now, but Aimee was at an extremely critical crossroads in her career at that moment; essentially, Paul Thomas Anderson's decision to essentially build half of Magnolia itself around her music was in no small way a love letter to Aimee, an artist who had been snubbed herself by the industry and record labels for so long that she seemed all but destined for retirement. Nice how that turned out, eh?

Finally, Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard's win is still pretty fresh in our minds -- as is Marketa's premature booting from the stage by a gun-jumping pit orchestra. But thanks be to Jon Stewart for setting that one right.

Thanks Jeremy! Terrific set.

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