The Current Music Blog: January 15, 2009 Archive

The Stream 01/15/09

Posted at 9:49 AM on January 15, 2009 by Steve Seel

New Peter Bjorn and John CD details emerging.

Paul and Ringo to reuine? Why not? Macca shares his feelings about it ... on The View. Of course he did.

Today In Music History:

1951 - Martha Davis (The Motels) was born.
1952 - Melvyn Gale (E.L.O.) was born.
1961 - Damian O'Neill (The Undertones) was born.
1965 - Adam Jones (Tool) was born.
1967 - The Rolling Stones were forced to change the lyrics of "Lets Spend The Night Together" to "Lets Spend Some Time Together" while playing The Ed Sullivan Show.
1976 - Paul Simonon auditioned for The London SS.
1983 - Men At Work's "Down Under" was #1.
1994 - Harry Nilsson died.
1998 - Junior Wells died.
2002 - Adam Ant was admitted to a mental ward after pulling a gun in a London pub.

Live Blogging 01/15/09

Posted at 9:42 AM on January 15, 2009 by Barb Abney

1:55 p.m. Local Music - Gary Louris & Mark Olson
Their forthcoming record, Ready For The Flood will hit the shelves on the 27th.
Pre-order it here and get an autographed CD booklet.
They're playing The Varsity on February 21st
More...

1:40 p.m. Glasvegas
They'll be on Craig Ferguson tonight.
They're playing Varsity Theater on April 7th.
More...

1:20 p.m. Ryan Adams
Will he quit the music business?

1:05 p.m. Local Music - Heiruspecs
Check out the video for "Get Up" here.

12:40 p.m. Local Music - Jeremy Messersmith
He's playing Rock The Cradle on the 25th.
More...

12:15 p.m. A.C. Newman
His latest, Get Guilty will hit the shelves on Tuesday. He's playing The 400 Bar with The Broken West on March 24th.
More...

My 3 Songs 01/15/09
Madeline from Bloomington picked her set in memory of her cousin, Chelsea.

"Pretty Voice" from Cloud Cult - "When I hear the words and feel the mood of the song I long to remember the details of what she was like and honor her memory."

Yelle's "A Cause Des Garcons" - "Chelsea's personality was larger than life that I deeply admired, yet she was wise beyond her years which I never could fully understand (like the french in the song)."

"Stay Positive" from The Hold Steady - "It's been 8 years since Chelsea's death. She taught me that optimism is a powerful force. 'Stay Positive' reminds me of the brighter end of grief that is about healing and honoring her memory."

Make your "My 3 Songs" requests here

11:30 a.m. Local Music - Lookbook
They're playing The Turf Club tomorrow night along with Solid Gold and Gigamesh.
You can order their handmade I Fear You, My Darkness EP here.
More...

11:15 p.m. The Killers
They're playing Northrop Auditorium on Monday (January 19th.)
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11:10 a.m. Jolie Holland
Her next domestic show is the R.E.M. tribute benefit show in March.
More...

10:45 a.m. Animal Collective
Their new record, Merriweather Post Pavilion is getting a great deal of buzz these days. It will be released on CD Tuesday.
More...

Song Of The Day Info - Los Campesinos!
Today on our Song Of The Day podcast we're featuring Los Campesinos! with the tune "Ways to Make It Through the Wall" from the new album We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed.
More....

State of Stasis

Posted at 2:30 PM on January 15, 2009 by Mac Wilson

I don't want to give away too much of next week's Musicheads, but one of the things we'll be talking about is new releases in 2009 that we're looking forward to. I approached the question by thinking about particular albums or projects that have already been announced and have release dates, but an article I read got me to thinking more about a particular artist I'd like to hear from as soon as possible.

About two years ago, we had a discussion on the Current Music Blog about artists who were true geniuses. I offered up Sufjan Stevens' name, writing:

Sufjan. He makes Bird, Ward, LaMontagne, Oberst (who I never cared for to begin with) et al. look like child's play. Maybe not a genius per se quite yet (maybe something like "Wake Up! And Feel The Delaware!" would cinch it) but I think he's two steps above [the other artists mentioned in the thread].

It's been three-and-a-half years since his last entry in the "50 States" project, Illinois, and aside from his yearly Christmas albums, he's been frustratingly quiet on the new release front. He's stayed busy, though, doing production work, collaborating with the Brooklyn Academy of Music, playing piano on the National's Boxer, and writing at length about his religious beliefs, which are being chronicled on the Asthmatic Kitty blog. But come on, dude, your talent is too vast for you to be quiet this long. It doesn't even need to be a state; I'd be perfectly happy with a collection of thoughtful folk tunes like Seven Swans. Maybe the fact that Illinois was so big (both in critical terms and in sheer scope) has made any prospect of a follow-up all the more daunting. After all, how does one follow up one of the most enormous (musically and lyrically) releases of the decade -- an album that was 78 minutes long and still supplied an outtakes collection the next summer? I'm ready to find out.

With apparently bottomless talent when it comes to songwriting, production, and intellect, it's time for Sufjan Stevens to get rolling again. The mere prospect of a new release is truly what I anticipate the most in 2009.