new arrival: mf horn ii
NOTE: Because of tech restrictions his post is credited to me, but was written by Rob Wetstone, our in-house jazz expert and head of content
He was the iconic screamer; the bravado band leader who specialized in soaring high notes, shrieks and shakes; the guy, who, according to snickering high school legend, blew so hard towards the end of his career that he had to wear Depends during concerts. He set the standard for the modern lead trumpet player from his earliest days with Stan Kenton’s Orchestra in the ’50s, and went on to lead his own big band for more than four decades, always striving to stay current (he died in 2006). There were always questions about whether he could really swing or improvise, but ultimately, no one really cared — especially not the legions of student brass players whose knees got all trembly the moment Maynard put his horn to his lips. Holy crap, at his peak, he and his band were pure adrenalin.
M.F.Horn II was released in 1972, and it remains one Maynard more memorable recordings, capturing the thrill of Maynard at the top of his game. (M.F. Horn, I, III, IV & V have yet to make it here — but there is an MF Horn VI). OK, so much of this album is completely dated — the reverbed engineering, wonky mixing, the fun, but sometimes hokey, arrangements, the track selection (all but two are covers of the hits of the day — “Country Road,” “Spinning Wheel,” “Mother”, “Theme from Shaft,” “Hey Jude”).
But damn, this band is so much fun to listen to. It’s a tight, limber and powerful instrument — nowhere more evident than on the thrilling first track, “Give It One,” the band’s live show opener. Maynard was definitely not the first jazz musician to commandeer pop hits, but he did it more effectively then most, encapsulating them in very economic and often thrilling arrangements — the whirling “Spinning Wheel,” “Country Road,” and the hopelessly clichéd but satisfying “Hey Jude” (which saw Maynard’s one and only entry into chaotic free jazz). Highly recommended for those sad brass souls who’ve spent hours in a practice room rehearsing long tones, trills and pentatonic scales.
in praise of: captured tracks
Though I am, at heart, an album guy, I don’t think I’ll ever lose my affection for the 7″ format. When I was cutting my teeth on ’90s indie rock, this was the perfect way to get introduced to a band, to get a feel for what they were and to decide if you wanted more.
That format still exists — more or less — in the form of the digital single, and some of my favorite digital singles have come from two places: Sacred Bones, which I’ve written about before, and Captured Tracks (special shout to Horizontal Action, in the hopes they’ll send us more soon).
Captured Tracks is right on the bead of one of my favorite aesthetics: junk-fi. Their recent spate of singles presents that sound in spades: Dignan Porch buries shout-along vocals underneath a snowbank of guitars; Hanoi Janes skews a bit more melodic — imagine music hour at a giddy kindergarten class — exuberant yelling, plinking xylophones and rudimentary guitar — and you’re getting close. Cosmetics skew darker — 8-bit synth wave with dead-eyed female vocals — while Veronica Falls applies that same fascination with the minor key to spindly indie-goth (that the A-Side is called “Found Love in a Graveyard” should give you a decent idea of what you’re in for). The label’s breakout act is Beach Fossils, who Alex talked about last week.
If you’re nearing the end of your month (and if you haven’t already grabbed our two new Selects bands), Captured Tracks is the stop for you.
Hey everyone! Hope you’re enjoying the Selects Bands…..just thought I’d drop by to do a skimming of the other new/interesting/cool things that we got at the site this week. Let’s start with the Marquee Titles, shall we? (A lot of these are UK-only, so apologies when and where not available):
Continue reading ‘NA, UK-edition: The Knife, Midlake, Soft Pack’
selects! selects!! selects!!!
Two new bands join the ranks of eMusic Selects today, and we could not be more thrilled. Both of them are striking and unique — the work of true vision and individuality, just the kind of records we love to get behind at eMusic. And now for a word about both:
Man/Miracle, The Shape of Things: Oakland’s Man/Miracle specialize in spazzy unhinged indie pop that manages to somehow channel Talking Heads, The Cure and King Sunny Ade all at once. I have been playing this record non-stop for the last week — after a mood-settling opener, “Hot Sprawl” gets the party started and, from that moment on, it is a nonstop energetic floor-filler. Some of you may remember the song “Pushing and Shoving” from our Selected and Collected compilation — The Shape of Things delivers fully on the promise of that song — it’s a striking, thrilling rave-up that demands repeated listens. I know we put it out, but I have to say, this is going to end up one of this year’s strongest releases. You can take that to the bank! Free Track: “Hot Sprawl”
Read Jayson’s interview with Man/Miracle here
Hurray for the Riff Raff, Young Blood Blues: Words cannot express the level of awe and admiration I have for Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Alynda Lee. She has an ability like few others to pour herself into her songs, each one a reflection of her battered-but-still-beating heart. Her life story is the kind of thing that makes for liner notes in a Folkways collection: she ran away from her Bronx home at age 17 and rode boxcars across the United States, eventually ending up in New Orleans where she fell in with a group of travelling musicians called the Dead Man’s Street Orchestra. She more or less taught herself to play banjo, and began writing songs that fall squarely in line with the best of classic folk and blues. This record gets me to the core — the title track, “Young Blood Blues,” is easily one of my favorite songs of the year. Alynda writes like she can read my mind, and the songs and this magnificent collection are clear evidence of her talents. Free Track: “Slow Walk”
Read my interview with Alynda, where she talks about her fascinating life, here
mingering mike haiti benefit
Over the last few weeks there have been a number of remarkable artist-led benefits to aid the people of Haiti during this time of unspeakable tragedy. We wanted to call out one benefit in particular, not only because of its tangential connection to eMusic, but also because we think it’s an incredibly cool idea.
eMusic Selects artist Mingering Mike, via the SoulStrut website, is auctioning off a 100% original Mingering Mike “45″ — the outer sleeve and the cardboard record — designed to the specifications of the winning bidder. All proceeds from this auction go directly to Doctors Without Borders.
If you are the winning bidder, you supply Mike with the artist name of your choosing, and he’ll do the rest. Haiti will be the theme of the 45. So for example, if I were to win this auction the record might read something like this:
The Reverend J. E. K.
“Shaky Ground” b/w “Help Is On the Way 2010”
(Mustache Beard Records)
The Auction Ends Tomorrow, January 28, At Midnight. Sorry for the late notice — we just found out about this.
The bidding is pretty lo-fi – just go to this thread on the SoulStrut messageboards, register a screen name for yourself, and bid. As anyone familiar with Mike’s history can tell you, this is a fantastic prize, and a great way to help out.
UPDATE: Looks like there’s bidding going on here as well.
na: the leftfield leftovers
Man, Jayson wasn’t kidding about today being a big day. In amongst the marquee stuff that’s dropped in, I noticed a bunch (a slew even) of great and/or interesting records that I figured were worth running down here. Even still, I’m sure there’s stuff of note that I missed. Feel free to drop some science in the comments.
Big, big day! My head is swimming. I had to come up for air just as Alex was unearthing reams of cool singles, so he may need to take the baton from here in the Comments section, but here are all the cool/interesting things I came up with on first pass. As always, tell us what you found in the Comments: UPDATED because of COURSE I forgot stuff:
Four Tet, There Is Love In You – New Kieran Hebden! The world hasn’t seen a new Four Tet album since 2005’s Everything Ecstatic, but Hebden is back now, and his new record is as swirling, sensuous, and downright pretty as anything he’s ever done. Big Old Pitchfork score yesterday from Mark Richardson, and we couldn’t agree more. Michaelangelo Matos, in his eMusic review, calls it “Four Tet at his most shamelessly gorgeous,” ; the “shameless” part might have something to do with the titles (”Angel Echoes,” “Love Cry” wassup House is A Feeling), but the music is undeniably gorgeous, and well, ecstatic. Check it out.
Wanted to take a few moments to point out an addition to the site we hope you’ll find helpful, something many of you have been asking about for a while now: RSS Feeds.
On Friday, we incorporated RSS feeds at several locations around the site – here’s what they do. You can add these simply by clicking the RSS Icon that should now be appearing in your address bar when you access eMusic:
BROWSE EDITORIAL: Adding the RSS feed on this page will give you updates every time we add a new piece of editorial to the site.
FRESHLY RIPPED: An updated feed of what’s new on eMusic
Clicking on the RSS icon from the eMusic Homepage will allow you to subscribe to:
eMusic Loves: Our hand-selected editorial picks of what’s hot.
Today’s Buzz: Our hand-selected editorial feature of the day
Most Downloaded: A feed of the eMusic Charts
Review of the Day: Our Review of the Day, delivered to your RSS reader.
Hope you enjoy these new ways of keeping up with what’s current on eMusic!
We know there’s been a spate of good releases vying for both your time and your downloads lately, but we wanted to point your attention to an album that’s not only full of great music, but also supports a worthy cause.
Excellent New Zealand musician Chris Knox, known mostly for his work with Alec Bathate in Tall Dwarfs suffered a debilitating stroke on June 11. In addition to the physical damage inflicted by the incident, the stroke also left Knox with towering medical bills. Knox was one of the founding fathers of the Kiwipop scene, a scene that also gave us the Chills, the Clean, the Bats, Look Blue Go Purple and the untouchable, outstanding Flying Nun label.
Which brings us to today’s Review of the Day, Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox. Simply put, the album is remarkable, and is a testament to Knox’s incredible influence. The album is a veritable who’s-who of indie rock, featuring performances by Stephin Merritt, Bill Callahan, AC Newman, the Chills, Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and Lou Barlow (among others). It also calls out of retirement one of indie rock’s most beloved figures, Neutral Milk Hotel’s Jeff Mangum, who turns in a searing cover of Knox’s “Sign the Dotted Line.” I will admit, hearing Mangum’s voice for the first time on new material since Aeroplane gave me goosebumps.
Beyond all that, all proceeds from Stroke go to Knox’s recovery fund. You can find out more about Chris Knox in Sam Adams’ excellent review of Stroke, or by visiting Knox’s website.
a little help from my friends
I realize I’m probably picking a bad time (entire Replacements discography and all) to trot out a laundry list of random-seeming records that you just Have to Download Now! but… let’s just call it Save For Later-bait? Ok, cool.
I’ve posted here before about leaning on lists to augment my all-consuming music nerd habits, but December and January (aka year-end up wrap-up time) turns list scouring time into list drowning time. And, well… I love it. The whole year-end list clusterfuck gets a bad rap — it’s overwhelming, it’s arbitrary, it caters to ugly hivemind sensibility, etc etc. But honestly, the sheer amount of artists and records and songs I discover and come to love makes me quickly shelve any inclination I have toward petty list-hate snark.
I thought it might be worthwhile to share a list of some of my recent discoveries (and obsessions) and to give props to the fine excavators who lit the way. The list is currently spiraling out of control, no thanks to today’s arrival of Village Voice’s (always fascinating) Pazz n’ Jop poll coverage, which, among the great essays and master rankings, allows me to see the individual ballots of many writers I admire. So basically, it never ends. And that’s great.
Pretty good haul here after a flood of WMG-related content last week. Hope you held onto some downloads.
Spoon: Transference – We gave you a sneak peak at Michaelangelo Matos’ glowing review last week , and now the beloved Austin outfit’s seventh album is finally here. Tight, tough and simply composed, Transference is a departure from 2007’s bolder Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga for Spoon. But Britt Daniel and co. are no worse for it.
Eels: End Times – Why so sad Mark Oliver Everett? Oh right, cuz you’re always sad. The man sometimes known only as E is back with his 13th studio album, a companion piece to last year’s lovelorn werewolf saga, Hombre Loco. End Times isn’t much of a surprise, but Everett has been a reliably incisive and spiritual examiner of love’s decay for some time now. End Times is no exception.
Aziz Ansari: Intimate Moments For A Sensual Evening – Basically the funniest, most suddenly visible young stand-up working today, the apoplectic Aziz Ansari’s first album is a whirling dervish of a debut. Riffing on Facebook terrorism, hanging backstage with R. Kelly, and the creepy underbelly of Craigslist, he’s composed a funny, legitimately replayable comedy album—tough sledding these days—without sacrificing his deeply skewed sense of humor. Be not afraid.
Surfer Blood: Astro Coast – Now watch as I awkwardly quote my own review.
eMusic’s Sean Fennessey (!) says:
May our year of surfing and beaches and windswept abandon burn up and fade away. In its place, more bands like Surfer Blood, a troupe with little time for burbling chillwave. In its stead, an old time-y sound — that’s right, straightforward guitar-driven rock ‘n’ roll songs! The name and subject matter might fool you; the West Palm Beach crew have rights to beachdom and their songs can drift into talk of deadbeat summers. But the sound on their confident, chipper debut hews closer to roiling ’70s arena rock (think Boston, with way less polish), accessible shoegaze (Ride are a clear influence) and mid-’90s alt-pop (Weezer, basically)…It’s early yet, but Surfer Blood, bad intentions or not, are resurrecting a quaint, vital sound.
Dinowalrus: % – Noisy, meandering, percussive, concusssive – fun! This Brooklyn band have a real refined sense of ramshackle and this, their debut, isn’t exactly the most immediate piece of work. But there’s a tricky, involving tie, a hint of melody, that binds. I wasn’t thrilled with this the first time through, but it’s won me over.
Hotrats: Turn Ons – This is a nice little gem in the rough—formed by Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey of Supergrass, Hotrats’ Turn Ons is a collection of sloshy covers produced by iconoclast Godhead Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, Pavement), including Bowie’s “Queen Bitch,” Roxy Music’s “Love is the Drug,” and Elvis Costello’s “Pump It Up.” Pretty good taste there, eh? Maybe not a record of searing depth, but definitely a fun toss-off. The excitably twee version of the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” is the clincher.
Tha Dogg Pound: That Was Then This Is Now – True story: This is now! Daz and Kurupt, long-cemented West Coast legends, are in their comfort zone here, making aggressive, confident, bedrock gangsta music that recalls Too $hort at its best (”Get $ Paid”) and DJ Quik at its weirdest (”How Low”). A surprising late-in-the-game effort for the duo that won’t die.
The Whitfield Brothers: Earthology – I’ve only heard samples of this so far, but Now Again is one of the most trusted brands in rediscovering lost soul gems. Only this is a bit of a curveball for the label. Rather than remastered soul squeals from mid 20th century middle America, this is a psych jazz cycle from a current act that features a handful of Stones Throw MCs, including Percee P and MED and outsiders like Edan and Mr. Lif. If you dug Forge Your Own Chains, you’ll dig this.
The Fresh & Onlys: Second One To Know – More, more, more music from this relentless garage act. This is a short EP that reminds me a bit of early Kinks, minus the gloss. Pretty!
Jane Baxter Miller: Harm Among the Willows – Sturdy Americana and blues from Bloodshot. Hardly revolutionary, but it sounds like it’s made with lots of care.
help out in Haiti
We try to keep this blog mostly dedicated to music, but we’re going to veer off course, as we feel the situation warrants it. The recent tragic event in Haiti is the kind of situation so awful, it’s almost beyond our ability to comprehend. We at eMusic would encourage you to consider making a donation to alleviate some of the suffering via the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or another charitable institution.
There’s another way you can help: the artist Bigga Haitian is donating the proceeds from the download of his song, “I Am A Hatian” to Haitian relief.
A little tease for next week’s big deal release, Transference, the seventh album from Austin stalwarts, Spoon. Michaelangelo Matos reviewed the album for eMusic and has some unsurprisingly encouraging things to say. Time to get excited:
Spoon
Transference
[Merge]Release Date: 19 January 2009
By Michaelangelo Matos
Some bands, there’s no accounting for: they work their magic and get out, leaving only their traces. What’s unique about Spoon is that they put all their methodology up front: this is a group that shows you its work, particularly in the studio. You hear every effect, and while Britt Daniel’s words are often gnomic, his singing is anything but coy. Meanings aside, almost nothing is hidden. 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga all but wallowed in the guts of its own making, with liberally sprinkled bits of studio talk and song warm-ups. So, why does Spoon still seem so uncanny?
Jay Reatard: 1980-2010
We here at eMusic join those who are mourning the passing of Jay Reatard, a veritable punk-rock force of nature and one of the most vital presences on the indie scene; Jay passed away in his sleep last night at the chastening age of 29. There are no words, really, for this sort of thing, so we’re choosing to simply run the interview he did with Andria Lisle, in advance of what is now his final record, 2009’s Watch Me Fall. If you haven’t listened to Jay Reatard, here are links to the albums on eMusic:
Singles 06-07
Matador Singles ‘08
Blood Visions
Watch Me Fall
new arrivals: non-wmg
(photo by SyGuildmistress
In addition to the deluge of WMG and affiliated titles on the site yesterday, I wanted to call out a few indie releases well worth your time and credits!
Vijay Iyer Trio, Historicity: Unanimously chosen as one of the best jazz records of 2009 (but, sadly, arriving on the site too late to make our poll), Iyer & co. deliver a set of smart, restless piano jazz, the most intriguing of which is a spin through MIA’s “Galang” (!) “Smoke Stack” is another gem, giddy, restless piano lines and darting-all-over bass. Sounds great even to these untrained ears.
Laura Veirs, July Flame: Latest lovely outing from Oregon singer/songwriter Laura Veirs. This one really stuck with me: her voice reminds me of Kristen Hersh — smoky and oaky and mysterious. eMusic’s Melissa Maerz sez:
After seven albums of rootsy folk hymns carefully plucked on a nylon-string guitar, it’s about time the Portland singer-songwriter is finally getting recognized, just in time for her best album yet. Recorded in a barn, July Flame feels as organic as a Fair Trade coffee bean, with banjo, piano and guitar wicking together a woodsy, fresh-air sound. These are naked love songs, though they’re less boy-meets-girl than girl-falls-hard-for-the-world stories. Exulting in tiny moments of beauty, Veirs celebrates the firecracker-orange of a summer peach (“July Flame”), the rustle of snakes in the grass (“I Can See Your Tracks”), the sight of sap that drips like “blood trapped inside the maple tree / the sunlight trapped inside the wood” (“Make Something Good”).
Owen Pallett, Heartland: He used to be Final Fantasy, now he’s just Owen, but that hasn’t changed the nervous sprawl of his music one iota. Heartland features Pallett’s usual intricate orchestration in the support of prim and stately pop songs. Rich in little details, Pallett comes through with another weird winner.
Billy Bragg Reissues: In addition to Bragg’s Anti- record, Mr. Love & Justice, we’ve also got Billy’s whole back catalaog remastered and reissued with bonus tracks. Bragg is a songwriter without equal, and this is the perfect opportunity to explore his stubborn, singular work.
Cold War Kids, Cold War Kids at Fingerprints: Short, live EP from indie faves CWK.
Mike Hale & Mike Reed, s/t: I don’t know anything about this pair of Mikes, but this single is rustic and rich — fans of acoustic folk and country would be well advised to invest a pair of downloads in this one.
Anything else we missed?
So — quite a few new arrivals today, eh US members?
Over 10,000 albums, to be precise, a dizzying avalanche of stuff from the Warner Music Group. No matter your taste in music, there’s sure to be something here that appeals to you.
And it’s not just Warner titles that have arrived today — Epitaph and Anti- return to the fold today, too, bringing with them the latest albums by Neko Case and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. We’ve got great jazz by Brad Mehldau on the Nonesuch label (and to answer the question before you ask — there will be more Nonesuch titles to come) and wild-eyed metal masterpieces on Roadrunner. All of this comes to you with no change to your existing subscription and no price increase.
The catalog is so vast and wide-ranging, it’s hard to know where to start. Do you like jazz? Start with timeless classics by John Coltrane, or check out Kevin Whitehead’s excellent ‘Atlantic Jazz in the 60s‘ hub.
Classic rock is your game? How about Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This is Nowhere or Gram Parson’s defining document of alt-country, Grievous Angel? Or the Stooges‘ deluxe-edition of Funhouse? Or Never Mind the Bollocks…?
Or does your taste, like ours, run left of the dial? How about the new records from the Flaming Lips, Built to Spill and the Dead Weather? Or groundbreaking masterpieces from the Cure, the Replacements, Talking Heads and Depeche Mode? Or my favorite band (and everyone else’s favorite punching bag!) R.E.M.? Or the album that launched 1500 other albums, My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless?
To help you navigate the deluge, we’ve put together a whole new battery of Six Degrees and eMusic Icons, and we’ve also assembled this handy “Just Arrived” page to bubble up the cream of the crop.
Update — the first batch — and there are more on the way:
Icons:
eMusic Icon: Aretha Franklin
eMusic Icon: the Ramones
eMusic Icon: the Cure
eMusic Icon: the Replacements
eMusic Icon: Depeche Mode
eMusic Icon: R.E.M.
eMusic Icon: Neil Young
eMusic Icon: Paul Simon
eMusic Icon: Talking Heads
eMusic Icon: Joni Mitchell
Six Degrees
Six Degrees of Depeche Mode’s Violator
Six Degrees of Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock”
Six Degrees of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless
Six Degrees of Jesus & Mary Chain’s Psychocandy
Six Degrees of Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis
Six Degrees of Gram Parsons’ Grievous Angel
So we’ve called out a few of our favorites, now it’s your turn. Any albums in this massive haul we need to spend some time with?
emusic q&a: dan chaon
One of the best books of 2009 is a meditation on identity and reality and how the Internet enables us to alter our perceptions of both. Dan Chaon is a National Book Award nominated writer who has crafted an unputdownable literary thriller called Await Your Reply, a book that seamlessly weaves together three separate storylines to create a web of intrigue and angst. eMusic’s Jess Sauer spoke to the author about The Net, Friday the 13th, Philip Pullman, Chris Brown and the mysteries of the multiverse. Read the full interview after the jump! Continue reading ‘emusic q&a: dan chaon’
112
consistency is a virtue
You know what band I still love? Bettie Serveert. By simply typing that sentence I realize the degree to which I am placing myself in a very particular indie rock time and place, as the kind of guy who asks questions like “Whatever happened to the Rock*A*Teens” and “Do you guys remember that Matador Toiling Midgets album?” I’m willing to welcome that pigeonholing.
The first record I ever got by Bettie was Lamprey (and to quickly clarify: there is no one in the band named Bettie Serveert — the name is taken from an old Dutch tennis video that translates as Bettie Serves). Matador had a distribution deal with Atlantic at the time, and after their graceful and sublime Palomine, the usual wags were pegging Bettie as the Next Big Industry Thing. Which is bananas, because there was no way a band like Bettie was ever going to be radio-huge.
And there’s a sad thing that happens when a band gets hailed the Next Big Thing and then fails to take off: everyone assumes that they’re a failure. Lamprey, naturally, didn’t ignite, even in the alt-friendly mid-90s radio climate, and people sort of let Bettie go. In a sense, I’m guilty as charged on that front: when they released the very ho-hum Dust Bunnies (on my birthday!) in 1997, I wrote them off as well.
But Bettie Serveert is the rare band whose second act is better than their first. After wandering in the fallow indie wilderness for a few years they regrouped and released the stunning Private Suit, a tiny, tender record about fragility and failure that showcased everything this band was ever good at: brittle-bone guitar lines paired with Carol can Dyk’s sandpaper alto. You couldn’t even really call it a ‘return to form,’ because it eclipsed — and maybe even surpassed — anything the band had done up to that point, pointing the way toward a healthy longevity.
Since then, Bettie Serveert has gone on quietly releasing records, some of them better than others, but none of them total wipeouts. Today, we get their latest, the excellent Pharmacy of Love. It’s a rough, nasty, snarling record, toothy and punky, by far the most aggressive thing the band has ever done, and making me — for the first time — think of Carol and Karen O as inhabiting the same universe. It’s forceful and aggravated, and shows that a band 17 years into their career is still primed to pummel. Highly recommended!
coming soon…
So, things have been awfully quiet around these parts lately, no? Maybe a little too quiet? Well, far be it from us to tip our hands. Let’s just say, faithful readers of 17 Dots, that if I were you, I’d hang on to my January downloads for at least the next couple of weeks…
