Beck's Record Club/Skip Spence's Oar

Beck's Record Club is currently covering Alexander "Skip" Spence's Oar. Jamie Lidell sings vocals on "War in Peace" which features some great guitar solos by Wilco guitarist Nels Cline. "Weighted Down" features Feist on lead vocals and has a deeper impact than "War in Peace." Regardless, both tracks are amazing and caused me to immediately add Skip Spence's Oar to my Amazon Wish List. I suppose that's the point of all of this.

The (k)Now

beck/charlotte gainsbourg "heaven can wait"

Recently, Beck made a record with French Actress/Singer Charlotte Gainsbourg. The first track, "IRM" perferated the blogosphere in late summer. The song's production implicates Beck's involvement but there are no actual vocals that place him in studio (although he absolutely was). Proof is in the pudding, but, no writing on the wall...Until the second helping off of IRM, "Heaven Can Wait," scribbles all over the proverbial wall with lipstick and spray paint "BECK WAS HERE." Beck and Gainsbourg elegantly merge their vocal mojo in a track that likens to most material off Sea Change.



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real estate "fake blues" & "basement"

Real Estate performed new track "Basement" (as captures by Ray Concepcion) at Piano's in NYC for CMJ and "Fake Blues" at Pitchfork Showpaper Benefit. "Basement" carries the common thread of aquatic, ever expanding guitar that makes Real Estate so pleasant. While "Basement" lingers before shooting for the moon, "Fake Blues" seems to start mid flight. The Pitchfork Showpaper Benefit set includes a performance of Ducktails' "Mall" and is available for free download at Pitchfork.





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dum dum girls "play with fire"


Buzzsaw band Dum Dum Grils create a teasing and distant sounding cover of Rolling Stone's dingy "Play With Fire." With tasteful and purposeful decisions the band create a sonic current or stretch of road with the elongated "fire" that leaves lead singer's, Dee Dee, mouth. While I wish more of the lyrics were audible, that's not in the Dum Dum Girl's vain; playing it the way they hear it.

stream> dum dum girls:: "play with fire"

Videos

Its very seldom we see narrative Music Videos these days.  They often are low budget visual pieces or high budget green screen, Ritter fan abusing (giving divas that windblown look) afterthoughts.  No green screen, Ritters, or divas here.  Just your typical desert hostage situation.

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To say that Mosshart is sexy is to undersell what she brings to any band as a front woman.  Her recklessness broods seduction and almost makes you crave chaos (as long as it is reads VV).  Jack White astounds on the drums with tight transitions within his fills and blends in nicely as the drummer.  The greatest challenge of this band (and consequently the hook or essence) is for every member (not Jack White) to make fans forget about the verging icon behind the kit and  insist they watch the Dead Weather, not "Jack White's supergroup."  VV Mosshart will have a lot to do with that.

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"Waiting for My Man" is the second song from Beck's Record Club: Covering Velvet Underground's Velvet Underground and Nico.  The video shows off Beck's arsenal of instruments that makes any ensemble look possible.  Maybe that's why he is choosing to cover each album in a day.  Consequently, this track (and I assume the others) will sound more like sketches rather than actual orchestrations.  Where "Sunday Morning" sounds more like Sea Change, "Waiting for My Man" sounds like the middle road between Mellow Gold and Mutations. 

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Summertime Clothes is an obvious selection for any summer mix and now there is a video to accompany the track.  Using the same sheet improvisers as seen on Late Night with David Letterman, ice sculptures, people rocking around in transparent balls, Animal Collective has added a new found oddity to the ecstasy environment of the Electro Culture.  These abstract visuals no matter how subtle or contrived are creative notions of some sort of think tank, or collective.  A sign that some art is still a community.

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compliments of FADE (not to be confused with Fader):

I am not sold on the track, but, I like the literal approach of the video.  It adds a comedic effect and each lyric is creatively approached.

News (Making Up for Lost Time)

When people tell you to "keep your day job" they must mean stop blogging.  Breaking free for just an hour to post some things that you've may have already heard about in the past week (but this is more for me than you).  We proceed to take note on some telephone wire intercepts.

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Beck has been blowing up news wires with his announcement of his Record Club project where he and some friends (Devandra Banhart, MGMT, Jamie Lidell, and producer Nigel Godrich) will pick an album and spend one day recording a cover of the entire thing, posting one song at a time on the internet.  Beck has chosen Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning" off of Velvet Underground and Nico as the first item produced by this hyper drive covering factory.  Check it below.

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As seen in the DVD Doc of Atlanta's now verging (once hidden) music scene, We Fun, the Black Lips have a close relationship with King Khan (of King Khan and the Shrines).  Consequently, The Black Lips have joined a punkster super group with Khan and Mark Sultan (of BBQ) called the Almighty Defenders.  The group is going to release their first S/T record on September 22 on Vice Records.

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The American master of surrealism (films like Eraserhead, Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Dune...) is releasing Fox Bat Strategy: A Tribute to Dave Jaurequi.  The disc contains seven tracks that feature lyrics by Lynch (sung by Fox Bat guitarist Dave Jaurequi) and music by Fox Bat.  Fox Bat were session players for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and "were in the 'pink room' and 'blue Frank' scenes in the film." (for you Lynch fanatics)  As quoted in the EW article, "Dave Jariqui was not a singer, he was a guitarist, a fantastic one, but I asked him to sing and speak these lyrics of mine, because I had a hunch that proved correct: he had great phrasing, and I love the grain of his voice."  The first released track (as of yet) "Shoot the Works" carries a typical Lynchian spook expressed through 50's style rock.  A great and challenging contrast when considering the 50's era was such a hum drum Golden Age of Americana purity.  Amidst the rows of manicured lawns and white picket fences of the 50's suburbs there was always the house that was "haunted."  Mid summer, dressed in your bermuda khaki shorts and white pocket t shirt, you crept up to see what brooded inside.  As you got closer, you could hear "Shoot the Works" playing from a phonograph just on the other side of the warped beach wood door.  The sound is seductive, but, unpromising.  It is your challenge and mocks your fear of adventure.  

Stream> David Lynch:: "Shoot the Works"

Beck Covers Sonic Youth

Beck covers Sonic Youth's "Green Light" on a split 7" with Sonic Youth.  Beck's voice is shaky, and guitar is rough, but, I love the piano.  Its nice to see some grassroots sounding Beck starting to resurface (ie. reissue of One Foot in the Grave).