Hope you have your tickets

It turns out that The Rose Scharlin School Benefit Show at Spaceland really did have some special guests. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club will be playing! The word got around fast, and the show is sold-out on Ticketweb, but some tickets will be available at the door. The best part is that there are still more special guests to come. For now we can only dream, but we'll let you know when we hear.

It's SLiTHER time!
I have some weekend homework for everyone, so I hope your schedules are clear. Strike Entertainment (where I happen to work) just finished an amazing horror-comedy called SLiTHER, and you all have to see it this weekend.

For those born pre-1970, a horror-comedy is a style of filmmaking that takes the experience of going to a horror film and makes it fun. This film is cheeky, gross, clever, scary and smart. The key term here is smart. Writer/Director James Gunn (Dawn of the Dead, big Troma guy) has made the Evil Dead 2 of our generation- it's been a long time coming.

Unlike other horror movies being released, Gunn believes in his audience - refusing to treat us like toddlers. If we can make it to the moon, I think we can grasp satire and plot points. I'm convinced that when a film dumbs itself down, it isn't a reflection of some shrewd marketing campaign; but, actually a clear picture of the filmmaker's true intelligence. Take that re-make of Texas Chainsaw Massacre! Way to shit on a classic!

Despite the big studio release, SLiTHER never plays like a big studio movie. It's a film that revels in the horror genre, and asks us to come along with it.

Don't laugh too hard, or you just might end up with a slug down your throat.

Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys talk new material

Two posts for the price of one! In seperate NME articles, both Bloc Party and Arctic Monkeys discuss plans for their sophmore albums. Both bands want to go in new directions with their music, which should make for an exciting fall of 2006 when we'll actually get to hear the material.

Check out the Monkeys' article here and Bloc Party's here.

Fear Not!

Some positive words from Thom regarding new material:

la la land


might i suggest that those selling their
koko tickets on e bay for stupid money gives a contribution... say 30 percent of
their proceeds, back to friends of the earth, for whose benefit we are all doing
this show.seems only fair, unless you're a shallow____, dont you think?

by the way listening back to things we
are doing and looking through the lyrics todayand stuff it feels like we are
finally getting somewhere. there are lots of songs. too manyto get together
straight away. so we will be furiously rehearsing and writing as we go

.... i think we ve always worked best
when we arent bothered about making mistakes. theres a lot of baggage about the
old way of doing things that is hard to get over... all the 'album' crap..just
this level of pressure that is ridiculous..we're just going to do what feels
right at the time quite intothe idea of singles at the moment(that dont get on
the radio)..

no grand design...
wherever we are at. some of the random stuff we have at the momentcould be the
most exciting... trying to figure out how on earth we will be able to play some
of it.anyway it is not important. there is more to life than freaking out about
petty bullshit like this. there aremore important things to think about.

Far, far away from West Virginia

Say hello to the beautiful Natalie Citro. She will be filling you in on the Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah show. Please give her a warm welcome...

I am a product of the eighties. Subsequently, when I hear a sound that is a hybrid of my beloved Talking Heads and Wang Chung, and when this sound is backed by a catchy little beat I can pair my dancing shoes with, my ears perk up. Such a spark of interest was responsible for bringing me east down Wilshire Boulevard on March 23 to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the El Rey.

It is my belief that in the critical, impatient moments preceding a show’s commencement, a person who has no idea what concert he is attending can accurately forecast what band is about to come on stage simply by feeling out the crowd. At a Death From Above show, for example, the flood of testosterone, perspiration and angst would be an easy giveaway. At Death Cab For Cutie, the fact that there are no persons standing alone (only those entwined in the arms of their lovers grace the floor), coupled with the predominance of Urban Outfitters apparel, should be sufficient evidence. At the El Rey on Thursday night, the sold out venue was packed with smartly dressed, smiling individualists whose sole priority seemed to be having a really good time. The fans’ lighthearted excitement is directly linked to the very thing which makes a Clap Your Hands show so great- their music is FUN.

From the beginning of the set to the end, the crowd was dancing, swaying, or at least tapping their boot-clad feet to the up-tempo rhythms that filled the room with a contagious energy. The band made its way through the majority of the songs from their self-titled album, and received extra applause from the crowd when they began such songs as “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” and “Let the Cool Goddess Rust Away” (both of which have embellished all of our party playlists, to be sure).

Several new songs such as “Satan Said Dance,” also spiced up the set. One favorite of mine occurred in the encore, when the band played the song “Clap Your Hands;” indeed, the call-and-response form echoed the verse in “Yellow Submarine” where the lone seaman parrots Ringo’s words in a full, drunken tenor.

Lead singer Alec Ounsworth surpassed his act from the previous LA gig at the Troubadour, when, as the blonde co-creator of this site informed me, he gave a remarkably lackluster performance and seemed quite un-excited to be playing music for anyone. At the El Rey, either the luxury of his tour bus, the vigor of the crowd, or perhaps just a simple change of mood produced an enthusiastic approach to his songs, which was well received by his viewers. The keyboardist/guitarist/tambourine player was by far the most entertaining to watch as he bounced all over the stage, thrusting the tambourine against his chest like Tarzan, and laughing at the entire situation like he couldn’t believe he was in a hit band. Sadly, his performance far outshone that of the bass player, who sort of, well, stood there.

All throughout, the ringing guitars and Ounsworth’s lazy vocals, which seemed to suggest that articulate is decidedly unsexy, created an element of unfettered expression which formed the cohesive bond for the entire set. The somewhat tousled aspect of melodic freedom, contrasted with the relatively simple song structures and the solid backbone of percussion, produced a perfect balance that can only be explained with an image of Kate Moss waking up in the morning: a head of messed tendrils, but cat eyes rimmed with lines of still-sleek black eyeliner from the night before.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has become my modern dose of the rockin' eighties. If fashion from that era is any indication of the decade’s general mood in music, they avoided too much of an emphasis on sophistication and overreaching complexity. Instead, it was all pretty upbeat, and pretty darn fun, just like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah managed to accomplish (with flying colors) in their live show.

(all photos by Braedon)

Jose Gonzalez @ the Jensen RecCenter Studio

With the way he fondles those nylon strings, some would call him a lover. Others would claim he is a fighter, jabbing and tearing away as he strums through the heaviest of his low volume songs. But when it really comes down to it, Jose Gonzalez is a dancer, gifted with fingers that can out-shake, out-rattle, and out-roll the classiest in the ballroom.

As we approached the decrepit commercial building, the tainted yellow light that haunts every orifice of the nocturnal Echo Park landscape seemed to be pushing us inside. The Jensen RecCenter Studio, (the Echo was the previously scheduled venue) was supposedly located in this building. And yet this place looked more appropriate to house bail bonds office or a Salvation Army rather than a space where the community could come to pump its iron.

But entering the well-lit hallway of the RecCenter, it was apparent that this was no place to lift dumbbells or stretch your calves. High white walls with naked wooden beams surrounded a crowd paying close attention to the army of instruments that donned the stage. Opposite the crowd, a large brick wall framed a fireplace, magically lit atop a garden of broken glass. This and the vision of modern furniture surrounding the fire drastically offset the image I had created in my head of the RecCenter.

Arriving just in time to hear the final crashing notes of the promising opening band, Minor Canon, I finagled my way to the back corner and plotted my feet atop a chair, which enabled me to peek over the top of the crowd. My perch was perfectly placed to view the single chair that sat center stage. The absence of the other instruments signaled the sparse show about to unfold.

Gonzalez approached the stage amidst a warm welcome that diminished into a silence rarely heard at a rock show. It was like the sound between tears or the quiet communication between lovers when romance is understood. As Gonzalez began, his fingers took form in all their dancing glory. Sometimes doing little more than arpeggiating a single chord, Gonzalez’s fingers danced, stabbed, and caressed their way through an entire set, which consisted mostly of tunes on Veneer and his latest EP, Stay in the Shade.

Starting off with “Hints,” and strategically placing his better loved songs “Heartbeats” and “Crosses” later on, the crowd granted Gonzalez its attention for his entire set. Gonzalez played through his compositions so perfectly that it seemed he was lip-syncing his songs that played over the studio’s PA. Interpretations of well known hits like Kylie Minogue’s “Hand on Your Heart” and Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” seemed even more original than his own pieces. And yet the mimicry of his album tracks never lost the essence they originally possessed as personal confessions recorded in a bedroom, unscathed by big studio production.

So often is the listener set apart from the musician they are trying to understand. But in listening to Gonzalez’s music, one finds a bond that is many times lost in the modern music experience. Therein lies the secret to Gonzalez’s success; a no frills approach to music that allows the listener and the audience to share a moment with the artist.

(Photos courtesy of Braedon Photography)

Calexico In-Store @ Amoeba Records

In the past year of getting to know Calexico's work,
I haven't been let down. After falling in love with In the Reins, accumulating my own arsenal of their recordings, and finally enjoying their highly-acclaimed live show, Calexico have been as reliable to me as UCLA in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Calexico is planning to shower me with yet another collection of musical gifts on April 11th when they release their latest intstallment, entitled Garden Ruin. Partly influenced by their recent collaboration with Sam Beam, Garden Ruin is said to take a step away from their usual "Calexico sound;" this was done in order to push their vocals further and rely on actual songs for the band's distinction, rather than the mariachis and horns that have contributed to their signature sound in the past.

Gift-givers that they are, Calexico have planned a handful of instore performances in support of Garden Ruin. Luckily for us, one of these includes a stop at Amoeba Records on Sunset. Time to show some gratitude.

6/12/06 - Amoeba Records @ 7pm (info)

Give Garden Ruin a listen here.
Read the Pitchfork interview here.
Download the new track, "Cruel," at Calexico's Myspace.

Come to shows with us, we don't bite.

I'm going to see Four Tet tomorrow evening at Spaceland. Who's comin' with me!? We like saying hello to people, so email us when you go to shows. Read my earlier post about upcoming Spaceland shows to get an idea of the bands we will be covering.

XOXO
The Content

Built To Spill @ the Troubadour

It's been a long time. The last time I saw these guys, I was squished between shoulders and sweat at an oversold El Rey theater. It's refreshing to know that Built to Spill will finally be dropping some new material on us, after a break that has been way too long. The new album, entitled You In Reverse, will be released on April 11th in conjunction with a US tour.

After scheduling, cancelling, and rescheduling, Built to Spill will end up playing four nights (you heard me right) at the Troubadour in June. That gives you plenty of time to learn all the words to the new tunes. Get acquainted, and start warming up that singing voice.

Presale tickets at a reduced price will be made available at the following ticket links:
6/28/06 - Troubadour (tix)
6/29/06 - Troubadour (tix)
6/30/06 - Troubadour
7/1/06 - Troubadour

Preview two tracks from You In Reverse on Built to Spill's Myspace.

Liars EPK!

Oh man, this is exactly what a Saturday morning should be: wake up late, read some Oblivion, clean the house and watch a 15 minute promo on the Liars new LP Drums Not Dead. If this interview doesn't inspire you to greatness, than you're already dead inside, you're already dead (the echo always adds drama). Liars are the most creative band on the scene right now, and the contents of this short film further proves that. Thanks you to Music (for robots) for tracking down this link!

Go here and watch away.

The Update

Things are getting exciting over here at Rewriteable Content, and I want to fill you in on what to look forward to:

-First, we've been to at least one show everyday this week, and have some incredible photos from Braedon, which will hit the site soon.

-Second, we had an exclusive interview and photo shoot with Forward Russia, which is being put together right now.

-Third, we have our first show coming up very soon. It will be in our living room on April 8th. We don't have a ton of room, but will try and fit as many people as possible. Send me an email if you want to come.

-Fourth, I just started writing posts for Stylus Magazine, so go check out The Turntable section and the rest of their great site.

-Fifth, it is friday and I get to take the chains off and run free for a few days.

Can I get an Amen?

The Blood Brothers set to record, myspace told me so

More exciting news here at the Content. My personal obsession, The Blood Brothers, are set to start recording their new album in late April with Guy Picciotto (yeah, I got light headed too) and John Goodmanson (the man behind Crimes). My claim to fame is that I got to meet John Goodmanson last year, and hang out in his studio for the day. Anyways, go over to their Myspace Page and have a look around.

New Tool song!

Go here! Pretty sure this is an illegal leak so go fast!

***UPDATE: The powers that be have taken down the page. ***

Sorry People - I tried.

Love,

Ferrall

Belle and Sebastian Show: A-Ok
(We'd like to thank Nisan Perera for writing this tasty review)

It’s official: everyone’s favorite indie pop act puts on quite the special live performance. One could even be inclined to call it “precious;" and if you happen to be of the vein of people that would call it that, go ahead, because this is the one time I won’t hold it against you.

There is simply nothing that wasn’t precious about lead singer Stuart Murdoch’s stage bounding gumby-like dancing, chatty banter with lead guitarist Stevie Jackson, and declaration that instead of partying the night before he had stayed up late reading the “Rock Star Handbook” to figure out what to do if someone threw their “knickers” on stage.

But in between all of the side-show antics lay something else that was astounding to be in witness of: the pure and refined musical choreography between seven people who played as if they were all working together to pull the bow of a cello hitting middle C. As they tore through a set that spanned even the most obscure of their ten year catalog of music, it felt strange to have to remind myself that this wasn’t actually 1958 and I wasn’t in Detroit watching an R&B group; their vocal harmonies seemed so pristinely crafted that I was sure there was no other explanation for it.

One aspect of the night that definitely should not go without mentioning was the blistering set by The New Pornographers. Oh man. There was literally a wall. And this wall was made out of sound. But what made this wall of sound especially amazing was that it was composed of three very distinct voices: Carl Newman of A.C Newman, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, and of course, the wonderful Neko Case (Get her new album even if you don’t like it! I swear it’ll grow on you).

I regularly pinch myself when I wake up in the morning and realize that we live in a world where those three not only make wonderfully artistic solo albums, but also have the ability to make music together without even the hint that they’re stepping on each other's toes or egos. What a world we live in…

photos by: Larry Kao

A heads up: Belle and Sebastian will be playing at the Hollywood Bowl on July 8th. And while it is a minus to see a band you have a personal connection to in a colossal arena, they have added a tasty little treat for incentive: they will be backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. So yeah, that’s a little cool.

Spencer Krug prepares two new releases

For all of us on the bandwagon, we go schizo for anything to do with Krug's army (i.e. Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown, etc.). Our boy Krug recently released an EP with Sunset Rubdown and will be releasing his second full length with the project on May 2, entitled Shut Up I Am Dreaming.

And if that's not enough for your greedy little eardrums, then just wait. According to Billboard.com, "Wolf Parade will return to the studio in July to begin recording a follow-up to last year's Isaac Brock-produced Apologies to the Queen Mary, with hopes to release the as-of-yet untitled effort before the end of the year."

Billboard went on to mention that Krug recently got together with Dan Bejar (Destroyer, New Pornographers) and Carey Mercer (Frog Eyes) to record a batch of original tunes that will be released this Fall on Jagjaguwar.

The bell has been rung. Start your salivating, little puppies.

Sunset Rubdown will be touring behind their upcoming release after Wolf Parade's stint at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on April 30. The Content will be sure to let you know when the Rubdown comes to our Sunset.

-

Check out Sunset Rubdown at Gorilla vs. Bear and on Myspace or here.
Read the full Billboard article here.

Tool Cover Art







Why am I a little worried about this album? Truthfully, I am scared that the boys are going to put out Lateralus 2. Judging from the cover art (a semi-bland Alex Grey painting), they are already moving towards this fate, and it is a sad reminder that I am getting old. Back in 2000, I had a steady obsession with playing entire Tool albums on guitar in a single sitting; however, now Undertow hardly makes it to my cd player. 10,000 Days might be a rebirth for Tool or the end of an era. Dramatic I know.

Serena Maneesh will melt your face

It's the same thing everytime: a tingle starts swirling in my stomach, my blood begins to pump a little faster, and a smile sits plastered across my face. Anytime this sequence occurs, it is a clear sign that I have seen a fantastic concert. Tonight I added another step to this process: endless babble after the show trying to pin down the experience in words.

Paying homage to my life mentor Stephen Colbert - it's time for tonight's word... Had to be there. It's often seen as a copout to say something is too great to be explained in words; however, then you'd be pissing on the likes of Wordsworth and Coleridge. Bad move. If we look back to the English literature of the 18th century, we see a strong tradition of Romanticism, where authors sought to uncover the sublime. Stop singing "What I Got" right now. These scribes wrote about objects that didn't have physical properties in nature. WMDs? They were careful not to define these objects/feelings, because something sublime is said to be indefinable. By calling something indefinable aren't you defining it? Gotcha! The only true way to capture this enlightened state is by being present in the sublimity. So all I can say about the Serena Maneesh show is you had to be there.. and that is tonight's word.

On a less evasive note, the Serena Maneesh show was quite a mindblowing and eardrum killing experience. Each band member had their own unique style (reference the photos for evidence), but were able to gel into a cohesive wall of sound. The mood of the show was a cross between My Bloody Valentine shoegaze sway and Velvet Underground shred.

To top off the supreme performance, both Kerwin and I were able to personally thank each member of the band. It's amazing what genuinely nice people that are. Walking down Silverlake Blvd. on the way back to the car, it was clear that Spaceland had witnessed something special. It felt like the beginning of something, which is always inspiring.

Silver Lake Film Festival

If you have some spare time, come check out the 6th Annual Silver Lake Film Festival running from March 23rd-31st.

L.A.'s Independent Film & Arts Festival brings flmmakers, cinephiles,
musicians, multimedia artists, video gamers, Eastside Bohos and Hollywood
celebrities together to watch, talk about, and celebrate independent film and
video, with more than 200 screenings of the best in independent features,
documentaries and shorts. (ArcLightCinemas)

The Books/Califone @ the J. Paul Getty Museum

Sometimes you just end up in the right place at the right time. There’s no rhyme or reason to it but when it happens, when you find the “X” that marks the spot, it’s always beautiful, always meaningful, and always leaves you with a memory burned in the side of your skull to remind you that there are moments to stay alive for.

After a failed attempt to make movie plans and St. Patrick staring me down with those green goblin eyes, I was left alone on Friday to try and weasel my way in to see The Books and Califone perform at the J. Paul Getty Museum. As one of the gems of Los Angeles, the Getty not only houses some of the world’s finest art but curates an ongoing concert series that has showcased some of the better, yet less known, acts in the world of music. This last weekend’s show was part of a series called Laughtears and Livewires, a phrase coined by James Joyce to represent the joining of opposites that are often kept apart but belong together.

Finally able to take a breath after my standby number was called, I entered the Getty’s Harold M. Williams Auditorium and stood amidst a crowd as divided as oil on water. While the sea of hipsters, artsy geriatrics and snub critics parted to let me through to my seat, it seemed funny that some small, relatively unknown acoustic-experimental bands could act as the prophets to bring these demographics together.


Promptly starting on time, Califone entered to a plethora of instruments that donned the stage almost too perfectly, and seemed to mimic the structure and organization of the Degas exhibit in the adjacent building. The hypnotic loops, enveloped by a banjo and acoustic guitar, laid down a fertile foundation for the soft, trustful timbre and twang of lead singer Tim Rutili. Not familiar with their music, I found their Americana-influenced sound quite comforting, like a long conversation with a loved parent in a candlelit desert pueblo.


With The Books quickly taking the stage after Califone, I once again found that same sweet comfort as Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong launched into their set of found sounds and film. Framing the stage were moving pictures of early Mormon leaders tipping their hats to the camera, as well as Zammuto’s and de Jong’s personal home videos, which made it seem as though you had watched these guys grow up. Playing through tunes from all three of their releases, The Books never seemed to disappoint with the amount of sound and visual stimulation that came from the pair’s doings. As Zammuto and de Jong worked their magic, it was evident that neither was the superior limb but rather each functioned as a cohesive mechanism which added to the full potential of the body they had formed. With the bass and tenor harmony in the superb rendition of “Take Time” and “Be Good To Them Always” relying as much on the cello instrumentation as Zammuto’s timid mumblings, The Books acted more like a team trying to translate their art rather than perform their songs.

After a short set that was concluded with a cover of Nick Drake’s “The Cello Song,” the once divided crowd now seemed to unite with smiling faces of appreciation for the moment they had been able to share. Descending the hillside to the parking lot, that appreciation passed through my telephone as I begged everyone on my call list to make it the next night for the encore performance. Nick Zammuto said at the beginning of the set that “this is actually the perfect place to play [our] music,” and upon leaving I was more than enthusiastic at the idea of other people enjoying the same moment I had experienced, in this very right place at this very right time.

Cheap shows at Spaceland

I know I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. Spaceland is one of the best small venues in Los Angeles. Enough said.

March 20th: Forward Russia! - FREE (about as cheap as they come)
March 22nd: Tapes n' Tapes
March 24th: The Dirty Projectors
March 28th: Four Tet & Steve Reid - SO excited.
March 29th: Minus the Bear
April 2nd: Benefit w/ Silver Sun Pickups and Special Guests
April 3rd: The New York Dolls
April 8th: The Boy Least Likely To...
May 9th: Destroyer and Blood on the Walls


Club info:
1717 Silver Lake Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
www.clubspaceland.com
www.ticketweb.com

A list for Robert

A friend asked me to make him a list of bands he might enjoy, and being the spectacular human that I am- I whole heartedly agreed.

So that was two weeks ago... I said I'm spectacular, not perfect.

He is a big fan of Pete Doherty and The Sounds, so I'm working with heroin and keyboards. Truthfully I have not looked through his music collection, so I am starting with an obvious list and working my way down from there.

An obvious and potentially insulting list:
The Faint, Bloc Party, Wolf Parade, Thunderbirds Are Now!, The Rapture, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death From Above 1979, Arctic Monkeys, Iggy Pop

(This is a mandatory list. If some of these bands don't ring a bell, then spend some money and get enlightened. I have about 400 more bands that fit into this category, but I don't want to overwhelm.)

The possibly less known list:
Ratatat, Love Is All*, Hint Hint, The Flesh, The Carny*, The Blood Arm*, Art Brut, Head Automatica*, The Go! Team, The Futureheads*, LCD Soundsystem, !!!, The Rakes*, The Sun*, Le Shok, We Are Wolves
*you will like these for sure

I don't endorse this list (different strokes for different folks):
The Editors, The Cribs, The Briefs, The Lashes, The Subways, Razorlight

You're welcome.

Magnet @ The Hotel Cafe

At the start of his set on Tuesday Even Johansen, the Norwegian singer-songwriter who records under the moniker of Magnet, announced that “(He'd) been waiting a long time for this.” This perfectly described not only his anticipation but most of the audience as well.

After reading a review of Magnet’s first album On Your Side, while standing in a Russian metro station, I immediately sought out the artist who was being compared to Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith. Nic Harcourt of KCRW didn't help my anticipation by calling On Your Side “up there with the best of 2004." With his latest release, The Tourniquet, Magnet further develops his unique sound that breaks hearts and heals wounds the world over.

The orchestration coupled with electronic snaps and ticks present on Magnet's albums has set him apart from others in his genre; however, his live solo performance sets even himself apart from the sound that he has become known for. As he played through a handful of songs from both albums, Magnet recreated a full band feel with little more than looping taps and scratches on his lap slide guitar. With the songs being played through a heavy amount of delay and reverb, the familiar tunes transformed into soundscapes, filling the intimate Hotel Cafe from wall to wall.


Magnet’s ability to turn a simple guitar song into a pseudo-electronic country western heartache left the audience somewhat perplexed about how to approach the performance. The complex one-man-band arrangements of songs like “On Your Side” and “Nothing Hurts Now” were so impressive that the underlying emotions of heartache and undying companionship could almost be overlooked. Although some of the beats Magnet produced proved to be somewhat redundant, his ability to touch you where it hurts never lost its edge.

After recently supporting both Stars and Isobel Campbell on their North American tours, Magnet is winding down his stay in the States with two final dates at SXSW and a stop in New York. Though he may not be back in the near future, we hope the wait won't be quite as long this time.

-

Watch Magnet’s live performance on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic here.

Listen to Magnet’s new album, The Tourniquet, here.

Lack of Posts

My People,

Sorry for the lack of updates. I am currently up to my eyeballs in work right now, but I promise that the Prefuse 73 review will be up soon. Thanks for reading the site!


Love,
Ferrall

P.S. The Living Room show is a go! Yay. Come to our house on April 8th to hear a lot of great music. Email me for directions.

P.P.S. Thank Kerwin for writing a lot of posts at 5AM.

Tristeza minus Album Leaf = ?

I don't know what to say about this other than that I love the Album Leaf (aka Jimmy Lavalle), and I know he used to be a part of this band Tristeza. I'm not sure what they sound like minus Jimmy, but I hear that they still make gorgeous music. I guess the Content will have to find out for themselves when Tristeza arrives in April.

It's crazy how the San Diego hardcore scene birthed something so precious as Tristeza. Maybe the Locust have some lullabies up their sleeves after all.

4/7/06 - Spaceland (tix)


Have a gander:
Tristeza - "Dream Life in Full Circles"
Tristeza - "Mixed Signals"
Tristeza - "A Colores"

The Books add encore performance

If you didn't get your reservations for The Books' show at the Getty Museum this Friday, then you'll have to spend your St. Patty's Day in some Irish pub with the rest of the world, because it's sold out.

Luckily, the Books know how much we love them and have added an encore show for this Saturday. Get your reservations while you still can.

3/17/06 - Getty Museum (SOLD OUT)
3/18/06 - Getty Museum (Reservations)
4/15/06 - Knitting Factory (tix)

Radiohead in the studio

Here are the photos I promised:

Radiohead Struggling! Say it ain't so!

Thom vents some frustration over the album:

“Today, myself, I was struggling, feels like we’ve been trapped for a long time. In la la land. Very frustrating, and under pressure now, it’s so slow.”

"Enough to drive anyone loopy. I’m supposed to be positive. Smiling faces for the outside. Well I’m fucking tearing my hair out. Too much at once. Furiously writing, working out parts. Cracking up.”

“Not much time left. Unsure about everything. I’m not supposed to put any of this here. So that’s why I am.”

Although this post terrified me, I figure that he always feels this way while recording an album, and that Dead Air Space is just giving fans a front row view of the process.

I've got tons of new photos coming tonight.

Tool's 10,000 Days tracklist

We are slowly getting there people. Here is the tracklist:

01 - "Vicarious"
02 - "Jambi"
03 - "Wings For Marie (Pt 1)"
04 - "10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2)"
05 - "The Pot"
06 - "Lipan Conjuring"
07 - "Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)"
08 - "Rosetta Stoned"
09 - "Intension"
10 - "Right In Two"
11 - "Viginti Tres"

The album will be released on May 2nd (only a few days after Coachella).

You love me but you've chosen WHAT?!?

I've always thought it must be hard being a blonde, but didn't really realize it until I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness let me know straight up. I love it when people are completely open about their feelings, but I can't forgive them for having one of the most unsyllabically efficient band names to date.

Touring behind their just released first full length entitled Fear Is On Our Side, Chosen Darkness will be coming to break the blondes and win our hearts this May.

5/20/06 - Echo (tix)

Bring on the darkness. You just might find it's not so bad in there.

I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - "Your Worst Is The Best"

...Chosen Darkness on Myspace

I finally get to see Prefuse 73

(I had a great photo, but it won't load. Damn it.)

It's been several years since I first picked up Vocal Studies & Uprock Narratives. On that album Scott Herren is an enigmatic crafter of beats, using himself as a vehicle for a group of talented young lyricists. It was my first exposure to MF DOOM, and for that alone I am eternally grateful. Then comes One Word Extinguisher, where Herren flexes his musical muscles and spills out a jazz album for space aliens. It is a massive album that may intimidate the listener, but reaps huge rewards for anyone willing to dive into it.

Truthfully I never got past those two albums. I heard mostly bad things about Surrounded By Silence, which should mean nothing but still kept me away from the album, and Reads the Books was an interesting concept, but failed to win my attention even after several listens. From what I hear Herren's new LP Security Screenings is a return to form (a fact I'll find out tonight when I get a listen to the album).

Either way I am excited for his return to the Greater Los Angeles County. Come see some mastery at the Knitting Factory on May 22nd.

Get tickets here

Listen to Prefuse 73

Benefit Show @ Spaceland

So LA's coolest venue is housing a benefit show for the Rose Sharlin school, and LA's most talked about act (amongst the cool kids), Silver Sun Pickups, are going to be laying down their music attack for the sake of charity. Oh how nice of them.

If you haven't gotten a chance to catch the Pickups at one of their numerous LA gigs and residencies, then here is your chance before they get huge and only come around once a year. Oh and did I mention there are going to be very special guests? I don't know how special these guests are, but if they resemble any of the other amazing bands that play Spaceland, then it might be worth purchasing your ticket early.

4/2/06 - Spaceland (Silver Sun Pickups & very extra special guests) (tix)

There's no better way to get to know your next favorite band than by visiting their Myspace. If you can't wait to get your hands on their disc, than pick up a digital copy of their new EP Pikul at your favorite (and only) iTunes retailer.

Destroyer's Destruction Destroying Spaceland (and touching hearts)

The part time New Pornographer, Dan Bejar (AKA Destroyer), has recently released his seventh album, Destroyer's Rubies, amidst mounds of critical acclaim and indie crediblity. However, all that critical mumbo jumbo means nothing to us. All the cool kids just care about what Pitchfork says. Oh wait...it made Best New Music? Now we're listening.

Cool kids and cool critics alike are going to flock to the heart of Silver Lake to catch the Destroyer pulling out his pop masterpieces at Spaceland.
Be there or be square.

5/9/06 - Spaceland (tix)

Get on with destruction:

Destroyer - "Painter In Your Pocket"

South bringing it back Troubadour style

In support of their new album Adventures In The Underground Journey To The Stars being released on April 4, South will be returning to the states with a bucketload of tourdates to bless our ears. For a little taste of things to come, check them out on Myspace where you can listen to two songs.

4/25/06 - Troubadour (tix)

And check out this new song off of Adeventures In the Underground...

South - "Shallow"

Forward, Russia wins bout: The Boy Least Likely To continues unwounded

A couple months ago the Content pointed out that Forward, Russia and The Boy Least Likely To were double booked to play Spaceland, and that a battle had emerged between the two bands a la the Hilton-Richie fiasco. Forward, Russia won the battle, and will be playing Spaceland this month. However, thankfully The Boy Least Likely To has still decided to come around despite being defeated by the all powerful ruskies (well...their still Brits).

If you're going to miss The Boy on tour with James Blunt (and I sure as hell hope you are) than here is your chance to see them solo.
(Sidenote: what is James Blunt doing on the Coachella bill? Doesn't he belong in the Star Lounge or Wango Tango?)

4/8/06 - Spaceland (tix)

Listen at Myspace

Molly Jenson @ The Gig

Once again our trusty field correspondent Braedon has covered a great show and taken some beautiful photos. Enjoy.

Molly Jenson played a great show last week at the Gig in LA. She travels with a full band accompanied by a violinist who adds a lovely touch to her angelic vocals. Molly's next show is at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles, and if you get a chance, check her out or visit her website: www.mollyjenson.com . - Braedon


Photos: Braedon www.braedonphotography.com

New York Dolls bring the craziness to Spaceland

Have you ever had the fantasy of seeing your deranged grandfather dress up in his favorite leotard and high heeled boots and play punk rock. Well if you are as perverted as me (or have a grandpa unlike me) then the deepest, darkest most rewarding images of your subconcious are going to have their chance to come alive. The New York Dolls (yes the New York Dolls) are going to be rocking Spaceland in all their geriatric glory (minus the now passed away Mormon bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane and a few others).

4/3/06 - Spaceland (tix)
Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning so move fast people.

If you can't make it out then you are just going to have to lock up all those secret feelings you had from grammpy for the rest of eternity. If you can't hold them in for that long, then go pick up a copy of New York Doll. It is a documentary about not only the reunion of the Dolls, but about the transformation of Arthur Kane from a punk rock star to a Mormon genealogical worker. You can read some thoughts about the film here and from what I hear it ain't half bad.

Photos of Animal Collective @ Vanguard

You either loved it or missed it, but at least you get to see your favorite indie rock superheroes Avey Tare and Panda Bear frozen in all their two dimensional glory. Thank yous and kisses to the ever so sexy lenscrafter Braedon for snapping the shots.

Maybe next time all you cats will get your purr on and dance with the rest of us collective of animals. You only have to bring your alter ego. Enoy.

Architecture in Helsinki @ the Troubadour

So all these invasions lately are making me feel a little unprotected. The Brits came and conquered. Apparently the Japanese are planning a kamikaze music explosion on the States. The Canucks are hitting us hard with strategic attacks from the heart of Montreal, and the Aussies have already sent spies in to find all our weak spots. And who are these spies? None other than the 23-man (or so) collective Architecture in Helsinki.

It's so nice to see the bands you love come through your town every few months. I caught a free show of theirs @ UCLA last fall and am happy to report their return. They are nice lads that make great music. Even if you can't remember all their names they'll at least give you a handshake and a smiling face over at the merch booth.

5/22/06 - Troubadour (tix on sale soon)

Animal Collective, other March shows:

So if you missed the Animal Collective show last night, my advice is to hit yourself (preferably in the face). First off, let me explain that I can't hear anything today due to the Geologist's steady bass attack and crazy knob spinning. The show was your standard amazing Animal Collective experience. Despite the show's being a bit slow and somewhat long in the middle, the (first) finale of Purple Bottle was completely insane. Everyone was dancing with their arms reaching for the sky, and at one point a kid got on someone's shoulders and rode him around the Vanguard like a wild llama.

Great photos of this show will be on the site later today, or at least by tonight.

Ok so you missed that show, but here is your chance not to miss any others.

Check out the dates:

We are Wolves - Spaceland March 11th

Serena Maneesh - Spaceland March 19th

Forward Russia - Spaceland March 20th

Jose Gonzalez - Jensen Rec. Center March 21th

The Sounds - The Fonda March 22nd

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- El Rey March 23rd


To all those who were there last night...Ooooooh wa ooh, get back!

The Mogwai Map

Just so you can keep a closer eye on the boys from Mogwai, they developed a website exclusively to track the band across America. Seem a bit strange? Well don't say anything or they will say some nasty public comments about your band.

Check out the site here

Mogwai video

Watch the new video for "Friend of the Night" here. Nobody does it quite like Mogwai, and this video further proves that.

Animal Collective @ the Vanguard, photos for everyone

I just want to remind all of you that Animal Collective is playing The Vanguard tonight, and that Braedon Flynn will be taking photos of the glorious event.

Check back tomorrow and we will have a nice treat for you.

See Brady's photo site here

I love the internet

Catch Jon Stewart's opening monologue for the Academy Awards here.

Who thought it was going to start at 5?

We Are Wolves @ Spaceland

Somehow I missed the release of Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux. Amidst the flurry of "wolf" bands I let We Are Wolves slip through the cracks- doubting I was missing much. WRONG. Thank God for my 100 free e-music songs (thank you KCRW membership).

So this band kicks some major ass and will be swinging through our town with two other great bands: Oneida and Pink Mountaintops. Not all shows at Spaceland can be free, but this one is only 10 bucks so fork out the cash.

03-11-06 @ Spaceland (Buy tickets here)

Listen to We Are Wolves here

Thursday poach some lyrics, Belle and Sebastian pose as The Sounds

Geoffy Rickly has always made interesting decisions lyrically. One trademark is his incorporation of famous lyrics into Thursday songs, and their new single "Counting 5-4-3-2-1" proves no different. In my opinion the song's chorus "burn this city, burn this city" pulls from Franz Ferdinand's "This Fire." Here are other examples to help prove my case:

1) "the needle and the damage done" - Neil Young
(Thursday -Understanding In a Car Crash)

2) "white light, white heat" - The Velvet Underground
(Thursday - Asleep in the Chapel)

3) "like a detuned radio" - Radiohead
(Thursday - This Song Has Been Brought To You By a Falling Bomb)

Another case closed.

Part II

The Sounds first album Living In America displayed some pretty sweet cover art, and Belle and Sebastian's new album This Life's Pursuit basically ripped it off.

Neko Case - Free Show @ Amoeba Records

So the most female of the New Pornographers, Neko Case, will be signing copies of her new album Fox Confessor Brings the Flood at the Sunset Amoeba Records next week. For anyone not into collecting your favorite Canadians' John Hancock she has something for you too; a free live performance in the heart of the store. If you don't have tickets to the sold out Belle & Sebastian/New Pornographers shows at the Wiltern this might be your last chance to see Neko Case for a few months. She'll be back...but when?

Neko Case - "Star Witness"

3/7/08 - Amoeba Records @ 7pm (info)

Mice Parade @ The Echo

So our good friend Brady Flynn is a photographer and will be helping out with our live reviews. Here is a review he wrote for the recent Mice Parade show as well as some lovely photos. Enjoy.

Mice Parade played a show at The Echo, last Thurs. Feb 23rd along with another great performer, Tom Brosseau. Mice Parade has an eclectic sound, mellow yet intense, soft at times, yet hard during others. The six piece band has a full sound, with a jazzy influence. Led by New Yorker Adam Pierce, Mice Parade takes you through a whole range of emotions. Adam at times uses his seat ( a box ) as his drum, he switches to his guitar, then to the back of the stage onto the second drum set. The drumming in the band is one of its stronger points and live, it's remarkable.

Tom Brosseau, who opened up for Mice Parade, has a sweet, angelic like voice. Johnny Cash has had a major influence on Tom, but he would have sung June Carter's part in the duo. Tom's voice is his strength and sets him apart from many of the solo artists on the market. A friend of his, Angie, came out and sang with him through the second half of his set - another resemblence of Johnny Cash and June Carter. They perform as a duet at The Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles and they call themselves 'Les Sherrys' (pronounced with a French accent) - also worth checking out. - Braedon

Check out Brady's website here

New Tool album has a name

According to Toolband the new Tool album will be titled 10,000 Days. Blaire at Toolband is notorious for throwing curve balls at the fans so who knows if this is the real title or not. We'll just have to wait and see.

Nick Sylvester gets punk'd

So we obviously didn't crack this story (that would be fucking awesome if we did though), but I thought I would share it with you people anyway. I'll preface this by saying I'm pissed off at Pitchfork Media.

If you don't know Nick Sylvester writes for The Village Voice and is an associate editor for Pitchfork. So apparently Nick wrote a phony article for the Village Voice that came back to kick him in the ass. For better details than I can give, check out this article in The Gothamist. The kicker to this story is that Pitchfork asked Nick to quit his job with them (which he did), and so now he is both "suspended" from The Village Voice and fired from Pitchfork. What the fuck?

The article sounded like it was funny and ironic. It's not like he covered up some Republican scandal. Oh wait then he wouldn't be in any trouble at all. It was about a dating book called The Game for God's sake. Plus why does Pitchfork need to get all high and mighty about this issue? They make it sound like he's Nixon resigning from office.

I hope this turns out to be a bad episode of Punk'd.

Streaming Concerts!

Check out these great websites that one of my various bosses at work passed on to me:

This site is run by a guy who paid millions to buy the archives of Bill Graham Presents (the legendary San Francisco rock promoter). The vault has more than 5,000 live audio and video recordings made between 1966 and 1999, featuring artists varying from the Doors to Nirvana. Instead of keeping the concerts for himself, he decided to make a streaming online radio program out of them. Check them out. http://www.wolfgangsvault.com

This site just has a ton of shows for you to stream off the website. I got a great Flaming Lips show, but haven't really explored the rest. Let me know what you guys find.
http://tela.sugarmegs.org/_asxtela/

Artic Monkeys ready DVD release

It's called Scummy Man and will feature two short films set around the band's new single "Sun Goes Down." More info here

Tapes 'n Tapes @ Spaceland

So after Pitchfork added them to their Best New Music list of '06 (wasn't it released in '05?) it seems appropriate to let you all know when you can go and see the internet sensations in our neck of the woods.

Tapes 'n Tapes will make a stop at Spaceland on March 22. You Ain't No Picasso just did a great interview with the band that sheds some light on rumors about them collaborating with indie legends and whether they still have their day jobs.

Finally, how can you pass up a band that is compared to Pavement, Wire, Beach Boys, and the Pixies all in one sentence.

Tapes 'n Tapes - "Insistor"
Tapes 'n Tapes - "Cowbell"
Tapes 'n Tapes - "Omaha"

3/22/06 - Spaceland (tix)

Elbow @ Avalon

So I was a big fan of Elbow's 2003 release Cast of Thousands. Tracks like "Fallen Angel" seem like a Catherine Wheel song for the Coldplay generation. Others like "Fugitive Motel" sound like a Radiohead song that just never fit into one of their albums. It's almost as if they are a fusion between an edgier Coldplay and a friendlier Radiohead.

Well you can go find out for yourself when Elbow comes to town in April. And why don't you just check out their cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" below.

Elbow - "Teardrop (Massive Attack Cover)"

4/8/06 - Avalon (tickets here)

Radiohead close to finishing album?

Johnny was on the At Ease messageboard recently and gave a vague post about finishing a new song:

"We're just finishing (Famous Last W's) Bodysnatchers. ather good
so far....better not turn my guitar down."

Who knows when we'll see an album, but they have confirmed at least one tour date:

"Bonaroo, and after/before that we are/aren't playing at.... I'm
contractually forbibben. All over, though."

For more info on the Bonnaroo Festival go here

Previous Posts: Radiohead Photos

New Spartan Fidelity song w/ The Yoshida Brothers

Here's something new for all the kids that have been waiting for the new album from Cinjun and Shelby Tate of Spartan Fidelity. It seems that in the time between albums they recorded a song with the Yoshida Brothers of Japan.

Supposedly the Yoshida Brothers are musical sensations in their homeland, but foreign celebrity has never really cut it in the States. However, if you play an ancient three-string Japanese instrument (called the Tsugaru-shamisen), which holds the entire eastern culture captive with its trickling notes, then you might be on the road to stardom.

Receiving a lot of press lately (Interview Magazine, New York Times, A&E), the Yoshida Brothers might be the artists to usher in the Japanese invasion. I don't know how soon thats going to happen but at the very least a beautiful song was created in this transnational collaboration.

Spartan Fidelity - "By This River"

Win Tickets to Animal Collective @ Vanguard

So Spaceland Blast is giving away three pairs of tickets to Animal Collective's show next week at the Vanguard Theater. You just need to answer a simple question and email them at contest@spaceland.tv by 5pm on March 3. The Content thought we'd help you out a little bit and give you the answers since we didn't procrastinate and already bought our tickets. Winners will be notified by 5pm on March 6. Its a random drawing so good luck with getting your name picked.

Q: What are the origins of the Geologist and Panda Bear monikers?

Panda Bear:
"CWAS: The group members work under unusual monikers for their work in Animal Collective. Was Panda Bear something you were using as a name before then? I had always assumed you had picked the names when you all started working together.

Noah: No…I actually used to make all these tapes on an old 8 track machine, and I started drawing all these little panda bears on the front, and eventually I just started calling myself Panda Bear." (source: Discorder)

Geologist:
Somebody incorrectly thought he studied geology in college, while in reality it was biology. The name stuck. (source: Wikipedia)

Note: Be sure to put the shows title in the subject line and add your first and last name in the email. Good luck!!!

3/7/06 - Vanguard Theater (tix)

Liars DVD

Angus, Julian and Markus Wambsganss each made full album videos to be viewed over the audio for Drums Not Dead, and we have a sample of each video right here so check them out.

"A Visit from Drum (By Your Side)" (by award-winning filmmaker Markus Wambsganss)

"Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack (The Helix Aspersa)" (directed by Angus Andrew)

"Drum & The Uncomfortable Can (Drum's not Bread)" (directed by Julian Gross)