Last night (July 5th) Death Cab for Cutie played the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. They closed the show with a rousing rendition of “Transatlanticism,” complete with a fireworks show timed to the music. This fan video shot from the audience may not have professional sound and picture quality, but it definitely shows off the spectacle of the fireworks. Tegan & Sara and The New Pornographers both opened the show. Check out a gallery of photos from the show here.
“Forest Knolls” (with The Magik*Magik Orchestra) Video
Jul 03, 2009
The Magik*Magik Orchestra is the official house orchestra of John Vanderslice‘s Tiny Telephone studio, but the analog king only recently has used them for his own devices. Magik*Magik and V-Slice played together for a special January 30th performance at SF’s Great American Music Hall. Here they play through “Forest Knolls” from Romanian Names again. Like with “Too Much Time,” it was shot by Nate Chan and Yours Truly at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The orchestral backing works even better in this high fidelity setting. Piano, flute, drum, and four vocalists give the ominous track a steady backbeat. Vanderslice also switches up the falsetto of the album version for a laidback vocal delivery. Romanian Names is out now on Dead Oceans. V-Slice just came home from a summer trek with blues-folkie The Tallest Man on Earth but he’ll the hit the road again from a smattering of dates and festivals soon. [Stereogum]
The sweet, yet acerbic “Ichthus Hop” is the first sample of Seattle trio Talbot Tagora’s forthcoming release, Lessons in the Woods or a City, out July 21st on Hardly Art. The noise-pop band apparently didn’t take their name from the executive car developed by Chrysler Europe during the ‘80s but instead some cat they knew. The group’s currently on a U.S. jaunt with tropical L.A. punks Abe Vigoda, noiseniks Bipolar Bear, and garage rockers/labelmates Golden Triangle.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson’s Last Rehearsal (AP Release) Video
The AP released a clip that they claim is the last known performance footage of Michael Jackson, supposedly recorded on during a June 23rd rehearsal for his forthcoming O2 shows. The video doesn’t feature much singing, but it does have a lot of dancing, which certainly runs contrary to the reports that Jackson was too frail to walk during his final days. [NahRight]
Beck
“Femme Fatale” (The Velvet Underground cover) Video
Beck‘s Record Club project chugs along with a third track from The Velvet Underground & Nico (previous efforts include “Waiting For the Man” and “Sunday Morning”). “Femme Fatale” gets a percussive reworking, lending the cover a decidedly different aesthetic from the smoky Nico-helmed original. In other Record Club news, Beck and pals now have a weekly DJ section on his website called Planned Obsolescence. Beck says P.O. is a mix of what’s been in heavy rotation on his and guest DJs’ iPods. Mix No. 1 is called “Autobahn Hologram.”
“In the Blackout” is the B-side of The Twilight Sad’s new single “I Became a Prostitue.” Like much of their forthcoming sophomore LP Forget the Night Ahead, there’s plenty of feedback and reverb slathered all over this one. “Blackout” is much darker than the more melodic “Prostitute.” The single (cover above) arrives August 3rd, via FatCat.
Central Market is the forthcoming solo LP from Battles guitarist/keyboardist/chipmunk vocalist Tyondai Braxton. It drops September 15th in the States (September 14 in the UK) via Warp. That’s the multiple personality disorder album cover above and the tracklisting is below the stream link. This week, Pitchfork premiered a stream of the first song off Market, called “Uffe’s Woodshop.” It’s a highly kinetic and meticulous instrumental piece that was composed, arranged, and produced (like the rest of the 7-song set) by Braxton. “Woodshop” features a flurry of kazoos, violins, violas, piano, guitars, choir vocals, synths, and a stitch of whistling. It’s also a marked departure from Braxton’s work with Battles, instead harkening back to his work as a guitarist for Glenn Branca‘sHallucination City: Symphony for 100 Guitars.
Here’s another simple, yet memorable music clip from Franz Ferdinand, this time for their brand new single “Can’t Stop Feeling”, available via Domino on July 6th. I think my favorite screen wipes are the hair dryer, push-ups, and slapping bits. The single also features the band’s cover of LCD Soundsystem‘s “All My Friends”. The Glaswegian lads were featured in our Winter ‘09 issue.
