Spoon’s new video for single “Written In Reverse” just premiered. It’s great, but it’s also briefly disorienting. This, quite fortunately for you, got us to thinking: Spoon is very likely the most precise band of our generation, particularly in a live setting.(People in the know sometimes use the adjective “tight.”) That said, it’s strange to see a visually jarring video (mirror effects!) with such an on-point soundtrack. It made us want to start a series of videos in which we place them in chaotic scenarios just to see if they can still make their way out, jams and outfits still left as crisp as they’d like. We figure we’ll start by dropping them on the 2 Train in rush hour or in the main exit of the Izod Center anytime after halftime. Britt, let us let you make this happen. (Via: P4K)
This past Saturday afternoon, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) joined up with Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and old friend Brad Cook of Megafaun, just to throw together a band for that evening’s Haiti benefit at Music Hall of Williamsburg. They named their supergroup Songer Singwriter. At the end of an already wonderful night that included performances and stand-up from the likes of Britt Daniel, Janeane Garofalo and Zach Galifianakis, they rolled out covers of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon,” Tom Petty’s “A Face In The Crowd,” Annie Lennox’s “Why,” as well as an ear-splitting version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” Vernon told us after the show that the Cook-fronted Petty cover was his favorite moment of the night, but we had to respectfully disagree: the way he and Clark traded verses on one of Young’s very best is something we’ll only forget if you hit us on the head a few times with a hammer. Please don’t do that.
The Haiti fundraising efforts have brought together some dynamite pairings (looking at you Bono and Swizz Beats). But none may be quite as of the moment as Britt Daniel (of Spoon) and Zach Galifianakis.
Remember when Spoon was bad? It wasn’t so long ago. Yes, there was indeed a time when it seemed that they put out nothing but loose-fitting, out of tune, drawn-out and generally awful product. Drivel. Consistently. Well, I’m glad to report that they’ve kind of/finally gotten their act together and produced an album worth spinning in 2010: Transference. Read the full story
A few weeks back, during a particularly fiery monologue in our editorial director’s office, we declared Spoon the most consistently brilliant, hard-working band in all of indie-rock. That bit of poetry came after just two listens of “Written In Reverse,” lead single from their new LP Transference, which you can now stream in its entirety over at NPR. We won’t tell you what we think of the record as a whole until next Tuesday, but we will say now that the underwater rock of “Mean Red Spider,” B-Side from the aforementioned single, is a welcome detour around the constant focus and nun-tight dynamics that’ve defined their best work to date. But then again, that’s the thing: even at their most shambling, they still sound sharp.
Featuring music from: The Radio Dept., Badly Drawn Boy, Love Raid, Broken Social Scene, Portugal. The Man, Neon Indian, The Constellations, Everything Everything, The Drums, Crystal Fighters, Setting Sun, My Gold Mask, Overnight Lows, Me + Z, Cloud Nothings, Static Jacks, The Answering Machine, Bear Ceuse, Emma Pollock, Ash, The Seabellies, Here We Go Magic, Trances Arc, The New Pornographers, and Dr. Dog
We’re not sure Fela Kuti’s epic story should be told in any other format besides the musical, and we don’t even like musicals! That said, it just so happens we’re giving away two tickets to see the show for zero dollars. All you need to do is leave us a haiku in the comments before [...]
