His words, not mine, folks. Either way, you can probably stop that long running bet with your bro who writes for the university paper about whether or not Oregon, New Jersey or Rhode Island will be the next Sufjan States record, because, well, it probably ain’t going to happen. In an interview with Paste, Stevens calls the absolutely ambitious and totally NPR-worthy States Project “a joke.” The dude who wrote tunes about a holiday that celebrates a Revolutionary War officer from Poland and the pot-holed mess of a raised motor path known as the BQE, goes as far as saying “I took it too seriously. I started to feel like I was becoming a cliché of myself.” Sufjan then goes into detail about his BQE project, which debuted over two years ago at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is just now being issued to the public. “In all honesty, that piece is what really sabotaged my creative momentum.” Apparently, considering he hasn’t done anything but issue old stuff (the BQE), rearrange older stuff (Run Rabbit Run), contribute re-arranged, remixed, re-worked 10 minute-plus old track works to a high profile AIDS comp and probably made a Grilled Cheese or two. Anyway, sounds like someone’s developed a really hefty weed habit, is spending too much time hitting the Volcano and not enough time researching the Battle of Appomattox Court House. And for a second, I totally thought this dude could pull a Jandek and release hundreds of albums in a lifetime.

After his brief (or ongoing, depending on how you look at it) existential artistic crisis, it seemed Sufjan needed some soul-searching. And a welcome but somewhat surprising conclusion to this soul-searching: simplification? He elaborated in an interview with Vish Khanna. “I’m trying to dissuade any kind of conceptual framework and just write music, love songs, pop songs, and just forget all that conceptual mess…” We like pop music and love songs. Double win. (Via: Stereogum)

The BQE, Sufjan Stevens‘ multimedia ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, encompasses a triptych experimental, geometric film of the transportation hub, a score composed by Stevens himself, a comic book and a View-Master reel. It will be released on October 20 via Asthmatic Kitty, and is available for pre-order here. A clip from the film has been made available for your viewing pleasure. Click play up above.

If you’re reading this post you probably like music, art, film and comedy, or at the very least some combination of the four. If so, ATP New York probably has something for you and, it’s only a few weekends away. Just for starters: Jim Jarmusch presenting his film Mystery Train, a David Cross curated comedy section, an Eric White art exhibit, Sufjan, and No Age and Bob Mould performing Husker Du… the list goes on and on.

ATP takes place the weekend of September 11 at Kutsher’s Country Resort in Catskills, New York. Three-day or one-day passes are available as are buses from Brooklyn and Manhattan to the stomping grounds.And there’s no corporate sponsorships in these parts, so while this does seemingly lessen your chance of getting a free energy drink upon arrival, it way ups your chance of not selling out and whatnot. Full details at the ATP website.

This guy's going to be there.

Additions to the lineup of the POP Montreal International Music Festival, the music extravaganza taking over the Canadian city from September 30 to October 4, have been announced. Performers recently added to the roster include Sufjan Stevens, Yo La Tengo, Jay Reatard, Micachu & The Shapes, Japandroids, Joel Plaskett, Kid Koala Presents: The Slew, Young Galaxy, Aids Wolf, and Ninjasonik, among others. These artists join musicians such as Fever Ray, Diamanda Galas, Butthole Surfers, Os Mutantes, Mono, Matt and Kim, and Destroyer, along with MANY other exciting bands and performers. Passes are still available for the epic event, with the Super Festival Pass available for $225 until September 30 and the regular passes for $75. An event not to be missed, for sure.

Hot on the heels of the announcement regarding his BQE multimedia project, Sufjan Stevens has unveiled an intimate, East Coast tour beginning in late September with Cryptacize. Stevens’ label, Asthmatic Kitty, explains that the tour will have nothing to do with the BQE project, but outlines a scalper-busting ticketing system whereby all ticket purchasers will pick up their tickets to a given show at will-call the night of the show, with a two ticket limit per customer.

Tour dates are as follows:
09.22.09: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
09.23.09: Ithaca, NY @ Castaways
09.24.09: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
09.25.09: Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room Crofoot Ballroom
09.26.09: Champaign, IL @ The High Dive
09.27.09: Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar
09.28.09: Madison, WI @ The Majestic
09.29.09: Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk Chumley
10.01.09: Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Place
10.02.09: Montreal, QC @ Cabaret
10.03.09: Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
10.04.09: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10.05.09: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
10.06.09: Brooklyn, NY @ Hall at Williamsburg
10.07.09: Brooklyn, NY – Hall at Williamsburg

In October 2007, Sufjan Stevens unveiled his audiovisual tribute to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, titled The BQE as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival. The project featured three simultaneous film projections, a 35-piece band, and live hula hoopers over the course of three nights; at the conclusion of the show, Sufjan entered the studio, hoping to record the soundtrack, but shelved the project.

Now, Stevens has returned to the project, mixing the music, editing the video, and creating a multimedia package to be released on October 20. The two-disc album will also feature a DVD of the film, an accompanying booklet, and a stereoscopic image reel. On October 24, 92Y Tribeca will host a release party for The BQE. Tickets will go on sale Thursday, July 23.

Are You Reading This?

I don’t know if I would be.

In 2009, how does one offer an over-saturated musical blogosphere another column worth reading? How does one differentiate themselves from the legions of blogs offering the same imitated or emulated musical opinions as the next? Can we expect a Darwinian effect that will see the demise of websites and blogs that have no sustainable reason for their existence? Or can we expect a continued influx of under-qualified and over-spoken neophytes wanting their own site on Wordpress? I voiced my online-existential anxieties to Stuart Berman (of Pitchfork Media and Eye Weekly) a few months ago. “Where is there left to go? What’s left to offer when there’s already a Pitchfork, already a Rolling Stone, already a BBC, etc.?” I asked, knowing full well the impossibility of actually addressing such inquiry in a casual discussion. He was unbothered. “Honestly, good writing is good writing. At the end of the day, that is the stuff that will make it.” Touché, Stuart. Cynical Me wanted to say, “Well, easier for you to say when a part of wildly reputable organization with a cult-like following.” Reasonable Me stops Cynical Me from actually saying it.

I talk to Derek about this.

mcranston: How does a music blog sustain itself?
derek: realistically, or theoretically?
mcranston: both …
derek: theoretically, it’s through ads and sponsorships, etc
derek: but realistically, it’s traffic
mcranston: isn’t that more realistically?
mcranston: theoretically, i think blogs sustain themselves through constant updates, contemporary relevance, and expositions of new bands.
mcranston: realistically, it’s obviously just about money.
mcranston: and site traffic is intrinsically linked to money.
derek: yeah, i agree
derek: ultimately good content will bring people in
derek: or i should say, keep them there
derek: but honestly, that’s not so true
derek: it’s really about luring them in
mcranston: Exactly.
mcranston: and that’s the question I’m trying to ask.
derek: it can also mean a big exclusive story or MP3
mcranston: okay …
derek: the first site to post an Animal Collective MP3 is going to get a ton of traffic, so it’s a game a little bit. bit then a pfork or fader they have a built in audience, so they can kind of expose new people and not worry about whether they have enough “big” content on their site.

We don’t get very far and my queries subsist. How does any music blog sustain itself? Berman’s right: patience, trust in quality writing, patience, a unique voice, patience and some sort of cohesive/organized body. Granting these elusive qualities, what then is the ultimate aspiration of the Music Blog? Perhaps to present a mode of thinking that allows the reader of any genre to appreciate a sound or style to which he or she may not commonly gravitate (I guess?). Successfully articulating why an artist is worth listening is no easy task. Most websites don’t accomplish this feat, and few writers come close. Besides, this presupposes the reader is willing to read past the rating.

Being Jaded Is Easy

The torrent of information has already flooded and we’re bored and stagnant. The stories on Stereogum take two minutes to read. Pitchfork’s precise numerical grading system renders a careful reading of the actual review completely extraneous (i.e. an 8.1> is worth getting when you have time, an 8.8> should be downloaded within the day). Hipster Runoff is the absolute pinnacle of a frighteningly self-aware (and self-referential) media that has come to realize the ridiculousness of its environment. It’s like a fish being aware he swims in a fish tank. William Bowers, under the Puritan Blister pseudonym, recently explored Twitter’s insidious effect on the written word. To synthesis his article (though his distinctive prose should encourage a close reading): Bowers worries about the ADD of today’s technological culture and its affect on aesthetic taste (and cerebral development). Is the 140-character limit Twitter all we have to say? Whereas Bowers worries about the macro state of reading and writing, I worry about being read at all. Sure, I post the occasional link on my Facebook page when an album is really fucking good, but familial support via social networking sites only goes so far.

It’s tough not to worry I’m the journalistic equivalent of a Pitchfork echo. What am I to offer other than further confirmation that Animal Collective reign over indie-rock, or that TV on the Radio are the celebrated post-Dubya era band, or that Joe Satriani is suing Coldplay? Hell, even further, how do I strive to not become a Pitchfork-related derivative while simultaneously lauding Deerhunter, Fucked Up or Okkervil River?

Attracting Readers

I’ve given great thought how to attract more readers to The Tripwire, particularly in the vein of new sections. But most of my suggestions were predicated on sensationalist or dumbed down journalism: giving a ranking system to our album reviews, offering 250-word controversial opinions that would at least “get people talking” or just writing trivial details on our favorite bands (you know, like, who Sufjan’s dating). Inevitably, the question comes down to site credibility and reputation. Do we want to be the Perez Hilton of music journalism? After all, Hipster Runoff is as nauseating as it is funny. Actually no, the question comes down to attracting a large and consistent reader-base. How do I get you to read our site more? Is it a matter of venerability?

mcranston: okay, so with the sites that don’t necessarily have the fortune of a “built-in audience,” how do they establish one?
derek: that’s the “game.” one is persistence. doing something well and doing it over time. the other, which is easier for sites that specifically post news (like us and Daily Swarm) is SEO-friendly titles and the kind I like to consider “yellow journalism” that help lure people in
derek: but yes, also having a unique angle like hipsterunoff
derek: oh, and social networing assets, but that’s a whole other conversation

I can only hope it’s venerability. After all, my blog created this past summer, In The Gnar, joined the landfills after just one entry (but what an entry it was).

Effable Solipsism

Can I talk my shit again?

I suppose it takes the most vain (and dubious) of solipsists to open a column with self-referential concerns. It’s very Klosteran-esque to be reviewing oneself in the first place, let alone with such scrutiny. But my considerations are not ill founded. I honestly don’t know if you’re reading his. I don’t receive feedback. I don’t know how many of you there even are.

mcranston: Puritan Blister by William Bowers of Pitchfork is one of the best columns I’ve read on a music website
mcranston: he’s wildly erudite. his prose is unique. he’s complicated. a very fascinating read,
mcranston: so why do you think his column isn’t a staple among p4k readers?
derek: you just answered it
derek: he’s wildly erudite. his prose is unique. he’s complicated.
derek: people want simple and easy to understand
derek: Filet Mignon is amazing, but more people eat MacDonalds
derek: I guess what I’m getting at is it’s so broad and generalized (his topic that is) that people don’t really understand what Puritan Blister is until you delve into it
derek: which is why it’s so great
mcranston: Yes.
mcranston: so with that in mind, what lessons do we take for this column here
mcranston: – simple idea?
derek: I think the answer is talking to these people who’s opinions we take as “experts”
derek: because that allows you/us to delve into these very broad and expansive topics under the veil of a very simple concept

Or maybe I need a change of scenery. Writing in Starbucks is too cliché, too rom-com-esque, too “You’ve Got Mail”-ish. I need to start smoking, and get a type-writer, and probably grow a better beard. I bet that’s how Pitchfork does it.

Vetiver, Papercuts and These United States at the Bell House last week was a pretty stellar line-up, and probably a reaffirmation that this spacious barn-like room in Gowanus, with killer late night meat pies no less, is one of the best places to see new music in New York City (Sufjan Stevens was present, and someone told me that Devendra Banhart was around, too).

[These United States]

The show was opened by These United States, probably the best known unknown band. In their short history of having toured relentlessly, they must’ve played with a thousand bands by now, and it seems like everyone who’s ever worked with them nothing but adores them. After playing a charged and sweaty sweat, which you can consider their hallmark, the ever so people-friendly frontman Jesse Elliott manned the merchandise table as is his tradition. A girl asked me in confusion, “If he’s the singer, why is he sitting at the merch table?” Because he’s awesome?

[Papercuts]

Vetiver’s singer Andy Cabic said that people have told him their music put them to sleep. While the music was soothing enough to transport one to the comfort of sleep, and the set length quite generous, there was too much charm on stage for that to actually happen. He also asked if the person who had written to him earlier saying he was going to drive down from Maine to catch the show after work had made it, and he had.

[Vetiver]

Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele is quite a delicious listen, he plays tuneful ukulele-drenched retro pop that will definitely be appealing to any fans of Jens Lekman, Beirut or Sufjan Stevens. His music is a melting pot of influences mainly from the 50s drawing from vintage doo-wop, Tropicália, and a classic American crooner sensibility that is reminiscent of Glenn Campbell.

The Feel Good Music of Dent May is a perfect name for the album. Every song has a sunny ukulele composition and simple yet endearing lyrics that, when augmented by a band, produces a wonderfully laid back vibe. What better way to kick off such an accessible album than a song called “Welcome”? An acapella number where Dent May introduces you to his album and it’s themes, it’s a warm welcome that flows perfectly in to “Meet Me At The Garden” — which is one of the strongest and most charming songs on the record with it’s maracas, ukulele and marimba vibe. “Oh Paris” has Dent adding some horns to the mix, creating a quirky marching band quality that when incorporated with the ukulele and background shooby doobies, generates an appealing backdrop for his thoughtful croon of “I finally know/ That I belong here in this world.” In the bluesy, doo-wop number “Girls On The Square”, dual electric guitars solo together in Queen-like fashion that oddly meshes quite well with the melodramatic vocals of the song. “God Loves You Michael Chang” and “I’m An Alcoholic” are humorous songs that shows Dent’s funny-side and his ability to weave them into his delivery in a thoughtful manner.

Admittedly, the use of the ukulele does get a little repetitive by the end of the album, but the charming quality of Dent May’s composition holds my interest through the full CD. He definitely has a unique style that is as quirky as a Wes Anderson film. For those of you looking for a little feel good music to cheer you up, Dent May has revitalized the classic American crooner for the 21st century and given it a geeky hipster edge that makes this an extremely delightful listen.

Paw Tracks

If you were to say Norwegian music scene was one of the biggest black-metal toting cultures around, we wouldn’t argue with you, but  we have to give the Nordic country some credit beyond the likes of vikings, metal mayhem, good beer, and a name for a catchy Beatles’ song. No matter how much you may love to hate their intensely brash metal, Norway has managed to produce the likes of Sondre Lerche and Kings of Convenience, who in their stolid attempts at song writing, have managed to brand a new sound of Norwegian indie-rock. Taking some cues from these guys, I Was A King is just one more band who has broken free of the viking-land they formed in and have embraced their power-pop sound, and we’ve got the exclusive on their new album for you to listen to. 

I Was A King’s new self-titled album was recorded in Brooklyn, in a short, three-day session. The band managed to produce a large set of well honed, pop songs within the short time-frame, creating the crafted sound heard on the new album. Though they have only been around on the scene for a few years now, they’ve collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Danielson, Serena Maneesh and Ladybug Transistor, giving the band the credibility they might need to break free of the Scandinavian indie stereotype thrown upon them from comparisons to Kings of Convenience. 

Stream I Was A King

Nothing can induce a potent combination of nostalgia and rage like the time-honored top 100 list. All the major music magazines have come out with at least one or two, and Rolling Stone has about a one-per-month quota. But this latest one comes from a slightly unlikely source — Amazon. Apparently they don’t just sell you music. They might actually know a little something about it, too. Maybe.

The Amazon list came equipped with a read-this-before-you-write-a-strongly-worded-letter clause, listing all the requirements and stipulations the Amazon music editors placed on albums worthy of the list.

The term “Indie Rock” is undeniably tricky. We challenge anyone to definitively define what is and what is not indie rock–you will fail. For the purposes of compiling this list we’ve decided to use a combination of hard and fast rules and gut instinct. Our hard and fast rules are listed below, but as for gut instinct—you just kind of have to know. For example: John Oates put out a rock record called Phunk Shui on an indie label, however, in no way should Phunk Shui be mistaken for indie rock. Likewise, Black Flag put out many seminal punk albums on SST, but we’re not talking about punk or grunge or classic post-kraut-rock, we’re talking about indie rock. Are Black Flag really indie rock? Not to our ears.

Here are the hard and fast rules:
• One album per artist.
• No EPs or singles, this list is about albums.
• No greatest hits collections or compilations of previously released tracks.
• Nominations must have been originally released on an independent label. Albums released on indies which were later acquired and/or re-released by majors are allowed (like Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation, originally released by a pre-1989 major label merger Enigma Records).

With the only one album per artist rule, there are definitely a few that make you scratch your head — why Death Cab’s We Have The Facts instead of Plans, why does Sufjan Stevens fall higher than Bright Eyes, and both of them higher than Arcade Fire’s Funeral, which is higher than Husker Du?

But when it’s coming from Amazon, we know two things that bring us solace. No. 1, it’s an online marketplace ranking indie records, and thus any discrepancy should be taken with that proverbial salt grain. No. 2, the only reason something like this exists on a site like Amazon is to boost sales. And any outlet that wants to boost sales of indie rock? Pretty much okay in our book.

You judge for yourself. Here’s the top 20, you can see the full listing here.

20. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One – Yo La Tengo
19. Kill the Moonlight – Spoon
18. Give Up – The Postal Service
17. Dig Me Out – Sleater-Kinney
16. No Pocky for Kitty – Superchunk
15. I See A Darkness – Bonnie “Prince” Billy
14. We Have The Facts and We’re Voting Yes – Death Cab For Cutie
13. Michigan – Sufjan Stevens
12. Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth
11. 69 Love Songs Volume 1 – The Magnetic Fields
10. Bakesale – Sebadoh
09. Either/Or – Elliott Smith
08. Surfer Rosa – Pixies
07. If You’re Feeling Sinister – Belle & Sebastian
06. Slanted & Enchanted – Pavement
05. Imperial f.f.r.r. (Deluxe Edition) – Unrest
04. Exile In Guyville – Liz Phair
03. Spiderland – Slint
02. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel
01. Bee Thousand – Guided by Voices

When we hear of bands coming out of Norway, we can usually expect either something dark, something synthy or, of course, something metal (black metal to be specific), but we rarely expect fuzzed-out power pop. Appropriately compared to Teenage Fanclub and the days when The Electric Prunes and The Strawberry Alarm Clock were ruling the radio airwaves, I Was A King gives us a warm, nostalgic, fuzzy feeling with this lead single from their forthcoming self-titled album.

While the full length will be coming out April 7 on The Control Group — and features contributions from Sufjan Stevens, Serena Maneesh, Danielson and Ladybug Transistor — they just split-released an import 7″ with “Norman Bleik” b/w “It’s All You” (the Sufjan track) yesterday (January 27) on the Norwegian and Danish labels Hype City and Morningside respectively. Of which, you can hear the A-side below.

I Was A King – “Norman Bleik”