May 12, 2008

Bittorrent Brunch (M. Ward, British Sea Power, and more)

Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent:

Alejandro Escovedo: 2008-04-29, Austin [flac]*
other Alejandro Escovedo posts at Largehearted Boy

British Sea Power: 2008-05-10, New York [flac]*
other British Sea Power posts at Largehearted Boy

Drive-By Truckers: 2008-05-08, Harrisburg [flac]
other Drive-By Truckers posts at Largehearted Boy

M Ward: 2006-09-28, KCRW [flac]*
M Ward: 2005-04-22, St. Paul [flac]*
other M Ward posts at Largehearted Boy

Nick Cave: 2008-05-09, London [flac]*
other Nick Cave posts at Largehearted Boy

Radiohead: 2008-05-09, Charlotte [flac]*
other Radiohead posts at Largehearted Boy

REM: 1986-09-06, Bloomington [flac]*
other REM posts at Largehearted Boy

Wilco: 2008-05-08, Colorado Springs [flac]
other Wilco posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

previous Bittorrent Brunch entries

2007 Coachella music downloads
2008 SXSW music downloads and streams
2008 SXSW music downloads and streams
2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival downloads
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
2007 Bonnaroo downloads
previous music festival downloads


tags:

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May 12, 2008

Daily Downloads (This Is Ivy League, Martina Topley Bird, and more)

Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Firefox AK: "Winter Rose" [mp3] from If I Were a Melody
other Firefox AK music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Martina Topley Bird: "Valentine" [mp3] from The Blue God
other Stuyvesant music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Saxon Shore: "Marked With The Knowledge" [mp3] from The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore
other Saxon Shore music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Sepiatone: "Greenhouse" [mp3] from Introduction to Sepiatone
other Sepiatone music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

This Is Ivy league: "Crown of Love (Arcade Fire cover)" [mp3]
This Is Ivy league: "London Bridges" [mp3] from This Is Ivy league
This Is Ivy league: "The Richest Kids" [mp3] from This Is Ivy league
other This Is Ivy League music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Toy Gun Cowboy: "I've Got To Do Something" [mp3] from Big Blue (out May 13th)
other Toy Gun Cowboy music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Zwan: 2003-01-25, Chicago [mp3,ogg,flac]
"I'm Eighteen (Alice Cooper cover)" [mp3]
Zwan: 2002-04-13, Chicago [mp3,ogg,flac]
"All Day and All of the Night (Kinks cover)" [mp3]
other Zwan music blog posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams

previous Daily Downloads
music festival downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

May 11, 2008

Shorties

Marisa de los Santos talks to the Philadelphia Inquirer about her novel, Belong to Me, being categorized as "mommy lit."

In contrast, while she accepts some overlap with Cornelia, she consider herself "not that nice."

How could she be, with people tossing phrases like "highbrow mommy lit" at her? "It's insulting," she says, "not specifically to me, or to mothers, but to anyone, men or women, who write about parenting. . . . It implies most literature about mothers is stupid. . . . In my experience, the relationship between a parent and a child is as complicated as it gets."

"Sometimes people mistake a happy ending for lack of seriousness," she muses. "I don't think happiness is trivial, and I don't think it's easy."


Rotten Tomatoes lists the 50 most memorable movie cars.


The Independent examines how independent record labels are breathing life into hip hop.


The New York Times previews summer music festivals, including Birmingham's City Stages music festival (June 13-15, the same weekend as Bonnaroo, just a couple of hours down the road).

And the award for most incongruous headliners at an outdoor urban concert series goes to ... City Stages in Alabama, with the once-in-a-lifetime-at-most combination of Diana Ross and the Flaming Lips.


In the Observer, Adam Mars-Jones reviews Lorrie Moore's The Collected Short Stories.

The dominant influence on American short fiction when Moore started publishing was the stoic minimalism of Raymond Carver, the recovering binger's pledge of: 'One sentence at a time.' She escaped that influence, and was spared the struggle of throwing it off, but its underlying principle of whittling away excess is something her stories badly need. A Lorrie Moore story can sometimes be like a schoolroom full of precocious kids, every sentence raising both hands and squeaking: 'Me! Me! Choose me!'


The Observer glowingly reviews Joanne Proulx's debut novel, Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet.

Emo teenage stoner angst might seem the least likely vehicle for literary significance, and the slouching hoodie-clad angel on the front of Joanne Proulx's Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet (Picador £7.99, pp356) inspires equally little promise. But beneath the heavy crossover marketing lies a gem. Proulx has taken a risk with this novel and it's paid off.

see also: Proulx's Largehearted Boy Book Notes essay for the book


The New York Times reviews three recently published baseball books: Anatomy of Baseball, Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, and Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of Take Me Out to the Ball Game.


JamBase profiles Akron/Family.

"I was asked the other day if we'd be happy being seen in the lineage of jam bands like Phish and Dave Matthews. I actually don't think we fit very well there but there's some crossover with The Grateful Dead in that we're both exploring really deeply American music. It's blues, it's hillbilly music, it's hip-hop, it's jazz, it's folk. America has this amazingly rich country and tradition. If you drive around the country, where you're in the desert then you're in Big Sur, then you're the Northwest, then Florida, you find all these different landscapes with such different climates and feelings. The country itself is an epic geographic journey, and sometimes I think one of the things that holds our music together is this kind of American sense of discovery and exploration, with some failure but ultimately the heart at the middle of it is what drives it," says Olinsky.


Author Philip Pullman talks to the Times Online about writing a comic strip.

“Normally I write a book, give it to the illustrator and he gets on with the pictures,” said Pullman. “With this project, it is as if I’m doing a film script with me specifying what I want drawn.”


Drowned in Sound interviews Mission of Burma guitarist Roger Miller.

Finally, has the band’s songwriting changed since the reformation? Are you absorbing influences from contemporary artists, be they post-punk or whatever, or writing from within a bubble, impervious to external pressures?

I think, generally, our songwriting has gotten slightly easier to assimilate. Maturity? I hate to think so. Clint noted that, since 2002, we play our songs about 2 per cent slower than we used to, such that we hammer the changes and chords into a more obvious shape, rather than blurring at high speed between the sections of a song. I heard a recording of us in 1982, and some of the songs that I wrote, hell, even I could barely follow! In that sense, a touch of maturity never hurt anyone. However, if we ever get labeled as playing ‘Mature Rock’, please contact me and tell me to get a real job.


also at Largehearted Boy:

2007 online music lists
Daily Downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
this week's CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

Bittorrent Brunch (Radiohead, M. Ward, and more)

Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent:

Anais Mitchell: 2008-05-03, Oberlin [flac]
other Anais Mitchell posts at Largehearted Boy

Bob Dylan: 1993-05-16&17, New York [flac]*
other Bob Dylan posts at Largehearted Boy

Elvis Costello: 2008-05-03, Buffalo [flac]*
other Elvis Costello posts at Largehearted Boy

Husker Du: 1981-07-24, San Francisco [flac]*
other Husker Du posts at Largehearted Boy

Jonathan Richman: 2008-05-06, Milan [flac]*
other Jonathan Richman posts at Largehearted Boy

Lush: 1994-06-28, Black session [flac]*
other Lush posts at Largehearted Boy

M. Ward, Jim James, and Conor Oberst: 2004-02-20, Minneapolis [flac]*
other M. Ward posts at Largehearted Boy

Marah: 2008-03-08, Pavia [dvd]*
other Marah posts at Largehearted Boy

Radiohead: 2008-05-05, West Palm Beach [flac]
other Radiohead posts at Largehearted Boy

Wilco: 2008-05-05, Missoula [flac]*
other Wilco posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

previous Bittorrent Brunch entries

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams
2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival downloads
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
2007 Bonnaroo downloads
2007 Coachella music downloads

previous music festival downloads


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

Daily Downloads (The Very Most, Mike Doughty, and more)

Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Mike Doughty: 2008-01-24, Baltimore [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Long Black American Car" [mp3]
other Mike Doughty music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

The Quiet Ones: "Girls & Uniforms" [mp3] from Better Walk Than Ride Like That
other Quiet Ones music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Smashing Pumpkins: 2007-07-10, Washington [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Something Means Something, But Nothing Means Nothing" [mp3]
other Smashing Pumpkins music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Southern Culture on the Skids: 2008-04-19, Ballard [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Daddy Was A Preacher Momma Was A Go Go Girl" [mp3]
other Southern Culture on the Skids music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Stuyvesant: "Tape Hiss" [mp3] from Linden Calling
other Stuyvesant music blog posts at Largehearted Boy


The Very Most: "Good Fight Fighting" [mp3] from Congratulations Forever
The Very Most: "Spilt, Spilt Milk" [mp3] from Congratulations Forever
The Very Most: "Cemetry Gates (Smiths cover)" [mp3]
The Very Most: "I Can't Believe You Actually Died (Microphones cover)" [mp3]
other The Very Most music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Young Knives: "Up All Knight" [mp3] from Superabundance
other Young Knives music blog posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams

previous Daily Downloads
music festival downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

May 10, 2008

Shorties

The Wall Street Journal profiles art rockers Cloud Cult.

A Cloud Cult concert doesn't end with the encore; it ends with a bidding war. After every performance by this rising Minneapolis rock band, fans vie in a silent auction for one-of-a-kind souvenirs from the show: pictures painted to the music by the group's two on-stage artists.


The Cleveland Plain-Dealer profiles author Maya Angelou.

"When I started writing 'Caged Bird,' I thought I was writing for young black girls, then I thought, 'Wait a minute, this is hard work. I better make it for young black boys, too,' " Angelou said in her phone interview.

"Then I started thinking about young white girls and white boys. Latinos and Asians. I began to see myself using myself as a human being. This is what we do. This is how we act. If X has happened, it is likely that we will do Y. So I have simply written, I me Maya Angelou as a human being."


The Wall Street Journal interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates about his memoir, The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood.

WSJ: I could never decide whether you felt your father was too strict a disciplinarian, or not enough of one. Which was it?

Mr. Coates: My dad viewed childhood as preparation for adulthood. Period. I have been a little more lax with my son, who is 7 years old. In the book, holidays are banned. I was raised like that, but we celebrate Christmas, Thanksgiving and have barbecues on July 4th. I have a lot of his logic within me, but I participate. Christmas is a great example. The ultimate idea is family is important. But it's a constant struggle for me. One of the big things my father was against was the gluttony of Thanksgiving and the commercialism of Christmas. I still go back and forth on that, because I see his point, but I don't want to put that on a kid.


Brand Upon the Brain is a bog that critiques music logos.


Author David Peace talks to the Guardian.

Despite the scale of his literary ambitions, Peace is relaxed about being labelled a crime writer. "Ian Rankin has written a modern history of Edinburgh that has been a huge achievement and a fantastic body of work. If people are put off by him being called a crime writer, that is their loss. But, considering his sales, not many seem to be put off. I suppose I don't really have that great an imagination, and there is so much from the real world that I just don't understand. Some of that involves crime of whatever scale or form, and in that case I don't see the point of making something up. The novel seems the perfect form to examine what has happened in real life, the things that have deeply affected ordinary people and reflected the times they lived in."


Jack White of the White Stripes and Raconteurs talks to the Times Online.

I suggest to White that while there is an artifice about the White Stripes, the Raconteurs are a more raw experience. He replies with a sharp nod. “In the White Stripes we’re hitting ten different angles at once – blues and childishness and the aesthetic centring round the colours. A lot of it coming out of my upholstery-shop days. But this band has a totally different aspect, coming from different grounds.”


The Telegraph profiles Martha Wainwright.

"My first album was a bit more navel-gazing than my new one because I wrote the songs in my late teens and early twenties. But this one feels more like an expression of an artist without as much baggage, which is a great relief." Her new album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, arrives three years after her debut, and her only concern should be whether critics still have enough superlatives left after the last one.


LAist interviews Syd Straw.

LAist: You started your career singing backup for Pat Benatar. How did you get that gig?

Syd Straw: I was singing at comedy clubs. I stopped by to see why a bunch of people were in line once. This was in New York at Catch A Rising Star. So I got in the line. I think I was between Gilbert Gottfried and Jerry Seinfeld. It was great. So I went on and they said, "Hey come back. You don't suck." Pat Benatar was singing there a lot. She was this young, foxy, stiletto, pony-boot-wearing gal. They asked me to come sing shows with her and do backup. That was it. She's a great singer.


Last.fm has launched a video channel, and already has interviews with Santogold, Moby, Spoon and many more artists.


Topless Robot lists the best songs from geek movie soundtracks.


The Raleigh News & Observer profiles Charlie Louvin.

"I'm often asked, 'When you and your brother were recording these songs, did you think they'd still be viable 50 years down the road?' My answer is, absolutely not. We was just trying to make a living. That's all that was on our minds."


New Scientist lists five science fiction movies that "get the science right."


BooksWellRead and Books I Am Reading are an online book journals.


WXPN is streaming an in-studio performance by British Sea Power.


The Futurist recaps Okkervil River's recent WOXY Lounge Act performance by sharing a couple of in-studio mp3s.


Minnesota Public Radio's The Current features Dr. Dog with an interview and in-studio performance.


The 2008 Coachella music downloads page has been updated with a lossless download of Justice's performance.


also at Largehearted Boy:

2007 online music lists
Daily Downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
this week's CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

Bittorrent Brunch (Mudcrutch, Jeff Tweedy, and more)

Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent:

Dolores O'Riordan: 2007-08-23, Santiago [ntsc dvd]*
other Dolores O'Riordan posts at Largehearted Boy

The Fall: 1984-04-04, Munich [flac]*
other Fall posts at Largehearted Boy

Jeff Tweedy: 2006-01-14, Chicago [flac]*
other Jeff Tweedy posts at Largehearted Boy

The Kills: 2008-05-06, Toronto [flac]*
other Kills posts at Largehearted Boy

Kraftwerk: 2008-04-26, Coachella [flac]*
other Kraftwerk posts at Largehearted Boy

Mudcrutch: 2008-05-01, West Hollywood [flac]*
other Mudcrutch posts at Largehearted Boy

Neil Young: 1994-10-01, San Francisco [flac]*
other Neil Young posts at Largehearted Boy

Radar Bros: 2008-05-08, KCRW [flac]*
other Radar Bros posts at Largehearted Boy

REM: 1985-08-31, New York [flac]*
other REM posts at Largehearted Boy

Rosebuds: 2008-05-06, Carrboro [flac]*
other Rosebuds posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

previous Bittorrent Brunch entries

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams
2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival downloads
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
2007 Bonnaroo downloads
2007 Coachella music downloads

previous music festival downloads


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

Daily Downloads (Josh Ritter, St. Vincent, and more)

Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Corto Maltese: "Providence (live on KVRX)" [mp3]
other Corto Maltese music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Drive-By Truckers: 2008-05-04, Grand Rapids [mp3,ogg,flac]
"That Man I Shot" [mp3]
Drive-By Truckers: 2008-05-01, Chattanooga [mp3,ogg,flac]
"3 Dimes Down" [mp3]
other Drive-By Truckers music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Josh Ritter: 2008-04-30, Carrboro [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Kathleen" [mp3]
other Josh Ritter music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Mezzanine Owls: "Snow Globe" [mp3]
other Mezzanine Owls music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Mission of Burma: 2008-01-20, Allston [mp3,ogg,flac]
"You Don't Know Me (Four Commandments cover)" [mp3]
other Mission of Burma music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Smashing Pumpkins: 2008-10-19, Mountain View [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Porcelina of the Vast Oceans" [mp3]
Smashing Pumpkins: 1997-10-18, Mountain View [mp3,ogg,flac]
"The Beautiful People (Marilyn Manson cover)" [mp3]
Smashing Pumpkins: 1988-08-10, Chicago [mp3,ogg,flac]
"6234" [mp3]
other Smashing Pumpkins music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

St. Vincent: 2007-12-12, Planet Claire session [mp3]
"Human Racing" [mp3]
other St. Vincent music blog posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams

previous Daily Downloads
music festival downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

May 9, 2008

Book Notes - Tao Lin ("Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy")

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that is in some way relevant to their recently published books.

Tao Lin returns with his fourth Book Notes essay, this time for his second poetry collection, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. These poems are deceptively simple and draw the reader in with their depictions of ennui and loneliness, always with a sense of humor and gentle humanity that breathes them to life.

Jeffrey Brown wrote of the book:

"Tao Lin's poetry passes by slacker-era irony and self-indulgent formalism to dig up something deeper and more human, even when that something seems on first reading to merely be depressed hamsters."


In his own words, here is Tao Lin's Book Notes essay for his latest poetry collection, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy:

I wrote Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy while on tour with my band “ “Spanish Rilo Kiley” in Taiwan and Japan. I played drums and my friend played keyboard and “sang.” Taiwan has a 24-hour mall and we lived there for four days. I slept inside a circular display of clothing. Just kidding, our band has not toured Taiwan or Japan. Taiwan has places where people pay money to sit indoors fishing from a small concrete “pond” and then grill the fish that they catch and eat it while still fishing. People do this “for something to do” like people in America might take walks inside shopping malls or go on deep sea fishing trips. Some of these places in Taiwan have giant shrimp instead of fish. Some of the places do not use bait or reel, you hold a pole and move it around until the hook goes into a fish’s scales then you “pull,” or “yank,” the fish out of the water. I have done this before, when I was ten or eleven. It was like a video game. I wouldn’t do it today.

I feel good when I look at an album or book and see that someone was selective about what to include. I think this means I “value excellence” or something. But I don't feel bad when I see that someone has “put a lot of shit” together into a book or album. I think it’s “funny.” “Either way is okay with me somehow.” I just put an entire sentence inside quote marks and it was not a quotation. When I start using quotation marks for single words or phrases I feel the urge to put everything in quotation marks. I think it’s because I become aware that the words and ideas already “exist” as possibilities and therefore I am, sort of, “quoting” no matter what I type—the sentences are not really “mine.” This might be “Zen” of me. It felt good to put an entire sentence in quotation marks. I felt calm and detached. I edited Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in a lot of places including in my bedroom in Florida. I remember editing it in Florida. I “laid out” every page on the floor in order, separated into four sections, and thought about it for three weeks or something, staring at it from different angles moving pages around and writing things on it. I listened to “emotional and sincere yet quiet, catchy, pleasant, and unobtrusive” music during this period of editing, I think it was mostly Rilo Kiley and Neva Dinova (songs off their split with Bright Eyes). I tried to be very selective in what I put into Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.

At some point in my life I want to publish a book where I “just put all my shit into it” in a random order. People will probably like that because it will include my “screwing around” stories and poems and people like my “screwing around” things according to what I have read on the internet. Taiwan seems to me like “someone just put all their shit into it.” Japan seems to me like the “selective” version of Taiwan. I have been to both places and like them both.

I don’t know what to type about Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I tried to type some things about it but then typed those other things. Here are some songs I like that can be listened to on the internet and why I like them.

“Dual Monotone Thoughts” – The Stupid Stupid Henchmen

I like the lyrics, I feel they are “original” and “exciting.”

“Members Only” – The Mad Conductor

I like the piano and lyrics.

“The Devil and my Family” – The Devil is Electric

I like the lyrics and the girl’s harmonies.

“Oh, Susquehanna” – Defiance, Ohio

I like the drums and the girl’s voice.

“I Grow Like a Plant” – Erin Tobey

I like her voice.

Those songs are not related to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. I had not listened to any of these songs when I “wrote” Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. The song I listened to most while working on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy might be “Studying Stones” by Ani Difranco. It was on the computer I was using. I didn’t listen to Ani Difranco before that or after that except a year later sometimes I searched that song on Youtube because I missed that period of my life a little and wanted to listen to the song to be reminded of how I felt during that time. I don’t think I have more things to say about Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy or music right now. I think those songs I listed above would make a “nice, varied” mixed CD. I was “selective” with it. It had more songs at first but I deleted them. I was going to type an essay of all lies, saying things about “Spanish Rilo Kiley” touring Taiwan and Japan and how I wrote Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on banana leaves in reaction to the coconut merchants “deep in the mountains of rural Taiwan,” or something, but I felt stupid and “bad” and changed things to not have any lies.


Tao Lin and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy links:

Tao Lin's Book Notes essay for his novel, Eeeee Eee Eeee
Tao Lin's Book Notes essay for his short story collection, Bed
Tao Lin's Book Notes essay for you are a little bit happier than I am

the author's blog
the author's myspace page
the author's Wikipedia entry
excerpt from the book

reviews of the book

Art Nouveau interview with the author
Bat Segundo Show interview with the author
Publisher's Weekly interview with the author
litpark interview with the author
other interviews with the author
Tao Lin's poetry online
Tao Lin's stories online


also at Largehearted Boy:

Previous Book Notes submissions (authors create playlists for their book)
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
guest book reviews
musician/author interviews
directors and actors discuss their film's soundtracks
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2008 Edition)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2007 Edition)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2006 Edition)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2005 Edition)
52 Books, 52 Weeks (2004 Edition)


tags:

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Shorties

Popmatters examines the music praising US presidential candidate Barack Obama that is popping up around the world.

The puppy dogs of America have aged seven or eight years since the exhaustingly long Democratic primary opened for business, and in that time a niche artform has blossomed in the black diaspora: the Barack Obama Praise Song. The rhythms and melodies range from Jamaican Reggae to Kenyan Benga, but that pulse of a people’s collective hopes racing into the ether is unmistakably familiar: “Yes, We Can” sounds the same in Luo as it does in English. By the time Puerto Rico puts a wrap to this extended season of American Political Theater with its June 3rd primary, some globe-trotting multi-cultural record label—say, Putumayo or Mango—should have the goods for a compilation titled “Obama-mania: World Music Edition.”


Wilco's John Stirratt talks to Lawrence.com.

“It’s been an amazing culmination to have this band appear after so many years and be the best live version of the band,” Stirratt says. “I’d like to make records that we feel are even better than the previous one. The goal is to make the next record really surprising. ... But I’m proud of every record. I’m proud looking back.”


New Music Strategies lists what should (and shouldn't) be on a musician's MySpace page.


Minnesota Public Radio's The Current features Tokyo Police Club with an interview and in-studio performance.


Drowned in Sound interviews Dave Longstreth of the Dirty Projectors.


Doubleday has set up a YouTube channel of videos for Chuck Palahniuk's new novel, Snuff.


The San Francisco Bay Times profiles Heloise and the Savoir Faire.

While drawing comparisons to The B-52s and Blondie, whose Debbie Harry has named the group her favorite new band and lends vocals to two tracks, Heloise & The Savoir Faire are now gaining avid fans across the country.


The Washington Post's Express profiles the Cave Singers.

Pretty Girls Make Graves' fans may be puzzled by the traditional, Dylan- and Guthrie-esque stylings of the project, but The Cave Singers are no hackneyed tribute: The band's organic, coolly wistful Americana is intricate enough to garner broad appeal — and the members' rock pasts suggest a receptive audience far wider than a stale folk niche.


The Oregonian interviews Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie.

Yeah, it's kind of amazing you guys have hit the decade mark. Did you ever think it would last this long?

Absolutely not, in no way. I only really realized that I was in a band and this is what I do like two years ago, I think, maybe three or four years ago. Not that long ago. It always felt like I was supposed to be doing something else, and I'm not (laughs). I guess this is what I do. That's great. I've finally accepted it, it's all cool; this is what I do.


The San Francisco Chronicle reminisces about gonzo author Hunter S. Thompson.


The Guardian examines Krautrock.

"They were breaking down what rock music was meant to be and dismantling it from a West German point of view," says Jim Backhouse, co-presenter of Resonance FM's weekly Kosmische Krautrock show. "But not like Frank Zappa, cynically taking rock music apart just to dismiss it as silly frippery. They did it with a genuine sense of awe and wonder. When they put it back together again, it was with the absolute joy of doing it for its own sake. That's why it still sounds so exciting."


Happy belated birthday, Thomas Pynchon.


Velocity Weekly interviews Sloane Crosley about her essay collection, I Was Told There'd Be Cake.

My favorite piece in the book is one that tells the story of your semi-willing participation in a bridal party. I love the way it blends humor and insight. Do you find that a lot of your insights about life come from observing the absurdity in situations?

Sure. I think what's funny is, which came first, the chicken or the egg? The funny story, or feeling that that story is a source of meaning or insight? Hopefully there's insight or some sort of core of meaning to all of the essays.

see also: Crosley's Largehearted Boy Book Notes essay for the collection


The Mental Floss blog lists 4 must-read books for aspiring writers.


Music-map offers visual relationships between musical artists.


Queen guitarist & astrophysicist Brian May talks to NPR's All Things Considered about his book, Bang! The Complete History of the Universe.


NPR's All Things Considered offers a "great unknowns" music showcase this week.


IGN reviews the music in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.


Publishers Weekly's Notes from the Bookroom blog is looking for book reviewers.


The 2008 Coachella music downloads page has been updated with a lossless download of Justice's performance.


also at Largehearted Boy:

2007 online music lists
Daily Downloads
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
this week's CD releases


tags:

Posted by david | permalink | post to del.icio.us

Bittorrent Brunch (The Hold Steady, Radiohead, and more)

Today's free and legal recordings of live shows, rarities, and demos available via bittorrent:

British Sea Power: 2008-05-06, Carrboro [flac]*
other British Sea Power posts at Largehearted Boy

Bruce Springsteen: 2008-05-07, Red Bank [flac]*
other Bruce Springsteen posts at Largehearted Boy

Built to Spill: 2008-02-24, San Francisco [flac]*
other Built to Spill posts at Largehearted Boy

Drive-By Truckers: 2008-05-06, Pontiac [flac]
other Drive-By Truckers posts at Largehearted Boy

The Hold Steady: 2008-04-11, Milwaukee [flac]*
other Hold Steady posts at Largehearted Boy

Jeff Tweedy: 2008-01-12, Barrington [flac]*
other Jeff Tweedy posts at Largehearted Boy

Kathleen Edwards: 2008-04-10, New York [flac]*
other Kathleen Edwards posts at Largehearted Boy

Radiohead: 2008-05-06, Tampa [flac]*
Radiohead: 1992-2007 ,The Radiohead Live Hub CollectionVvol. 04 Kid A Live (live compilation) [flac]*
other Radiohead posts at Largehearted Boy

Ryan Adams: The Suicide Handbook live compilation [flac]*
other Ryan Adams posts at Largehearted Boy


also at Largehearted Boy:

previous Bittorrent Brunch entries

2008 SXSW music downloads and streams
2007 Austin City Limits Music Festival downloads
2007 Lollapalooza downloads
2007 Bonnaroo downloads
2007 Coachella music downloads

previous music festival downloads


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Daily Downloads (Matmos, Billy Bragg, and more)

Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Billy Bragg: "I Keep Faith" [mp3] from Mr. Love & Justice
other Billy Bragg music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

The Histories: several tracks [mp3]
other Histories music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Longwave: one new track [mp3]
other Longwave music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Matmos: "Rainbow Flag" [mp3] from Supreme Balloon
other Matmos music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Music Go Music: "Light of Love" [mp3] from Light of Love (out May 20th)
other Music Go Music music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Robyn: "Cobrastyle" [mp3] from Robyn
other Robyn music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Rumspringa: "Gold Mine" [mp3] from Rumspringa EP (out June 24th)
other Rumspringa music blog posts at Largehearted Boy

Sarandon: "Massive Haircut" [mp3] from Kill Twee Pop!