1.31.2012

End of the Month Music Bitchfest - January 2012

Happy New* Bitch.

Nine Inch Nails

Despite releasing the epic, amazing etc. etc. etc. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo score, Reznor and Ross were NOT nominated for an Oscar.
Which doesn't really matter because it was still released and is still amazing, but, you know, it feels good to know that other people enjoy good music as well.
Makes one feel like the world might not be ending in 530+ days.
But, let's look on the bright side: maybe he'll spend less time making music for films and more time making Nine Inch Nails music.
Apparently, the deluxe Fragile and the full length How To Destroy Angels album are coming out this year (the HTDA this quarter, according to things).
I'll believe it when I'm slamming them repeatedly into my earholes.

They Might Be Giants

Their final leg of the Join Us tour started on the 28th in Los Angeles at Royce Hall with a Lincoln show.
And I was there to see it.
It wasn't a full-on, front-to-back Lincoln show, but they played 14 of the 18 tracks off the album.
A few tracks I'd never heard which were pretty awesome live, and some that felt a bit slapdash.
All in all, for the show celebrating their very first live performance together, thirty years ago TO THE DAY in Central Park as El Groupa De Rock N Roll.the show was a bit of a let down.
I expected at least a full horn section, maybe some special guests, I don't know.but there was only Robin Goldwasser, who popped out to sing "Dr. Evil" and then Mark Pender, Conan's pet trumpet player.
And they are still fucking playing "Damn Good Times".
I will also be at the last show (according to Flans himself) of 2012, March 10th at Terminal 5.
And the rest of the year? Spent relaxing and raising their children?
"Fuck that," says the band, "we're going to write and record (and hopefully release) TWO brand new
albums (plus an EP by our puppet alter egos, the Avatars of They)!"
Here's hoping they have nothing to do with children.
The albums, not the band.
Although, as we've seen with certain bands named Nine Inch Nails, kids can REALLY fuck up an album release schedule.
Am I right or am I right or am I right???!!!
Yes.

Note: Okay, for 2012, I'm just going to cut back on the wasted energy and simply not write anything if the other three bands (Cake, Beck, and Eels) don't do anything.
A. It isn't like they'll happen to read this and then feel guilted into making music and B. I need to save my energy for my parkour training.

So, that said.

Beck

Beck remixed a Feist song.
And I took a huge shit the other day.
I'd rather listen to the latter.

Marilyn Manson.ha ha ha.
Never you mind about Marilyn Manson.

Just a few days ago, Garbage launched their new site.
So far, they have posted a sort of mission statement, some tour dates (all festivals and non-U.S. dates) a teaser for the new album, which now has a title and a release date.
The new Garbage album, the first in seven years, will be titled "Not Your Kind Of People" and will be released on their own label on May 15th.
W00t.
The band keeps saying that it sounds like their first two albums without sounding like their first two albums.so yeah.
Apparently, we're going to hear their first, as-of-yet-untitled single in January.which didn't happen.
At least not in this quantum eventuality.

Nothing from Tweaker, either, although, I forget if I already "reported" this, but Vrenna has officially left the greasy, undertalented clutches of Marilyn Manson.
Halle-fucking-lujah.
Here's hoping they've got something good to show us.and soon.

And, now, an addition to the list of bands/artists that aren't in my top five but who I am looking forward to their next release list.Damon Albarn.
Here's my brief history with regards to Mr. Albarn.
I liked one or two Blur songs, then listened to their greatest hits collection then liked three or four of their songs.
I liked one or two songs off of the first Gorillaz album and then the majority of the second Gorillaz album and then I liked Damon Albarn.
One of the reasons I like him, even if I don't love every one of his many, many solo and side projects is that he is clearly an artist who is doing what he wants and having a great, goddamned time doing it.
Blur? Whatever.
But then he created a band with artist Jamie Hewlett based on the concept of how fake the industry is.
Not only that, but he's taken things so far with Gorillaz that they've become a world wide phenomenon, bigger than Blur will EVER be.and they don't really exist.
Then there's the aforementioned other projects, such as The Good, the Bad and the Queen, the music for the stage play, "Monkey: Journey To The West", the opera written about Doctor John Dee called "Doctor Dee", the recently released DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Music collaboration, "Kinshasa One Two" which was recorded in Kinshasa in five days with a slew of Congolese musicians and some huge ass producers including Dan the Automator, Richard Russell, Marc Antoine, Jneiro Jarel, T-E-E-D (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) and Kwes.
And, something I recently discovered by accident,; a project he did back in 2002 called "Mali Music"
with a group of Malian musicians.
It's some of the most interesting, rich and textured music I've heard in a while.
Some of it would fit perfectly on the next Gorillaz album, whenever and whatever that might be.
Then there's his upcoming project, Rocketjuice and the Moon, a funk side project consisting of him, Tony Allen and Flea.
Yeah.
This guy is having fun.
And listening to him is fun so, bang on, Damon Albarn; I look forward to what comes next from you.
I also highly recommend checking out that "Mali Music" album. The music ranges from dusty and atmospheric (like the unsettling ghost waltz sound of "Spoons", which reminds me of a darker version of that huge ballroom scene from the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion ride), to happy-walk-through the-jingle-with-a-friendly-sloth-holding-a-coconut jaunty ("Le Hogon"), to very Gorillaz-esque melancholy ("Sunset Coming On" ).
Check it out, you've not heard anything like it before.

All righty.
Welcome to the New Year.
It still sounds like Bitch..

*Old

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