PS: The classic “NORAD tracks Santa” can be seen here: NORAD Santa Tracker (note that Iran is on the bad list… but the ISS was over Iran when Santa hit up that crew)

Gibberish. It was absolute and total gibberish. Once again, it simply set up a series of new unanswered peculiarities rather than doing a thing to address the 27 plotlines its writers have already laid out. In particular, the revelation that Dr. Jack’s doctor father is also an Invisible Man living in a cabin on the Lost Island — if you’ve never watched, don’t ask — relocated Lost to the land of camp. I don’t think there is now any question that the writers and producers of Lost are just making it up as they go along, that they have created mysteries without first knowing the solutions and that, when they reach a dead end, they just make up another mystery. We’ve been had.

Damn it. Of course, this is exactly the crap that every Lost fan is afraid of, and exactly the type of writing that convinced me in the middle of Season 2 to stop watching (I decided to keep watching, in the end). I hope my feelings on the episode are somewhat less negative, but I doubt it.

Cheers.

The album is littered with love songs, both mourning love lost and excited about love found. It is all very teen melodramatic. This is not to say that it is juvenile by any means. It throws enough ironic deadpan into the mix to make it enjoyable pop rather than trashy teen pop. The droll voice of Jeremy Coleman carries the lyrics, transforming them from teen cliche into excellent indie pop. Laura Coleman, drummer and sister of Jeremy, provides a wonderful harmony throughout most of the songs. She is able to subtly flesh out and bring life to the male Coleman’s lyrics, giving them a verve that really sells the best tracks on this album. The same can be said of Adam Fels (bass) and Graham Roberts (rhythm guitar) who also provide harmonic depth to the vocals. The modus operandi of the band is a rock-a-billy double guitar and bass line with crisp drumming. The music is overlaid with clear vocals. The band spends plenty of time wandering on solos but never obnoxiously so.

The album opens with the title track “Who Doesn’t Wanna Give Me Love” (it is telling that it is Wanna and not Want To), which gives us the “Are You Ready For The Heartache ‘Cause Here It Comes” (notice the contractual “‘Cause”). With the second track, “In A Sentimental Mood,” they settle into a nice groove for the album. The next track, however, shows that the band is willing to experiment some, not getting too far afield but different nonetheless. “Love Astronaut” channels some Postal Service with its melding of electronic tag lines with more conventional vocals. The result is one of the best songs on the album. It is a little kitschy but inordinately enjoyable on the ears. The rest of the album vacillates between reinterpretation of late 50’s rock and the more blusey stylings of “Cold, Hard Workin’ Man.” The songs are fun and short. What they lack in depth they make up for in pure enjoyment. I definitely recommend this album for a listen. You will probably find yourself listening it to it more and more in the spare minutes when you aren’t craving anything specific but don’t want to be bored or annoyed by the sound. This is not to make the album sound shallow, it isn’t. It carves out a nice spot in the modern indie pantheon as a throwback to the heyday of twee sounds.

Samples are available:

- Love Astronaut
- Honey Come Home

These are both from the debut album “Are You Ready For The Heartache ‘Cause Here It Comes.” The band is also currently touring the US to promote the album. They seem like they would be a good live band.

The album which hits stores on October 2nd from Nettwerk Records, the home of artists such as Avril Lavigne, Bare Naked Ladies, Did, and more indie acts like The Pipettes and The Submarines (all very Canadian), is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall it is a good children’s album that isn’t overly simplistic and makes you realize that Belle & Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, The Decemberists, and others are not too far off from a kids’ tune every now and then. However, this is quite literally the point. The album is bursting with ‘indie’ talent done up in the guise of kiddie minstrels. You have Bare Naked Ladies, Mates of State, Of Montreal, OAR, and Rogue Wave topping out the well known bands. However, the album is really stolen by tracks by some of the less known bands. Yes, Bare Naked Ladies really kill ‘The Other Day I Met A Bear’ but ‘The Submarines’ torpedo it with their glorious rendition of ‘My Darling Clementine.’ Another lesser known band, The Format, blows away the kids with ‘Does Your Cat Have a Moustache.’ It is the longest track by far and seems it might just barely captivate a very astute child, but its the quintessential example of indie-come-Raffi that one would expect on this album. The songs range from the very kid friendly (If You’re Happy And You Know It – Anathallo, No Hiding – Hem, or New Shoes – Blitzen Trapper) to the weirdly potty-mouthed and quite weak (The Lint Song – MC Lars or The Poopsmith Song – Over the Rhine). There are only a couple real stinkers that seem to be from the bigger names. OAR pumps out a lamely reggae ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ and Dar Williams turns out the seemingly personal ‘The Babysitter’s Here’ with its corny hippie morality that seems both lost on kids and the adult audience.

Overall it questionable whether or not the album is really for ‘The Kids’ or not. Some songs seem to really miss the target. But the ones that really hit home are undoubtedly songs that resonate with both little and ‘big’ kids. The real stretch for children’s listening seems to be the richness of the songs. Moby and Chrissi Poland, for example, beautifully harmonize on ‘Sleep So Very Long’ (a very un-Moby track) but will it resonate with the under 15 crowd? My guess is that it will, not with every child, but eventually it will. It seems like the kind of ancient MTV and Nickelodeon that is passively absorbed in youth but is only later appreciated for its staying power. Probably something they won’t appreciate until later… damn kids.

Things that I’d like to see in the first software update:

That’s what I’ve got so far. Cheers.

The first difference was in the setup. Akron/Family played in the standard “opener-main band” configuration while The M’s, Maritime and a whole host of others played from 12pm to 12am, mirroring the SxSW festival. So the big difference was in the focus between one band and a long set and a whole slew of contenders (we only saw The Zincs, The M’s, Maritime, and Velcro Lewis and His 100 Proof Band) only playing 30 minute sets or so. The other striking difference was the median age of the concert watchers. Normally I find that acosta and myself are just about average age at this point for most of the indie scene in Chicago. You have a your college students and then you have people trailing off from there as they get older. However, everyone at the Hideout was older than us, and probably by a good 5-10 years. The last difference was how “official” it seemed. The Empty Bottle is a staple of the Chicago indie scene and although I am not well versed in the politics and society involved it has always seemed to be a key establishment. However, it has never seemed pretentious or assuming. The Empty Bottle schedules great lineups yet maintains its low key attitude.

The Hideout (at least this night… seeing as it is my only experience) had the exact opposite effect. They were definitely high energy. The announcer was the same announcer as the Pitchfork Music Festival. It was the “official” send-off for the SxSW bound bands. I couldn’t imagine it being more “official” and still being indie. They even had corporate sponsors (Goose Island and the Chicago Reader… hardly corporate America but still). The leather jacketed 40 somethings in front of us even spent most of the time taking pictures with their Blackberries. The announcer very clearly wanted the bands playing that day, the festival, SxSW, and the greater Midwest indie scene to fit into a grand musical tradition ranging from American Roots music through Woodstock and to the present day. The announcer specifically name checked Woodstock and The Newport Folk Festival. Even if indie music is that important 30 years hence it seems a little presumptuous. It would have been only a minor annoyance if it had a ring of truth to it. Perhaps it was just the bands we saw but no one in the line up seemed like a Jimmi Hendrix, Electric Bob Dylan, or The Who. Its exactly that kind of grandstanding amongst the indie crowd that really rings hollow unless you find yourself truly blown away by the bands. Theatrics aside, it was a fine show although it makes me wonder how people survive Austin during SxSW.

The Akron/Family show took place at my favorite Chicago venue (and the source of most of vdov’s Chicago music reviews), The Empty Bottle. The show started rather late for a Friday (10:00) and was opened by one of the bartenders’ bands “Robert AA Lowe & Ben Vida.” It consisted of a kind of tantric duet that made heavy use of brass bells, tape loops, mudras, and nearly Gregorian vocals. Their entire set was one solid sound beginning with the tinkling of bells and ending in a multi-toned layer cake of sound. The only drawback was the chanting might have dragged out a bit too far toward the end. However, no one can doubt this duet’s intensity. Toward the end of the set the afro-ed and mustache-ioed “lead” singer was literally leaning off the stage with his shoes half grounded and half jutting into thin air and standing nearly ten feet tall.

After Robert and Ben left the stage there was a seemingly interminable setup for Akron/Family. However, the Akron bassist Miles Seaton (clearly the showboat of the quartet) entertained the crowd lip synching and dancing to Michael Jackson songs that the band clearly requested to be played between acts. The playful pop intro quickly vaporized when they hit their first notes, jaunting off into the newly christened territory of “Freak Folk” which the band explicitly referenced as home. However, Akron/Family differs in sound from other Freak Folksters like Joanna Newsom or Devendra Banhart in that they have a much more robust sound and do not shy away from more bombastic rock sounds. This is not to say that they don’t have their quiet and almost precious moments on stage. Perhaps the highlight of the show was “Love and Space” from their recent album Meek Warrior. During the song as the band members gathered together around one mic they literally had the entire Empty Bottle (even way back at the bar) whisper quite chanting the backup lines of “Love and Space” while they solemnly harmonized over it. It was an impressive feat to see a crowd that engaged in a band, that enthralled.

I would say that the attention was entirely deserved as they were clearly comfortable with their instruments and each other, taking cues from one another on the fly and bringing strange sounds out of their otherwise normal instrumentation through various manipulations. For example: the drummer/vocalist/banjoist Dana Janssen drew an upright bass bow across the edge of his xylophone keys to produce crisp lasting tones that were looped back into their four pat harmonies and Seaton (the bassist) literally made a call on his cell phone during the show to use the magnet in its speaker to induce strange sounds from the pickups on his bass which he endlessly overlaid and looped on each other creating a strange harmony of noise. They ended the show with a strange sort of neo-Aquarian joint, literally handing out percussion instruments and recorders to audience members and dragging them onto the stage for a seemingly interminable jam which is the only time where I may have lost interest. Truly hipsters are the hippies of our age. My only regret is not making it back for their second night on Saturday. Akron/Family is by far the most engaging and seemingly mystical bands I have ever seen (not quite and mystical as Wooden Wand but more engaging), a truly unique and exciting live show. Even the ever aloof acosta was drawn in. I would recommend it to anyone if you find them playing in your area.

[Look for part II of this review soon, where acosta and I venture to a new venue for vdov and take part in some of the "official" indie scene of Chicago]

You may also remember that right before Easter Sunday in 2006 and just prior to the Da Vinci Code movie release there was the publication of a couple books on the newly found “Gospel of Judas” which presents an alternate view of the most infamous of Jesus’ disciples. There was of course an immediate media uproar with wild claims and unfounded speculation as to what this new gospel would mean for the Catholic Church, the future of Christianity, etc. etc. Now enter James M. Robinson, perhaps the foremost scholar on ancient Christian texts and specifically to alternative “gospels” like “The Gospel of Judas”. Robinson’s book The Secrets of Judas lays bare the shady history of the Swiss owners of the Gospel of Judas, their flagrant hyping of the document for cash, the fevered speculation of the news media, the anti-scholarly approach taken to the document, and finally the actual importance (in a scholarly fashion) of the document itself.

What really makes the book excellent is the almost conversational tone. It is very nearly like a chat with an old emeritus professor who knows all the key players and all the inside info. It’s an excellent window into the worlds of antiquity dealing, Coptic scholarship, and early Christian history. It is almost impossible not to get wrapped up in the details. I have yet to read the “official” account of the Gospel of Judas (which has been somewhat “whitewashed” it seems). However, I can only guess that it will seem very hollow and hyperbolic after this book. The subject matter of The Secrets of Judas is somewhat esoteric, but Robinson put everything in layman’s terms and explains the obscure bits in a way that is succinct and engaging. I definitely recommend the read.

I am not the first and I certainly won’t be the last to compare SYGC to Belle and Sebastian. They have the same plaintive frankness and “slice of life” type lyrics. The sound is similar ranging from jazzy swing to an odd country western twang on the guitars here and there. They orbit between quiet and mournful voice with faint backups to jaunty choruses backed up with several voices, horns, rich cello, and well done percussion. One of my favorites on their LP is I Know A Girl which is equal parts funny and fun. The song that stands out as obviously different is Tear Down the Opera House which is just a touch rowdier than anything else. I won’t give away the single that was just released but it is well worth the buy. It has been in heavy rotation on my speakers recently. I wish I could give you direct links to everything but the java on their website is not very link friendly, but they do have more music samples and available merch on their website. Definitely check it out.

Now as for their live presence… wonderful. They sound even richer and more imposing live. They were not the headliner when they played but they definitely drew the biggest crowd of the night. Submarine Races, the headliners, were great but Scotland Yard was just more captivating. They have a compelling energy that is very easy to pick up in their playing. They also have a great range of sound. They have a great array of instrumentation and bring all of it to bear from the Cello to the drum kit. I would definitely put SYGC in the “keep an eye on” column. They don’t have any upcoming shows listed but you can join their mailing list for updates. It was definitely a good night for Chicago music at the Empty Bottle.

• LSI Guide to Lock Picking: A Locksport Primer

The 1996 film is directed by Terry Zwigoff, director of Ghost World, Bad Santa, and Art School Confidential (all good films), and it is clearly a low budget affair but in that it is very direct and gets very personal with Crumb and some of his family. It is the sheer uncomfortable strangeness that the viewer is presented with that makes the documentary so appealing and yet somewhat repulsive. One thing you realize when watching the documentary is how intensely personal Crumb is in his drawing and that a lot of the oddity stems directly from his own life and his own fetishes. The level to which Crumb and his family (especially his brothers) open up in front of the camera is fairly startling. One minute Crumb will be musing how a strange unpopular boy somehow became an icon of the 60’s counterculture without ever really fitting into it and in the next scene him and his brother Charles are laughing about an abusive father. What really sets this movie apart from other artist documentaries is the access that Zwigoff is able to obtain to Crumb’s family and friends. The biographical sketch is extremely deep and you get a sense of understanding where Crumb is coming from if not what he is thinking. The movie is definitely worth a watch but I will remind our readers once again that Crumb really has no constraint in what he depicts and a lot of it is silly but there is a definite undercurrent of odd sexual fetishism and some racism. Don’t let it scare you off but be duly warned.

This album does not officially come out until January 23, 2007. However, it has been sufficiently leaked that every song is available online and can be found through the aggregating glory of The Hype Machine and Elbo.ws. So I feel compelled to review it.

While I think this is lesser than Sunlandic it is only barely so. Of Montreal has sidled into their “New Disco” psychadelia groove without looking back at all. However, they have the excellent ability of dodging the triteness of Disco while still emulating the style. While the lyrics can often seem bloated, too personal, and downright weird by themselves, they are given a rich musical background that breathes an air of respectability and downright “grooviness” into them. It would be also important to note that Kevin Barnes, the lead singer, moved with his wife and child from Athens, GA to Norway. The new cultural deluge is apparent as well as a tinge of depression and (of course) introversion. The 12 minute centerpiece of the album “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” is a clear homage and personal, emotional vent to his wife. The emotionally overloaded lyrics, however, don’t falter because they are strung together by unbelievably upbeat music that prompts dancing rather than quiet introversion.

Barnes and his crew have scored big with this album in that it holds its own after Sunlandic’s shining. Too many bands wither in their own radiance after a pinnacle album. The fact that Montreal is able to capture a slightly different vibe, maintain their aesthetic, and still pump out new melodies is a testament to their staying power. Seeing the band live might be the best way to get a really good idea of their verve and energy. I wish I could give a better depiction but it seems that crappy bitrate video from cameras is all you get on youtube. Anyway, go see them live.

Until then, remember that they are a band that loves free market capitalism:

Botany of Desire is a non-scientific scientific romp through the complex interplay between man and our domesticated crops. The whole work is couched in terms of plants fulfilling our desires and us in turn fulfilling the plants’ desires. Michael Pollan (hilarious last name for a gardener no?) guides us through the massive evolutionary interplay between man and plant in everything from cannabis to tulips. There is a utterly fascinating quality in delving into the genetics of apple trees and the socio-economic impact of European potato cultivation. The best part about Pollan’s prose is that it has the grip and fascination of fiction while being (almost) completely factual. He peppers the book with his own experience and perspective without coloring the facts too much. He is engaging and wonderfully entertaining. Who knew that Reagan’s massive crackdown on cannabis use lead to one of the most rapid genetic changes that a human crop has ever seen or that a debilitating tulip virus was responsible for some of the most treasured blossoms in all of human history?

Pollan has the excellent ability to write in a way that engenders excitement in the reader on topics diverse as genetically modified potatoes to Turkish tulip cultivation. His chapter on apple trees in the new world and John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed) is particularly excellent. My only warning is that while Pollan purports to share with us “new” or “suppressed” knowledge (which he does) he often wades into scientifically controversial waters with a single perspective in hand. On the whole however, he does a good job of presenting the complexities of a many topics without becoming preachy.

The book is a nice short read and the paperback version is not expensive at all. Even the cash strapped, busy grad student could find the funds to buy and time to read the book. The NPR has free, downloadable interview with the author that is quite good.

And now onto my second post of the day. I would imagine that most people who read vdov.net with any regularity have at least heard of the iPhone announcement made by Apple this past Tuesday. If you haven’t, head over to apple.com and play around with the web site they’ve set up detailing all of the features of the new device. I think (and I think I’m right too), that this is one of the most impressive releases I’ve ever seen from Apple. Scratch that, from anyone. A few years ago I was detailing in my brain what a truely great wireless device would be: thin, touch screen, wireless, a composite of all of our digital devices, great UI based on something reasonable (unlike CE 5/6), etc. The iPhone is the only device that even comes close to the “picture perfect” device I have virtually constructed in my head. It is by no means perfect — I see plenty of room for improvement in fairly obvious places like moving away from EDGE, bigger drives (maybe go to flash), etc. The shortcomings of the structure supporting and surrounding the iPhone, however, leave everything to be desired.

The major shortcomings of the device are all almost exclusivelly centered around their partnership with Cingular (other than the fact that it isn’t available for another 6 months). I cannot understand why Apple would want to lock themselves down to one provider with such a breakthrough device. Of course, I am most angry about this as far as the customer experience goes. In order to get an iPhone, you must start a new contract with Cingular. Forgot all of the millions of you who hate Cingular or simply don’t have it. And forget those of you who (like myself) already have a Cingular contract that will not run out until damn near a year after this phone hits the market. What on earth could Apple be getting out of this partnership that could make locking the phone down worthwhile? Did Cingular foot the bill for the hardware and software development? Hell no. Not a chance.

Secondly, Cingular has a crappy data network. And this is a data phone. EDGE (aka 2G) is fairly old at this point. I use EDGE now, and it’s perfectly acceptable for my little Cingular 2125 Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone — however, in a device such as the iPhone this is not going to make people happy. If Apple has somehow managed to solve some of the terrible connection and lookup issues associated with EDGE in software, then kudos to them. And granted, the inclusion of 802.11b/g will make up for probably most of this obvious defect. However, opening up of the cell-tower-based data connections on the phone would do wonders for the experience.

I haven’t (and won’t) go into the other features of the phone. It’s just a great device … the UI for music and video looks fantastic. Everything else except the Cingular partnership has me in awe of a job well done by Apple. But I call onto Apple: Why this partnership? Having a third-party dictate for you how your customers useyour products is just simply not your style. That’s why you develop both hardware and software. Even more ironically, you already know this — that issue is brought up every day by every rumor and technology site on the planet. So ditch Cingular, support 3G networks and sell the phone unlocked for a reasonable price only through Apple. This is good for you (much easier for the customer and a much wider audience) and everyone else involved. Except maybe Cingular. Then again, I’m still gonna buy one anyway.

Cheers.

FROM HENRY WORK (COMMENT #4): What I’ve gleaned is that with Cingular, Apple was able to break the typical mold between the carriers and the phone vendors. From what I’ve read it seems that typically the carriers bully the vendors in terms of specs and prices and functionality. Apple’s clout and Cingular’s flexibility in this case allowed Apple to to build the phone they wanted (plus do stuff like ‘visual voicemail’ or whatever) without Cingular calling the shots on the phone’s design (remember ROKR?).

This new market for Apple may be like their beginnings with the TV networks or Movie Studios (though the studios seems to be progressing more slowly) in that they make the product with the easiest partner they can, then once they convince the market that the product is viable, the other networks come calling. Although I’ve heard this Cingular relationship is ‘exclusive’–for now. I’ve also read that just from a development point, Apple wanted to work with one carrier because they didn’t think they could keep the obsessive secret with more than one. No idea if that’s legit, though.

Lady Strangelove EP – Quebi 3 – mp3
Lady Strangelove EP – Rotate 2 – mp3

For your aural and visual pleasure I bring you Sartain’s two step swing from south of the border. The video gives a great slice of the man and the song’s incongruous mariachi becomes quite congruous. The album’s cover art is also worthy of praise giving Sartain the stark iconic swath he so richly deserves. I hope you all enjoy.

The single on this one may very well be “Australia” which is pretty damn good. However, at the very bottom of the album you will find A Comet Appears. This is classic Shins. http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/track-reviews-new-vdov-features/ http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/track-reviews-new-vdov-features/#comments Sat, 18 Nov 2006 04:45:48 +0000 afischer http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/548 I have been trying to think of vdov.net articles that can put a shot of juice in the arm of this website. They need to be something that can lead to frequent updates but are short enough to capture the fickle readership here. This does not mean that when the spirit moves me I will not write a 3000 word review of some crappy emo band posturing on their own lame internal conflicts. It does mean that I am going to throw some gems (both old and recent) your way. I am hoping to keep this up as a multi-weekly post. I will try very hard not to just post a bunch of Misfits tracks along with Billy Joel. I would like to make this a fairly wide ranging endeavor, which could lead to me being exposed as the charlatan that I am. I will try to avoid obvious “singles” and give something a little more fun and perhaps as of yet un-listened-to.

Professor Murder was one of our West(East) Coast Informant’s picks. They played at Spaceland in LA so they were mainlined to me by TW(E)CI. Professor Murder just released their debut EP, Professor Murder Rides the Subway, which has gotten some love from the higher ups. The single is most likely the crisp and beat heavy “Free Stress Test.” The other serious contender on the album is Champion, which is Test’s dirtier little brother. The percussion is equally rough yet captivating yet the almost tantric vocals floats eerily over the electric drive of the instrumentation. The whole track is a little discombobulated but has enough internal cohesion that it sticks in your craw and demands at least a couple more listens.

Look for more tracks soon. If you want to request a track review email me @ rtrev -at- vdov -dot- net