Inflight At Night

Did anyone see this last night? I couldn’t find any video of it on YouTube this morning, but I’m sure it will pop up soon enough, if not, it airs again today at 2:30pm.

All I got to say is “How fucking lame!”

Paul get your shit together, you haven’t written a good song in ages, you married and are now divorcing (and getting you ass kicked in the process) that crazy one-legged chick, and now you’re selling your shit on HSN. Seriously I didn’t want to say it, but John, George, and Linda must be rolling over in their graves.

Here’s the PR:

Multichannel Retailer HSN Teams With Hear Music to Create 30-Minute Television

Show In Honor of New Paul McCartney Release of Memory Almost Full
Deluxe Limited Edition Set Available For Pre-Order During Special Paul
McCartney Listening Party May 30 Leading Up to June 5 Official Release

Multichannel retailing powerhouse HSN today announced that it is teaming with Hear Music to produce a Paul McCartney Listening Party television program to celebrate the upcoming release of Paul McCartney’s latest album, Memory Almost Full. Scheduled to air May 30 at 8 p.m. and May 31 at 1:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., the special 30-minute program will feature cuts from the new CD, lively discussions with McCartney fans and the broadcast premiere of video segments from Paul McCartney as he shares the inspiration behind his latest work.

The first new studio album from McCartney in nearly two years, “Memory Almost Full” is also the inaugural CD release from Hear Music, the record label formed between Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Music Group. “Memory Almost Full” will be available for order during the listening party on HSN and http://www.HSN.com as part of a deluxe limited edition set ($24.98) that includes three bonus tracks and a special audio commentary from McCartney.

For more information about the Paul McCartney Listening Party on HSN, or to purchase the Paul McCartney “Memory Almost Full” Deluxe Limited Edition CD set, log on to http://www.hsn.com as of May 30.

“Memory Almost Full” will be available at Starbucks locations and traditional music retail outlets internationally. It will be released in the U.S. and Canada on June 5 and in all other countries and territories the week of June 4.

About Hear Music:

Hear Music is an innovative record label and partnership between Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Music Group. Rooted in quality, authenticity and passion, Hear Music works directly with artists, both emerging and established, to bring quality music to the widest possible audience, in both Starbucks locations and traditional music retailers worldwide.

About HSN:

The originator of the electronic retailing concept in 1977, HSN, an operating business of IAC (IACI), is a global multichannel retailing giant offering thousands of products to enhance all aspects of its customers lives. On HSN and hsn.com, customers can find an array of unique products and brand names in categories such as Beauty (e.g., Sephora, H2O+ Cosmetics, Ken Paves, Paula Dorf); Jewelry (e.g., R.J. Graziano, Michael Anthony, Cameron Cohen, Elini); Home/Lifestyle (e.g., Dyson, Todd English, ProForm, Wolfgang Puck, Reebok, Bob Vila, Roy Yamaguchi); Fashion (e.g.. Randolph Duke, Tommy Hilfiger, Carlos Falchi, Beverly Feldman); and Electronics (e.g., Gateway, Panasonic, Sharp, JVC). HSN delivers its merchandise across multiple platforms, including TV, where the network reaches 89 million households and is the 4th largest cable network in the U.S.; online, and through http://www.hsn.com, which also features value-added video-on-demand and podcasts of products, shows, and tips.

Wow, somehow my three day holiday weekend turned into a five day vacation from this blog, which has resulted in this tardy and abbreviated This Week In Shows post.

Wednesday, May 30th: Electric Soft Parade @ Spaceland
I really don’t know much about Electric Soft Parade, but the track below is pretty good. Look out for Scott (IAF reviewer) there tonight, someone offer him a new job.

Electric Soft Parade - If That’s The Case (mp3)

Thursday, May 31st: The Hold Steady @ The El Rey
The Hold Steady made one of my favorite albums last year with Boys and Girls in America, and their old ones aren’t too shabby either, case in the point, the track below from Seperation Sunday.

The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend (mp3)

Friday, June 1st: Deerhoof @ Natural Histroy Museum
I seriously didn’t know what all the fuss was about Deerhoof (not to be confused with that band that keep showing up in dresses, Deerhunter), but putting on Friend Opportunity recently, I started to get into some of the songs, still can’t vouch for the whole album though. w/Autolux.

Deerhoof - +81 (mp3)

Saturday, June 2nd: Pretty Girls Make Graves @ The Glasshouse
I have to admit, I haven’t always been the biggest fan of PGMG, but as of late I find my fondess for them ever increasing, same with my crush on Andrea Zollo (which is unfortunate since this is their farewell tour). I don’t think this show is sold out yet, unlike their show the next night at the Troubadour.

Pretty Girls Make Graves - The Nocturnal House (mp3)

Era Vulgaris has leaked, not bad, ony 3 weeks till it’s June 12th release. Let’s (blogger community, I’m really acutally looking at you) not go all willy-nilly and start posting up every track on the album just to increase your traffic (see Handsome Furs Plague Park and Thom York The Eraser), really, no one is reading what you are writing.

Dying to hear a couple tracks, well, a couple of the more reputable sources have tracks available, Little Radio has “I’m Designer”, and Buddyhead has “Sick, Sick, Sick”.

QOTSA play the Pacific Ampitheatre at the OC Fair on July 22nd, tickets go on sale this Saturday, though fan club presales began yesterday.

Era Vulgaris is out June 12th: preorder it from: Insound | Amazon

I recently heard someone use the old adage (I’m not really sure if it technically counts as an adage), “if you’ve never heard of a band, it’s probably because they weren’t that good,” and it made me realize how wrong that kind of logic is. Therefore I’ve decided that from time to time it’s necessary to bring to light some artists and bands that deserve to be known and heard…

The Backdoor Men were one of the original Swedish retro-rockers. They were only a band from 1984-1986 and released just two singles, but on the 2004 release Sodra Esplanaden, Vol. 4 (Subliminal Sounds), you get all the originally released songs plus some great live cover songs and various unreleased recordings. The four songs from the original two singles are an amazing display of the 60’s garage/mod sound that so clearly influenced the band, especially the first single, “Out Of My Mind” and the wild instrumental “Dance Of The Savages.” The quality of the three live songs is pleasantly surprising as well. Seeing as a typical inherent characteristic of garage music is the sloppy playing (that’s not a bad thing either), it’s not uncommon to find some live recordings a bit unlistenable, but that’s not the case here. The rest of the 14 tracks found on this CD are bonus/unreleased songs and while it’s clearly B-material compared to the other songs, there are a couple tracks like “Another Way Of Giving” and “Never Take A Chance” that standout.

Being a fan of more recent Swedish pseudo garage-rock bands such as The International Noise Conspiracy and even The Hives, I find the mid 80’s Swedish garage revival bands very interesting. I guess it’s true that everything is new again - even retro bands eventually become retro themselves. I definitely recommend Sodra Esplanaden and The Backdoor Men for any fan of garage-rock, new or old.

Download “Out Of My Mind” (mp3) from Sodra Esplanaden, Vol. 4 .

Sodra Esplanaden, Vol. 4 is OUT NOW buy it from: Insound | Amazon | iTunes

Tucked behind a giant food distribution warehouse and down the block from some newer lofts is the 6th Street Warehouse, a long narrow warehouse space that reeks of stale beer and puke, and last night, weed and clove smoke. We arrived around 11pm last night after first making stop at Boardner’s for Let’s Independent to catch The Switch’s performance, to walk in on who I think was Tod Adrian Wisenbaker, though I’m not quite sure.

We thought we had timed it just right to be there ready to catch Entrance without too much hanging around and waiting, but alas, we didn’t. But all was not lost as Golden Animals were pretty badass, there’s isn’t much online about this Brooklyn based band, except for their inclusion on the upcoming Madonna freak folk tribute, Through The Wilderness; A Tribute to Madonna coming out this September.

Finally around 12:30am, Entrance took the ramp and transported us back to 1969, as they riped through revved up extended versions of their newest jams on Prayer Of Death. The on stage atmosphere was a bit tense as the crowd grew impatient prior to the band’s performance as they were dogged with last minute microphone difficulties, but as the set drew on, things loosened up, and the slightly thinned crowd rocked on.

Hopefully Entrance will play LA again soon, and hopefully someday on the same bill as Earthless. Now that would make kick ass show. Someone put that in a park and you’ve got yourself the start of nice little festival I would actually attend.

Download “Grim Reaper Blues” (mp3) from Prayer of Death on Tee Pee Records.

Prayer of Death is OUT NOW, buy it from: Insound | Amazon | iTunes | eMusic

When it comes to the Two Lone Swordsmen’s kind of music, which for lack of a better word I will risk sounding like an old man and call “electronic”, I am admittedly far from being any kind of authority. I do however, know what I like; imagery. If lyrics are absent or minimal, then the music has to take over and tell the story, paint the picture. Two Lone Swordsmen, also known as Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood, are able to do just that. Wrong Meeting, the duo’s latest full-length release in what has been a slue of EP’s, singles, remixes and LP’s, is actually their first record to have consistent vocals throughout (supplied mostly by Weatherall). Even with the addition of vocals though, the imagery is there - the vast musical landscape is still there. The vocal style isn’t even impressive, in fact it is fairly monotone, but it’s a good thing in this instance; the singing doesn’t compete with the music, it just adds yet another layer. …continue reading »