Friday, April 24, 2009

Vinyl Steal!: Iron & Wine, Around the Well


When was the last time you picked up a brand new triple LP for $19, plus a couple bucks shipping? Let me answer that for you: probably never.

Iron and Wine's new rarities album, Around the Well, is up for pre-order over at SubPop.com for just that amount.

If you haven't been paying attention, Around the Well collects harder to find songs from Sam Beam's career and spans from the very beginning (The Creek Drank The Cradle) all the way up to his most recent (The Shepherd's Dog). And it's probably going to be awesome.

My co-worker said the other day that Iron and Wine bores him now and he makes music for indie rock parents and their kids. I think my co-worker is full of shit about a lot of things, including this statement. I say Sam Beam could very easily be a snoozer at this point in his career but hasn't had a single misstep yet as far as I am concerned and continues to crank out increasingly interesting music. Dude's got an ear for melody.

Around the Well is available May 19th. You can listen to one of the less rare rarities, "The Trapeze Singer" at the below link:

"The Trapeze Singer"

Holy Fuck confirms U.S. Tour Dates, Listen to new song "Jungles"


Well holy heck. Holy Fuck have announced a U.S. tour. Here are the dates (chronologically backwards, just like they appear on their official site):


I hear a lot about these Crocodiles, but you can bet that Holy Fuck will bring it for sure. I've actually never caught them live but I hear good things and I still love the shit out of LP. I mean, they've toured with Super Furry Animals, Mouse on Mars and Battles. There's no way any of those bands would play with a band that didn't own live.

Also- they have a "previously unreleased song" called "Jungles" and you can hear it here:

"Jungles"

I haven't listened to it yet, but I will tomorrow!

"Milkshake" from LP (video by Chad VanGaalen)



New album allegedly this fall.

Depeche Mode, "Wrong" and "Personal Jesus" on Jimmy Kimmel

"Wrong":



"Personal Jesus":

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Depeche Mode mini-set in Hollywood - 04.23.09


Depeche Mode pleased thousands of fans and pissed off hundreds of commuters by shutting down Hollywood Boulevard tonight for their Jimmy Kimmel taping.

Here's the set list:

"Wrong" (full song aired)
"Personal Jesus" (rolled during credits)

Extra songs for live audience only:

"Walking In My Shoes"
"Come Back To Me"
"Peace"
"Enjoy The Silence"
"Never Let Me Down Again"

The new songs sounded pretty flat and not really road tested yet. Dave almost even sounded like he was singing a different melody during "Come Back To Me" than he does on the album. Or maybe it was just out of tune.

The old songs though were spot-fucking on. "Never Let me Down Again" was the perfect set closer and really clinched the decision to try to go see them when they play Anaheim (editors note: there's no chance in hell I'm going to go see them at the Hollywood Bowl).

Also- apparently they need a few corporate sponsors to shut down a street in Hollywood and build a huge stage. One of these sponsors was this new movie called Fighting. I just want to say that this looks like the shittiest movie I have ever known and I felt bad that The Mode had to play in front of posters of that.