Could be. It's been added to www.highviolet.com along with a couple of snapshots of a white board with song titles (presumably). There's also some video clips from the studio.
The National are on Fallon tonight. DVR is set.
Nite.
P.S. The video is already up on the Fallon website. Watch it and then hit the hay. Song is called 'Terrible Love'. Look for the mp3 of the album version on all high trafficked, relevant indie blogs tomorrow.
Many people get excited about April for Coachella. I get excited about April for a different reason: Record Store Day.
There have already been some nice announcements about what is going to be available this time around. Yesterday 4AD announced a limited 12" EP that sounds pretty neat. Consisting of 5 tracks from the likes of Blonde Redhead, Gang Gang Dance, The Big Pink, Tune-Yards and Ariel Pink, Fragments From Work In Progress offers early demos and unreleased songs while they are still in the stage of being worked out creatively. The label has made it clear that this will not be available digitally or otherwise.
These types of releases on RSD are what interest me most. Things that aren't just a repackaging of what a band has released before (although those can be nice sometimes too), but more of a special unique release that you can only get through an independent record shop on April 17th. Looking forward to picking this up amongst a hefty list of other things.
Also- how great is that cover art?
Tracklisting:
A1: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 'Menopause Man' A2: Tune-Yards 'You Yes You' B1: Blonde Redhead 'Not Getting There' B2: Gang Gang Dance 'Slime City (Heaven)' B3: The Big Pink 'With You'
'Beetlebum' has been sticking with me for the better part of two weeks now. In my head, on my YouTubes, through the computer speakers. I'm not quite sure exactly what it is but there are a few healthy candidates. It could be because I recently rewatched Live Forever. Maybe it's because I have been reading bit of a blur by Alex James on and off the past half month. But it's probably as simple a fact as it's a brilliant song.
'Beetlebum' is the lead track, first single off of 1997's Blur. It was their second number 1 in the U.K ('Country House' being the first). There was heavy speculation for years that the song was about drug use, specifically heroin. According to Wikipedia, where I get all my facts, Damon Albarn admitted as much in the recent documentary No Distance Left To Run. Further speculation persists that it's about Justine Frischmann from Elastica, who dated Albarn in the 90's, and who has been public about her battles with substance abuse.
The timing checks out. Justine places her junkie years from 1996 to 1998. 1998 was the year her and Albarn split. 'Beetlebum' was recorded in 1996 and released in 1997. Whether Albarn was writing the song from a different perspective is still uncertain, but the lyrics appear to be from someone who had experienced heroin first hand.
The video for 'Beetlebum' is just as great as the song itself. The opening notes on record sound real bouncy and the video accomodates for this as it shakes up and down with Graham Coxon's guitar. Other things I like: the still frames of the band as the song builds into the chorus. The relaxed nature of Alex James as he sits and confidently lays down the rythym. Albarn rolling around on the floor right before singing the closing lines 'He's on, He's on, He's on it'. And then the final tracked shot that pulls away from the building the band is playing in and turns and floats above Camden. A beautiful scene that is so simple, but always strikes me as having had to be hard work to film.
Blur is probably remembered by the uninitiated here in the States as the start and end of the bands catalouge and not for 'Beetlebum' but for 'Song 2'. And of course Damon has found much greater success here with his Gorillaz project than he ever could have dreamed of with Blur. It's unfortunate that Blur didn't catch on more in America like Oasis, but they did leave quite the Britpop time capsule for future generations to discover. 'Beetlebum' is only scratching the surface.
Los Angeles psych trio Dead Meadow have a feature length concert film they are releasing on March 23rd. Three Kings was shot on their final hometown stop of the Old Growth tour and will be accompanied by a double LP that consists of the live show as well as five new studio songs. Scattered amongst the live performance there will be cryptic footage of the band representing the three kings whom, quoting their website, 'are the silent watchers of their world'. Here's to hoping this rivals the Robert Plant fantasy scene in The Song Remains The Same.
Here's a video from one of the new songs, 'That Old Temple':
Surfing on Steam and I were chatting yesterday about these High Violet teaser ads and wondering who they were for. The National was one of the bands mentioned as a guess. And now it has been revealed that High Violet is the name of their new album to be released by 4AD on May 11th.
Not that I care so much about album names but I particularly like the name of this one. Supposedly its going to be 'angry'. Maybe it's an album's worth of material written right after MattBerninger gave up smoking. While I love all The National albums, Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers is my favorite. I feel like that had a bit of anger in parts. Since Matt sings in a low steady tone most of the time it's a nice contrast when the screaming starts. Hope the new album has bits of that here and there.
Here's this if you don't already have it. It's the Black Session they did sometime around the release of Alligator:
The National - Black Session #230, 04.29.05
1. All The Wine 2. Secret Meeting 3. Driver Surprise Me 4. Lit Up 5. Cherry Tree 6. Baby, We'll Be Fine 7. Geese 8. City Middle 9. Looking For Astronauts 10. Mr. November 11. Daughters of the Soho Riots 12. Abel 13. Wasp Nest
Finally picked up my copy of IHRNR005 at their headquarters a couple of weeks back. This release is the first volume in their 'Under The Covers' series and features Darker My Love and Audacity covering each others songs ('Mr. Alvarez' and 'Summer Is Here' respectively). While you will have to buy this (or trick Matzah when he is drunk) to hear what this sounds like, take a listen to the originals and try to imagine.
I don't make top ten end of the year lists because very few people care what I think. However, there does exist an alternate reality where everyone hangs on my every word. In that alternate existence I do make top ten lists and Yours Truly, The Commuter would have been somewhere in the mix in the year 2009. I might use the term 'criminally underappreciated' to describe it except for the simple fact that I don't read that many blogs, so maybe I'm wrong.
Thankfully for people who appreciate great music, Jason Lytle is hard at work making sure more of it exists in this world. Not sure if this song will be included in the next grouping of songs we get from him, but the wonderful Anti- blog posted it tonight and you should take a moment and have a sincere listen:
Thanks Jason! Hopefully someday soon people won't feel the need to preface your name with 'ex-former band you were in' when they write about you.
