IMDB: I’m Not There is a film about the life of Bob Dylan to be released in the US in November. The film follows seven characters, each embodying a different aspect of Dylan’s life story and music. The cast playing Bob Dylan includes: Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett (?), Richard Gere (??), and Chingy.
Chingy pic of the week
NME: Radiohead album cover artwork collected in new book. Who knew that Dr. Tchock has been producing Radiohead’s artwork since 1995?
The members of Kinski relax after burying some dead bodies in the woods of northern Washington
Kinski’s new album, Down Below It’s Chaos, will be released August 21st. Here are some words from our bff’s at Sub Pop:
On August 21st, Sub Pop will release the new Kinski album Down Below It’s Chaos on CD and LP (and invisible digital format). If you pre-order the new record by release date, you’ll receive a limited-edition CD-R of a live score the band did in June of this year at the Seattle International Film Festival. Kinski played live accompaniment with the 1927 silent film, “Berlin, Symphony of a City” by Walter Ruttmann at the Triple Door here in Seattle. This CD-R contains a portion of the recordings from their two performances. It’s all live; no overdubs. (And the clinking you hear occasionally is people eating dinner!)
Punching Goodbye Out Front [mp3]
The band that caused me 8 hemorrhages and 3 aneurysm (in a good way) at a recent live show, Against Me!, has launched the video for their new single “Thrash Unreal.” The cut comes from the band’s new album, New Wave, in stores now. You can check out the premiere of the clip here: (And tour dates here.)
Spoon
We arrived at Pimlico around 2:00 in the afternoon; a couple of songs into Matisyahu’s set on the South Stage. The bearded Hasidic reggae artist extraordinaire had already drawn a sizeable crowd by the time I arrived. Matisyahu has gained fame for being a novelty act for sure, but the man can certainly dish out rhyme and groove. His beatboxing on “Late Night In Zion” was the highlight of his set, dropping several jaws in the audience.
During the instrumental bridge on one of his songs, the lithe Matisyahu scampered up a stack of speakers to the right of the stage and clung to the scaffolding, waving out to the crowd. This was probably the most prominent stage antic I witnessed on stage prior to seeing Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform on the North Stage later that day. For the most part, the artists were complacent and weren’t keen on leaping into the crowd, spitting blood, or busting their instruments. After hearing a few songs, my next destination was the North Stage to catch Spoon.
Bondy recorded his new album in a barn where he is also storing some dead bodies
AA Bondy is Scott Bondy formerly of Verbena. His new album American Hearts (Release date: September 18) is dark and sardonic, but not in an annoying/anguished way.
There’s A Reason [mp3]
Menomena are about to embark on a semi-world tour. The Bumbershoot date says, “live with choir!” which is very exciting. Check out tour dates here. Meanwhile, enjoy the “Wet and Rusting” video where the band members prepare for their own imminent death. You know…organ donation, caskets in space, pretty much the usual checklist.
Three months after purchasing the tickets, the Virgin Fest date had pulled up to the driveway. My colleague and I had all we needed and departed somewhat late, inevitably causing us to miss Fountains of Wayne (something I wasn’t too concerned about). We were about fifteen minutes down the stretch of 95 between DC and Baltimore when Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” came on the radio. My colleague suddenly says “oh shit, the tickets!” I suppose Eddie Money finally did some good in the world by prompting a spark of memory and preventing two concert-goers from embarrassed idiocy at the gates.
Our arrival at Pimlico was greeted by instant sweat and a lot of people on the sidewalk selling a lot of shit at ridiculous prices. Pimlico Race Track is best known as the home of the Preakness Stakes, the shortest leg of the Triple Crown. That’s all I ever care to know about the venue. I reveled in the idea that this lightning rod for yuppie starched collars and people who give a shit about horseracing was destined to become a haven for freaks, bad beer, loud music, and a lot of weed during the weekend of August 4th.