A Silver Mt. Zion don't fuck around. They put out a new album like two months ago. I didn't write about it at the time, but I did post a live track from it. The thing is, '13 Blues for Thirteen Moons' is only (really) four tracks long, and only the incredible, euphoric closer 'BlindBlindBlind' really hits me in the gut and makes me want to cry and thank some almighty being that I'm alive, lying in a ball screaming 'some! hearts! are! true!' until my synapses burst and I need some orange juice...
Sorry, for a minute there I lost myself.
Anyway, ASMZ are on tour now, as bands with new albums are wont to do. AND THEY ALREADY HAVE TWO BRAND NEW SONGS. This may not sound too extraordinary, but don't forget that the last album only had four songs on it. One of the new songs is called 'There's a Light', and the other 'Metal Bird' has about thirty-two segments, including one with the refrain "Dense motherfucker!" (it may be dance). Check out a boot of their Montreal show at the Live Music Archive and then join me in mourning that they don't play 'God Bless Our Dead Marines' any more.
[download A Silver Mt. Zion - Metal Bird (live)]
We want punks in the palace
Spring Break list
- Stop shaving, everyone! My Morning Jacket are back, and here's their SXSW set, complete with new songs, and without 'It Beats For You'. [NPR]
- The union between Archie and Jarvis Cocker has finally taken place. [Chris's Invincible Super Blog]
- Nice article about how there are too many words in pop music these days. Words like, oh I don't know, 'Shawty' or 'Yahhh!'. [Slate]
- Dunno if you saw them on Letterman this week, but here's a full live show from British Sea Power. The good news? They still play 'Carrion' [Waves and Wires]
- Someone watched 'Hitman' so you don't have to. [AV Club]
- DiS meets Godlike Genius Efrim Menuck [Drownedinsound]
- So the new Tim Bisley is... Robin Williams meets Matthew Perry. This can only continue to go well. [Hollywood Reporter]
- 'Apatow's Cohorts Making Muppet Movie' is the headline. If they desecrate my beloved Sam the Eagle, there will be punches a-flyin'. [I Watch Stuff]
- Carrie Brownstein really nails how I feel about the perfectly okay Vampire Weekend. [Monitor Mix]
- Finally, the new Mystery Jets video will cheer you up. Even if you're already happy.
4play: The future's bright
Best bands that will release albums in early 2008
1. British Sea Power
BSP's third album is called 'Do You Like Rock Music?' and it's a huge leap forward from their also-great older material. As you may expect from the title, it's heavier than they've ever been, the guitars chime like the Bunnymen, there's a nod to the Hitler Youth ('No Lucifer') and plenty more that I haven't yet had time to fully absorb. Having been straight-up blown away when I saw them way back in 2001 at the Dublin Castle (!) in Camden, co-headlining with National Prayer Breakfast (!!). Check out first single, 'Waving Flags' in the embed:
2. A Silver Mt. Zion
They toured for most of the year, and then didn't put out an album! But since I've slowly become fully immersed in the world of all these Constellation bands, and since 'God Bless Our Dead Marines' is one of my new favourite songs, I'm now very eager to check out '13 Blues for Thirteen Moons', which is due in March. Here's a live recording of the first song.
[download A Silver Mt. Zion - One Million Died to Make this Sound (live)]
3. dEUS
It's no secret that I'm kind of in love with the grandaddies of Belgian music (that description makes them sound crap, though). The good news is that unlike the seven years it took them to make 2005's 'Pocket Revolution', this time it was only three years. The new one is coming soon, says Tom Barman on their website and I'm sure I'll love it. Not a lot of details yet, everything that's known is here. And to tide you over, here's a nice live video.
4. The Notwist
Please? It's about time. We still remember.
4play: Heads of State
Rumours that I didn't think this feature through and that I'm already running out of ideas may or may not be entirely accurate. Anyway, here's the second installment. Songs about leaders of government.
Didn't quite make it: SFA's 'Presidential Suite', about "Monica and Naughty Billy", because it's too slow-but-pretty; iLiKETRAiN's recent 'Spencer Perceval' (wrote about that here), or anything about the Garfield assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, my new favourite historical figure.
But enough about those losers, here's today's four:
Revol: Could've gone with 'The Love of Richard Nixon', but that song is rubbish, and Revol namechecks at least ten figures. Raus Raus!
The Day That Thatcher Dies: Any possible feeling of moral uncertainty about this song's sentiment is washed over by the fact that it has a kid's choir.
Teddy Roosevelt's Guns: I'm new on the Godspeed/Mt Zion bandwagon, but I'm head-over-heels with all that stuff now.
El President: The subject of this song, Gen. Pinochet, was kept at the Priory in North London for a while, about five minutes from where I lived. I remember protesters and hearing our town in the news.
[download Manic Street Preachers - Revol]
[download Hefner - That Day That Thatcher Dies]
[download A Silver Mt. Zion - Teddy Roosevelt's Guns]
[download Drugstore - El President ft. Thom Yorke]
