• The once elusive Jandek will be returning to the Pacific Northwest in 2010 and he won’t be the biggest name on the marquee. The Portland performance will find Jandek joined by Sonic Youth principle, Thurston Moore. The show is scheduled for April 29th. Maybe we can convince them to trek the three hours north to bless the Emerald City?

• Speaking of Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo recently told BBC that the band is already working on the follow-up to this year’s The Eternal. Also in the works is a soundtrack for a French film as well as a DVD release detailing the band’s Daydream Nation tour.

• And speaking of film soundtracks, Grizzly Bear are creating the soundtrack for Blue Valentine, a film slated for preview during January’s Sundance Festival. Movie/music blog The Playlist has more info about the film, said to be “intimate, shattering portrait of a disintegrating marriage.” Fun!

• Say what you want to concerning Dave Matthews, but his ATO Records has a solid roster of mainstream artists and formerly great indie acts (Gomez chief among them). Now word has spread that Drive-By Truckers, one of the best live acts in North America today, has signed with Matthews’ label.

• Thee Silver Mt. Zion have just announced their next album, Kollaps Tradixionales, is slated for a February 16th release via Constellation.

• Onstage in Austin last week, Jay Reatard was attacked by two “fans,” one of which actually struck him, and both of whom were arrested. Brooklyn Vegan has the details. Meanwhile, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were greeted by a booing crowd on the first night of the 10 Years of ATP celebrations at Somerset. Karen O and the group were apparently 45 minutes late, but made up for it by playing one of their most ferocious sets, according to Spinner.

• Massive Attack has just released a new video for their highly anticipated new album, Heligoland (due February 8th), and it is totally NSFW! The Toby Dye-directed “Paradise Circus” is more documentary than video, featuring featuring clips from the ‘73 porn classic The Devil in Miss Jones and its star, the now 73-year old Georgina Spelvin, who talks candidly about her experience. Sorry, but we’re not to show the X-rated clip, but you can view it at Stereogum, Some Velvet Blog, and whole bunch of other music sites.

• … instead, we’ll show this G-rated clip for the frequently requested new single by Hot Chip, “One Life Stand”:

• Ok, there are a few questionable recommendations on our list of talk shows appearances this week, but do you want to not watch Michael McDonald on the chance that his Grizzly Bear collaboration won’t come up during Kimmel’s interview? And how great will Colbert’s report with Snoop Dogg be? More obviously, you’re not going to want to miss Gossip or Franz Ferdinand on Carson Daly, or Raekwon on Fallon. Here are the rest:
  Monday, December 14

  Jimmy Kimmel: Wolfmother (R)
  Colbert Report: Snoop Dogg

  Tuesday, December 15

  Conan O’Brien: Norah Jones
  Jimmy Kimmel: Michael McDonald
  Craig Ferguson: The Broken West

  Wednesday, December 16

  Jimmy Fallon: Raekwon
  Carson Daly: Gossip

  Thursday, December 17

  Carson Daly: Franz Ferdinand

  Friday, December 18

  Carson Daly: Snoop Dogg

  Saturday, December 19

  Saturday Night Live: Muse

Here is what you, the listeners, consider to be the best opening tracks of all time:

Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” from Nevermind:

Nine Inch Nails “Head Like A Hole” from Pretty Hate Machine:

Beck live “Devil’s Haircut” from Odelay:

Pavement live “Summer Babe” from Slanted & Enchanted:

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club “Love Burns” from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club:

Jim Bennett

by Chris Estey

Rock festivals can be an awesome, appalling joussaince — an embarrassment of riches in which most of its value is suffering. The 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party was a perfectly organic construct of balancing personal pleasures and community celebration within the city, without too much pain. In other words, it was a ton of fun — and it was cheap enough you didn’t feel too guilty, diverse and culturally ambitious so that it inspired joyful, music-inspired engagement, and you probably didn’t have to travel too far to get there. If you got too hot or moist there was hydration and libations everywhere to be found, and in the back of Caffe Vita, behind a massive pizza oven within walls of bags full of coffee beans, KEXP presented a sampling of just about everything presented throughout the multi-band, stacked tight with music fandom fest.

Friday July 24, 2009:

The line-up for the weekend was an expected indie rock buffet, with some glitch-streaked percussive punk edges and a healthy dose of exciting hip-hop poking into the spread. I could write an essay about how cool it was to often stand in the middle of it, and hear something operatic from the Main Stage bleeding into some chunka metal riffs at Neumos as you walked to hear noise-pop garble ahead at the Vera. (And that was actually a description of one of my actual moments there.)

The big names dominated the feedback I heard and the action I saw/heard such as The Jesus Lizard reviving the subculture of crowd surfing at the Main Stage’s first night apex with its leader David Yow inspiring droves to follow him upon a sea of upraised hands over and over again. His performance seemed often like an act of self-destruction, as if he knew why people loved the dangerous overplus of excitement at Block Party, while his bass player looked like a settled down married guy rattling away in a secret world, and the drummer kept up with his harassing lead singer.

They Live had the whole festival buzzing with love after their 10:45 PM set at Neumos (and the next day when they appeared for a anthem with Truckasaurus, who also street terrorized the Vita peeps with binary-fried busking just before in the afternoon as well), and since I’ve done PR for Gatsby and blesone, I’ll keep this tight: Read Charles Mudede’s excellent assessment of current Seattle-area hip-hop in a recent Stranger, and know that TL’s transmutation of rock damage and rap art will probably be the next retro-futurist aesthetic. That’s why I helped them out for awhile and will always support them.

Beloved hard edged pop art bands like Deerhunter at the MS and the Flexions at the Vera Stage didn’t disappoint, blending muscle with weird charm, and speaking of the awesome line-up of the Vera artists this year, special note must be made of how ferocious Past Lives got Friday night, according to several people I spoke with — keeping it strange, but still very strong. Wish I’d seen Wild Orchid Children; I’d heard great things about them (and some pissed off sound guys on Fullerton-based punk pop Audacity’s friends, one of whom puked in the hallway near their schmancy new gear set up for Vera — at 4:30 PM in the afternoon!).

The festival opened with The Duchess & The Duke on the Main Stage, and reports of their sweet rag-tag approach to simple song playing with touchstones in skewed memory genres like skiffle or doo-wop floated in mix. It was a gentle way to begin a day that ended with The Jesus Lizard trying to bring the world to an end.

photos from Friday by Katy McCourt-Basham:

Saturday, July 25, 2009:

Sonic Youth probably wisely mostly focused on recent material; this pinnacle of the evening was one no one should have missed, and yet I found myself pining for a big jam from their SST days (they went out with “Death Valley” and it felt like when the Sex Pistols did “Anarchy in the UK” as the last song at Bumbershoot back in the 90s — would have been nice before I was cab searching). I know, I’ll STFU and check out their new album, The Eternal.

Main Stage memories for life: I thought nothing would ever beat my first witnessing of The Gossip a few years back at the CHBP, on a steaming hot afternoon when some of us even started dancing a little (completely verboten back then). They may not have conquered that sexy, commanding performance last night with the more soulful pop elements brought up, but I’d be lying if I say they didn’t maintain my adoration either. I wish they had more songs to qualify this statement, but live for sure The Gossip take the wind out of me like The Clash once did.

Earlier in the afternoon, I wasn’t that much into The Thermals; they too played a lot of new songs, and maybe I needed that new album too to have more affinity. There’s a certain rage that’s been replaced by improved playing, it seemed — it was rock and roll all right though.

So I left before they finished for a taste of the Sportin’ Life Showcase at the comfy Vita backroom club, and heard three outstanding performances from their three should-be stars D. Black (can’t wait to hear the new album), Fatal Luciano, and Spaceman. Sportin’ Life then went a little up the hill and took over Chop Suey and I damn sure wish I could have been there.

I think the freshest set for me was The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, which was like about a thousand albums in my UK pop collection blended smoothly but with a very nice kick. “We Will Never Die” ended their set very powerfully; it’s not a cover of the Flesheaters’ song, but there’s something kind of hardcore about the band’s affection for wicked Scottish pop bliss. Their fine songcraft seemed a little stretched by the heat and noise of the crowd itself; not their fault, just make sure to seem that live at a less eventful-in-itself milieu.

This day’s line-up opened with an expanded version of Hey Marseilles, a band I think really benefit from its extension to nine players (including Thomas from Champagne Champagne and Kyle Bradford). Occasionally ostentatious with the boo-ba, that was actually in good fun, because those winding strings and melodic vocals bring you hack to the heart. Would love to hear this group variation recorded for posterity.

Near dinnertime in the open Vera area, The Lonely Forest played a beautiful sonic rainbow of sound and emotion; it was nice how the rain kicked in while they played, their colorful notes bending around us with the wet heat. Kids and older folks alike enjoyed this nook of just-hard-enough slightly psychedelic pop.

The crowd went nuts for both the Maldives and the Moondoggies, roots bands with slick, stick-to-your-ribs songs and slobbering followings.

Thanks to David Meinert, the amazing security staff, and especially the bands for an inner-city festival that often just felt like a country fair with a lot of fuzzy grooves going on all around you — till Truckaurus blew something up, someone very occasionally threw up, and The Gossip proved we can all still slam it out and still grow up. Bravo!

photos from Saturday by Jim Bennett:

Check out more photos from Katy McCourt-Basham and Jim Bennett

Christopher Nelson

With over 50 bands and multiple stages making up this weekend’s Capitol Hill Block Party, it’s going to be impossible to not see a band you already love and find a new favorites. This year, the headliners on the Main Stage are so strong, you have to make sure to catch even just a few songs of each band (The Jesus Lizard on the Main Stage Friday night and Sonic Youth on Saturday). That leaves a schedule of 48+ other bands to wade through; Here is our preview of the other bands on the imaginary “must see at CHBP” list.

The Vera Stage brings L.A. lo-fi punk darlings Mika Miko screaming and singing in your face. I’m pretty amped to see them and Japandroids, the Vancouver, BC duo whose aggressive noisy guitar is accompanied by breakneck drumming and off key yelling. Their first LP, Post-Nothing will be released on August 4th in the US.

The Neumos Stage headlines Friday night with Sing Sing Reunion and Saturday night is Faux Punk, a Daft Punk cover dj crew whose performance is supposedly the closest thing to a recreation of the ALIVE tour that you’re gonna get this side of the decade.

And that’s only six out the scores that are going to blow your eardrums out. Some of the other bands I am personally unwilling to miss are the ever-ambient yet edgy Deerhunter, touring for their new and, poppy as they’ll ever be, EP Rainwater Cassette Exchange.

The bass-line country infused harmonics of Dutchess and The Duke are kicking off their tour for Sunrise/Sunset, their sophomore album. Black Lips never fail to give a crowd a good time and Band of Skulls will give you White Stripes flash backs that will be way better than that time you thought you were 16 on acid again.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have completely wooed me and I am ready to propose to the entire 80’s-era Pastel’s sweet, synthy, drum driven quartet. Them and Hey Marseilles‘ orchestral compositions will be a nice period of respite from the general raucousness before I check out Bow and Arrow, mayhem-making mathletes of Seattle’s punk noise scene. The Gossip will get me dancing and tired and by then I may be spent.

See you in the lemonade line,
Chelsea Wemer
*Three Imaginary Girls*

In high i-pod rotation:
The Weakerthans
The Thermals
Death Cab for Cutie

(Three Imaginary Girls is a Seattle-based website that showcases the great music of the Northwest and beyond to music lovers worldwide. We post a Seattle live show calendar to help you fill your day-planner with loads of great shows, as well as record reviews, live show reviews, and an imagi-blog to entertain you throughout the day.)

Along with The Stranger and Caffe Vita, KEXP 90.3 FM is proud to present The 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party, Seattle’s Premiere Celebration of Independent Music on July 24 & July 25th.

The first part of the lineup has just been announced:

Get daily updates, videos, special promotions and more on their new website

Tomorrow, Tuesday April 28th, 10:00am, through April 30, is a special pre-sale (promo code is BLOCKPARTY)

After that, early bird tickets are available from May 1 through May 15: 2 day passes - $40 / single day tickets - $22

• In case you missed it, the shortlist for the 33 1/3 series was revealed over the weekend and reactions have been far from positive. As Prefix Mag points out, much of the list — including albums from AC/DC, The Beatles, Bowie, etc. — is comprised of bands that have had titles in the series before or are included more for their commercial potential than anything else. But in the end, it really comes down to what the author has to say about the chosen artist/album.

• Bumbershoot, Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival, just revealed a partial lineup for this year’s Labor Day weekend event. Among those announced so far: Sheryl Crow, Modest Mouse, Katy Perry, Michael Franti & Spearhead, De La Soul, Raphael Saadiq, Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, The Long Winters, World Party, MSTRKRFT, No Age, Matt & Kim, Dead Confederate, The Cave Singers, Gang Gang Dance, Holy Fuck, DJ Spooky, Sera Cahoone, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head, Extra Golden, and Hey Marseilles. Most interesting so far? A poetry reading curated by Spencer Moody of the Murder City Devils.

• Consider yourself busy on Friday, April 10 — that is if you want the opportunity to be a part of the dying entity Billy Corgan still calls the Smashing Pumpkins. That’s right, Corgan put an audition invite on the band’s website the other day. The spectacle alone might be worth the trip to LA.

• Last week, the Stranger’s Line Out spread the rumor that Sonic Youth may be headlining this year’s Capitol Hill Block Party. The rumor was seconded and added to the other night when KEXP’s own Marco Collins hinted that Sonic Youth would be joined at CHBP by The Jesus Lizard. Don’t let the fest’s extreme crowding keep you away from this one.

• According to Pitchfork, the long-talked-about collaboration between Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse has come into existence. The record, coming sometime this summer and titled Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present Dark Night of the Soul, is slated to include contributions from members of The Flaming Lips, Super Furry Animals, and The Strokes, as well as James Mercer, Nina Persson and others. Hell, just for kicks, David Lynch is going to help out. For the record, this was not originally reported on April Fool’s Day.

• Speaking of April Fool’s Day, my personal favorite from this year is Sigur Ros claiming to be working with Coldplay on their upcoming record. They even went so far as to record a short-but-sweet video. Music Slut has the story here.

• Our friends at the Netherlands label Subroutine Records (home of AC Berkheimer, Vox Von Braun, and others) have just posted a video for “Carla” by The Very Sexuals (which we’ve podcast before). Check it out and head over to the band’s website to download their debut album, Post Apocalyptic Love, for free.

Ah, Goo. In 1990, when this album was released and I heard it for the first time (shout-out to my hometown station, WHRB!), I was between 8th and 9th grade, and was preparing myself to enter a new world; a bigger, scarier, more complicated world: Public High School. I had no knowledge of Sonic Youth’s indie past, or the fact that this was their first major label album, and many of their devoted fans were worried about whether their sound could survive the band’s move to the bigger, scarier, more complicated world of Major Label Music. It’s been a while since I last listened to this album (I’m listening to it right now for the first time in years), but it holds a special place in my heart, being the first Sonic Youth album I heard, and one of the first albums to usher me into the world of swirly, distorted guitars, hallucinatory lyrics and sonic experimentation of which I am so happily a citizen now. But enough about me; how did the KCMU heads react to Sonic Youth’s first major label release?

All right, it’s (almost) unanimous, then: Goo rules. Sonic Youth for the win!