When I first heard about Tinted Windows, it seemed like a potentially disastrous conglomeration: a supergroup including former members of Smashing Pumpkins, Cheap Trick, Fountains of Wayne, and … Hanson.
Wait! Don’t click away just yet. Â
Taylor Hanson’s not a kid anymore – and he’s grown a fair bit as a vocalist, matching his still-impressive flexibility with a bit more grit up top. Indeed, Hanson’s  post-pubescent pipes seem ideally suited to power pop hooks such as those found on songs “Kind of a Girl†and “We Got Something.â€
Meanwhile, guitarist James Iha, bassist Adam Schlesinger, and drummer Bun E. Carlos have crafted punchy arrangements that strike a nice balance between power pop and mainstream rock. Iha’s chops remain mighty impressive. He unleashes a torrent of riffs on “Can’t Get a Read on You.†The guitarist has also written a winsomely poppy “Cha Cha,†which suites Hanson’s singing quite well. While all of the non-percussionist band members contributed to the songwriting, one can hear Schlesinger’s influence quite palpably: Fountains of Wayne fans are apt to be most pleased.
 Those who can put aside their knee jerk reactions and jaded preconceptions are bound to be pleasantly surprised.
Exclusive Tracks from Dan Deacon, Mount Eerie, Xiu Xiu, WHY?, Jim O’Rourke, etc on Darfur Compilation
We’ve all heard about the terrible situation of violence, displacements, and genocidal killing in Darfur. But a fellow online magazine is taking steps to support those providing aid to Sudanese refugees.
 Tiny Mix Tapes  is selling a CD/LP benefit compilation exclusively through its website. Titled Tiny Mix Tapes Vol. 1: Darfur, the 11-track compilation features exclusive tracks recorded specifically for the comp and several previously unreleased songs.
100% of the profits will be donated to the International Rescue Committee, an “independent, impartial, and secular aid organization,” who are currently aiding Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad, southern Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The LP version comes on heavyweight vinyl, housed in a beautiful jacket designed by artist Keith Kawaii, while the unique CD jacket was lovingly crafted by Stumptown Printers, an environmentally responsible Portland-based print shop. The comp was mastered by Carl Saff.
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 Tiny Mix Tapes Vol. 1: Darfur tracklist:
01. Jim O’Rourke – “Seven Stars”
02. Balroynigress – “Dress the Ship in Black”
03. WHY? – “Eskimo Snow (sock hop version)”
04. Frog Eyes – “Bushels (acoustic version)”
05. Burning Star Core – “Incurable Beauty of the Master’s Demise”
06. Xiu Xiu – “Farther On (Traditional)”
07. Mount Eerie – “Calf In Pasture”
08. Wooden Wand – “No Stranger”
09. The Flying Luttenbachers with Henry Kaiser – “Trapped in Ice”
My IPod finishes syncing, and now has 6.66 GB on it.
The album just added: Art Brut vs. Satan.
I add an MP3: quickly!
The latest recording from Art Brut continues its winning mixture of post-punk energy, and witty humor; but this time out, the band brings its approach to bear on a wider range of subject matter, including some weighty issues. Produced by Frank Black (Pixies), vs. Satan includes preponderantly propulsive, three-minute missives. Catchy riffs are found throughout, but particularly sizzle on “Alcoholics Unanimous,†“The Replacements,†and “The Passenger.†Over these, lead singer Eddie Argos’s talky declamation encompasses a host of topics; but he’s most in his element singing about the colloquial, albeit from a quirky vantage point.
His passion for comic books – a topic about which he regularly blogs – is explored in “DC comics and Chocolate Milkshake;†the woeful state of the recording industry is brusquely lamented in “Slap Dash for No Cash.†Argos is also able to channel adolescent angst, Peter Pan fashion, and creditably sing about its awkwardness (“Am I Normalâ€) and rites of passage (“Summer Jobâ€).
The Mephistophelian motif of the LP’s title is overtly grappled with on “Demons Out,†but a related, constant theme is the wages of overindulgence.  Partying takes place in “Alcoholics Unanimous,†“What a Rush,†and “Twist and Shout;†its Bacchanalian excesses at times seem to be celebrated. But upon waking up the next morning with “Mysterious Bruises,†Argos seems to acknowledge that Never Never Land doesn’t go well with an open bar.
Still, vs. Satan is no tidy morality play; we are left wondering whether Art Brut or Old Scratch will have the last word. I’m rooting for the guys with the guitars, not whatever it was that tried to possess my IPod!
On this 2008 live date, recorded at the Stone in New York City, drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker, and pianist Craig Taborn don’t function like your average piano trio – with a stratification of roles that often prioritizes piano with the other members accompanying. Instead, theirs is an egalitarian collaboration, with a passing of leadership at various points in the musical proceedings that allows for all three instrumentalists to have their turn center stage. In addition, their avant-jazz approach to a traditional ensemble grouping allows for unorthodox playing techniques to spice things up.
The short, meditative “Korteh Khah†begins the set in the vein of textural exploration; but it is the extended essay “Cranes†that is a standout in this regard. Here, Parker prefers bowed playing to walking lines, creates great swaths of repeated notes. Cleaver matches Taborn’s upper register lines, employing a shimmering cascade of bells.  Only partway through do things start to sound less like contemporary chamber music and more like traditional jazz. Taborn starts the shift, adding a series of sharply articulated, thickly stacked chords that steer the music back to a palpable sense of swing. Confirming the stylistic shift, Parker puts down his bow and attacks a buoyant walking line with gusto.  But there’s a coda filled with special effects – bowed bass harmonics, skittering angular piano lines, and gently-articulated textural percussion; it serves to frame “Cranes’s†trad jazz center with bookends of avant jazz mysticism.
“Fieda Mytlie†opens with an extended cadenza from Parker, whose plethora of playing techniques makes the solo double bass take on multiple roles – percussion, melody, and bass-line – simultaneously. Cleaver joins, creating a supple, polyrhythmic duet. When Taborn enters, his contributions ride this headily intricate rhythmic groove. He builds his part in terraced fashion, starting with melody lines, adding bass riffs that dovetail with Parker’s, and eventually moving to zesty postbop chord progressions. The piano thus telegraphs a subsequent crescendo by the whole trio, building to a thrilling climax. An astounding performance; dare we hope for a follow-up in the recording studio?
Hard to believe that Austin rockers Explosions in the Sky have been making music together for ten years. If you haven’t heard 2007’s All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone, get thee to a record store! Better yet, get out and hear them this summer – tour dates below.
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TOUR DATES AND SPECIAL GUESTS
6/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium with No Age and Eluvium
In 1957, Machito & the Afro-Cubans, directed by Mario Bauzá, recorded Kenya, a seminal LP that included legendary performers such as Basie trumpeter Joe Newman and saxophonist Julian “Cannonball†Adderly. To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the recording’s release, Bobby Sanabria prepared the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra to present a new version of the Kenya material. The Kenya Revisited program is captured on this incendiary live release on Jazzheads.
Given the con fuoco energy and impressive ensemble coordination here, it’s often hard to remember that this is primarily a student ensemble. However, there is one musician on the date that won’t be mistaken for a student. 88 year-old virtuoso conga drummer Cándido Camero, who performed on the original Kenya recording, is a featured guest artist on Kenya Revisited. His participation provides a valuable link between one of Afro-Cuban jazz’s inceptors and a number of promising practitioners for its future.
(Critic’s full disclosure: I briefly worked at MSM; but, sadly, I did not have the chance to work with any of the talented students who appear on this recording.)
Mainstream rockers Better than Ezra release a new album on 5/12. The band is giving listeners a taste of Paper Empire with a free download of the single “Absolutely Still.â€
BTE is also touring throughout the US this spring and summer; venues and dates below.
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Apr 25 – TPC of Louisiana – Avondale, Louisiana
Apr 26 – Jazz &Heritage Festival – New Orleans, Louisiana
May 1 – The Windjammer – Isle of Palms, SC
May 2 – Rosewood Crawfish Festival – Columbia, SC
May 29 – House of Blues – New Orleans, Louisiana
May 30 – House of Blues – New Orleans, Louisiana
Jun 2 – Flytrap Music Hall – Tulsa, OK
Jun 3 – Harrah’s Whiskey Road House – Council Bluffs, IA
Jun 5 – Taste Of Fort Worth – Fort Worth, TX
Jun 6 – House Of Blues – Houston, TX
Jun 7 – House Of Blues – Dallas, TX
Jun 9 – Soul Kitchen – Mobile, AL
Jun 11 – City Limits – Delray Beach, FL
Jun 12 – Jannus – Tampa, FL
Jun 13 – HOB – Orlando, FL
Jun 14 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Jun 16 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Jun 17 – Trocadero – Philadelphia, PA
Jun 18 – Alive At The Square – Buffalo, NY
Jun 19 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
Jun 20 – Paradise – Boston, MA
Jun 23 – House Of Blues – Cleveland, OH
Jun 25 – Vogue Theater – Indianapolis, IN
Jun 26 – 4th Street Live – Louisville, KY
Jun 27 – House Of Blues – Chicago, IL
Jun 28 – Summerfest – Millwaukee, Wisconsin
Jul 24 – Kansas City Live – Kansas City, MI
Jul 25 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MI
Jul 30 – Alive @ 5 – Stamford, CT
Oct 7 – Walt Disney World Resort – Orlando, FL
Oct 8 – Walt Disney World Resort – Orlando, FL
Secretly Canadian MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO. Preps Exclusive Record Store Day 7″, Tours The West Coast With The Avett Brothers
Quite often, times of dormancy only seem so to those of us on the outside. The wheels never really stop turning. Such is the case for MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC Co., which has a string of items lined up over the next months, including its first official release since 2007’s Sojourner box set.
First for the band is an exclusive 7″ titled It’s Made Me Cry, which will be available first on April 18 as part of Record Store Day, an international event celebrating independently-owned record stores. Side A of the 7″ features songs recorded over a weekend in October 2008 at Bloomington’s Russian Recording. The songs serve as a lesson in the power of brevity – each a flaming arrow to the heart of some heavy emotions. Side B of It’s Made Me Cry is the moody, instrumental “Protection Spell,” recorded at Russian Recordings almost exactly a year prior to the other songs and featuring late bassist Evan Farrell.
The band’s proceeds from the 7″ will benefit The Evan Farrell Memorial Fund.
A list of businesses participating in Record Store Day can be found here. It’s Made Me Cry will also be available digitally worldwide on May 19. Drag City
-AZITA will be playing at Laurie’s Planet of Sound in Chicago at noon.
-Bill Callahan is playing at Other Music in NYC at 9 pm
(BTW, Other Music has great events going all day long – check out their website)
It’s Record Store Day on Saturday, April 18. This week, File Under ? has been covering events, releases and celebrations occurring on 4/18, but we’ve just scratched the surface. Some more are listed below. If you’re a North American reader and don’t find one in your area, amble on over to www.recordstoreday.com; chances are there’s a party in your neck of the woods too! Barsuk Records has several artists making appearances:
Ra Ra Riot — performing at Flat, Black & Circular (East Lansing, MI) at 3pm
Say Hi — performing at Sonic Boom [Ballard] (Seattle, WA) at 3pm
Menomena — foosball tournament (!) at M-Theory (San Diego, CA) at 6pm
A number of stores will be giving away special commemorative Barsuk-label Jones Soda for the celebration, including Amoeba (Los Angeles, CA), Aquarius (San Francisco, CA), Easy Street (Seattle, WA), Fingerprints (Long Beach, CA), Lou’s Records (Encinitas, CA), M-Theory (San Diego, CA), Music Millennium (Portland, OR), Silver Platters (Seattle, WA), and Sonic Boom [Ballard] (Seattle, WA). Merge Records - Telekinesis will be helping Sonic Boom celebrate at their Capitol Hill location - Superchunk will be signing EPs at Coachella Sub Pop Records: -Vetiver is appearing at Sonic Boom’s Ballard location at 4 PM.
Limited edition 7â€s: Blitzen Trapper “War is Placeboâ€, Vetiver “Wishing Wellâ€, Obits “I Can’t Loseâ€, and Flight of the Conchords “Pencils in the Windâ€.Â
Iron and Wine will also be offering up a limited edition live CD recorded in Norfolk on June 20th, 2005. More info Matador
Limited edition vinyl from Sonic Youth, Jay Reatard, and Pavement. More info
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