Christmas Stuff: Smashing Pumpkins - 'Christmastime'

Well that is it for me, I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas whatever you are doing and that Santa is kind to you.

As a parting gift here is a highly amusing animation set to 'Christmastime' by Smashing Pumpkins. I especially like the look on the girls face when she gets her copy of 'Mary Star Of The Sea' and the boy holding up the REM sign!

Enjoy...

REM - 'Magnetic North'

So earlier in the week I posted a link to REM's version of 'Merry Xmas Everybody' from their 2007 Christmas Fanclub single. Today, I thought that I would upload the other track off this single, the less seasonal 'Magnetic North'.

'Magnetic North' is an Around The Sun outtake, and I am unsure as to whether this version is the only version they worked on, as this sounds like an unfinished demo. Listening to it now, it is very much in the 'Last Joke Ever' mold of songs.

These are the lyrics:

It's a Tokyo street seafast action jump-cutting your head
and you'd sooner dream it than live right here and face it instead
well you've paced to your family and friends
i cannot make amends
as i sat in your car, and tried to talk you into staying

(Chorus of humming)

It's not cinematic enough
to rescue juning bugs
from the pool where you swam as a kid, now i understand
There is nothing wrong
with crossing the Rubicon
But you might wanna know who you're going to be
from this step on

(chorus)

well the tigers boys and the tiger girls
confident, amazed
take you into their folk, there you go
with every butane move
every action packed
every glance epiphany...just don't look back

The track has been encoded to AAC @ 256kbs. I uploaded the track to YouSendIt, therefore will be available for 7 days or 100 downloads. I may upload it again.

Audio:
REM - 'Magnetic North'

(Thanks to someone at Murmurs for the image!)

Smashing Pumpkins Release A New EP - 'American Gothic'

Smashing Pumpkins have just announced today that they will be releasing an EP of brand new material on 2 January 2008. The EP is going to be called 'American Gothic', and will be an iTunes only thing in the States, but hopefully over here it will be getting a physical release.

Billy Corgan even blogged about it.

I am pretty excited by this as not only is it always good to hear new music by Billy Corgan, but it is, by the sounds of things, going to be an all acoustic collection, which is something Billy hasn't done for a while. Not since his 'Chicago Songs' back in 03/04, I don't think. I have always thought that he is sometimes at his best when everything is stripped back to just his voice with a single instrument. The strength of his songs shines through and you see the sincere, fragile side of him, rather than the oft-exposed overblown ego.

The tracklisting for 'American Gothic' runs like this:

• The Rose March
• Pox
• Again, Again, Again (The Crux)
• Sunkissed

'The Rose March' was played during the residency shows this past summer, but the rest of the tracks seem to be new songs! Because I am a complete geek, reading the news article on the Smashing Pumpkins site, I also found it interesting that 'The Rose March' was played during that Billy Corgan solo show back in 2006.

Here is a video of 'The Rose March' as performed during one of the San Francisco residency shows on 1 August 2007:


Smashing Pumpkins website
Smashing Pumpkins myspace

Christmas Stuff: Ryan Adams - 'Hey Parker, It's Christmas'

Following on from REM's cover of Slades 'Merry Xmas Everybody', here is another Christmas themed song. This time it is an original by one of my favourite musical artists to ever walk the planet, Ryan Adams. It is a song called 'Hey Parker, It's Christmas' and comes from the rare 'Christmas' 7" promo that he released in 2003. I guess the 'Parker' in question is his then (now ex) girlfriend, Parker Posey...

MP3:
Ryan Adams - 'Hey Parker, It's Christmas' (courtesy of the fab Aquarium Drunkard)

Some Album Reviews: Grizzly Bear - 'Friend' EP & Lou Rhodes - 'Bloom'

Grizzly Bear - 'Friend' EP

At 11 tracks longs, calling this record an EP is stretching the term a little bit, but then this is by no means a proper cohesive album as it mainly consists of alternative version of tracks from Grizzly Bear's first two albums ('Horn of Plenty' and 'Yellow House').

EP's have always been interesting releases. They can be places that contain moments of brilliance which don't fit on to an album, or can sound messy containing odds and ends that shouldn't fit anywhere. 'Friend EP' is a bit of both.

Featuring re-workings of songs from the bands last two releases as well as other acts covering Grizzly Bear tracks, this is certainly a curiosity piece. The things that work, such as the ethereal version of 'Aligator' and CSS's 80s-esque re-imagining of 'Knife' make the 'Friend EP' worth investigating even for those not familiar with Grizzly Bear. When things don't work, such as with the unfinished sounding 'Granny Dinner' or having a second cover of 'Knife' (by Atlas Sound) that is as appealing as rubbing sandpaper across your eye balls, this EP seems a bit pointless.

This release is unlikely to win Grizzly Bear any new converts, but as collection of songs to supplement last years 'Yellow House' album it is worth picking up.

Grizzly Bear's website

Lou Rhodes - 'Bloom'

'Bloom' is Lou Rhodes second solo album since she split from her original band, Lamb. For anyone expecting the trip-hop/drum n' bass of her former band may be disappointed by 'Bloom'. For this album Miss Rhodes seems to have been inspired by the surroundings of where she currently resides, on a communal farm in rural Surrey. This is because 'Bloom' is full of laid back vocals, tranquil acoustic guitars, and organic beats all wrapped up in a mist of darkness very much reminiscent of Damien Rice.

'Bloom' starts of gently and slowly opening with the cascading 'Rain', before hitting its stride with 'All We Are', which is propelled by a rumbling bass and sharp strings this is arguably the albums finest track. This momentum is carried on through 'This Love' where Lou Rhodes sounds a lot like Sandy Denny, and with 'They Say' which ends with Lou Rhodes' voice being looped over and over.

Lou Rhode's dance past rears its head in the shuffling drums of 'Greatness In A Speak Of Dust' and in the way 'Icarus' slowly grooves. But generally, 'Bloom' is a quality modern day acoustic-folk record that has enough interesting moments to stop it from being bland and self-indulgent like so many albums like this can unfortunately turn out. Blooming marvellous!

Lou Rhodes Myspace

These were reviewed for LeftLion

Christmas Stuff: REM - Merry Xmas Everybody

Every year REM send their fanclub members a Christmas package that contains, amongst many things, a special holiday fanclub-only single featuring tracks that the band have either specifically recorded for the package or a rare recording, which I think is really cool for a band of their status to do.

This year, the fanclub single kinda contains a bit of both. One track contains a cover of Slade's 'Merry Christmas Everybody' and the other is a version of 'Magnetic North', an 'Around The Sun' outtake.

As Christmas is only around the corner, and one of the more interesting elements of this time of year is the music that it seems to inspire....Here is REM's version 'Merry Christmas Everybody' (with thanks to 'Surviving The Golden Age').

MP3:
REM - 'Merry Xmas Everybody' (Slade cover)

lol, Cat?

This is just so stupid I just have to post it. Someone had drawn a picture of a cat, and when I was very drunk Saturday night/Sunday morning I decided to add to it. It was hilarious at the time.

Just look at the cats face!

The End Of The World

I originally saw this on Murmurs, so much respect to them for posting it...and whoever made the video. But this really is what YouTube was invented for. Who would have thought that George Bush would one day cover REM?

Enjoy...