Can This Pickle Survive Chad Kroeger?

What does it take to get me to post something new?

Nickelback threatening to take down the Facebook fan page Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback?

While internet copyright law is vague (it always take the law a little while to catch up to technology), I'm pretty sure the band cannot get the page taken down by threat of legal action. Now they might (with all their corporate dollars) be able to get Facebook to take it down. I think someone from Slate or some other slightly edgy internet news/opinion publication needs to do a story on this. Or maybe some blogger already has and I'm not savvy enough to know about it.

I think Nickelback's attempt to get the page taken down will only solidify their reputation for making bad music for pricks.

Harold Sightings

I always say Austin is a big city that feels like small town, as long as you stay centrally in the city and run in certain circles. For indie-concert-going hipsters, that circle is rather small (in comparison to the general population of the city).

Seeing as I go to a lot of shows, I see the same people--complete strangers or vague acquaintances--over and over again. Such is the case with Harold.

But Harold is not your average hipster. Oh no. First of all, his name probably isn't Harold. I've never actually met him, so I have no idea what his name is. My friends Gloria and Charlene named him that after spotting him at several shows. They decided the name Harold suited him best.

He's unusual in that he's probably in his late 30s, possibly early 40s. He's Asian, wears chunky glasses and has a little goatee. I often see him wearing a vintage Carpenters t-shirt, although in the less-hot months, he wears a white denim jacket. He also tends to drink Lone Star but is never visibly drunk.

He's almost always alone, but I have noticed him talking to people. In fact, when I saw Neko Case back in March, I spotted him in a group. He stood in the same spot and talked to a couple of white guys before Neko took the stage. He has rather girly taste in music. I saw him at Lykke Li's free show at Waterloo Records and most recently at a Jenny Lewis show. That said, I also saw him during SXSW at a free show in Waterloo Park that featured a lot of punk bands. It was even more strange to spot him at the recent Black Moth Super Rainbow concert. BMSR is not quite in the same category as Jenny Lewis...

In writing this, I've also realized I've observed way too much about this guy, but at least I admit it. Plus, Gloria did most of the groundwork of observation. We've discussed introducing ourselves and finding out his story (and real name). But I like the mystery. It's better knowing him simply as Harold. Half the fun of going to shows is looking for him.

Camera Obscura. Damn.

Camera Obscura's latest album, My Maudlin Career, is so good, it's worth purchasing. But you can listen to for free a week before it's released. Thanks again, NPR.

Neko Case is Chanelling Flannery O'Connor?

I was reading from The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor last night, and I finished this one called 'Enoch and The Gorilla'. It's about a young man named Enoch who follows a traveling gorilla sideshow, and of course, the "gorilla" is only a guy in a suit. Enoch decides to steal the gorilla suit, but I'm still not sure if he killed the actor inside it.

Anyway, I've been reading these stories, and they're all pretty dark and funny, proving why O'Connor is the 20th century's foremost Southern gothic writer. I've also been listening to a lot of Neko Case lately. Well, I'm always listening to Neko Case. That's nothing noteworthy, really.

I don't know if it's just because I've been reading these stories while simultaneously digesting Case's work (including her new album) but I've drawn some paralells. Case sings in such a way -- with that raw alto voice -- that I imagine sounding something like Flannery O'Connor. I don't mean that O'Connor would sound like Neko Case. It's just that her voice seems to embody O'Connor's gothic presence. Then I look at the subjects of Case's songs: deadly car accidents, serial killers, ghost stories, finding dead birds, losing fingers in a cannery. All pretty dark, sometimes funny, and provoking in a way that makes you really think about human nature.

Sounds a lot like Flannery O'Connor's stories.

Current Financial Priorities

I'm in the trenches of unemployment. My only income for the last month has come from a small handful of published stories and restaurant reviews. Otherwise, I'm living on piddly savings and the kindness of friends who give me food.

But I know a job is just around the corner. I'm not using this as my personal pity-party venting mechanism. What I will whine about, however, is that there are several albums that I desperately want to buy but cannot afford at the moment. I decided after SXSW that I want to support the artists I love, so I'm going to purchase albums. For now, anyway.

Here's my wish list:

• Bishop Allen - Grrr (Dumb title but I love them and want to give this new album an unbiased shot.)
• M. Ward - Hold Time
• Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (This one can be streamed online at NPR.org, and I've listened to it a few times. It's so beautiful that I want to own it.)
• Balmorhea - All is Wild, All is Silent
• The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love (They played the new album in its entirety at an official SXSW showcase, which was also streamed on NPR. I've listened to it, but this concept album demands more of my time.)
• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
• Emmy the Great - First Love
• Hey Marseilles - To Travels & Trunks

SXSW: RIP (Until Next Year)

Well, you'd had never known there was financial crisis going on, based on the annual insanity that is South by Southwest. Here are my highlights:

• Paste magazine's free showcases. Free beer (in the morning), more free stuff, and lots and lots of great, free music. I could be in love with a publication.

• Spotting Joseph Gordon Levitt at a party at the Mohawk. (Remember him? The kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun and 10 Things I Hate About You)

• Au Revoir Simone. They are cute and endearing and so very Willaimsburg-hipster. Anslee and I met them on the Sixth Street Thursday night. We told them we loved their set at the Paste show, and they introduced themselves and talked to us for a little while.

• Speaking of Williamsburg, if I had a dollar for everytime someone said, "I'm from Brooklyn but I'm thinking about moving here" I wouldn't be job searching right now.

• That said, I don't want any Willaimsburg hipsters moving here. Being invaded once a year for a week is enough. We have enough of you skinny-jeaned, pretentious, pasty New Yorkers. Stay where you are. (Clarification: The ones I met were lovely people. I'd just rather they stay in New York. Texas is too hot for them anyway.)

• The Round. Started in Seattle and transpanted in Austin courtesy of my friends at the Space12 community center, this gathering of artists was one the best events at SX this year.

Bands I saw (keep in mind I never paid a single cover):
The Wooden Birds
The Sad Accordians
Loney, Dear
M. Ward
Bishop Allen
The Wrens
The Avett Brothers
Girls
Little Boots
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Motel Motel
J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes
Laura Gibson
Loch Lomond
Hey Marsailles
King Kahn and the Shrines
Cursive
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down
Vivian Girls
The Thermals
Explosions in the Sky
And I know there are more but I can't remember right now.

Middle Cyclone on NPR

Remember when I wrote that post about NPR previewing Andrew Bird's new album?

Well, they've done it again: They're previewing my indie-rock lady crush Neko Case's new album Middle Cyclone. I'm only on track 2, but I love her so much I already like it.

Listen here.

Yep. CDs Are Obsolete.

Are most albums these days released online for free in some form?

Andrew Bird's latest isn't officially out until January 20, but NPR went ahead and put up for free on December 23. Well, you can stream it for free. Listen here.

As of track 3, it's a little cheerier than past efforts, and a little more produced. Plenty of whistling still, so I'm pleased.

Albums I Liked in 2008

I wasn't as diligent this year in searching for new music. But this was a good year for folkies, so I had to do something. Here are some albums I liked this year:

The Overhyped, But Still Good
She & Him, Volume One - Zooey Deschanel, the cute hipster actress who is now pretty mainstream (Jim Carey's Yes Man, need I say more?) has a good voice. No really, she can sing (as we all witnessed in Elf). She didn't go the sad route of actress-turned-wannabe-pop star, and teamed up with M. Ward. They came up with retro-country inspired pop ditties that will not leave your head for months.

Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend - They owe quite a bit to Paul Simon, but these kids wrote some good songs and executed an excellent album. West African traditions and classical music blended into catchy summer pop music makes me suspect that they will be around for more than 15 minutes.

Delightful New Artists
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, We Brave Bee Stings and All - Thao might also fall into the overhyped category, but she is the deserved heir to Jenny Lewis. Her unique voice and provoking songs got under my skin, and I have not stopped listening to her album. On top of that, she has an engaging stage presence and along with her back-up band, the Get Down Stay Down, put on one of the best shows I saw this year.

Laura Marling, Alas, I Cannot Swim - Okay, enough already, we know: It's amazing that she's only 18 (or maybe 19 now). British singer/songwriter Marling put together a stunning debut with the best title of the year. I don't care if it's technically not "indie" because she's on a major label. She's so good, it doesn't matter.

Just Plain Solid
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Conor Oberst - Conor has left emo behind to embraced roots music and rock 'n roll. This has lead to a sound that, yes, we've heard before but is perhaps appropriate for our generation as never before. His maturity leads me to believe that he is the closest anyone will come to our generation's Dylan.

Mates of State, The Re-Arranger - The husband and wife duo left the San Francisco scene to "settle" in Connecticut, but then they've churned out two stellar albums in two years and still managed to go on tour with little kids in tow. Their latest captures the mood of a couple in their 30s and continues the unique sounds that made them so interesting in the first place. Settled? Not in the least.

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes - This is probably my favorite album of the year. The layering of a 70s folk sound over a choir of voices and instruments has a beautiful, melancholy tinge. It's almost like an Appalachian fairy. (I'm not kidding, this band seems right out of a mythical American wood, with long beards and bell-bottoms.) It's amazing.

Local Fun
Balmorhea, Rivers Arms - If there is any one Austin band you should check out, it's Balmorhea. Subtle, soothing, all rapturously beautiful. Okay, that may be inflated praise. But they are currently my favorite local band for a reason: This is the best experimental classical music created by contemporary musicians I've heard in a long time. Possibly ever.


Honorable Mentions
Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
Little Joy - Little Joy
The Decemberists - Always a Bridesmaid EP
Leatherbag - Love & Harm (Another local Austin band, although this one's more likely to get national attention.)
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (This is a really good album. It should probably be on my list.)
MIA's song Paper Planes (For the record, it was released last year but had an omnipresence in movies, commercials and even mainstream radio.)


[Note: I wrote this a few days ago and meant to post it while it was still 2008. Also, most quality music sources (the ones I pay attention to, anyway) have bestowed the honor of best album of the year to either Fleet Foxes or Bon Iver. Except for Paste. They gave the title to She & Him.]

O Valerie Plame

Austin City Limits 2008

I received a free 3-day pass to the Austin City Limits Festival. Actually, Anslee gave it to me because she'll be in Europe this weekend. So I'm much less jealous of her trip now that I'm going to ACL in her stead.

Here is the line-up of artists I'm planning on seeing:
Friday

• Vampire Weekend
• Patty Griffin (in honor of Anslee)
• Mates of State
• Jenny Lewis
• The Swell Season
• The Mars Volta

Saturday

• Fleet Foxes
• Jose Gonzalez
• Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
• Man Man
• Connor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
• Iron & Wine
• Beck

Sunday

• Octopus Project
• Gillian Welch
• Stars
• Neko Case
• Okkervil River
• Gnarls Barkley
• Tegan and Sarah
• Band of Horses
• Foo Fighters

Also of interest, we will have three people from out-of-town staying at our house for ACL. One of roommate's best college friends is coming from LA, but we also have couch surfers - complete strangers who my roommate found through the website couchsurfing.com. They sound like decent people...

Music Year-in-Review, continued

After getting several responses to my Top 10 Indie Albums list, I've listened to a few good albums from 2007. I'll have to listen to them more thoroughly and write up some reviews, but all of these are worthy of my list:

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
The National - Boxer
The Once Soundtrack
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim

I still haven't heard the latest efforts from the New Pornographers, Beirut, or Josh Ritter. Consider this an on-going conversation, until 2008 brings in more new releases...

Indie Music Year-in-Review

It is the Top 10 List time of year, and I tried coming up with my own Top 10 Best Indie Records of 2007. It proved difficult. For one, there are several albums I have yet to hear. When it comes to indie music, there are too many bands and too little time and money.

Also, this was a year of highly anticipated new releases from artists who are becoming more and more (gasp!) mainstream. As always, there were interesting trends. It was a good year for Canadians, electro-pop, and fittingly, Austin bands, so let's begin:

1. My favorite would have to be .... honestly, Feist. Despite her domination of gadget commercials (video iPods and Chocolate phones), her album The Reminder is masterful in both its lyrical maturity and variations of mood and style. It ranges from downright catchy to ethereal and pensive, her voice always stunning. If this is where mainstream music is headed, I'm following.

2. Wilco, Sky Blue Sky. In a departure from the experimental electronic and static-filled sound of previous recordings, Sky Blue Sky mirrowed its name in a refreshing return to simplicity. From the minute I heard the first single Impossible Germany, Unlikely Japan, I knew Tweedy and company had done something great, if rather Dead-head.

3. Okkervil River, The Stage Names. This Austin act has come into a lovely maturity and created something of a masterpiece with this latest effort. Layered and witty, it takes subtle Southern rock influences and fuses them with an easy indie pop sound. It makes the hometown proud.

4. Architecture in Helskinki, Places Like This. Experimental and chaotic as ever, this Australian band's latest effort seems to be from another planet yet surprisingly accessible. Poppy and catchy, strangely melodic and filled with ethnic beats, it's a 10-track roller coaster ride - quick and thrilling.

5. Iron and Wine, The Shepherd's Dog. With a great departure in style, Sam Beam has miraculously added percussion to his gentle vocals. Lyrically, the love songs are missing, but the story-telling is taken to new heights. While I was initially disappointed I wasn't getting another dreamy lullaby-filled album, I've been quite pleased with the new sound.

6. The Shins, Wincing the Night Away. This one wins for best title of the year, although I still struggle with Wincing's sometimes lyrical ambiguity. However, The Shins gain further credibility by handling mass success brilliantly and creating a stark, jarring album. The proof is this: It came out in January and I'm still listening to it regularly.

7. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible. I was worried about this one. Their first album, Funeral was too genius, too good, too big, too hyped. How could they possibly follow it? By making a powerful album with a lyrical political punch. An all too-telling critique of society, Neon Bible takes Springsteen-inspired rock and mixes it with the art school sound that made Arcade Fire such a hit in the first place.

8. Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I can't get the song The Underdog out of my head, and that's a prime example of Spoon's lasting appeal - catchy, solid rock music. I once heard Spoon described as "just a good band that makes good albums" and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga holds to that reputation.

9. Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight. I must admit, this one has grown and grown and grown and grown on me. On first listen, I hated the disco-inspired lyrics and music, but Jenny Lewis' voice can overcome anything. However, it has enough depth and surprises to stand on its own and not on Lewis' hype.

10. Lily Allen, Alright, Still. Okay, this one only technically counts, seeing as her music has been around for a good year and a half and she's a little too huge to be indie. But the album was finally released State-side in January, and her ska and reggae influenced bubblgum seems too sweet on the surface until you realize just how witty and cheeky she is.

Of the smaller acts I discovered this year, the best had to be Bishop Allen and Man Man, both based out of the Northeast with 2006 releases that I only discovered recently. However, they are distinctively different, with Bishop Allen having a lovely pop sensibility matched with creative story-telling, while Man Man is an insane, high-energy conglomeration of shouting and instrumentation. With constant touring and some recognition (Bishop Allen's catchy "Click, Click, Click" has been featured in a camera commercial) both have made it into the larger indie consciousness in 2007.

Overall, it was a good year for indie music, and I'm sure 2008 will be equally entertaining and thought-provoking.

[Note: Several excellent artists have released new albums this year that I have yet to hear, including Beiruit, The New Pornographers, Jose Gonzalez, Josh Ritter, and Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah! When I finally get around to these and others of 2007, I hope I can add a 2007 Year-in-Review, part two. For now, I'll stick to my criticism thus far.]

The Consequences of a Midnight Nap

Laziness, or unemployment, or an unstructured life of freedom, or whatever you chose to call my current lifestyle, has perks and, admittedly, consequences.

Last night, I went to an indie show at one of the city's shabby-chic clubs for the hipster, Urban Outfitters crowd. I went to see Bishop Allen, a Brooklyn-based band that plays lovely, light-hearted fare. It's the kind of music everyone will like if they will ever hear it. It's pure indie pop, if such a genre exists.

Bishop Allen was headlining the show, and I should have known better. I should have. Not to be out-manuevered by this town's multitudes of indie kids, I decided to show up at the club at 9:30, knowing music would start at 10:00. However, I did not take into account that two local bands would perform first, and let's face it, Bishop Allen is not that famous. While crowded, it was not a sold-out show. I could have easily shown up at 10, 10:30, even 11 and been fine. I could have done many other things with my time.

I will say, I enjoyed the earlier portion of the evening, thanks in part to my roommate's impulsive need for chocolate. I goofed off with her as she packed for her trip, knowing in the back of my mind that I would be taking her to the airport at 5 a.m. the next morning.

Still, I went to the show, had a beer, sat around for a good three hours, met some random people, and waited for my band of choice. The first opener: great, a band I would see again for a cover price under $10. The second opener: oh God save us, horrible. A waste of my time. I had only one beer because I was driving and didn't want to spend too much money (alcohol can tear holes through my pockets). But more beer would have helped me suffer through that second band. (The name of which I can't remember. It is just as well, although I would advertise them as bad so my friends will know to avoid them. It's no loss, I suppose.)

Finally, finally, finally, Bishop Allen took the stage and were just as sweet and witty live as recorded, but it was past midnight. I did not get home until 2 a.m.

I woke up at 5 to take my roommate to the airport.

I went back to sleep and woke up at 9:30. I felt like I had the worst hangover of my life, and I had one beer. So I have learned that lack of sleep will produce a worse physical reaction than too much alcohol. But the band was worth it, I swear. They were.