Music Snobbery

The MusicSnobbery Playlist, Vol. 8 -- featuring Pepe Deluxe, Still Flyin', Napoleon and more randomness

Last post of the summer, also my 900th post. Wyld!

That's it for the summer, see you sometime next week.

PJ Harvey to Play NYC and L.A., Rest of U.S. Suffers

The P to the J to the Harvey just announced two U.S. dates to coincide with her new album, White Chalk (out Sept. 25).

• Roktober 10: Beacon Theatre, NYC
• Roktober 15: Orpheum, L.A.

No other dates in the works. Tickets on sale September 7th.

Here's the track listing for her new opus.

1. Devil 
2. Dear Darkness 
3. Grow Grow Grow 
4. When Under Ether 
5. White Chalk 
6. Broken Harp 
7. Silence 
8. To Talk To You 
9. Piano 
10. Before Departure 
11. Mountain 

Nicole Atkins Update: Peter Bjorn and Letterman

A fun little update on the adventures of Neptune, NJ's third most famous artist (after Jack Nicholson and Danny Devito). I didn't realize until today that she was part of the big backing chorus for Feist's "1, 2, 3, 4" on Late Show with David Letterman. I'm watching the clip and I see her, my first reaction was "She doesn't own any white clothes."

In any event, her and The Sea will be out front on David Letterman on October 30, which marks the band's debut TV performance debut, not counting their Amex commercial. The Neptune City album also comes out that day.

The other nice tidbit of exclusivity that I have for you is that Nic will do the Victoria Bergsman vocals on "Young Folks" with Peter Bjorn & John for their two NYC area dates, that's Sept. 5 at Maxwell's and Sept. 6 at Roseland Ballroom. That's cool as hell. Whistle away!

UPDATE: It's now safe to relay this as well. I wanted to spill the beans early, but I exercised restraint. She'll also be at the free PB&J Secret MySpace.com Show on Sept. 4th at Philadelphia First Unitarian Church.

Finally, the crew will hit the road with The Raveonettes on their fall tour. Here are the dates:

• Oct 10:  Southpaw -- Brooklyn, New York
• Oct 11:  Maxwell’s -- Hoboken, New Jersey
• Oct 12:  Bowery Ballroom -- New York City, New York
• Oct 13:  Mohawk Place -- Buffalo, New York
• Oct 14:  Lee's Place -- Toronto
• Oct 16:   Magic Stick -- Detroit, Michigan
• Oct 17:  The Basement -- Columbus, Ohio
• Oct 18:  Beachland Ballroom -- Cleveland, Ohio
• Oct 19:  Empty Bottle -- Chicago, Illinois
• Oct 20:  Mad Planet -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Oct 21:  7th Street Entry -- Minneapolis, Minnesota

Northern State/Holy Hail/Palomar @ Luna Lounge

Let's see how many hip-hop slang terms I can pack into one post.

First off, shout out to the Phillies for laying a beat down on the Mets -- THREE times. Holla!

Tonight was the the record release par-tay for Northern State's third album, Can I Borrow This Pen? It dropped on Tuesday. When you have these release gigs, the mood is more celebratory, so bands just throw down on stage. The girls have always been a lively stage act with tonight being no exception.

You either get Northern State or you don't. I down with them like I'm down with O.P.P. Their big influence is old school hip-hop from back in the day like Kid-N-Play. I listen to all of that shit when I was kicking it middle school style. Yes, they are a complete tribute to Beastie Boys, but I would also think of them as the extension of Luscious Jackson. Their new album is much more truer to that then their major label opus All City, which didn't serve them well. As you probably know, Ad Rock worked with the crew on the track, "Oh Girl," off the new album which a fresh and funny party track.

The show tonight had a Western theme so I had to rock my red bandanna to reprazent my Jersey crew, you know what I'm saying, holmes. What I like about Northern State as a live act is that they are having fun no matter what. If the crowd is small, they'll still crank it out. If the sound sucks, they can still do their thing. They are truly comfortable on stage and since they are lifelong BFFs, it all goes a-ight.

For now, the N.S. machine hooks up with both Tegan AND Sara for an extensive North America tour. They'll be drinkinf wine spritzers with Eliot Spitzer.

I saw Holy Hail last year when they opened up for Love is All at Warsaw. I thought they sounded awful and all over the map. Since then, they changed their sound a little bit, making it less avant-garde new wave pop and more kraut rock. They did a great job with a single for Born of a Star, it's a little "Rapture" by Blondie-ish, but it works. So I wanted to give them another chance -- and they still stink. There's just no energy to the songs. It lacks attitude, so it just passes by you and you think nothing of it. I want to like them but I just can't muster up any positive feelings after seeing them live a second time.

I faired better with Palomar, who I did get confused with Paramore, that God-awful MTV band that the records companies like to think is indie and under ground, but it's just a piece of shit. Anyway, Palomar is a local band that takes it sounds from mid-90s indie pop-rock --- think Imperial Teen, Breeders or That Dog. The few songs I caught were fine, they have a little rockness to them.

The fun thing that the organizers put together tonight was to get a trans-gendered comedian/commediane called Murray Hill, who looks like guy from Office Space who got into an accident and invented the jump to conclusion mat, to host a dance competition. The first girl, this thin, shy woman, just fucking exploded on stage with her dance. She was amazing and won. The hottie belly-dancer wins points for sexiness, but not for her moves. The third contestant ws a big fat guy, who did nothing but show his big hairy belly, He was last and won a loaf of bread as a prize. That's just encouraging him. Of course, Jules had to get in on the dance contest.

Fastest 3 Minutes in Music Blogging: Catching Up

So now that ATJ is behind us, I focus on actual music blogging. A lot has been floating around in my head, so here are some quick hit thoughts:

-- The Van Halen reunion: It's maybe ten years to late, but I think people will take what they'll can get. According to my rule with reunions, you need 3 of 4 or 4 of 5 for it to count as reunion. They've got three, so it's a go. I've got one piece of advice for them -- separate dressing rooms to keep David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen from killing each other. The more they stay apart the better. I won't be attending, but considered it. I just don't want to be Roth's enabler.

-- Many sites wrote about how Trent Reznor had some harsh criticisms of Billy Corgan, who played the Reading Festival last weekend. "I think trying to resurrect the name Smashing Pumpkins… it's all a bit corporate for me." Corgan then called American girls sluts. I'm reminded of the Pavement song, "Range Life." "Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins/nature kids, I/they don't have no function/ Don't understand what they mean and I could really give a fuck." Top 5 assholes in rock, got to put Corgan on there. So who do you think is more influencial, Pavement or Pumpkins? Pavement.

-- What ever happened to The Horrors? They were like the darlings of NME when they came into consciousness. They had the cover and anything the band did they devoted plenty of space to it. Today, nothing. Talk about crashing and burning. Don't be surprised if their second album goes nowhere.

-- We've been pretty fortunate in August that we've had stellar albums come out. New Pornographers, Rilo Kiley, Justice and M.I.A. Kala is just sick, crazy, insane awesome. It makes you wonder how M.I.A.'s brain works. I have one complaint about the album -- one song to long. The Timbaland song, "Come Around," just hangs there. Paper Planes would have been the perfect ending. I felt the same way about Sigur Ros's Ágætis Byrjun. That was two songs to long, should have ended with "Olsen Olsen."

-- The band I'm keeping an eye of these days is named Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring. Besides the fantastic name taken from the Beach Boys song, they are disciples of Belle & Sebastian for sure. They fall into genre I've titled, Kid's Music for Adults. I really have to find a better name. I hate that term, twee. Anyway, they perfectly capture the glee that comes with crafting a pop song -- lots of full male-female vocals and plenty of harmony. I particularly like St. Cecilia, where the song just stops and the guitar parts takes over. As for the band, they are from London. No official website yet, no record deal, but they got some good tunes on their myspace page.

-- That Viva Viagra commercial is still making me ill. I turn the sound off when it comes on. It's now on radio commercials now.

-- Finally, I just would like to thump my chest a little, if I may. Yesterday, I told you about Kate Nash's record deal, EP release and NYC dates. I knew she was coming to the U.S. before she went on an extensive European tour, but wanted to get concrete confirmation. You know, facts are sometimes helpful.

I saw the release on the PR wire yesterday afternoon. Great, fantastic news. Just one thing, they got the tour dates wrong. She plays Luna Lounge first (Sept. 24), then Joe's Pub (Sept. 25). So I was first to post the news, and wrote the correct NYC dates. Well, I can tell where my site clicks are coming from. Someone at Geffen Records picked up on it and probably sent it around to colleagues because I saw a lot of clicks on my post not coming from a hotlink on a website. About an hour later, the press release was taken down. A few hours later, it was back up with correct dates that I pointed out. So Geffen Records ... YOU'RE WELCOME!

Some website are reporting the wrong dates (Billboard, NME). Blah, fact checkers cost money, who needs them on a payroll.

More Photo & Video Goodness from After the Jump

These snaps and vids were taken by PunkPhoto:

Here's a fun little video playlist featuring Locksley, Golem, Bling Kong and Free Blood:

Kate Nash Signs with Geffen Records, Makes New York Debut in September

I had been hearing rumblings about the announcement of Kate Nash's imminent record deal and live dates. "Just you wait," I was told. Finally, word is official. She's signed with Geffen Records and will release a Foundation EP via iTunes on Sept 4. Here's the track listing:

• Foundations
• Caroline's a Victim
• Navy Taxi
• Habanera

Her full length, Made of Bricks, will be available in the U.S. in early 2008. No, get the album now. It's one of the best debuts from a singer-songwriter in years. I was hoping to do a track by track breakdown when I got the advance, but been too busy. Find it via ebay or amazon.co.uk, it will make your day better.

Finally, the Nash is coming to New York, two dates.

• September 24, Luna Lounge (tix)
• September 25, Joe's Pub

Oh, yeah, I'm there. Nation, you've been alerted.

After the Jump Festival Photo Goodness

Here's some of the action that went during our 1st After the Jump Festival. Our beloved sponsor MetroMix.com has a fantastic set of pictures.

These comes from Modern Age:

These are some shots from Subinev:

After The Jump Post-Mortem

After three months of planning and 1,000 e-mails between us all, the 1st After the Jump Festival happened yesterday at Studio B. Our outdoor permit being denied was kind of a blessing in disguise, being that it was 95 degrees with 100% humidity and sunshine. It was downright unbearable outside so having it indoors within the cool confines of Studio B worked out. Although, our second stage in the backroom was stuffy.

When I picked up our postcards on Tuesday, it hit me that this thing was going to happen. We had a logo, bands, venue, sponsors, a charity -- the whole she-bang. I was pretty nervous during the week, didn't want any major surprises and hoping that efforts would generate interest.

Fast-forward to Friday night, I was up until 3am finalizing the myriad of raffle prizes. Next thing I knew, it's Saturday 2pm and the Teenager Prayers are opening the show and rocking the main stage.

The thing I think of first when I think of the day is how great the bands were. We got some awesome bands taking a chance on us. We are forever indebted to them. If I wasn't a part of this thing, I would be impressed with the line-up we got. I just wished I could have devoted more time to watching. I had never seen Locksley live before and they were just having a blast of a time on stage. The same with Golem and Ra Ra Riot with their frenetic set. Major props to the Bling Kong, Jukebox the Ghost, Goes Cube and Apache Beat who were jammed into our second stage, but packed that room to capacity.

The night show had a decent showing for local boys on the verge of becoming well-known in the music scene, The Virgins. The nice surprise was Free Blood, the outfit featuring John Pugh of !!!. They're a pretty unique outfit, with John and Madeline Davy trading funky lyrics to a programmed beats. They're like the sexy Captain & Tennille.

I think we pulled it off without major catastrophes. For a bunch of bloggers, we were able to give New Yorkers a different kind of festival, and it was all towards a good cause.

On personal note, I want  to give the up-most thanks to the labels, promotional firms, studios and CMJ in donating CD, DVDs, books and passes for the raffle. We able to raise a nice hunk of cash to give to Donors Choose and to music education in New York City. Of course, the people at Studio B bent over backwards to accommodate us. Obviously, the sponsors like Concert.TV, Indaba, MetroMix and Cellfish gave us the means to make this thing happen

We'll have a bunch of photos and videos from the day in the weeks to come. For now, I'm going to go back to doing nothing and relaxing. Tomorrow, I get back to blogging about music. Woo hoo!

P.S.- Last piece of business, whoever has the raffle number ending in 093, you are a winner of a prize pack. If you can produce the ticket, contact me and I'll find a way to get you your loot.

What You Can Win at After the Jump Fest

Okay, gang this is the last post about prizes from our raffle during the day portion of After the Jump. I think I over did it, but we have thousands of dollars worth of CDs, DVDs, Books, t-shirts, vinyl, passes and gift certificates to give away. NOTE: Matthew Lesko will not be there

It's easy, 1 ticket for $3, 2 for $5. We'll start announcing at around 4pm between acts, they'll be 10 prize packs in all. You'll see the complete list posted around the venue and at the raffle table.

The big deal is the CMJ passes, which is valued at $500. We have two separate passes to give away.

Here's a partial list of DVDs you can win:

• Serenity, Collector's Edition
• Wonder Showzen, Season Two
• Stargate SG1, Season Nine
• My Name is Earl, Season One DVD + Soundtrack CD
• That's 70s Show, Season Five and Six
• Scrubs, Complete Third Season
• Steve Martin Comedy Collection
• Boston Legal, Season Two
• Tom Hanks Comedy Favorites
• Mork & Mindy, Season Two
• Elvis Costello DVDs
• ER, Season Seventh
• American Masters: Andy Warhol
• Million Dollar Baby, 3-Disc Special Edition
• Yanni Live at the Acropolis
• and much, much more

Here are some of the previous posted on CD prizes you can win:

• The View, Hats Off to the Buskers
• Noisettes, What's the Time, Mr. Wolf
• Once Soundtrack
• Bruce Springsteen, Live in Dublin & We Shall Overcome
• Peter Bjorn and John, Writer's Block
• Razorlight
• Mika, Life in Cartoon Motion
• Liars Prize Packs
• Calvin Harris, I Invented Disco
• Mason Proper, There Is A Moth in Your Chest
• This is Next, Indie's Biggest Hits Vol. 1
• The Hottest State Prize Pack
• Mark Ronson, Version
• Moving Units, Hexes for Exes
• Biffy Clyro, Puzzle
• Robbers on Higt Street, Grand Animals
• CMJ Marathon Passes
• UNKLE, War Stories
• Interpol, Our Love to Admire
• Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger

If you act tomorrow, you can win these other titles as well:

• Death Cab for Cutie, Plans
• The Fratellis, Costello Music
• Midnight Movies
• Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly, Angry Mob
• Josh Ritter, Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
• Stars, Do You Trust Your Friends
• Paul Simon, Greatest hits 2CD set
• The Automatic, Not Accepted Anywhere
• Sandi Thom, Smile ... It Confused People
• EPO-555, Mafia
• Project Jenny, Project Jam
• A Fine Frenzy, One Cell in the Sea
• Laurie Anderson, Big Science (Remastered)
• The Rapture, Pieces of People We Love
• The Walkmen, Hundred Miles Off
• Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Common, Finding Forever
• Donnie Darko Soundtrack
• Money Mark, Brand New By Tomorrow
• The Long Winters, When I Pretend
• The Horrors, Strange House
• Fountains of Wayne, Traffic and Weather
• Clearlake, Amber
• Manchester Orchestra, I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child
• Adult., Anxiety Always
• Benzos, Branches
• Ex-Boyfriends, Dear John
• Aqualung, Strange Beautiful
• Jeffrey Lewis with Jack Lewis & Anders Griffin, It's the Ones Who've Cracked That the Light Shines Through
• and much much much much more.....

Again, they'll be other surprises as well, but you have to come tomorrow to find out.

More business things to take care of, After the Jump Fest would not be possible without our sponsors and partners, so we need to give them props....

• Cellfish Media 
• MetroMix.com 
• Concert.tv 
• Indaba Music 
• Imeem 
• CMJ 
• Colt 45 
• Studio B