Shred Yr Face : The Skinny
So we already brought you a teaser of info about the forthcoming triple-fun-shot-fest that is SHREDYRFACE. Now here's the full lowdown :WEBSITE:
SHREDYRFACE.COM
This will be regularly updated on the road by all bands, showing you exactly what goes on on tour. So keep heading back there for updates and exclusives.
LOGO:
INFO:
Times New Viking, No Age and Los Campesinos! travel across the UK in a big old bus, singing show tunes and making noise. Often individually, occasionally together. We're pretty sure a bit of Kumbaya will be going down.
DATES :
October
14 Brighton, England - Komedia
15 Liverpool, England - Academy 2
16 Leeds, England - Irish Centre
17 Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
18 Glasgow, Scotland - School of Arts
19 London, England - Pure Groove (in-store) (3 p.m.)
19 London, England - Beyond Retro (in-store) (5 p.m.)
19 London, England - Rough Trade East (in-store) (7 p.m.)
20 London, England - Electric Ballroom
21 Bristol, England - Fleece
7" ACTION :
The three bands have got their collective heads together for a limited edition tour 7" that will be available from the Coalition group of indie stores in the UK.
Tracklisting :
01 Los Campesinos!: "Death to Los Campesinos! (Napoleon III Remix)"
02 No Age: "Revolving Credit for Kitty"
03 Times New Viking: "Anything Could Happen" (The Clean cover)
INSTORE(S) :
As well as all this, there's gonna be some super hot instore action where you can get up close and personal with each band. Maybe you'll even get sweated on by Beth?
October
14 Brighton Resident - No Age
16 Leeds Crash - Times New Viking
19 London Pure Groove (3pm)
19 London Beyond Retro (5pm)
19 London Rough Trade East (7pm)
22 Manchester Piccadilly - Los Campesinos!
So this is where it gets a little confusing. You'll already get TNV up at the Leeds Crash store, but as well as that, all three bands will play a store of their choice around London on October 19th. They'll hit Pure Groove at 3 p.m., Beyond Retro at 5 p.m., and Rough Trade East at 7 p.m., but its currently a big secret as to who plays where. So why not go to all?
ONE LAST THING :
Seattle artist Carlos Ruiz has designed a t-shirt and a limited edition silkscreened poster for the Shred Yr Face tour, both of which will be available at the shows and at Coalition stores. So get down there early and bag your own piece of history.
Lars : The Customer Is Always Wrong
(above : not Lars Ulrich)
"Like DethKlok," writes Wired's Elliot Van Bushrick, "Metallica has its every action scrutinized to an extent other bands can only dream of, as if one misstep by the group were capable of causing a worldwide economic meltdown." Or perhaps, they're even worse at coping with public criticism than a certain independent record label?
The band's loquacious drummer Lars Ulrich says fans need to quit bellyaching, accept the released version of the 'Death Magnetic' and stop signing an over 12,000 names-strong petition to have the album re-mixed and re-released.
Ulrich told Blender, "Listen, there's nothing up with the audio quality. It's 2008, and that's how we make records. [Producer] Rick Rubin's whole thing is to try and get it to sound lively, to get it sound loud, to get it to sound exciting, to get it to jump out of the speakers. Of course, I've heard that there are a few people complaining. But I've been listening to it the last couple of days in my car, and it sounds fuckin' smokin'."
He said that in the online world, negative comments reverberate stronger than positive ones. "The Internet gives everybody a voice, and the Internet has a tendency to give the complainers a louder voice. Listen, I can't keep up with this shit. Part of being in Metallica is that there's always somebody who's got a problem with something that you're doing: 'James Hetfield had something for breakfast that I don't like.' That's part of the ride."
Fucked Up's Damian wears clothes in FRONT magazine
Click above and find out exactly why Damian has the best tits to ever go in a magazine. It had me convinced anyway.
Want to dress like your favourite Canadian FRONTman? Follow this link here for cool threads, the likes of which will undoubtedly lead to you hanging out with Charlotte from The Subways in a field in Berkshire, a lifetime ambition I've yet to fulfill until now.
Shearwater — The Snow Leopard EP
Cover art features a detail of Hardriim, from City Of Salt, by Kahn + Selesnick
On October 14 Shearwater will be releasing The Snow Leopard. This digital EP draws its title track from June's critically lauded Rook, and adds many of the non-album B-sides and giveaway tracks, plus several striking recordings from radio sessions over the past few months. All fully and beautifully remastered. As with Rook, the cover art derives from the work of the artists Kahn + Selesnick. The complete track listing can be found underneath the tour dates, below. Special pricing and preorder deal will be available shortly from the Matador Store.
For those of you who haven't yet discovered Rook, download a 192k MP3 of the song "The Snow Leopard" here:
The Snow Leopard (192k MP3)
Shearwater will be touring in support of the EP:
Mon, Oct 13 Chicago IL - Lakeshore Theater - with Hospital Ships
Tue, Oct 14 Cleveland OH - Beachland Tavern - with Hospital Ships
Wed, Oct 15 Washington DC - Kennedy Ctr — Millennium Stage,
Fri, Oct 17 Annandale NY - Bard College
Sun, Oct 19 Boston MA - Cafe 939 at Berklee - with Hospital Ships
Mon, Oct 20 New York NY - Le Poisson Rouge - with Hospital Ships
Fri, Oct 24 Asheville NC - Grey Eagle (stripped-down set)
Sat, Oct 25 Durham NC - Duke Coffee House (stripped-down set)
Fri, Nov 7 Brussels BE - Botanique
Sat, Nov 8 Antwerp BE De Nachten
Sun, Nov 9 Utrecht NL - Tivoli
Mon, Nov 10 Rouen FR - Club 106 - with Silver Mt. Zion
Tue, Nov 11 Paris FR - Le Bataclan with Silver Mt. Zion
Wed, Nov 12 Feyzin FR - L'Epicerie Moderne
Thu, Nov 13 St-Gallen CH - Palace
Fri, Nov 14 Lausanne CH - Le Romandie
Sun, Nov 16 Schorndorf DE - Manufaktur
Mon, Nov 17 Berlin DE - Postbahnhof with Okkervil River
Tue, Nov 18 Dresden DE - Beatpol
Wed, Nov 19 Hamburg DE - Nachtasyl
Thu, Nov 20 Ghent BE - Vooruit
Fri, Nov 21 The Hague NL - Crossing Borders Festival
Sat, Nov 22 London UK - St. Giles in the Fields Church
Sun, Nov 23 Coventry UK - Taylor John's House
Mon, Nov 24 Brighton UK - Komedia
OLE-850 Shearwater The Snow Leopard digital EP
(available from all digital stores October 14):
1. The Snow Leopard (album version)
2. So Bad (iTunes bonus track)
3. North Col (vinyl and iTunes bonus track)
4. Henry Lee (live from KUT)
5. Rooks (live from Radio K)
6. I Was A Cloud (live from Radio K)
7. South Col / The Snow Leopard (live from Florence Gould Hall, NYC)
Track 2, "So Bad," is a Baby Dee cover. Track 4, "Henry Lee," is an American traditional song recorded by Nick Cave and Peggy Seeger among others.
Q : What Do Peter Saville, Malcom Garrett, Mark Ohe and The Design Team Behind The Frantix' "My Dad's A Fucking Alcoholic" 7" Have In Common?
A : Aside from being creative geniuses? They've all been unfairly ignored by whoever compiled this list.
Jennifer O'Connor- Live On WNYC Today
Jennifer O'Connor will be performing live on WNYC's Soundcheck with John Schaefer today at 2:30PM at 93.9 on your FM dial in NYC and online at wnyc.org. Be advised that we're gonna suspend all promotional campaigning on the Matablog until the national's financial crash is sorted out. Or until later this afternoon, whichever comes first.
Jennifer will also be playing the Mercury Lounge tonight (10:30) and Brooklyn's Union Hall on Sunday, both gigs in support of Great Lake Swimmers.
Fucking Up The NME - The Making Of...
So it's on the shelves this week, Fucked Up finally get their cover time. Blood (real), nakedness, Manginas, dark secrets and an insight into life with Fucked Up.You can check out a short clip of Danny North doing the cover shot in a north of England Halal supermarket on his Flickr HERE.
Coming January 20 : A.C. Newman's 'Get Guilty'
We're pleased to confirm --- after other outlets have done so, natch --- a January 20, 2008 release date for the LP/CD/digital album 'Get Guilty', the 2nd full-length from A.C Newman, the Vancouver-to-Brooklyn transplant best known to most of us as the primary mind & voice behind The New Pornographers. The first A.C. Newman album, 2004's 'The Slow Wonder' was awfully well received but we're confident 'Get Guilty' raises the bar on Carl Newman's songwriting prowess even higher. We're talking about a guy we already consider to be one of his generation's most accomplished pop composers, and suffice to say we consider ourselves crazy lucky he's got more skills & ideas than can be confined in one project.
We're a couple of weeks off from making an MP3 available, however said legal leakage will be part of Matador's upcoming Fall 2008 Intended Play digital sampler (more news on that to follow).
'Get Guilty' (OLE 834-1,2) was recorded during '08 at Brooklyn's Seaside Lounge with Phil Palazzo. . Along with the dozen or so other players Carl roped into this affair, the album also features cameos from Jon Wurster (Superchunk), Mates Of State and Nicole Atkins.
Much of the 'Get Guilty' contents will receive their live debut on November 15, when A.C. Newman takes to the stage of The Bell House (Brooklyn).
All Wrongs Reversed : The Internet Is One Tough Town
Ahem.Last week I pressed the old school Clyde Kane button and went (mildly) apeshit on an unnamed participant from the Sonic Youth message board. I would like to apologize to this individual for the following reasons :
1) He did not, in fact, call this label "a big heap o' crud".
2) At no time did he hold us accountable for our failure to make Railroad Jerk (or any other band) "as big as Interpol".
Though I did not directly quote anyone, this was misleading on my part and I apologize. I was trying to make a larger, somewhat exaggerated point about the nature of message board criticism and how this label is held to a funny standard..and that our role in any band's commercial prosperity is sometimes overrated or at least mischaracterized.
That said, I did so by alluding to actual quotes (even using one)...and not merely paraphrasing others, but coming up with a couple of over the top examples, out of the blue. While that made for a funnier blog post (in my estimation), it also wasn't very fair.
From time to time in Matador history, we've taken exception to criticism from the media or the public, but we've always tried to engage in some kind of dialogue, even if it gets a little absurd at times. However, if I'm gonna take offense --- even to express mock outrage --- at inaccurate or biased accounts of Matador's history, it is counterproductive to paint a whole bunch of message board participants with the same brush. Or to misrepresent one individual's complaints purely for the purposes of having a laugh.
We've stopped working with more than a few bands over the course of 19 years. Some left Matador of their own accord, others were dropped (though we love to use the euphemisms about "contractual obligations being fulfilled".) We're rarely happy when these things happen, but it's not necessarily high drama in each instance, either. They're kind of like divorces. Some are less amicable than others. Sometimes there are reconciliations.
But in any event, we're incredibly fortunate that anyone gives enough of a hoot about this label's activities to debate or dissect our musical track record on a message board. And we're fortunate that some of you care enough about the bands to openly question if they've been treated properly. If it weren't for listeners who took this stuff seriously, Matador probably never would've gotten off the ground. So in that sense, it's a bit precious for anyone at Matador (ok, ME) to put on the cranky helmet when someone calls us out. Even if we think they're 100% wrong.
Finally, I would like to clear up one last misunderstanding. It is not true that I came across SY.com jabs at Matador by Googling the words "Fuck Matador". For one, the circumstances surrounding our release of the 4th Jay Reatard single would've popped up much faster. For another, I do occasionally read things on the interweb --- blogs, web sites, message boards, stories about Patrick's stereo, staffers' Linked in profiles etc. Just like anyone else. This isn't research or some attempt at controlling public discourse --- people have occasionally given us grief on the web. We know that's gonna happen and sometimes, it's warranted. But we're participants in that discourse as well, sometimes for reasons entirely related to label PR, but more often just because we're interested. People sometimes ask me, 'what's the most important lesson you, Chris and Patrick have learned from Tony Victory", and after I look him up on Google to make sure I don't get him mixed up with Tony Curtis, I reply that we're all about respecting the audience's intelligence.
ie. whatever we observe Tony doing, we try to do the opposite.
Last week, I failed to live by that credo.
Pavement — Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed.
November 18 will see the release of Mark IV in our series of deluxe reissues of the original Pavement albums. Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. sports the amazing packaging and deep contents that you've seen in our previous three deluxe editions. Like the first three editions, released every 2 years since 2000, this package treats Pavement's fourth album right, with two CDs containing the entire 1997 record, remastered from the original tapes, plus all the B-sides and compilation tracks from that period, and a plethora of unreleased live and studio tracks as enumerated below. The CDs come in an embossed slipcase with a 62-page perfect-bound book containing photos, ephemera, writings and more. (The record will be out on Domino in Europe and Matador everywhere else.)
Matador will be doing a Buy Early Get Now promotion for this record, and the extras will be very special indeed. We
DISC ONE
Now see the final, much changed track listing.
1. Stereo
2. Shady Lane / J Vs. S
3. Transport is Arranged
4. Date w/ IKEA
5. Old to Begin
6. Type Slowly
7. Embassy Row
8. Blue Hawaiian
9. We Are Underused
10. Passat Dream
11. Starlings of the Slipstream
12. Fin
13. Westie Can Drum - Stereo B-side
14. Winner of the... - Stereo B-side
15. Birds In The Majic Industry - UNRELEASED VOCAL VERSION WILL TAKE PLACE OF RELEASED INSTRUMENTAL ‘STEREO’ B-SIDE VERSION
16. Slowly Typed - Shady Lane B-side
17. Cherry Area - Shady Lane B-side
18. Wanna Mess You Around - Shady Lane B-side
19. No Tan Lines - Shady Lane B-side
21. Harness Your Hopes - Spit On A Stranger B-side
22. Roll With the Wind - Spit On A Stranger B-side
20. And Then... - A MUCH SHORTER VERSION OF THIS APPEARED ON THE Spit On A Stranger 7" B-side BUT this is the full 7-minute+ version
DISC TWO
BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997
1. Then
2. Harness Your Hopes
3. The Killing Moon
4. Winner of the...
5. Embassy Row Psych Intro - UNRELEASED INTRO – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE
6. Nigel - UNRELEASED SONG – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE
7. Chevy (Old To Begin) - UNRELEASED VERSION – BTC SESSIONS
8. Roll With The Wind (Roxy) - UNRELEASED VERSION – BTC SESSIONS
VPRO Loladamusica TV show, April 4, 1997
9 . For Sale! The Preston School of Industry -- UNRELEASED SONG
10. Oddity (from the ‘God Save The Clean’ compilation)
11. Type Slowly (live) (from the ‘Free Tibet’ compilation)
KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 25, 1997
12. Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer In a Non-Alcoholic Bar - UNRELEASED SONG
13. Maybe Maybe - UNRELEASED VERSION
BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session August 21, 1997
14. Date w/ IKEA
15. Fin
16. Grave Architecture
17. The Classical
18. Space Ghost Theme I - UNRELEASED SONG - RECORDED LIVE AT WFNX, Boston, February 12, 1997
19. Space Ghost Theme II - UNRELEASED SONG SONG - RECORDED LIVE AT WFNX, Boston, February 12, 1997
20. Beautiful as a Butterfly - UNRELEASED SONG – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE
21. Cataracts - UNRELEASED SONG – BTC SESSIONS OUTTAKE
The first MP3 will be available soon as part of our Fall Intended Play digital zipfile. Again, keep your eyes on this space.
Great Moments In Indoor Marketing : Fucked Up's 'Chemistry Of Common Life' EPK
EPK is not an acronym for "electronic penis klinik."
EPK by Zach Feldberg... and Damian Abraham. Gallery photograph by Terry Richardson. With YouTube footage from: soulside, JadeAndJessica, supermassivehole, goodlookinout, iwantlovehandles, scotoma and jadetree.
Mogwai - Remaining North American Dates Postponed.
We regret to be passing the following information along...After playing at ATP last night, Martin was rushed to hospital with complications relating to his heart condition. He has since been discharged and has been advised by doctors to return home
for further medical treatment. Details regarding ticket refunds will be announced shortly on Mogwai and Matador's website. The band however are planning to reschedule the
shows for early 2009.
More news to follow. Thanks. These are the dates affected :
| Mon, Sep 22nd 2008 | 8:00 pm | Wlbur Theatre | Boston, MA | USA | ||
| Tue, Sep 23rd 2008 | 8:00 pm | Metropolis | Montreal, QC | Canada | ||
| Wed, Sep 24th 2008 | 8:00 pm | Phoenix | Toronto, | Canada | ||
| Thu, Sep 25th 2008 | 8:00 pm | The Crofoot | Pontiac, MI | USA | ||
| Fri, Sep 26th 2008 | 8:00 pm | Congress Theater | Chicago, IL | USA | ||
| Sat, Sep 27th 2008 | 8:00 pm | First Avenue | Minneapolis, MN |
Fucked Up Party NYC Sept 20
HEY DUDES
Fucked Up will be playing a free party at Santos Party House in New York tonight. It is free to get in and the band goes on at 11pm. Email [email protected] to try and get on the guestlist!
FUCKED UP 11pm
VAMPIRE WEEKEND 10pm
ANDREW WK Says Whats Up 12am
JAY REATARD 7pm
Coming In November : Belle & Sebastian - The BBC Sessions
First things first : we have no news regarding new Belle & Sebastian dates or recording. If we did, trust us, it would've been leaked to Pitchfork already. That said, on November 18 we'll be releasing a double CD/double LP collection entitled 'The BBC Sessions', with one disc comprising radio sessions (duh) recorded from 1996-2001, and disc two culled from a December 2001 gig. More news and/or MP3 leakage to follow, promise.
Disc One - Radio Sessions:
01 The State I Am In (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
02 Like Dylan in the Movies (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
03 Judy and the Dream of Horses (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
04 The Stars of Track and Field (Mark Radcliffe Session; 07/96)
05 I Could Be Dreaming (Mark Radcliffe session; 12/96; abbreviated version)
06 Seymour Stein (Evening Session; 07/97)
07 Lazy Line Painter Jane (Evening Session; 07/97)
08 Sleep the Clock Around (Evening Session; 07/97)
09 Slow Graffiti (Evening Session; 07/97)
10 Wrong Love (later recorded as "The Wrong Girl") (Evening Session; 07/97)
11 Shoot the Sexual Athlete (John Peel session; 05/01)
12 The Magic of a Kind Word (John Peel session; 05/01)
13 Nothing in the Silence (John Peel session; 05/01)
14 (My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique (John Peel session; 05/01)
Disc Two - Live in Belfast (12/21/01):
01 Here Comes the Sun
02 There's Too Much Love
03 The Magic of a Kind Word
04 Me and the Major
05 Wandering Alone
06 The Model
07 I'm Waiting for the Man
08 The Boy With the Arab Strap
09 The Wrong Girl
10 Dirty Dream #2
11 The Boys Are Back in Town
12 Legal Man
Great Moments In Outdoor Marketing
I kinda like Geraldo Rivera's scolding tone --- he's clearly above stunts and wasting the public's time.
Shearwater visit London (about bloody time!), return to Europe in November
(photo above of the Rough Trade East performance where they played Rook from start to finish and I nearly cried like a baby several times)
Having spent 48 hours in the company of the wonderful Shearwater I have learned the following:
1) They are an incredibly nice group of individuals,
2) Jonathan possesses a voice that defies human ability and laws of nature,
3) Tissues are absolutely necessary as losing one's dignity at a show tends to undermine you in front of friends, esteemed colleagues and complete strangers.
Photos below of the Bush Hall show where the band (and audience) finished up proceedings around the grand piano for a stunning unplugged version of 'Rook' swansong The Hunter's Star:
All photos taken by me. Big thanks to "The Power of Monk" at The Local and Phil Adams at Rough Trade East.
Shearwater return in November for an extensive European tour. Bring a hanky.
November:
7th - Botanique, Brussels (B)
8th - De Nachten, Antwerpen (B)
9th - Tivoli, Utrecht (NL) - w/ Destroyer
10th - Club 106, Paris (F) - w/ Silver Mt Zion
11th - Le Bataclan, Paris (F) - w/ Silver Mt Zion
12th - L'Epicerie Moderne, Feyzin (F)
13th - Palace, St-Gallen (CH)
14th - Le Romandie, Lausanne (CH)
16th - Manufaktur, Schorndorf (D)
17th - Postbahnhof, Berlin (D) - w/ Okkervil River
18th - Beatpol, Dresden (D)
19th - Nachtasyl, Hamburg (D)
20th - Voorhuit, Ghent (B)
21th - Crossing Border, Den Haag (NL)
22th - St Giles in the Fields Church, London (UK)
23rd - Taylor John's House, Coventry (UK)
24th - Komedia, Brighton (UK)
Matador's <strike>Sordid</strike> Spectacular History : The Mysteries Of U-MV170
We've been chit-chatting for a while now about adding a feature to the Matablog specifically devoted to a former Matador band and/or old moment from the label's history, and such a move is long overdue. It just so happens this notion came up again a day or two after some rocket scientist posted on the Sonic Youth.com message board that Matador was a big heap o' crud because we "dropped Bardo Pond." Listen pal, unless your name is Darren Mock or Barry Hogan, you can fuck off. We put out 4 Bardo Pond albums and did the very best we could. Seriously, the web is Blame The Label Central. How about blaming some of the fans who aren't interesting, attractive, charismatic or funny enough to get anyone to check out their favorite bands?*But I digress. There's a video reel marked "U-M1V70" featuring a succession of mid '90's promotional clips by Matador bands. Some shadowy figure has uploaded it's contents to YouTube (thank you very much). From time to time, we're gonna link to a few of them and give you, the adoring public, yet another opportunity to lambaste The Record Company Assholes for their failure to make fill-in-the-blank (in this case, NYC's fantastic Railroad Jerk) as big as Interpol. Or conversely, lord it over everyone under the age of 35 just how fucking awesome you were to have known about this stuff the first time around. If you wanna talk about music, by all means, feel free, just keep in mind space is limited (we've got a strict 75% recriminations / 25% rock division we're sticking to, mostly out of habit.
Railroad Jerk - "These Streets". Directed by Jim Spring & Jens Jurgensen, from the album 'Raise The Plow'
(* - we do genuinely believe the majority of Matador record buyers are extremely interesting, attractive, charismatic and funny. Especially when they are giving us money. Even when they're griping on message boards)
Most Assuredly Not The New Mogwai Video
Much as we appreciate the attempt to provide visual accompaniment to 'The Hawk Is Howling''s "The Sun Smells Too Loud", the above video is anything but authorized. Duh.
On the other hand, Mo' Fuzz appreciates the production values.
Mogwai - 'The Hawk Is Howling' Streaming Now
The new Mogwai album 'The Hawk Is Howling' can be heard from start to finish, starting today at the band's MySpace profile. If you're not into MySpace, be advised we thought about streaming the album from random Linkedin profiles of persons who sent us job applications, but it was suggested that would kind of stupid if we wanted many people to hear it. Besides, y'know, aspiring rock biz professionals.