The art is to not give in, to carry on, persevere. You just have to keep going. The great thing about Nigel is; he raises the bar. He drives you hard. You think you’ve done the take, you think you’ve done your overdub, you think it’s in there and then he says: ‘Maybe one more time’. He gets the best performances out of you. He’s amazing. Cause he also drives himself really hard as well. The quality of the stuff that he does is really high. So, it’s good to be driven hard. (Guitarist Ed O’Brien on producer Nigel Godrich )
Radiohead is just wrapping up their latest album and it should released before the end of 2010. Read an interview here, O’brien souds really excited about to whole process of their new album.
He says that it might be “the best record [they’ve] ever made”. But seriously, what could possibly beat the perfect beauty of In Rainbows? We’re waiting to find out!
Also, this means TOUR DATES . I have been waiting to check Radiohead off my list.. and this should be one golden check mark.
Justin Vernon’s band may be on hiatus, but he has been keeping busy! Aside from doing backing vocals for The National’s High Violet, he has evidently been doing a handful of covers. (Check out Bon Iver’s Peter Gabriel here).
Justin Vernon has more recently contributed to a John Prine tribute album. Vernon and several other fabulous acts (who WATS happens to a d o r e), have taken some John Prine songs and recreated them to however they see/hear/feel fit. Oh cover songs, what a great concept. We love cover songs!
The album comes out June 22, 2010 and you can preorder it here!
01. Justin Vernon: “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)”
02. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band: “Wedding Day in Funeralville”
03. My Morning Jacket: “All the Best”
04. Josh Ritter: “Mexican Home”
05. Lambchop: “Six O’Clock News”
06. Justin Townes Earle: “Far From Me”
07. The Avett Brothers: “Spanish Pipedream”
08. Old Crow Medicine Show: “Angel From Montgomery”
09. Sara Watkins: “The Late John Garfield Blues”
10. Drive-By Truckers: “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin”
11. Deer Tick: “Unwed Fathers” [ft. Liz Isenberg]
12. Those Darlins “Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian”
On the evening of Saturday, May 15, 2010 at around the hour of 8 o’clock, The National will perform High Violet in its entirety at a concert benefitting Red Hot, which is an organization dedicated to fighting AIDS by way of raising awareness through music. The concert is going to take place in Brooklyn, New York at Brooklyn’s Academy of Music. For those of you fortunate enough to have gotten tickets before they sold out (within milliseconds, I’m sure), we wish you a fantastic and beautiful evening! For the rest of you (myself included), worry not because – guess what? – the entire performance is going to be streaming, STREAMING, streaming, STREAMing LIVE on Youtube! So, cancel your plans (come on, it’s alright – you’ll live), eliminate all distraction from within 5,001 miles of you and tune in to what I am positively sure will be an amazing performance!
Whoa, but wait – there’s more! Can it really be a two part post? Is it even a post at all? This is all an illusion – isn’t it? NO! It’s not. Please continue scrolling. Thank you!
And here we have it, the official music video for the first single off of High Violet, Bloodbuzz Ohio! Damn. The simplicity of this video takes nothing away from its intimacy. Alone, in a world of black and white, Matt Berninger – with his blazer, shirt, tie and vest in tow- graces our screens with his intense, yet comforting presence and offhanded silly while at the same time charming dance moves. The intensity of his stare and the smooth baritone sound escaping his mouth, holds our focus like a vacuum. Whether on a stroll through the park, laying in the grass, feeding the ducks, – offering an image very reminiscent of old photographs of James Dean – or left on a bar stool, or even against the backdrop of a curtain as nothing but a man, with a glass of wine Berninger never seems to lose track of the debts that he owes and the haunting weight that plagues him while realizing that the land that raised him, was never really his home.
Personally, I adore this video. I see it as honest and simple, never losing sight of the reflective atmosphere of the song itself and the feelings that it garners. Plus, staring at Berninger, as if he is singing to me and only me, for 4 minutes and 36 seconds is definitely a plus – I definitely wouldn’t mind being stuck in a swarm of bees with him for a while. So, before I cross another line – I’d just like to end this post by saying: Well done, The National!
Oh, and this is not the end of our swooning, stay tuned for a review of High Violet (maybe) which was released this week, May 11th and is currently in stores EVERYWHERE! You really have no excuse but to go out there and pick it up!
Roger Waters is doing a The Wall tour which will kick off in Toronto on September 15/16 – I mean really, is there any better place to start off such a tour than the land of the brave and the fre— wait a second… Anyways, these are the thus announced dates:
Toronto, Canada Wednesday 9/15/2010
Toronto, Canada Thursday 9/16/2010
Chicago, IL Monday 9/20/2010
Chicago, IL Tuesday 9/21/2010
Pittsburgh, PA Sunday 9/26/2010
Cleveland, OH Tuesday 9/28/2010
Boston, MA Thursday 9/30/2010
New York, NY Tuesday 10/5/2010
Buffalo, NY Friday 10/8/2010
Washington, DC Sunday 10/10/2010
Uniondale, NY Tuesday 10/12/2010
Civic Center) Hartford, CT Friday 10/15/2010
Centre) Kanata, Canada Sunday 10/17/2010
Montreal, Canada Tuesday 10/19/2010
Columbus, OH Friday 10/22/2010
Auburn Hills, MI Sunday 10/24/2010
Omaha, NE Tuesday 10/26/2010r
Saint Paul, MN Wednesday 10/27/2010
Saint Louis, MO Friday 10/29/2010
Kansas City, MO Saturday 10/30/2010
East Rutherford, NJ Wednesday 11/3/2010
Philadelphia, PA Monday 11/8/2010
Philadelphia, PA Tuesday 11/9/2010
Fort Lauderdale, FL Saturday 11/13/2010
Tampa, FL Tuesday 11/16/2010
Houston, TX Saturday 11/20/2010
Dallas, TX Sunday 11/21/2010
Denver, CO Tuesday 11/23/2010
Las Vegas, NV Friday 11/26/2010
Phoenix, AZ Saturday 11/27/2010
Los Angeles, CA Monday 11/29/2010
San Jose, CA Monday 12/6/2010
Vancouver, Canada Friday 12/10/2010
Tacoma, WA Saturday 12/11/2010
Arrowhead Pond) Anaheim, CA Monday
Father Sheep (goat?), if you are reading this, please proceed to ticketmaster to purchase tickets as soon as they go on sale. Thanks! Tickets go on sale to the public on May 10.
“This is one of our first shows as an unsigned band in eight years or something like that… and it feels really nice, to not have anything cluttering up our lives anymore”
– Jesse Lacey @ Clifton Park, NY, 4/28/10 (source: here)
If you have ever experienced a Brand New concert (or 8, or 13), you should know that it is difficult to actually enjoy it – the fans usually ruin it with their fangirlish screams. Everyone at their shows just assume that Brand New, who used to be signed to Interscope, have the same concert morals and values as their peer bands that have been as successful as them (Ever been to a Taking Back Sunday show? God, they love to entertain. Do we really need to wear suits on stage?)
ANY ways, their shows usually start with the members walking on stage, and end with them walking off stage in the same fashion. Music is played in between. Isn’t that all we really need? They don’t feel the need to put on a “show”, they’re just there to share their music with those who are willing to hear. Jesse Lacey once said that was his goal was “to write some songs that mean so much to people, and sound so beautiful, that people want to fall apart and sleep forever,” and I can’t help but to wonder how it must feel to have reached that.
The 4 (sometimes 5?) band mates and friends have been consistently humble, gracious and modest – some qualities more bands needs to acquire. They are indifferent to anyone and anything that doesn’t have to do with genuine noise. They have never been all about “the scene” and selling out. They’ve never done anything to please anyone but themselves, and while they got a small taste of selling out, they let it go, because as soon as you give into all this corporate pop music bullshit, you’re automatically disgracing the music you make because it becomes about something more than music. Brand New has always made the nobel choice in order to a keep the sounds they make and the words that come from their brains genuine and sacred. And that, is one of many reasons why fans are so attracted and addicted to this band. Sometimes I sit and wonder why I have loved this band as much as I do, for as long as I have. I think I’ve just answered the question, no?
I could write about this band until dawn, but animals need sleep too.. So, lets get on with it, and celebrate that Brand new is now unsigned and free to let their minds wander in which ever creative direction they desire. Have a glass of wine! Smoke a fattie! Go out dancing! Spin in your chair until you feel really dizzy! Go grazing in the finest fields! Whatever you see fit. We are EXTREMELY excited to see which new path these men will create and build. We could not be happier for their independence as artists. Will they sign with a new label, or record with their own Procrastinate Music Traitors? It’s too soon to tell, but we’re excited to find out. One thing I can say right now is that these guys are too passionate about what they do to stop playing music.
Hello Everyone! So, even though we’re been terrible bloggers lately, we are proud to bring you the first ever contest here at WATS! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win one of three copies of MiniBoone’s Big Changes. Be sure to fill our your email field! Three winners will be randomly drawn on April 13/2010! Good luck!
If you haven’t heard (c’mon you’ve heard, right?) Band of Horses is set to release its third full length studio album on May 18, 2010. Are you excited for it? It’s okay, you can admit it – come on, it’s alright to be excited about something, don’t be shy. Well, we are and we are also excited (so much excitement) to bring you the first track off of the much anticipated Infinite Arms titled ‘Compliments.’
So, now that you’ve been reminded (you totally knew before reading this), be sure to bold the calendar box for the 18th of May, trace its four sides with your favorite colored glitter pen and inside of the box paste a picture of a cute little horse head (Godfather imagery not included) and then wait, patiently – crossing off the days one by one with your favorite pastel colored gel pen.
Until then though, be sure to listen to ‘Compliments’ as much as you’d like by taking advantage of the download link below, which will help hold you over.
Oh, yeah and what do you think? I think it’s great and if the rest of the CD is this good, it will definitely be one of my most played of the summer. However, I’m not sure what the Sheep thinks yet because she is on a double date with Dorian Gray and destiny and to be honest, that’s not really something I feel comfortable interrupting – sheep are very passionate beasts, you know.
Band of Horses – Compliments lyrics
(I think)
I’m fixing a drink in the morning
With the way things are, you may have stayed too long
It’s splitting a part at the seams from the hospital call
You’ve known him so long
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And deep in the heart of the country
Was a house I built from logs
A raven and a lady call
I’m quiet and calm through the day
See the sun burn through the hall
Approaching was a yellow dog
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And what are people really for?
Does anybody even care?
I bet you get a lot of compliments down there
If there’s a God up in the air
Someone looking over everyone
At least you’ve got something to fall back on
And do you got something to say?
Is it something coming over you?
And do you got important things left to do?
The track listing for Infinite Arms goes a little something like this:
01. Factory
02. Compliments
03. Laredo
04. Blue Beard
05. On My Way Back Home
06. Infinite Arms
07. Dilly
08. Evening Kitchen
09. Older
10. For Annabelle
11. NW Apt.
12. Neighbor
A while ago, even before the fruitful seeds of spring had been sown into the ground, we made a post regarding Bon Iver’s ‘Flume’ covered by no other than Peter Gabriel (here). Well, today we bring you just the opposite!
On April 17, 2010, in celebration of “Record Store Day” a special Vinyl of the two covers is being released. More information can be found here on the Vintage Vinyl website.
Vernon could have picked up a guitar and taken a standard approach to the cover, but that is not how a Bon Iver project works. Its very spirit has become collaborative and experimental. By enlisting the help of Bon Iver regular Sean Carey, as well his sister and brother in law, Vernon made this a Bon Iver affair, and expanded the Bon Iver family yet further.
So, be sure (SURE) to check out Bon Iver’s cover of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Come Talk To Me’ and if you, you know, like it – borrow it, try it on, see how it fits and then buy it!
I can imagine the moment
Breaking out through the silence
All the things that we both might say
And the heart it will not be denied
‘Til we’re both on the same damn side
All the barriers blown away
I said please talk to me
Won’t you please come talk to me
Just like it used to be
Come on, come talk to me
I did not come to steal
This all is so unreal
Can you show me how you feel now
Come on, come talk to me
It is WAY too beautiful to be inside on the computer right now, so here are some quick updates!
You can finally order a Republic of Wolves vinyl which has 4 songs on it: Cardinals on the A side, and Wood/Bricks, a new song, on the B-side. It also comes with downloads for two alternate versions of For His Old Branches. Listen to it all. here
Also, Vintage Hustle Records have set up a contest for your chance to win some really cool stuff, so check it it out over here.
– dehydrated wolves among the grazing in the sun sheep
We care for one thing here - to share sounds and words and melodies and ideas that are so beautiful, they'll make you want to fall apart and sleep forever.
Come say 'Hi!' at: soundsofwolvesamongsheep@yahoo.ca we don't really bite (that hard) or shed (that much) despite being creatures who hunt and graze for fun! Regardless of whether you love or hate what you see here, we hope that you find what it is you are looking for, eventually.
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The MP3's posted on this blog are intended for previewing purposes only. If you ENJOY what you hear, do what you can to support the band (purchase a CD, go to a show, buy some merchandise, invite the band to a sleep over, have the lead singer sign your face then get it tattooed, etc). If you HATE what you hear, turn the volume down and get over it! More importantly, if you represent an artist or a label and would prefer that we take down an MP3, please email us at soundsofwolvesamongsheep@yahoo.ca and we'd be happy to!
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