Tuesday, May 13, 2014

"To Be Kind" Drops Today

To Be Kind

With this announcement, the best album of 2014, possibly the best album of the decade, even arguably the greatest album ever, dropped:
Hello There, 
We (Swans) have recently completed our new album. It is called To Be Kind. The release date is set for May 13, 2014. It will be available as a triple vinyl album, a double CD, and a 2xCD Deluxe Edition that will include a live DVD. It will also be available digitally. 
The album was produced by me, and it was recorded by the venerable John Congleton at Sonic Ranch, outside El Paso Texas, and further recordings and mixing were accomplished at John’s studio in Dallas, Texas. We commenced rehearsals as Sonic Ranch in early October 2013, began recording soon thereafter, then completed the process of mixing with John in Dallas by mid December 2013. 
A good portion of the material for this album was developed live during the Swans tours of 2012/13. Much of the music was otherwise conjured in the studio environment. 
The recordings and entire process of this album were generously and perhaps vaingloriously funded by Swans supporters through our auspices at younggodrecords.com via the release of a special, handmade 2xCD live album entitled Not Here/Not Now. See details here: http://bit.ly/1nekqma 
The Swans are: Michael Gira, Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris, Christopher Pravdica. 
Special Guests for this record include: Little Annie (Annie sang a duet with me on the song Some Things We Do, the strings for which were ecstatically arranged and played by Julia Kent); St. Vincent  (Annie Clark sang numerous, multi-tracked vocals throughout the record); Cold Specks (Al contributed numerous multi-tracked vocals to the song Bring the Sun); Bill Rieflin (honorary Swan Bill played instruments ranging from additional drums, to synthesizers, to piano, to electric guitar and so on. He has been a frequent contributor to Swans and Angels of Light and is currently playing with King Crimson)... 
FULL MUSICIAN CREDITS: Swans: Michael Gira - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar; Norman Westberg - electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals; Phil Puleo - drums, percussion, dulcimer, piano, keys, vocals; Christoph Hahn - lap steel guitars, electric guitar, vocals; Thor Harris - drums / percussion, vibes and bells, wind instruments, handmade viola, vocals; Christopher Pravdica - bass guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals. Honorary Swan Forever: Bill Rieflin - (on multiple songs throughout the record) drums / percussion, piano, bass, guitar, synths, keyboards. Guest Musicians: Duet with MG on Some Things We Do - Little Annie. Strings and String Arrangement on Some Things We Do - Julia Kent. Background Vocals on Nathalie Neal, Bring the Sun, Screen Shot, Kirsten Supine - St. Vincent (appears courtesy of Loma Vista Recordings). Background vocals on Bring the Sun - Cold Specks (appears courtesy of Mute Artists LTD). Background Vocals on She Loves Us, A Little God in My Hands - Jennifer Church. More Musicians (Dallas): Violin - Daniel Hart; Mandolin - Rex Emerson; Trombone - David Pierce; Trumpet - Evan Weiss; Piano, Harpsichord, Synth - Sean Kirkpatrick; Piano – John Congleton. 
I love you!
Michael Gira
May 13th.  The day that changed everything.



Monday, May 12, 2014

Shaky Knees, Day Three

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Okay, with Day Three over and done with, I have to start off by revising my references from "Friday > Sunday > Saturday" to "Sunday > Friday > Saturday."  The best day of Shaky Knees, yet, 2014 or 2013.

More details to follow, but here are the performers I caught:

Benjamin Booker 

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A new discovery, BB played a tight, smoking set of blues rock to kick off the day.

San Fermin

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Shaky Knees was San Fermin's first appearance in Atlanta, and they gave us an insanely good performance of orchestral indie rock, complete with horns, strings, a pair of singers, great songs, and a dynamic, lively stage presence.  How good were they?  Not only did they chase the weekend's clouds away, ushering in a sunny, summery afternoon and breaking the Shaky Knees curse stretching back to last year, but they were the only non-headliner I've ever seen at a festival that were allowed an encore.  I can't wait to see these folks again.  

Langhorne Slim & The Law

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No stranger to Atlanta, but Langhorne gave a high-energy performance of country-rock and rockabilly.

Deer Tick

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The always unpredictable John McCauley led his band Deer Tick through their set wearing a skirt, striped socks, and a red "LSD" t-shirt.  Then things got crazy.  A fun set on the sunny day, and he even brought his wife out on stage for a touching duet.

Jason Isbell  

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Things slowed down a bit during ex-Drive-By Truckers Jason Isbell's set of country tunes and heartbreak ballads.  If I had paid more attention, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more, but standing in the sun in the packed audience made his set feel like a bit of a chore, and probably the longest 60 minutes of the weekend.  But dude, it was me, not you, and I did truly enjoy the duets with singer Candi Staton (pictured).

Iron & Wine

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Sam Beam didn't pick the pace up much for his set, but due to the sheer melodicism of his performance and the quality of his song-writing, Iron & Wine's 60 minutes passed in the twinkling of an eye, and another hour of his set would have gone down smooth and easy.

Trampled By Turtles

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We saw TBT last year at Bumbershoot and enjoyed their finger-picking bluegrass passages, but were turned off by their frequent ballads and slower-paced material.  Yesterday at Shaky Knees, it was all the faster stuff to the enjoyment of the exuberant crowd, and your humble narrator.

Local Natives 

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Our fourth time now seeing LA's Local Natives, and their relentless, constant touring have honed their stage show to perfection.  They paced their set perfectly, ending as they always do with their exhilarating Sun Hands and Taylor Rice stage diving into the audience.  Before that, they announced this was the last date of their current tour, and they'll be heading into the studio to record their third album.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

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Our third time now seeing LA's Edward Sharpe and company, this time without co-singer Jade.  As always, frontamn Alex Ebert kept the goings informal and interactive, blurring the lines between band and audience until the set felt liked a shared celebration on and off the stage.  At one point, a couple came up on stage and the guy proposed to his girl in front of the Shaky Knees audience.  I believe she accepted.

Alabama Shakes

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This was my first time seeing festival headliner Britney Howard and her band, Alabama Shakes.  Their selection as headliner generated a lot of on-line controversy, with people saying they didn't have the chops to headline or couldn't live up to the bands playing before them.  All those people are wrong.  Alabama Shakes killed it, putting on a gut-wrenching set of soulful rock songs and an electrifying vocal performance by Ms. Howard.  I didn't know what I was in for, and her set literally knocked me out.

As before, here's your video recap, with music by Langhorne Slim:

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Shaky Knees, Day Two

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On Day Two of Shaky Knees, the rain held off until around 6:30 pm, starting as the most inconsequential of occasional raindrops, easy to ignore, and slowly building up to a downpour by 8 pm.  I left early during the downpour and missed The Replacements and Modest Mouse.  I had gone back to my car where I had stashed a raincoat and dry clothes, but when I got to the car, I couldn't convince myself to head back into the crowded audience to try and find a spot even remotely close to the stage.  My legs and feet were tired, and frankly, I just wasn't having fun anymore, so I changed my mind, got into my car, and drove off.

Day Two of Shaky Knees had the weakest schedule of the festival (Friday > Sunday > Saturday), so it's not surprising that I lost interest.  For what it's worth, here are some pictorial highlights of the day:

WAKE OWL

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I had not heard of this band before but enjoyed their quiet, moody songs.  Bonus points to their keyboardist for best beard of the day.

APACHE RELAY

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Nashville's Apache Relay was more boisterous that Wake Owl, and provided the little KITA that I needed at that time.

HAYES CARLL

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Country troubadour Hayes Carll played a thoroughly entertaining set of quirky, off-kilter songs about aliens, LSD, Texas, and a redneck version of Life of Pi.

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

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A band I always get confused with Bombay Bicycle Club, Tokyo Police Club provide radio-friendly guitar pop.


LORD HURON

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Although easily the day's highlight, the magnificent Lord Huron's set was marred by a vocal microphone that didn't work until 20 minutes into the set, so that no one could hear the vocals, despite chants of "Louder" and "Vocals."  Still, the instrumental playing was exciting and exhilarating, and when the vocals finally kicked in for the second half of the set, it was the best of the day.

This was our second time seeing Lord Huron (he opened for Alt-J at The Tabernacle last year).  Here's a pic of the Lord Huron crowd:

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PHOX

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We saw Minneapolis' Phox open for Typhoon at Terminal West during March Madness, and it was nice seeing them again in a festival setting.

DAWES

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Third time seeing LA's  Dawes. The first raindrops started falling during their set.  Some people immediately put their raingear on.  Others, like me, ignored the intermittent sprinkles and partied on.

PORTUGAL.  THE MAN

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Anchorage's Portugal. The Man were basically the same thing as Tokyo Police Club.  The rain started falling a little harder during their set.

CONOR OBERST

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Oberst (Bright Eyes) was backed by Dawes, so his set was virtually Dawes, Part Two, but with a different vocalist.  Still, it was the best of the day after Lord Huron, and he covered my favorite Bright Eyes song, Danny Callahan.  However, the rain started falling harder and harder throughout his set, eventually turning into a downpour, and I finally headed back to my car to get my raincoat (see paragraph at the top of this post).  

Today's forecast calls for a mere 20% chance of showers between 5:00 and 7:00 pm, and zero for the rest of the day, so it looks like we might finally get a break.  Still, the weather's been far, far better than it was for last year's inaugural Shaky Knees, and, having made it through the uninspired Day Two line-up, we have a solid lineup today featuring San Fermin, Local Natives, Edward Sharpe, Alabama Shakes, and more.  FWIW, here's the promoter's video recap of Day Two:

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Shaky Knees, Day One

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Okay, first things first, yes, it did rain, quite hard for a while, but only between about 5:30 and 7:30.  I had my raincoat with me and fared fine through the precip, although some others were soaking wet the rest of the night.

I'm off to Day Two and will post a complete picture set and recap of the festival later, but here are some pics of the bands that I caught at Day One.  Meanwhile, you can always check out my Flickr page if you want to see the complete shots. 

MUTUAL BENEFIT

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The day - and the festival - started with Mutual Benefit, one of the bands that I most wanted to see.  They played a lovely but quiet set, and ended far too soon - the shortest set of the day.  

SLEEPER AGENT

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I hadn't heard of them, but they played a high-energy set of r&b-influenced rock, fronted by a powerhouse vocalist.

WILD BELLE

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Interesting set of indie folk rock with world, afro-pop and reggae touches. 

WHITE DENIM

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I couldn't get anywhere even close to the stage for White Denim, but enjoyed their set of psych rock jams from afar, and was even able to hear them while I wandered off to get a bite to eat.

CHARLES BRADLEY

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Old-school, James Brown-style r&b from "The Screaming Eagle of Soul."

MAN MAN

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When you're in Man Man, everyday is Halloween.  Odd, interesting electro-pop from an odd, interesting band.  The rain began during their set, and I had to leave to go back to my car and get my raincoat.

FOALS

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The rain continued throughout the excellent set of reverb-drenched psychedelic instrumentals and songs by Britain's Foals, but their music was so good, one hardy cared.  "This is what every day's like in England," their frontman said about the weather.

SPOON

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Even the rain had to stop to listen to Spoon.  I hadn't seen them perform since 2010, and they played a terrific set list of songs from throughout their career.  I kept thinking, "Oh, this is my favorite Spoon song," until they played the next, and I'd think, "No, this is my favorite," and so on throughout their entire set.  Bonus points:  I somehow got the rail for their set.

THE NATIONAL

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After Spoon, there  was no way I would get even close to The Nationals' stage for their set, but oddly, as it turned out, the front of Spoon's stage was not really a bad vantage point to see The National at the adjacent stage.  I even got to slap Matt Berninger's hand when he came down into the audience and wandered over to the edge of the other stage.  My first time seeing The National, and they played a triumphant set.

The festival promoters posted this recap video to their Facebook page:

Friday, May 9, 2014

Shaky Knees



First day off work since starting my new job last February, and I'm using it to go to the second Shaky Knees Music Festival.  

Not sure how much the weather's going to cooperate, with a 50% chance of thunderstorms after 3 pm today.
Friday's Thunderstorm Forecast


It's still much better than last year's forecast, though.  That, and the festival has been expanded to a three-day format, and has an even better line-up than last year.  I'm particularly looking forward to Spoon tonight (first time since 2010!), and overall Friday > Sunday > Saturday.


Meanwhile, over on the other coast, this was just announced:

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Little Tybee on the Album 88 Affair


"OK. This guy is SO clueless about what his own radio station does and represents. Student produced television programing on the knowledge channel?!!?!?!? A program you would have to diligently search for on the Xfinity account that NO GSU student has! In Mr. Covey's opinion, This would be an amazing opportunity for GSU students to reach the masses.  
More so than a 100 year old 100,000 watt radio station that reaches 75 miles in all directions and has been hailed as "the voice of the south"? 
I don't think that WABE or GPB is in the wrong here. They are jumping on a great opportunity for them. This whole situation reminds me of when the Woodruff Arts Center sold out Atlanta College of Art to SCAD back in 2006. Money Money Money. I wish that NPR didn't have to have fundraising drives 1/4 of the time I listened to them. I would love to hear Radio Lab and This American Life on WABE as opposed to the Baroque standards they are forced to play all day. These are issues that WABE needs to address at their own station. Their programming does not belong at WRAS. 
Please do not complain to WABE. They need to prosper.
Complain to DOUG COVEY and the administration at GSU for this ignorant attempt to pay off their football team. 
There are so little outlets for original music these days. College radio is cute and nostalgic to most but crucial to artists swimming up stream in this Pitchfork era. 
Lets fight to keep hearing the mispronunciation of band names and ticket giveaways while stuck in the worst traffic in the nation! 
Viva WRAS!"

WRAS Press Release

WRAS Staff Pushes Back Against Station Takeover By GPB, Which Was Decided By GSU and GPB Without Consent Of Staff Or Management


(ATLANTA) – Georgia State University and Georgia Public Broadcasting announced an unprecedented deal yesterday (May 6, 2014) affecting WRAS Atlanta – shocking the all-student radio staff.  According to representatives from central GSU administration, this deal will begin a 2-year contract that will increase GSU’s presence on the GPB statewide network of affiliate stations.  With this new deal that begins on June 2, programming on WRAS 88.5 FM will consist of GPB news programming from 5 AM to 7 PM.  WRAS programming will fill the 7 PM to 5 AM time range on the analog station (88.5 FM), but will air around the clock on our HD FM stream along with our online stream.  WRAS Atlanta Album 88 is a 100,000-watt student-run and managed radio station that has been operating from downtown Atlanta since 1971.

This unilateral move by the GSU administration – in coordination with GPB – was made without any student input or forewarning. Failure to consult WRAS leadership and the Committee for Student Communications – which consists of leaders from all GSU student media outlets – marks a huge misstep by the GSU administration in our view. Timing of this announcement coincides with the end of spring semester as well as changing of the guard within WRAS management – both of which give the impression that the GSU administration wants to push this forward quietly and quickly. Motivations for the decision were described in relation to ratings at the initial meeting, while more recent statements simply emphasize the ‘opportunity’ for collaboration.

GPB characterizes the deal as a benefit for students, since WRAS will forfeit 14 hours of daily airtime in exchange for “unprecedented [student] access to GPB’s resources.” Further, GSU president Mark Becker has described the deal as “a proverbial win-win” for WRAS. However, WRAS staff takes issue with these claims for a few reasons. First, WRAS staff was never of the understanding that our ratings mattered prior to this announcement. As a college radio station, the mission of our station has never been to make the rich richer or to give airtime to mainstream music. Our interests, instead of ratings, are delivering quality and diverse music to our listeners and supplying an alternative to mainstream radio. Second, claims of new means for ‘collaboration’ and access to GPB resources are simply misleading. GPB resources that WRAS will have access to involve a TV studio – of which WRAS as a radio station has no interest in. GPB has also stated they will offer 30 minutes of weekly music programming by students, which pales in comparison to our current schedule of over 40 2-hour specialty shows. Overall, this decision reflects a “proverbial win-win” for two parties: GPB and the GSU administration – the former scoring a cheap way to finally compete in the Atlanta radio market and the latter via ill-perceived potential for promotion of the university.


Considering that no staff at WRAS were consulted about this sends a clear message that University administration does not value or take into account the input of the student body that produces its programming. While we respect GSU as the FCC licensee for WRAS, we believe the mechanics of this decision reflect the priority of self-promotion by GSU over the education and desires of its students. Following an extreme outpouring of support from GSU alumni along with the Atlanta community and beyond, WRAS management and staff have begun to review our options for moving forward. Other than filing Open Records Act requests with GSU legal counsel as well as GPB, we are working around-the-clock to find a solution that satisfies GSU while also allowing us to fulfill our mission. We encourage listeners and alumni alike to continue pursuing an open dialogue with GSU and GPB administration. As a staff, we hope to open up a dialogue with President Becker and Ms. Ryan of GPB to discuss how we will go forward.

WRAS Atlanta Album 88 has been around for over 43 years bringing unique and eclectic programming to its community. The station prides itself on helping break out artists such as R.E.M., The Shins, B-52s, Deerhunter, M83, Tame Impala, OutKast (which made their radio debut on the station) and more. By intervening in the daily operations here at WRAS, the administration of Georgia State is setting a dangerous precedent. In order for student media to have any meaning, it has to remain in the hands of the students. Students of this University should be able to create and innovate without the fear of a unilateral takeover guised as a ‘partnership.’

May 7, 2014, The Signal

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Free the Album 88!


The protest is starting to pick up a little steam, and there was even an on-line petition at Change.org.