Tonight John McCain is announcing on Letterman that he's running for president in 2008. Better than Leno (that's a total Giuliani move) but it's still sad because everybody already knows he's running and John Edwards already did this when he announced his 2004 run on The Daily Show.
It feels played out and copycat ... kind of like when they made M.C. Hammer put out a gangsta rap album in the 90s because that was what was hot then.
Other Man isn't just the latest in the long line of Rob Crow bands and solo projects. It's actually a renamed version of Heavy Vegetable, a Crow band that broke up in the 90s. The lead track from the new album, out March 20, sounds recycled and features the kind of lyrics usually reserved for an eighth-grader's poetry book. I won't ruin the surprise, but "girl" and "bitch" are in the first 30 seconds, which sounds even sillier considering his indie pop voice.
He's releasing the album on his own label, called Robcore Records. Because his name is Rob and he's ... hardcore? First sign of narcissism: name your label after yourself. Even rappers don't usually do that.
I know Crow is beloved in S.D., and maybe if I grew up here I'd feel differently. But it all just feels like variations on the same theme. Try sticking with one thing and pushing it to the limit. Ryan Adams writes reams of songs and look where it got him.
But, bear in mind, this is who we're dealing with here: Meanwhile...
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab will go on a solo tour that will skip San Diego. There is an L.A. date, though. Tickets for Regina Spektor's April 29 show at the House of Blues go on sale Friday. Her song "Fidelity" was one of my favorites of 2006.
In a review of Monday night's Sebadoh show at the Casbah, Pitchfork referred to San Diego's beloved concert venue and it's padded back wall as an "asylum-chic stage." Photos from the show were taken by new Pfork freelancer and San Diegan Christopher Wilson, who takes photos for Seattle group Band of Horses' tours and albums and has shot a number of other bands.
The interfaith symposium on the death penalty at the San Diego Islamic Center last week was about to begin when U2 frontman Bono stepped out of the audience. He got up and sang “One” and later stayed for photos and autographs.
Maybe you can guess where this is going.
It was actually Pavel Sfera, a professional Bono impersonator and ardent death penalty opponent who left the some in awe, others certain they met the real deal, and a conference organizer upset.
Sfera is a former San Diegan who has played in a number of U2 cover bands. He lives in Chicago now and was back in Southern California recently for a handful of Bono impersonation gigs.
In an interview with Baby Heisman, he said a friend with the S.D. chapter of Amnesty International knew he was passionate about the death penalty - along with all of Bono's humanitarian causes - and asked if he wanted to attend the conference. He said that, because of the gigs, he only had his “Bono clothes” with him. Photos that people took with him at the conference Thursday night show him sporting the Bono-trademark hairstyle, stubble, black jacket and tinted shades.
A college student in the audience said that when a woman helping moderate the conference introduced Sfera as Bono, he didn’t try to dissuade the crowd.
Sfera told the imam of the Clairemont mosque that he wasn’t actually the U2 frontman, “but he wasn’t hearing it; I said it twice,” Sfera said in an accent that sounds more Eastern European than Irish.“I’ve come to the point where, no matter what I say, they aren’t going to hear it,” Sfera said. “People hear what they want to hear.” He added that he doesn’t sign Bono’s name on autographs, only a brief message such as “peace and love” or “God bless,” which the student in the audience, who got a photo with Sfera, confirmed. (Photo below)
But Kent Peters, one of the conference organizers, said it wasn’t just a case of mistaken identity. He said a member of San Diego’s anti-death-penalty community had told him that Bono would attend.
He said the idea didn’t seem too far-fetched because the topic of the conference fit with Bono’s humanitarian interests.
“But five minutes before we started, he turned to me and said it’s not Bono, that it’s an impersonator,” Peters said. “It was really uncomfortable.”
Peters, a leader in the local chapter of California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty, said he hasn’t had a chance to talk to the person who told him Bono was coming to find out what happened.
Peters called the incident “a mild distraction,” especially because of the opportunity to quell stereotypes that Muslims are violent supporters of the death penalty. But he also said it left him “disappointed, embarrassed and angry all at the same time.”
He said that, during a break in the conference for Islamic prayer, he went around trying to tell organizers and others that Sfera wasn’t Bono. And Sfera said "I think, by and large, most people recognize that I'm not really him." But days after the symposium, a man who answered the phone at the Islamic Center was adamant that Bono did attend.
“No, it was him. He was just passing by in the city,” said the man, who declined to give his name.
I haven't written about Guns N Roses and "Chinese Democracy" because it's music news about as much as Anna Nicole Smith is national news. But maybe this Deep Purple story offers a good idea: Maybe someone just needs to take the masters and release 'em. Pay to send Axl on a nice vacation for a couple of weeks and ... just ... put ... it ... out. What's he going to do? He's already pissed and weird and reclusive.
OK, since we're NOW talking about it, HMV, a U.K. CD/DVD/video game store, recently put this up on its Web site:
You save eight quid! So, Sept. 17 in U.K., which means Sept. 18 in the U.S.
Considering his love for the stage, it's not surprising that Rufus Wainwright's live shows border on Broadway. There's costume changes, witty banter and a few over-the-top covers. The sound at his shows is perfect, crisp and clear without the fuzz of other rock shows.
But it's still not Broadway. Maybe I'm getting miserly in my late 20s, but tickets for Rufus' show April 28 at the Belly Up are $35.
If you fancy the cost, he'll be playing with a full band and likely will be playing songs off his new album, "Release the Stars," which comes out May 15.
If there's one thing I hate more than emo, it's gotta be local TV news. A blistering expose on the dangers of emo lifestyle, courtesy of WDAZ in Grand Forks, North Dakota:
Such an eye-opener. I mean, this surveillance photo of emo-hero AFI just reinforces it. That couch must be dangerously filthy! It's 10 p.m.; do you know if your children are sitting on filthy couches?
Seriously, though, this is the same teen angst dressed in a different outfit. If teens are cutting themselves and contemplating suicide, it's not because of a lifestyle. It's because something bigger is going on/going wrong. Blaming it on grunge/goth/emo a disservice to youth. "Heathers" was just a movie; nobody is killing themselves for fun.
However, if your kid is buying My Chemical Romance action figures, then it's time to intervene and buy him/her a copy of the first Clash record. Just my opinion.
According to a Google search (I'm not going to play like I knew this), it's a Creole proverb meaning "An empty sack cannot stand up." You could see it, written in tape, on Win Buter's guitar during the Arcade Fire's performance on SNL last night — until he smashed the thing to pieces.
Smashing a guitar on SNL right before your rabidly anticipated new album comes out: Cool? Cliched? Just plain dumb?
Before answering, consider that one of his strings clearly broke about halfway through the song. At the end he seemed to let out his frustration, pulling out the rest of them and then pounding the acoustic into the ground. or maybe he was frustrated about the bad, vocal-drowning mix. Now, cool, cliched or just plain dumb?
Of Montreal's latest album is experimental/artsy/arty right down to its title, "Hissing Fauna, are You the Destroyer?" (Think that's bad? Wait until you see the song titles.) The songs are manic, with lyrics like "Come on mood, shift/shift back to good again/come on be a friend" shifting into synth-heavy choruses. The end of the album sounds more like Prince than Bukowski.
The track "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" (I warned you about the song titles) is my favorite song so far in this young year. "I spent the winter on the verge of total break/down while living in Norway/I felt the darkness of the black metal bands" plays over the kind of disco beat you could see Madonna doing wrist rolls to a la the "Hung Up" video.
How's THAT for avant garde?
But like some albums that get slapped with the experimental tag, you don't need 10 listens to get into this one. You WILL find something new about it on the 10th listen, though, and well beyond.
If you're a fan of Muse or any of those overblown emo bands, it's time to ditch the Garanamals and get into some big-kid pants.
Our Sports and Video Games correspondent, TCon, sent in this tip:
Last year, 2K Sports' baseball video game was soundtracked entirely by Matador Records bands. This year's version, MLB 2K7, will include some of your most-loved (Tapes N Tapes, the Pixies) and most-hated (Sublime, 311) bands.
311 “Down” Bishop Allen “Middle Management” Cities in Dust “Emergency” Death From Above 1979 “Little Girl” Dixie Witch “Set the Speed” Editors “Munich” Five Horse Johnson “I Can’t Shake It” Greatdayforup “Man’s Ruin” Les Savy Fav “Hold On To Your Genre” Nerf Herder “High Five Anxiety” Nirvana “Breed” Sublime “Summertime” Tapes ‘n Tapes “Insistor” The Jealous Sound “Naïve” The M’s “Plan Of The Man” The Pixies “Mr. Grieves”
The standout on that list is Nirvana. Courtney Love recently allowed Nirvana music to be licensed, and while we'd probably feel icky hearing a Nirvana song tied to ANY product, at least this one isn't a slap in the face.
The game looks pretty sweet, amazingly realistic. But here at Baby Heisman, you know how we get down:
After the year of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah hype that was 2005, the band's follow-up album has been met with an amazing amount of silence.
A few people have given it middle-of-the-road, three-star, B-minus reviews and a few people have slammed it. But mostly, for an album called "Some Loud Thunder," it's made barely a whimper.
Are you underwhelmed because it's not a major departure from their debut? What did you expect? This is STILL a new band. "Some Loud Thunder" does what a sophomore album should. It builds on the original with sharper music and lyrics and mines new territory without straying too far from home base.
Their self-produced, self-released, out-of-nowhere debut pushed the whole indie/DIY/blog business firmly into the mainstream. But it's clear from every interview that they weren't caught up in it. With Clap your Hands, you can come along for the ride but you don't get to backseat drive.
The band does address the hype on the opening, title track, as though getting it out of the way so they can get back to being Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. "All this talking, you'd think I'd have something to say," is singer Alec Ounsworth's opening line.
The song is filled with similar statements, but they're hard to notice because the track is intentionally mixed to sound like it's coming out of blown speakers. I can understand making a "don't try to change us" statement, especially right off, but there's a really great song underneath the fuzz.
I hunted down a "clean" version without all the distortion. Take a listen.
Arcade Fire tix go on sale Saturday morning, and it will be even crazier because the venue is assigned seating. With everyone clicking at once, who will get the best seats and how much will the tix be going for on eBay at 10:05 a.m.?
Ticketfucker is trying to stem some of that by making the best seats will-call-only and making you show ID when you pick them up. Here's what they have to say:
"Premium seating for this event will be subject to specific "WILL CALL ONLY" restrictions. You will be notified during the purchase process if you happen to obtain any of these seats. These tickets are also subject to a two ticket limit and may only be picked up at the venue box office by the ORIGINAL PURCHASER on the evening of the performance. In order to pick them up you will be required to provide a government-issued photo ID and the credit card used to make the purchase. Upon picking up the tickets the original purchaser and guest will be required to directly enter the venue. Please note that THESE TICKETS ARE NON-TRANSFERABLE AND WILL BE VOIDED IF RESOLD. PREMIUM SEATING IS ONLY AVAILABLE THROUGH PHONE AND INTERNET. Note that the four ticket limit becomes a two ticket limit for the premium seats. "
The optimist in me says HORRAY! and that the "directly enter the venue" part is a great idea. The pessimist in me says the best seats won't even be available to the public - 91X is already pimping the show on the air. But the kid in me likes the frosting. (cereal humor)
It's been about a year since the Birdman who isn't Lil Wayne's daddy (a little wordplay shout-out there for the hip-hop fans) played San Diego, and that was an opening slot with his own daddy, label-runner Ani DiFranco.
Point is, it's been a while since Andrew Bird came to town, especially since he has a new album coming out March 19. But no dice. He's scheduled to stop in Tucson, then Coachella the day after. Then he's got three days to get to San Fran for his next show. So there's a slight window of opportunity. HoB could put him up. Nothing on its sked for the 29th or 30th yet. (more likely the 30th; he might hang out for Sunday of Coachella, although the consensus seems to be to skip that day and beat the traffic.)
So, Andrew Bird fans, hit him up. Pester him. Get him to S.D. Weezy F. Baby and Baby Heisman are behind you.
I put the New Pornographers' "Twin Cinema" at No. 3 on my favorite albums of 2005, behind Bloc Party and Wolf Parade. Now that some time has passed, I actually give the Pornos in the top spot. (Wolf Parade is still at No. 2, followed by Clipse, then it's just a pile-up of about five or six albums for those last spots.)
So it took about a millisecond for me to look up when I heard the hey-la hey-la's of "The Bleeding Heart Show" coming from my TV. The track isn't only one of the best on the album; it shows that the band can push beyond it's power-pop roots and sets the stage nicely for their next album, which should be out sometime this year.
The song, taut and hopeful with Neko belting out "We have arrived," fits in just about any commercial. So who had the sense to put it in an ad?
Yup. The University of Phoenix — the ultimate commuter college. San Diegans know they got away with rubbing out Mircoskills (speaking of noteworthy commercials!) but they must be taking heat from a New York Times cover story earlier this month. On the school's Web page, right under the phone number, is a link to a whole section refuting the story, "Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits."
Anyway, "Twin Cinema" obviously gets the highest Baby Heisman recommendation. It's a can't-miss used-bin pickup, or on one of those days when you just want a new CD. The New Pornographers — The Bleeding Heart Show (MP3)
AND FROM THE VAULT: The video for "Twin Cinema" single "Use It," which came out in those six months where comedian David Cross was in EVERYTHING, yet we didn't mind. I still don't know what "stock tips come next in the logic line" means, but it's a funny, entertaining video.
I'm a fan of the blog Stereogum. It's one of the few sites that I check more than once a day.
Imagine my surprise when I saw a Stereogum posting under the a section called "Commercial Appeal" (which seems quite similar to a certain section here at Baby Heisman) about a Feist song being used in a HSBC financial commercial.
Pitchfork reviewed the new album from San Diego's The Soft Lightes today. The reviewer gave "Say No To Being Cool - Say Yes To Being Happy" a 5.1 ranking, which seems kind of bad based on Pfork reviews and the generally positive-to-neutral comments in the review.
But 5.1 is about average, which is what the reviewer is saying (and I agree with the review). Not terrible but not quite ready for prime time. However, their video is tons'o'fun.
If I started a band, it would be called Cops In Shorts. If I were on a street ball team, my nickname would be Jigga Juice. If I rapped, my name would be Food Court
In an interview with Baby Heisman, he said a friend with the S.D. chapter of Amnesty International knew he was passionate about the death penalty - along with all of Bono's humanitarian causes - and asked if he wanted to attend the conference. He said that, because of the gigs, he only had his “Bono clothes” with him. Photos that people took with him at the conference Thursday night show him sporting the Bono-trademark hairstyle, stubble, black jacket and tinted shades.
But Kent Peters, one of the conference organizers, said it wasn’t just a case of mistaken identity. He said a member of San Diego’s anti-death-penalty community had told him that Bono would attend.
After the year of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah hype that was 2005, the band's follow-up album has been met with an amazing amount of silence.
It's been about a year since the Birdman who isn't Lil Wayne's daddy (a little wordplay shout-out there for the hip-hop fans) played San Diego, and that was an opening slot with his own daddy, label-runner Ani DiFranco.
