Tuesday Turntable 9.1.09

Aah! It's September!!!!

Well... you know what this means.

There is only one possible theme for this week's turntable...

That's right.

Horses vs. Unicorns.

...

Allison's recommendation. I couldn't agree more.

First... a Horse! "Judy and the Dream of Horses" by Belle and Sebastian. Really, Belle and Sebastian is one of those bands that I really want to like a lot, but for which I can usually only muster minimal excitement. This song, however, I'm always happy to hear. A very sweet and simple beginning that keeps you focused on the lyrics detailing Judy's story builds to a nice, up-tempo latter half. As for our contest, the horse in this song is stolen by some girl in Judy's dream. Not a very good start, horses. Let's see what the unicorns have in store.

The best unicorn song, ever. "I Was Born a Unicorn," by who else but The Unicorns. A charming blend of punk and 50's pop, this song is a big smile-inspirer. Weird Vincent-Price-like breakdown in the middle of the song doesn't throw anyone off, it just makes this quirky song all the more lovable. Contest judgement: Unicorns score one for having a band named after them, but these unicorns keep getting left behind by Noah's Ark and have some identity issues. They are doing much better than our next horse though...

"Wildfire" by Michael Martin Murphy. AWW! COME ON! Yes, I am giving you the famously tear-jerking 70's ballad about a young girl and her beloved pony named Wildfire. A killer Nebraska blizzard hits, Wildfire busts out of her stall and gets lost, and the girl is doomed to run through the blizzard screaming for her best friend, who has tragically perished in the storm. How freaking sad is that??? It's the saddest thing. Horses lose.

"White Unicorn" is a pretty awesome Wolfmother song. Catchy as "Woman," but with more interesting instrumentation. Definitely holds up to repeat listening, whereas a few other Wolfmother songs get kind of old pretty quick. Contest: the unicorn in this song is really only a tattoo, but it isn't stolen, left behind from an ark, or killed in a blizzard, so unicorns have scored the first point of the game.

Finally, "Is There a Ghost" by Band of Horses. Has some of my favorite Band of Horses features: deep, echoey mastering, Ben Bridwell's unique vocals, and really accessible but fascinating lyrics. True, there is no horse in this song. But it is played by a whole band made of horses. Do you know how hard it is to play guitar with hooves? Didn't think so. Horses score 1, making our contest a tie game.

To listen to this Turntable without having to stay on Wax Cylinders, click the Pop-Out Player button below the playlist. If your pop-up blocker is reluctant to allow this, try holding the control key when you hit Pop-Out Player.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday Turntable 8.18.09

Summer is over. Well, pretty much. Anyone who hasn't headed back to the hallowed halls is probably packing up to do so, surely with a grimace.

But fear not, we all have a few more weeks of sun and summer left to us, and these songs are here to remind you of the last months in music.

All these tracks were released, brand spanking new, this summer, all from blockbuster bands, at that. Let's take a look-see at these Next Big Things!

"Guilty Cocker Spaniels" is a track off of Modest Mouse's new EP, released August 4th, No One's First, and You're Next!. The album is famously composed of rejected tracks from Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, and considering these two albums earned Modest Mouse the bulk of their huge fan base, "Guilty Cocker Spaniels" has enough elements from both records to act as a catch-all track for everything likable from the previous two albums.

"These Are My Twisted Words" has the most Radiohead-ishly bizarre backstory ever. The track surreptitiously floated onto a message board of Radiohead fan site At Ease, with absolutely no explanation or commentary from the band. This sent the blogosphere into a frenzy since Wednesday... "well, is it Radiohead or not??" Thom Yorke's entrance at 2:38 on the track had most people convinced it was at least a Yorke single, but nothing was confirmed until Monday, when the band acknowledged it on their site, adding, "We've been recording for a while, and this was one of the first we finished. We're pretty proud of it." Oh yeah, and did I mention it's a free download?

Panic! at the Disco has had a turbulent summer - two members, aka half the band, guitarist Ryan Ross and bassist Jon Walker walked out of Panic! over creative differences to start their own project. Jon and Ryan are gone, the exclamation point is back, and a new track is out.

Panic! at the Disco released "New Perspective" on July 27th, first as a MySpace exclusive. (What's left of) the band announces the video is already shooting for the new single.

Weezer has named their upcoming album, featuring this track, "(If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To," Raditude. That pretty much sums up my opinion of Weezer, right there. Still, new track, I'll be seeing them open for Blink-182, and new track becomes official August 25th.

Edison Woods - The Prettiest Band That Side of the Mississippi

No, really.

The New York-based band seems to be as much art as they are music - in addition to front-woman Julia Frodahl's dreamy, romantic, primarily slow and sad arias, Edison Woods seems to be as much characterized by its focus on visual art. Regular work with photographers and artists bring image in line with melody, meaning being a fan of Edison Woods will find you both beautiful music and seductive aesthetic.

Listening to newly-released The Wishbook Singles is enough to make any girl feel like a princess, living in a world of romance, elegance and wistfulness. "Finding the Lions" is perhaps the best embodiment of the escape Edison Woods offers. Showcasing Frodahl's airy voice, the characteristic artful use of strings, and enchanting lyrics, ("Gonna find the parade, gonna wear those colors, gonna marry the lions…") it is easy to see why Frodahl calls The Wishbook Singles her favorite music the band has ever made.

The following is the video for Edison Woods' most popular single, "Last Night I Dreamt I Would Last Forever," the perfect showcase of the visual and auditory experience of Edison Woods.

As a special treat for Wax Cylinders' first piece, I was lucky enough to land an exclusive interview with Ms. Julia Frodahl herself. Enjoy, and I hope you stick around to see where Wax Cylinders is headed!

Wax Cylinders: The visual art of the band - on merchandise, album covers, not to mention Alicia Reginato's direction in the video for "Last Night I Dreamt I Would Last Forever" - is a big part of the beautiful aesthetic communicated to the fans. Does the visual art come from a member of the band, or do you partner with artists in New York?

Julia Frodahl: We partner with artists from lots of different places. I think the music tends to attract a particular kind of visual artist, and we tend to know pretty instantly if we’re a good match. Alicia Reginato, Sean McCabe, Elisabet Davidsdottir and Daniela Molnar are some of the artists we’ve worked with. They have all added beautiful dimensions to our sound and aesthetic.


WC: The most striking thing about Edison Woods music to me, particularly in instrumentals such as Letter to the Garden, is the elegance of the string arrangements. As a cellist myself, I notice that only rarely do popular musicians use strings to their full potential. How and why does the band use strings in the way it does?

JF: I can’t say there’s a reason why. I’ve just always been deeply moved by the violin and the cello. Their sounds are spiritual. Like the human voice but without the perimeters of words. Edison Woods has had the pleasure of playing with some of the most precious string players in the world. People full of beauty and it materializes in the very way they touch the strings, there’s no question about that. Meanwhile, we arrange our songs so that whatever is in there has a purpose and can be heard. We carve out lots of space for that.


WC: The majority of Edison Woods' tours in the past years have been focused in NYC and Europe - do you have any plans for a US tour?

JF: We don’t currently have plans for a US tour and the reason, unfortunately, is financial. We’re a seven-piece band. I’ve been asked many times by business people to strip it down to three or four and tour the US. I’m sure something lovely could be created from that, but it wouldn’t be Edison Woods. The warm, hermetic embrace of sound that is created by the full group is essential. However, if we work directly with fans to set up shows in various places and pre-sell tickets for example, we could travel to other cities in the US and it would be wonderful. The expenses would be much lower that way. We’d love to hear from fans who’d like to do this with us.


WC: The costs of producing music, let alone touring, are daunting to bands without major label support. On edisonwoods.net, you've cited that it costs about $2000 to produce each song. What are the best ways for new fans to support Edison Woods?

JF: If fans would simply pay for the recordings they listen to, things would become more affordable to artists. Especially now that so many of us are doing it without labels and distributors. Most of the 99c you pay for a song on iTunes goes directly to us now, and it would really add up and make things like touring and recording possible if people would pay for their music.


WC: What is the most exciting thing happening with Edison Woods in 2009?

JF: Making music in the new Obama era, and the release of our Wishbook Singles album coming later this year. Of all the music we’ve ever made, this is my favorite.