[Nac Blogiversary] 14 Live Covers for 14 Long Years
Posted on February 15, 2014 at 8:18 pm | No Comments
While the exact born-on-date of the Almanac is a nebulous one – Is it when I first started sharing songs? Or using an actual blogging platform? Or writing mostly about music? – I decided long ago to settle on the most solid one of record: February 15th, 2000 – the day I registered this URL and began uploading content. Whatever this place was back then is a distant cry from whatever it is today, and even from what it was in 2003, when I began frequent music-centric updates. Lately, it’s the “frequent” part that’s changed the most.
But I’m still around, still sharing songs and news from bands I love, still plugging away. Sure, it’s become more quick-shots on Facebook and Twitter than longer posts here, but I’ve resisted the occasional temptation to shutter this place completely. “The blog is dead, long live the blog“, they say. This post-Chromewaves world is a lonely place, but I’m hanging on.
For kicks, here’s the ‘Nac by the numbers…
Number of years gone by: 14
Number of published posts: 1,117
Number of current draft posts in progress: 42
Number of stale, out-of-date draft posts I’ve deleted: &infin
Number of live sets I’ve shared: ~ 300
Number of live sets I’ve recorded but not had time to share: 312
Number of Tweets: 5,225
Number of Twitter followers: 3,149
Number of Twitter followers that are probably bots: 50%
Number of Facebook followers: 1,046
Number of the Almanac on the Hype Machine‘s blog tracker: 31
Number of those 31 original blogs the Hype Machine is still tracking: 7
Number of band/promo emails I get every day on average: over 60
Number of those emails that include the word “remix”: at least 50%
Number of daily promo emails that are relevant or of interest to me: maybe 5?
It’s those last three stats that have been slowly draining the life outta me. More than a decade of doing this means the Almanac has ended up on every music-related mailing in existence – it’s a constant deluge that has worn me down and drawn me ever closer to closing up shop. They come faster than I can send unsubscribe requests, and more importantly, I can’t possibly listen to all the songs that come my way. I’ve had to master a jaded zen-like state when going through my inbox, and keep my fingers crossed that I don’t miss something truly great.
But I’m not here to whine, I’m here to celebrate. Or at least acknowledge this slightly notable passage of time. So I’ve thrown together 14 covers from live sets I haven’t had time to share over the past few years, along with a photo from each show, and a few words. Dig in, there are some special songs below…
From an acoustic set for Record Store Day, April 21st, 2012 at Newbury Comics in Norwood, MA. He was joined by his wife Emily Roberts on backing vocals and (her uncle?) Sippy Roberts on slide guitar.
Stinson’s reunited Replacements have announced a few more festival appearances this year, but I’ve still got my hopes up for an eventual Boston show. ICYMI, grab my recording of their first reunion appearance at last year’s Riot Fest Toronto.
It’s been awhile since Death Cab For Cutie hit the road, in fact I think this series of special shows backed by the Magik*Magik Orchestra in Spring 2012 was the last proper tour (they played the Wang in Boston with Low on 4/21/12). This cover was a nice surprise during the stripped down part of their set, and was well before Lou Reed passed and sparked a rash of VU covers.
The DCFC machine is gearing back up after helping Barsuk Records celebrate their 15th birthday a few months back, and they’ll return to town for the Boston Calling fest in May. I’m assuming we’ll get some new album news before too long.
During that Death Cab break, but before the Postal Service reunited in 2013, Ben Gibbard did some solo shows in support of his “Former Lives” LP, including a stop at the Somerville Theatre on Sunday, November 4th, 2012. Not sure if he pulled out a geographically-specific cover at every show, but this classic Lemonheads cut was a nice nod to Boston.
Another high point of the Barsuk celebration in Seattle last November was John Roderick and his Long Winters reuniting to perform the “When I Pretend To Fall” album in its entirety. It was glorious, and made me even more hungry for a proper new LW record, as if that was possible. Roderick’s been performing solo sporadically since their previous LP (in 2006!), and this Neutral Milk Hotel cover was played at the Paradise in Boston on Friday, June 1st, 2012.
[MP3] Tanya Donelly & Buffalo Tom – “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”
(live Tom Petty/Steve Nicks cover)
This show was something really special – a small room full of friends and fans gathered together for Chris Toppin’s (Fuzzy) birthday party at the Midway in Jamaica Plain on Nov. 9th, 2012. So many great moments on the stage that night, including this team up of Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses/Belly) and Buffalo Tom to serve up some Heartbreaking.
Tanya has been releasing a string of excellent digital EPs called the Swan Song Series, and she’ll be hitting the stage opening for her old band Throwing Muses for a few shows next month. Buffalo Tom is hibernating, but Bill Janovitz has been offering up some great new solo songs since the year started. Here’s hoping they keep coming.
[MP3] Ted Leo – “Freeway” (live Aimee Mann cover)
[MP3] Ted Leo – “Hybrid Moments / Me & Mia” (live Misfits cover & TL original)
This show was a ridiculous amount of fun. Just after Boston cops started cracking down hard on local house shows, Ted Leo played this one in a Brighton living room on Monday, November 26, 2012. It was crammed, and incident free (unless you count overly-drunk-local-band-guy or overly-intrusive-photographer), and an absolute blast. Ted pulled out a few covers, as he is wont to do, including a song by his then-tourmate/now-bandmate (in The Both) Aimee Mann. The kids didn’t know what hit ’em, but I ate it up. He whipped out a Misfits cut to rile us up (it did – singalong!), segueing straight into TL/Rx classic “Me & Mia”, when the show hit a crushing crescendo. Bent Shapes opened up. It ruled.
Ted & Aimee will release their self-titled debut album as The Both in mid-April, and will hit the road in support, including a stop at the Paradise in Boston on April 25th.
Well, this was an odd one. J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. in a shoe store on Boston’s Newbury Street. With (bad) free beer and chips. He probably got paid in purple Doc Martens. This strange scene was on 12/6/2012.
This was a bittersweet moment, but mostly sweet, during Sleepyhead’s set at the Sinclair in Cambridge on May 10th, 2013, just a few weeks after Game Theory’s Scott Miller passed away. Not sure how many in the crowd got the gesture, but I damn well did. This cover was actually the b-side of one of the great indie singles of all time, Sleepyhead’s 1992 (!) “Punk Rock City USA” 7-inch.
Sleepyhead’s long-in-the-making next LP will be out in April on Carrot Top Records. Can’t wait.
After seeing that Sleepyhead set, and most of Buffalo Tom’s, at the Sinclair, I raced across the river to try and catch some of Telekinesis at Brighton Music Hall in Allston. Made it in time to see a handful of songs, including this ace cover of one of my favorite INXS tracks. Wish I’d been able to see the whole show, but even a little Telekinesis goes a long way.
Oh, Quasi, how I love thee. Two people who project more joyful noise and energy from the stage than most quintets ever could. This Elvis Costello cover came near the end of their fantastic set at Great Scott in Allston on Thursday, October 17th of last year. Their latest LP is last year’s “Mole City”, and you should own it.
Not only did we get a Heart cover during Neko Case’s set at the Orpheum on November 1st, but we got two, back to back. First Kelly Hogan handled lead vocals on an amazing “Barracuda” (that riff!), then Neko stepped up to tackle this one. The crowd was rightly, happily surprised when the second song started up, but the band may have been smiling more than we were. And that’s saying a lot.
When I was out at that Barsuk anniversary bash in Seattle back in November, new duo Minor Alps (Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Juliana Hatfield) remarked that their set was the first time they’d ever played in front of people. It kicked off a cross-country trip that brought them to the Sinclair in Cambridge two weeks later (11/23/13) for the final show of their inaugural tour. Grateful I was able to see the first and last stops, especially glad that they learned and played one of my favorite Robyn Hitchcock tracks, the gorgeous “Airscape“.
As much as I love Chris Brokaw’s original songs, and as many times as I’ve seen him, I will never tire of hearing him run through Wussy’s wonderful “Crooked”. This particular rendition was by request, played at an uber-intimate house show in Watertown, MA last month (1/4/14). If you’re wondering why we were so quiet in our appreciation at the end, well, there was a baby asleep upstairs. There’s no better reason for repressed enthusiasm.
As always, thanks for following along, especially those of you who have been stopping by for years. Without getting too sentimental or self-deprecating, I’ll admit that it still surprises me that anyone still reads my ramblings, and every lingering eye and ear is appreciated. Cheers.
[Future Faves?] Anticipated 2014 Album Releases
Posted on January 28, 2014 at 9:50 am | 2 Comments
Time for my twice-annual list of upcoming albums I’m looking forward to this calendar year. Obviously not all guaranteed gets, but all are long-players (and a couple short-players) that I’m curious about, to varying degrees. Ideally they’ll each get at least a little eartime, but hey, nothing’s ideal.
Since we’re a few weeks into 2014, a bunch are already out, and the flow of new music release announcements that started as a trickle is now a steady stream. There are at least a few new titles and dates that reach my radar every day, so I’ll try and keep this list updated when I can. To listen to many of these songs, check out my playlist from last Thursday’s New Music Night. The links provided below are inconsistent, and in some cases absent – some go to pre-order, some to band pages, some to places to listen. I’ll clean them up as time goes on, but if I keep fine-tuning this list, I’ll never get around to posting it.
First, some personal standouts so far this year…
- The new Mogwai (out last week) and Gem Club (out today!) albums will find themselves on my next year-end faves list, for sure. So, so great.
- Been waiting for that Dylan In The Movies full-length for years. Its sudden availability is a very welcome surprise.
- Can’t wait to get lost inside the new Tara Jane ONeil LP. Hurry it up, postal carrier.
- Speaking of special deliveries, as I was working on this post a few days ago the new +/- {PLUS/MINUS} album, “Jumping The Tracks”, showed up at my door. It’s not out until February 4th, but I’m the beneficiary of pre-ordering from the illustrious Teen-Beat Records. Already, I’m a little obsessed… it’s the best album I’ve heard in ages, from the first note to the last. They somehow exceeded my already lofty expectations, and everything else is going to be fighting for turntable time, because I can’t see this one going back in its sleeve anytime soon.
So, anything I might love that I missed on the list below? Anything you care passionately about that I should share? Leave a comment or drop a note on the Facebook thread…
Almanac Anticipated 2014 Album Releases…
January
- Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – “Wig Out at Jagbags” [1/7 on Matador]
- Grass Is Green – “Vacationy Vinny” [1/14 on Exploding In Sound]
- Mark Lanegan – “Has God Seen My Shadow? An Anthology 1989-2011” [1/14 on Light in the Attic]
- Painted Palms – “Forever” [1/14 on Polyvinyl]
- Dylan In The Movies – “Sweet Rebel Thee” [1/15 via Bandcamp]
- Bill Callahan – “Have Fun With God” [1/21 on Drag City]
- Mogwai – “Rave Tapes” [1/21 on Sub Pop]
- The Hidden Cameras – “AGE” [1/21 on Evil Evil UK]
- Hospitality – “Trouble” [1/21 on Merge]
- Damien Jurado – “Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son” [1/21 on Secretly Canadian]
- Reverend Horton Heat – “Rev” [1/21 on Victory Records]
- The Split Squad (comprised of Eddie Munoz of the Plimsouls, Keith Streng of the Fleshtones, Clem Burke of Blondie, Michael Giblin from Parallax Project, and Josh Kantor from the Baseball Project/Fenway Park keyboardist) – “Now Hear This” [1/21]
- Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra – “Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything” [1/21 on Constellation]
- Warpaint – “Warpaint” [1/21 on Rough Trade]
- Reubens Accomplice – “Sons Of Men” [1/24 on Arctic Rodeo]
- Mt. Royal – “Mt. Royal” EP [1/27 on Bella Union]
- Tara Jane Oneil – “Where Shine New Lights” [1/27 on Kranky]
- Snowbird – “Moon” [1/27 on Bella Union]
- Dum Dum Girls – “Too True” [1/28 on Sub Pop]
- Gem Club – “In Roses” [1/28 on Hardly Art]
- Minutes – “Roland” [1/28 on Comedy Minus One]
- The New Mendicants (Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub & Joe Pernice) – “Into The Lime” [1/28 on Ashmont Records] / Stream
- Quilt – “Held in Splendor” [1/28 on Mexican Summer]
- Sleepy Sun – “Maui Tears” [1/28 on Dine Alone]
- Doug Tuttle (of MMOSS) – “Doug Tuttle” [1/28 on Trouble In Mind] / Stream
February
- Needy Visions – “Deuce” [2/1 on Bufu]
- Orange Juice – 4 album reissues [2/3 on Domino]
- Making Marks -“A Thousand Half-Truths” [2/3 on Fika]
- Augustines – “Augustines” [out 2/4] / Stream
- +/- {PLUS/MINUS} – “Jumping The Tracks” [2/4 on Teen-Beat]
- Sun Kil Moon – “Benji” [2/4 on Caldo Verde]
- Xiu Xiu – “Angel Guts: Red Classroom” [2/4 on Polyvinyl] / Stream
- Neil Finn – “Dizzy Heights” [2/4 on Leser/Kobalt]
- Marissa Nadler – “July” [2/10 on Sacred Bones] / Stream
- Nina Persson (of the Cardigans) – “Animal Heart” [2/10 on Lojinx]
- Band of Horses – “Acoustic at the Ryman” [2/10 on Brown/Kobalt]
- Deleted Scenes – “Lithium Burn” [2/11 on Park the Van/Nevado]
- Doug Keith – “Pony” [2/11 on The Village Label]
- Fanfarlo – “Let’s Go Extinct” [2/11 on Blue Horizon]
- Speedy Ortiz – “Real Hair” EP [2/11 on Carpark Records]
- Cibo Matto – “Hotel Valentine” [2/14 on Chimera Music]
- Guided By Voices – “Motivational Jumpsuit” [2/18 on GBV, Inc.]
- Krill – “Steve Hears Pile in Malden and Bursts into Tears” EP [2/18 on Exploding In Sound]
- The Presidents of the U.S.A. – “Kudos To You” [2/18 via Burnside Distribution]
- Solids – “Blame Confusion” [2/18 on Fat Possum]
- Morrissey – “Your Arsenal” reissue [2/24 on Parlophone]
- Beck – “Morning Phase” [2/25 on Capitol]
- Eternal Lips – “Eternal Lips” EP [2/25 on New Mirage]
- M.G. Lederman (Victory At Sea / Thalia Zedek Band) – “I’m Ghosts” [2/25 on Midriff]
- Bob Mould – “Workbook” reissue [2/25 on Omnivore]
- The Notwist – “Close to the Glass” [2/25 on Sub Pop] / “Kong”
- Palehound – “Kitchen” 7-inch [2/25 on Exploding In Sound]
- St. Vincent – “St. Vincent” [2/25 on Loma Vista]
- The Thalia Zedek Band – “SIX” EP [2/25 on Thrill Jockey]
- Vertical Scratchers – “Daughter of Everything” [2/25 on Merge]
- We Were Promised Jetpacks – “E Rey – Live in Philadelphia” [2/25 on FatCat]
- Withered Hand – “New Gods” [2/25 on Slumberland]
- Yellow Ostrich – “Cosmos” [2/25 on Barsuk]
- Dreamtigers – “Wishing Well” [2/28 on Arctic Rodeo]
- Phantogram – “Voices” [2/28 on Barsuk]
- Let’s Wrestle – “Let’s Wrestle” [February on Fortuna POP! / UK]
March
- Mac Demarco – “Salad Days” [3/1 on Captured Tracks]
- Blood Red Shoes – “Blood Red Shoes” [3/3 on Jazz Life / UK] / “An Animal”
- Nothing – “Guilty Of Everything” [3/4 on Relapse]
- Ume – “Monuments” [3/4 on Dangerbird Records]
- Real Estate – “Atlas” [3/8 on Domino]
- Johnny Foreigner – “You Can Do Better” [3/10 on Alcopop!]
- Elbow – “The Take Off And Landing Of Everything” [3/11 on Concord Music Group] / Video
- Joan As Police Woman – “The Classic” [3/11 on PIAS]
- Pile – “Special Snowflakes” 7-inch [3/11 on Exploding in Sound]
- Dean Wareham – “Dean Wareham” [3/11 on Double Feature] / “Holding Pattern”
- Kevin Drew – “Darlings” [3/18 on Arts & Crafts] / “Good Sex”
- The War on Drugs – “Lost in the Dream” [3/18 on Secretly Canadian]
- Faces on Film – “Elite Lines” [3/25] / Stream “The Rule”
- Future Islands – “Singles” [3/25 on 4AD]
- Howler – “World of Joy” [3/25 on Rough Trade]
- Owls – “Two” [3/25 on Polyvinyl]
- Tokyo Police Club – “Forcefield” [3/25 on Mom & Pop]
- Neil Young – “A Letter Home” [March on Third Man Records]
April
- Aloud – “It’s Got To Be Now” [4/1]
- S. Carey – “Range of Light” [4/1 on Jagjaguwar]
- Cloud Nothings – “Here And Nowhere Else” [4/1 on Carpark/Mom + Pop] / Soundcloud / Live
- Inventions (Explosions In The Sky’s Mark T. Smith and Eluvium’s Matthew Cooper) – “Inventions” [4/1 on Temporary Residence] / “Entity”
- Jon Langford – “Here Be Monsters” [4/1 on In De Goot Recordings]
- Timber Timbre – “Hot Dreams” [3/31 on Arts & Crafts] / Title track
- Mean Creek – “Local Losers” [4/8 on Old Flame Records]
- School of Language (David of Field Music) – “Old Fears” [4/7 on Memphis Industries]
- The Afghan Whigs – “Do To The Beast” [4/15 on Sub Pop]
- The Both (Aimee Mann & Ted Leo) – “The Both” self-titled debut LP [4/15 on SuperEgo]
- Shonen Knife – “Overdrive” [4/16 on Good Charamel Records]
- Damon Albarn (of Blur) – “Everyday Robots” [4/28 on Warner Music]
- Wye Oak – “Shriek” [4/29 on Merge] / Stream song
- Sleepyhead – “Wild Sometimes” [April on Carrot Top]
May
- Hallelujah The Hills [5/20]
On the way, with no exact date yet…
- Beach House
- Beliefs
- Sasha Bell
- Belle & Sebastian
- Amy Bezunartea
- Big Scary – “Not Art” [Spring on Barsuk]
- The Church
- Colin Clary – “Twee Blues” 10-inch [on WeePOP!]
- Cosmicide (Brandon Curtis of Secret Machines)
- The Cribs
- Death Cab For Cutie
- The Decemberists
- DIIV
- Eldridge Rodriguez
- Gregory & the Hawk / Meredith Godreau
- The Figgs
- Ghost Box Orchestra
- Harris Hawk
- Interpol
- Jenny Lewis
- Johnny Marr
- Kasabian
- Let’s Whisper – “As Close As We Are” 10-inch [on WeePOP!] (‘nac note: yeah,i’m in this band)
- The Mary Onettes – “Portico” mini-LP [later this year on Labrador]
- Modest Mouse
- Thurston Moore – “Sexy Secrets” [June]
- Morrissey
- Peter Murphy – “Lion”
- The New Pornographers [Spring? on Matador]
- Jennifer O’Connor
- The Okay Win – “Nothing’s Not Moving” [Spring]
- One Happy Island – “Your Flaws Aren’t Picturesque” 10-inch [on WeePOP!]
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart [April?]
- Pernice Brothers
- Sharon Van Etten – “Are We There?” [May]
- Shearwater
- Shellac – “Dude, Incredible” [Touch and Go]
- Spoon
- Survival Knife
- Swervedriver
- Titus Andronicus
- Trashcan Sinatras
- Two Door Cinema Club
- Unwound – “Rat Conspiracy” reissue [on Numero Group]
- Jack White – 2nd solo LP [on Third Man]
And here’s hoping…
- Built To Spill
- The Cure
- Ross Flournoy / Apex Manor
- Mammoth Penguins (ex-Standard Fare!)
- Nada Surf
- Skeletal Shakes (also ex-Standard Fare!)
- Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
- … aaaaand The Long Winters. (insert pithy quip about annual mention here)
Alright, lay those recommendations on me. Or let me know what you’ve already picked up from the list above, and how it’s hitting. I’ll just be over here listening to Plus/Minus.
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