I'm closing some tabs while logged into blogger for the first time in quite a while...

some David Berman interviews:
with Sean Nelson in The Stranger,
in which DCB makes some interesting remarks about "selling out", Obama, and making an effort to give different interviews some unique flavor

and, also in the Minneapolis City Pages, a false explanation of the origin of the Silver Jews:

Argentina, the Silver Republic, has the fourth largest Jewish population in the world after the US, Israel, and France. Silver Jews are gaucho Israelites.

I saw the Silver Jews play in Williamsburg about a month ago, and it was enjoyable...probably more enjoyable than the most recent album is. Consensus among people I've talked to is that the album doesn't "sound" that good--not really a hi-tech/lo-tech thing, but more because of production choices. I think it was helped by Mark Nevers, but I think that Berman was steering the ship on the Silver Jews album, since most all of the other Nevers-helped albums I can think of (Bonnie Prince Billy, Lambchop) sound pretty good.

Here's a recent David Berman interview with the Village Voice, in which he discusses why Silver Jews are not good background music, googling "I hate the silver jews" and criticizes My Morning Jacket

Bowerbirds take away show videos

The creator of Captain America

A brief article on She & Him

Some youtube of Malkmus in Brooklyn from a few weeks ago

youtube: paperbag sculptures that come to life over subway vents

youtube: Mr. Met at an Indian wedding

Here's a David Berman interview, conducted by Jonathan Marx (sometime Lambchop member, I think...paper doesn't say). It's almost certainly an email interview, but again that isn't disclosed. Silver Jews website also somewhat updated. European tour happening.
Suggestions that DCB has been listening to Tammy Wynette on his computer, at least once.

Do you have plans to publish another book?

There's a second book of poetry called the portable february I'm holding onto

A while longer. It gets better over the years.

A couple books of drawings will be coming out on Drag City (records).

I got a literary agent. I'm ready to circumnavigate the gatekeepers.

Here is an extensive David Berman interview. The new album is delayed because he's trying to make it better. There will be more shows. The past was worse than it seemed but the future looks bright. And a quip about the new Malkmus album.

So, there's new Jicks and Silver Jews records next year:

SM & Jicks: Real Emotional Trash
in March

Dragonfly Pie
Hopscotch Willie
Cold Son
Real Emotional Trash
Out Of Reaches
Baltimore
Gardenia
Elmo Delmo
We Can’t Help You
Wicked Wanda

Silver Jews: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
in April

"What Is Not But Could Be If"
"Aloysius, Bluegrass Drummer"
"Suffering Jukebox"
"My Pillow Is the Threshold"
"Strange Victory, Strange Defeat"
"San Francisco B.C."
"Open Field"
"Party Barge"
"Candy Jail"
"We Could Be Looking for the Same Thing"

It sounds like these are both recorded by the latest versions of the touring bands, with Janet Weiss for the Jicks (this version of the Jicks I haven't seen).

Here's the William Bowers followup on David Berman

There are a bunch of new strange maps after a few weeks off.

Here's an interview with Wes Anderson, along with R Coppola and J Schwartzman

Catbirdseat predicts the blog top 10 lists for 2007, but I've got some others...

The tracklisting for that Cat Power covers album is out now

Oakley Hall did some busking for the Village Voice

William Bowers on David Berman and the Silver Jew movie

some links from the past few days:

Harp Magazine talks to David Berman about visiting Israel

Britt Daniel tells emusic all about Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Spoon also made it into the NY Times Style section.

The Nation has an article about Arthur magazine

The NY Times profiles Os Mutantes

Merge blog points to some live Broken West MP3s.

Pitchfork: Silver Jews Work on New LP, Berman Seeks Intern

Inspired by that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer gets an intern?

Song titles are promising, as usual:

10th Grade Prophecy
Aloyisius, Bluegrass Drummer
Blowback Override
Candy Jail
Chimerical Gangland
Party Barge
Strange Victory, Strange Defeat
Sunglasses, Cigarettes and Keys
The Woods at the End of the Street
Tiger Widow Village
What Is Not But Could Be If

Perhaps later I will account for my whereabouts over the past week+. For now some link catchup.

neat, new to me site:
Hardformat

It seems like everybody’s talking about the end of physical music media. Who knows whether they’re right or not, but Hard Format is a little place we’ve set up to celebrate our love of brilliant music-related design. That means we’re going to focus on records, CDs, cassettes and their like.

David Bazan at Daytrotter
Songs

Kindercore Records is back
New Site

Everyone likes Vampire Weekend.
Catbirdseat has a couple Vampire Weekend Mp3s

Interview with New Pornographers

"I think we played a certain kind of song for a few years and decided we can't keep making every song like this," explains singer and bandleader A.C. Newman. "Sometimes being over the top is amazing and sometimes being small is amazing. We want to have more scope.

Here's an article on the Canadian music scene/industry

Here's an article on QuickMuse with some David Berman quotes

New Vic Chesnutt album info: North Star Deserter

New Thee American Revolution MP3 here

Quickmuse: David Berman composes a poem in 15 minutes

Watch here

Finished product here

Nice Packaging:

The new McSweeneys is three books with magnetic spines inside a hardcover case. One of the books has poetry chains. They advertise one started by DC Berman, but it's previously published stuff. Actual Air came out so long ago...I hope there's another collection someday.

And these are all really neat:







From the People In A Position to Know Record Label.
There's a second subscription series full of mystery stuff from mystery bands starting soon.

a few things

Wilco news

Yo La Tengo news

Oakley Hall podcast

Matt Fiery Furnace mp3 at Said the gramophone

David Berman article
and another one here

Grant Lee Phillips review

Billy Bragg fixed myspace

Vic Chesnutt article

Scenic this, scenic that

Last night we saw the Silver Jews at Webster Hall. Plenty of people seemed plenty excited. Lots of exciting happenings, like Steve West taping down the setlists and Bob N. playing drums on two songs.

The quality of the performance was pretty much what I expected. The band was pretty good, the vocals weren't great. DCB was both shy and proud to be in the middle of the stage, holding his guitar like a comfort blanket. At times he moved around the stage in the manner of a more benevolent Count Olaf as depicted in the Lemony Snicket movie. Oversized and awkward, but somewhat mesmerizing. A contact lens issue became a perhaps unintentional theatrical experience, as Mr. Berman appeared quite pained.

The setlist was a pretty good mix of new and old. I don't think there were any covers as there were at other shows so far. There were a bunch I would have liked to have heard, but I guess they are planning to tour regularly after this tour. The lyric stand seemed to work out ok. It would be nice if Tony Crow had a real piano to play, but that is hard to work out, I imagine. I also wonder how well DCB's vocals will hold up over a few weeks of touring. Cassie didn't sound as good as on record, but that's not shocking either.

It occurs to me that if DCB could sing a bit better and S Joos had just a bit more media presence that "Punks in the Beerlight" could be their "Float On."

It seemed like most people enjoyed the show. It wasn't too long (although shows like this tend to seem short. People with loads of songs who don't play them all leave people wanting more. This reminds me of MT Goats, who always seem like short sets.) A (second) encore was pretty much demanded, and the band complied. The Webster Hall people usually do a pretty good job of chasing people out, but not last night. They didn't quite get the obnoxious lights/music combination right, so it went dark and quiet again for a last song.


a couple related articles:

BostonHerald.com - Music News & Reviews: Silver lining: Dark times lead to indie fave’s first tour

The Jewish Exponent - Philadelphia, PA

Another David Berman e-mail interview

in Flagpole Magazine

David Berman clears things up

with a charlottesville local

It's been a while...

Here are some hits on Destroyer:
NY Times article
Merge has a contest for all you photoshoppers
3 hive has a legal mp3 of s track from the new album, which is now up on emusic

here is a John Darnielle poem. He reports that he is about to record a new album.

New Fiery Furnaces mp3s are hitting the blogs
Here's an article about the FF

loose fur video linked from Drag City

David Berman commentates on the contents of Cassie's ipod.

Here's an article about Robyn Hitchcock.


George Saunders wants e-books.

After the scandal broke over James Frey's falsehoods in his hit book A Million Little Pieces, Saunders penned a humorous essay stemming from the events. It was a confession to Oprah Winfrey that all of the fiction he'd written had, in fact, been true. But Saunders had a hard time getting the piece published quickly, and now it feels dated. "There might be a different model for a literary community that's quicker, more real-time, and involves more spontaneity," he says.

And here's an update from Yo La Tengo in Nashville.

OK, hopefully more productive now.

Touring with a human skull?!

Thought that Raschka Caldecott was a bit unexpected, but Hyperion is nice to me, so good for them!

Here's a little bit about the new Louis Sachar book, Small Steps, a sequel to Holes.

DC Berman is taking some Lambchoppers and Pernice Brother Peyton Pinkerton on the road as Silver Jews. DCB is also still booktouring Actual Air.


Here's a bit on new Danielson music.

NY Times loving on Colin Meloy. here's an interview with CM, who apparently is touring with a human skull.

Audio stuff:
MP3 link via Largehearted Boy to Sufjan Stevens cover of "she is" from the Tim/Jeff Buckley tribute

MP3 link to Two Gallants' Waves of Grain

KEXP will start podcasting a song of the day on 2/6, with an unreleased Ted Leo song.

A bunch of new interesting music out today. The Bonnie Prince Billy/Tortoise covers album, Cat Power, Robert Pollard albums and Jose Gonzalez EPs are on emusic new today. Team-love seems to be down today...I wonder if they are going to give away downloads of the Jenny Lewis album, the way their older albums were up as MP3s. I am also somewhat intrigued by the forthcoming Beth Orton album, mostly because of the involvement of Jim O'Rourke and M. Ward.

I remember devoting a good amount of schooltime to making fun of the WB and UPN when they started; now they no longer will exist independently.

from Drag City...

DRAG CITY and Marvin Bunch Management is pleased to announce:
The Silver Jews: Love With The Lights On / Ballroom J Tour/ 2006

For the very first time the Silver Jews will be bringing their
dumbfounding psyche-theistic humanist hawk rock to the streets of
specially selected "Power Cities" nationwide this March.


Each tour stop will include:
- A fiery oratorical performance, as Bob Nastanovich reads his
challenge "Address To the Men of This Town"

- "Professional style" multimedia stageshow
- Country Comedy by Kevin Guthrie and Corny Crow
- Show co-hosted by the lovely Cassie Berman
- Along with all the love songs, parables, and slang you expect from
Crook and Chase -- I mean the Silver Jews!


Like a terrific looking galaxy cooling off in deep space, the Silver
Jews have often seemed remote over their fifteen years of not
touring. Even to themselves. Wars have been fought, generations have
been born, cities ravaged and governments overthrown in the wake of
the "Dime Map of the Reef" 7" inch.


With that in mind, David Berman cautions all potential ticket buyers
"don't expect the Blizzard of the Masterminds this March. Think more
along the lines of the Theatre of the Nephew."


Bob, the confident road veteran, cuts him off. "We're going to show
the experts how it's done."


"Buyer beware," whispers David and the phone goes dead.

Charisma, folks! Have ya seen any lately?

Your buddy on Music Row,

Marvin Bunch
615-474-1140

"let marv say it for you!"

jumbled

I meant to put some links up before, but didn't. Here some are, in no real order.

A Jennifer Belle thing in the NY Times Funny Pages. She had said that she could visit school on veteran's day, but it got nixed, b/c there is no school on veteran's day.

Here's Todd Barry's thing from last week

Here's a bit on Sly Fox, the Berman inspired Visual Art thing. Did I post about that before? I meant to.

A little bit in this article hints about the LA Opera having done a version of Fantastic Mr. Fox; the article is about the composer.

The NY Times list of notable books is online, if not paper published for a week or so.

James McNew has updated his televison feature on Yo La Tengo's website. Most of the YLT Hannukah shows seem to now be sold out.

Here's a interview with Ted Leo.

Here's a review of Animal Collective live.

Here's an article about the Edward Scissorhands ballet.