Mercury Music Prize winner ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS KESWICK THEATRE MON., FEB. 2, 8 PM In their first area appearance since 2005, ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS will perform their internationally-acclaimed blend of highly dramatic, emotional and lyrical chamber cabaret at Glenside’s Keswick Theatre on Mon. Feb. 2 @ 8 PM .ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS will be touring in support of their highly-anticipated January 2009 release, The Crying Light. Their last full-length album, 2005’s I am a Bird Now, won the UK’s prestigious Mercury Prize for the best album of 2005 over rival nominees the Kaiser Chiefs, and was greeted with […]
HEAR YE: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
Now playing on PHAWKER RADIO! Why? Because it’s GREAT! That’s why. Of all the bands to come out of the Elephant 6 collective — that loose-knit cross-country cabal of weedy bus-station transcendentalists and grass-stained pranksters — Neutral Milk Hotel was the least beholden to classic psych-rock templates, yet somehow managed to evoke and advance them all at once. On 1998’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Jeff Mangum’s mewling sunshine Superman melodies are colored by bare, ruined choirs of singing saw, fuzz bass, mariachi horns, bowed banjo, accordion, home organ and Salvation Army marching band brass. Produced by the Apples […]
BURN AFTER READING: CIA’s Algerian Station Chief Accused Of Drugging And Raping Two Muslim Women
ABC NEWS: The CIA’s station chief at its sensitive post in Algeria is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly raping at least two Muslim women who claim he laced their drinks with a knock-out drug, U.S. law enforcement sources tell ABC News. The suspect in the case is identified as Andrew Warren in an affidavit for a search warrant filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. by an investigator for the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Officials say the 41-year old Warren, a convert to Islam, was ordered home by the U.S. Ambassador, David Pearce, in October […]
USELESS INFORMATION: Heavy Metal Etymology
[via COMICVSAUDIENCE; click chart to enlarge]
BREAKING: Quick, Look Busy! The Boss Is Coming!
IN THE MIX: Bruce Springsteen first played the Spectrum back in 1973, and the Boss is coming back to South Philadelphia twice more before the arena’s appointment with the wrecking ball this fall. Springsteen and the E Street Band, whose new album, Working On A Dream, hits stores Tuesday, will play the Spectrum on April 28 and 29. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. on the web at ComcastTIX.com, on the phone at 1-800-298-4200 or in person at the Wachovia Center Complex and at select Acme Markets. MORE BACKSTREETS: The wait is close to over for U.S. dates, too […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR How do you make a realistic film about a notoriously “fake” sport? That was the question Darren Aronofsky faced when he agreed to direct The Wrestler, a movie starring Mickey Rourke as a gnarled professional wrestler whose glory days are gone. Both Rourke and supporting actress Marisa Tomei have received Oscar nominations for their work in the film. Aronofsky’s previous directorial credits include Pi (1998) and Requiem For A Dream (2000). RADIO TIMES Hour 1 Last week, President Obama ordered the suspension of all trials at Guantanamo Bay and signed an executive order to close the detention center […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Five Things You Should Know About Devotchka At World Cafe Live Friday Night
1. Devotchka’s cover of The Velvet Underground classic “Venus in Furs” may actually be better than the original. Their rendition had a vocal languor that countered the darkness of the original as the band turned a psych-rock-proto-shoe-gaze classic into gypsy-folk-trance-rock-hoedown and back again. Believe it or not, I could have probably used more hyphens to try to accurately describe this rendition. 2. Devotchka can bring an orchestra’s worth of sound with just four people. There are so many multi-cultural influences, spanning at least 12 different instruments and at least 12 different nations, it’s hard to believe they so honestly replicate […]
TONITE: To Beard Or Not To Beard?
This note is about WOLFDOGBIRDMAN. We do LOTS of different shows at Connie’s Ric Rac and this ONE in particular I have been most excited for to be quite frank. I found this band on myspace and they are coming to Philly this saturday night to play a seriously awesome rock show! They are called WOLFDOGBIRDMAN and I don’t know why I’m so into this band that I have never seen. I think it’s the energy, the mystery and the beards. Go check out their Myspace. WOLFDOGBIRDMAN. One word. Tell me what you think? I know, I don’t have a […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
The Good News Flower Hour #6 All the news that fits — in a five minute week-in-review read by a cartoon flower that sounds…wait for it…JUST LIKE ME. Enjoy.
HEAR YE: M. Ward Hold Time
Now playing on Phawker Radio! Comes out February 17th. BY JONATHAN VALANIA We’ve all heard the mythic tale of Robert Johnson’s Faustian bargain with the Devil, struck at the crossroads under a Delta moon. Let’s imagine for a moment that it’s a different night at that Mississippi crossroads. On this night, the devil is busy with other things, perhaps plotting the eventual rise of Slayer or meeting with the Republicans. And Johnson, well, he’s long since given the Devil his due, probably having second thoughts as to whether unlimited pussy, corn liquor and a little plantation-rock stardom was worth the […]
HEAR YE: U2 No Line On The Horizon
CLICK HERE to hear the lead-off single “Get On Your Boots” WORTH REPEATING: Why U2 Still Matters BY JONATHAN VALANIA Because some bands have greatness thrust upon them and other bands thrust greatness upon themselves. Because U2 knew that if they had it both ways, they could be bigger than Jesus. Because in the early ’80s, if you listened closely, you could actually hear Bono’s mullet. Because the Edge figured out early on that with the right ratios of pinging echo to pealing delay, the electric guitar could build cathedrals of sound that are holier than thou. Because Bozo-haired bassist […]
We Know It’s Only Rock N’ Roll But We Like It
BY JONATHAN VALANIA FOR THE INQUIRER Saturday night at the sold out Wachovia Center, Metallica gave no indication they plan to give up the ghost any time soon, despite the four large metal caskets hanging precariously over their heads, a visual riff on the funereal cover art of the new Death Magnetic. Scurrying out onto the darkened stage like black-clad ninjas, illuminated by a two-story high mesh of lasers, Metallica launched into the new “That Was Just Your Life” with the conviction of men who have learned the hard way that no one here gets out alive. Sounding at times […]