 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Friday, October 06, 2006
Going to try and get one out the door before the weekend starts. Info on Ted Leo, Tanya Donelly, David Bazan, and, um, Borat lies below. But first...   Billy Bragg appeared on the Late Late Show last night, performing an always-updated version of his 1988 song "Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards". Sideman Ian McLagan helps out with keys and backing vocals, and host Craig Ferguson gushes appropriately during Billy's introduction.The bard of Barking is out spreading the word about his new book, "Billy Bragg: The Progressive Patriot - A Search For Belonging", as well as his upcoming Volume II Box Set, which will be out on Yep Roc on October 17th. Here's the YouTube video, along with a link to listen to the original version... Stream: Billy Bragg - "Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards" (original from "Workers Playtime") The timely lyrics to the live version... This past Monday, KEXP radio also aired a live Bragg appearance at the Triple Door in Seattle. To listen to the performance, head over to the KEXP Stream Archive, and in the 'listen by time' section, choose Monday, October 2nd and 3pm. For now, here's a sample of the goodness you're in for... Mp3: Billy Bragg - "Saturday Boy" (KEXP / live at the Triple Door) Speaking of mixing pop & politics, it's exciting to hear that Ted Leo is finally in the studio, laying down all those great songs we've been hearing him play for the past few months with his Pharmacists. The trio is holed up somewhere in a Massachusetts barn, and rumor has it that the one and only Brendan Canty is at the helm. According to Ted's manager, Molly Nueman, "...it is sounding so incredible and uplifting and danceable and smart and important." Of that, I have no doubt (molly link via bvegan) Former Belly leading lady and Throwing Muse Tanya Donelly has a disc on deck, also due out on October 17th. It's an album of new material called "This Hungry Life" that was actually recorded at a live performance up at The Windham (rip) in Bellows Falls, Vermont. She's joined by an amazing cast of players for the recording, too, including ex-Dambuilder Joan Wasser on vocals & violin, Buffalo Tom/Crown Victoria frontman Bill Janovitz on vocals, Tanya's hubby Dean Fisher on guitar, journeymen Boston-area players Rich Gilbert (pedal steel) & Joe McMahon (upright bass), and ex-Come drummer Arthur Johnson. That's one hell of a band, and I can't wait to hear the disc. Check out some song excerts and pre-order it here, or at the Eleven Thirty Records site. update 10/9 - an exclusive track from Tanya's "This Hungry Life", and it's a great one... Mp3: Tanya Donelly - "Kundalini Slide"Tanya will be making a rare live appearance at the Government Center location of Newbury Comics in downtown Boston on the release day, Tuesday, October 17th at 12:30pm. Looks like a long lunch break for me that afternoon... While it's waaaaaaay too early to put up any Christmas decorations, it's not too early to pre-order David Bazan's fourth Christmas single from Suicide Squeeze. This time around, Bazan (aka Pedro the Lion & Headphones) brings us his takes on classic carols "Away In A Manger" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem". It's limited to 1,000 marble-vinyl copies, with just 200 set aside for online orders, so click over here to spend your six bucks. Orders will ship on October 25th, but if you miss the online action, it should be available in finer record stores on November 7th. And lastly, because I can't resist gloating a bit: I was lucky enough to get into a preview screening of Sacha Baron Cohen's "BORAT: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan", and my stomach still hurts from laughing so damn hard. I've been waiting for this movie for what feels like forever, and it ends up being the funniest film I've seen in years. Amie and I can't stop recalling bits of it for each other, and we laugh again every single time. There are moments that you can't believe you didn't hear about in the news, scenes that will leave you wondering how Sacha escaped some jail-time. Cohen & co. deserve to make a hundred bajillion Tenge off this thing, and I know I'll be contributing when I see it again on opening weekend, November 3rd. I think I missed some good stuff while the audience was dying around me. I'm slightly hesitant to spread this link around, but what the hell, here you go: If you're in the Boston, Providence, or Hartford areas and want to see a free Borat screening, go here. To prepare yourself, check out this collection of "The 10 Best Borat Skits of All Time", compliments of Cracked. And because I'm always thinking of you, here's my favorite Bruno bit. Pure joy. Alright, I'm outta here. A glorious New England autumn weekend awaits me. If you haven't yet, take some time and enter the Portastatic contest below before Monday morning. Until then...  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
on the nightstand boston-area music bloggers
boston music media 
|
