2008

Stephen Malkmus and his equal-opportunity band of Jicks will release Real Emotional Trash on March 4th (Matador Records). That, we already knew. But Pitchfork today has advanced the story, letting us know that two weeks after the release, Malkmus & Co. will be hitting the pavement, er, road. Ah fuck, I just broke my New Year’s resolution of no more bad music puns. Read on for dates…

Our regular Thursday fuckfaces are back at it. So, gentlemen, please welcome back to the stage, Destiny and Chartreuse, better known as Rupert & Stan.

Today we’re bringing our ol’ One-Timers feature to Hidden Track, a piece that’s more of a bouillabaisse of rapid fire topics like album and show reviews, new bands, films and downloads. Since we only write one post a week, it’s a way to spew out a lot of what’s been on our minds and headphones in one fell swoop.

One on the Rise
Quintus – The Shape Were In

Recorded at the legendary Levon Helm Studios, this six-song debut E.P. exhibits six Quintus standards of their addictively catchy yet respectable brand of pop song. The Shape Were In demonstrates the mature songwriting of this young quartet (the keyboard player left since penning the name, Quintus) — and most of the tunes include clever sections, interesting changes and well-placed tempo shifts.

Quintus blends unabashed catchiness with a tinge of improvisation in a manner that garners a musical credibility. In terms of comparisons, it’s hard not to hear some Beatles in there, and Ben Folds also comes to mind. Curiously, Quintus’s Myspace band photo is missing frontman and primary songsmith, Reuben Chess. I hate to spread rumors, but you have to question if the suits are pushing him in a different direction. Nevertheless, a wise soothsayer can clearly foresee that big things on the horizon for this group of young, talented musicians.

Take the E.P. for a test drive here, and check out this video of the Quintus boys recording with Levon on the kit after the jump (along with much more)…

Like Deacon Jones’ sacks and Bill Russell’s blocks, I didn’t keep my live show-going totals as an official statistic this year for the first time since the early aughts. But, conservatively, I saw probably no less than 106 and no more than 147 bands in 2007, many of which made my smile both downstairs and up, and only a few of which made me want to go home and cut myself.

We’ve already offered up our comprehensive Year in Review, and yesterday we posted our 10 Favorite Albums of 2007. So as we continue our late look-back at the Year of Our Lord Two-Thousand Seven, you’ll find my 10 favorite live performances of the year after the jump. We start out with a hint of old-time nostalgia — the triumphant returns of Stevie and Levon — but I’m pretty damn thrilled by how many bands on this list I saw for the first time just last year. And only one prototypical jamband? Fuck, man, what a hipster doofus I’ve become.

But whatever your pleasure, here’s to another wonderful year of music, one that’ll consistently bring out the uncontrollable smile in you, one that’ll make you mumble to yourself while the lights blind you and the smoke gets in your eyes…

The University of Georgia absolutely crippled overmatched Hawaii in last night’s Sugar Bowl, the Bulldogs making the islanders look more like Rainbow Flag-Waving Nancy Boys than Rainbow Warriors (though that’d

New Year’s Eve gigs provide bands a chance to celebrate with friends, family and their fan bases from around the country. But it also gives them a chance to pepper setlists with rare and cool covers, bust outs and tons of Auld Lang Syne.

We’ve rounded up every NYE setlist we can find, so you can be more educated for your “My band can beat up your band” conversations. Read on for more…

The Greyboy Allstars returned to New York’s Nokia Theatre last week for two nights, playing by all accounts much improved shows from last year’s corresponding dates. As you may remember, the 2006 GBA show left us underwhelmed and unimpressed, and our own Chilly Jackwater called it “80 percent smooth jazz.”

But of the six or seven people we’ve spoken with following this two-show run, every single one of them left raving about the band’s fantastic, triumphant return — so after a mediocre 2006, it appears the Greyboys are once again Allstars. And Chilly reported back that Karl Denson must have been named in the Mitchell Report, because his previously questionable muscular physique has dwindled.

Hidden Track’s adorable boyfriend/girlfriend team of Jeremy Gordon and Carla Danca hit the second night for us, and while he snapped some fantastic photos, she added some words, and their gallery follows after the jump…

Like all well-intentioned abstinence pledgers, we wanted to wait. Some call us ‘lazy,’ others call us ‘prudent,’ and our mothers call us ‘special.’

But when it comes down to it, posting any kind of Best Of list after only 11 months seems rather hasty and foolhardy — everyone would’ve been sorry had Radiohead surprisingly released another kickass, unannounced album on December 31st, after their lists had emerged. So on the heels of our comprehensive and grandstanding 2007 Year in Review, we offer up another year-end superlative for you to devour on this feels-like-a-Monday Wednesday.

After the jump you’ll find my 10 favorite albums of the past year, and at this juncture I must stress the word ‘favorite,’ which is not necessarily interchangeable with ‘best’ (though I do adore myself so much that I may have deluded myself into thinking my personal faves were indeed the best — I also masturbate exclusively in front of a mirror to videos of myself, but that’s not important right now).

Some are obvious, but some will surprise you, and I hope my explanations make more sense to you than they did to me when I wrote ’em with a wicked hangover. As always, we want to know what you think, so weigh in with your thoughts or suffer stiff backhands to the face, neck, breast, chest and head…