dallas: shoegaze capital of the southwest

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You might not expect a nu-gaze scene in Dallas. In fact, compared to I-35 neighbors Austin and Denton, you probably don't expect much at all. To dispel those nasty prejudices, here are a couple of Dallas shoegaze revivalists that deserve a spin.

First is Little Black Dress, who emulate Creation-era shoegaze down to album art-direction and video cinematography. Check out the Slowdive reverb in the title track to their debut album Snow In June:




To gauge LBD's pop sensibilities, here's the dynamic and dramatic "Robin":




For a more soft-loud approach to shoegaze, there's Menkena. Dallas by way of Brooklyn, Menkena breaks out acoustic drone and then crushes the chorus in "Rocketships" from debut album With You I'll Travel due out next month:




Nothing like classic NASA footage to add some space to your rock.

Now that you're primed, maybe it's a good time to dig up that old Chapterhouse record. Keep shoegaze alive.. thanks to Dallas for doing its part.

joy division singles and rarities

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As mentioned yesterday, the Recycle: Joy Division & New Order blog has taken on the task of remastering and making available every single in the catalog of those transcendent bands.

To recreate these singles in a digital format, they've painstakingly sourced the earliest available recordings — some vinyl, some CD and some from low-generation cassette. The New Order singles were pretty faithful to the originals with a few extra remixes thrown in for good measure.

The Joy Division singles are less essential considering the recent release of the +- Singles Box and the 2001 box set Heart & Soul. However, the addition of some rare demos and live versions definitely make things interesting.

First up is "Warsaw" from the 1978 EP An Ideal For Living. This recording comes from the Japanese version of Substance:

Next is a 1979 demo of "Digital" that they've kindly added to the retooling of A Factory Sample EP:

Another rare addition is this early version of "Transmission" uncovered on cassette by someone close to the band:

And last, but not least, the gents at Recycle: Joy Division & New Order have reimagined the 1988 "Atmosphere" single as a live EP featuring performances from a January 1980 Paradiso, Amsterdam gig "directly from Dutch radio". Here's a lovely version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - as long as you can forgive Hooky's sloppiness:



Thank you, good sirs, thank you.

every new order single ever

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In the course of the recent trip down Smiths memory lane, I stumbled across a networked blog devoted to the digital remastering of vinyl New Order singles.

This is the real deal. These are club DJs, engineers and audiophiles who have lovingly restored these rare and out-of-print singles for eternal posterity.

From the Recycle: Joy Division & New Order blog: "All tracks were taken from the best/earliest possible sources to avoid modern mastering techniques which crush the dynamics. Tracks sourced from vinyl have been carefully cleaned and EQ levels have been tweaked for consistency. The artwork was scanned at the highest possible resolution and the type was reset when possible using the original fonts."

Damn.

Now some of this has shown up on various singles collections or album remasters, but no complete box set of New Order singles exists. So let's take a look at some of the gold you can find.

From the "Everything's Gone Green" single, here's rarity "Mesh":

And here's the 12" version of "Temptation" from the band's first self-produced single:

 
Finally, here's the superior 12" version of "Round & Round":



Do yourself a favor, scour Recycle: Joy Division & New Order. Not just for the impeccably remastered singles you can download, but also for the historical and production context that the contributors add to each selection.

Check back tomorrow and we'll peruse their back catalog of Joy Division singles.

beady eye, gorillaz and klaxons holiday giveaway grab bag

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As mentioned before the holiday, several musical treats were to be delivered over the weekend. To follow up, here's what Santa uploaded for you to enjoy...

First up, Liam Gallagher's new band, Beady Eye, unveiled a video yesterday — Boxing Day — for "Four Letter Word" off the upcoming debut entitled Different Gear, Still Speeding. It's a straight-ahead rocker in the vein of "Headshrinker" off the underrated Oasis B-sides collection, The Masterplan, with plenty of Liam's trademark sneer:




Next up, Damon Albarn's Gorillaz issued The Fall, a "15 track sonic journal" of the band's recent US tour. You can stream the full album here if you're willing to join the mailing list, or you can download it if you're a member of the Sub Division fan club.

Recorded entirely on an iPad, it features guest appearances from Mick Jones and Bobby Womack. Don't go in expecting too much though, it's a lot of electronic wankery as the video for "Phoner To Arizona" indicates:




Finally, the Klaxons have dug up some old material that was recorded between Myths Of The Near Future and Surfing The Void. You can download the 5-song EP Landmarks Of Lunacy for free with absolutely no strings.

Klaxons were sent back to the drawing board by Polydor during recording of Surfing The Void, so odds are tracks like "The Pale Blue Dot" were among those rejected:




So there you have it. Kinda like a Christmas fruitcake...  you're grateful to have it, but you probably won't enjoy it.

merry smithsmas! bootleg smiths outtakes surface

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(3/02/2011 — IMPORTANT UPDATE AT THE END OF THIS POST)

One last post before the holiday, and this one just made my year. New rare and previously unheard Smiths outtakes have been posted on the web for all to enjoy.

As reported by Slicing Up Eyeballs, a bootleg compilation entitled Unreleased Demos & Instrumentals was ripped from vinyl and posted on the Morrissey Solo message board earlier this week.

With tracks from the Meat Is Murder, Queen Is Dead and Strangeways Here We Come sessions, it's a treasure trove of material. Apparently, the songs were assembled for a best-of compilation by Warner Brothers that never saw the light of day.

The tracklist is below, and a brilliant explanation of the origin of each track can be found on the Extra Track (and a tacky badge) blog:

1. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
2. Reel Around The Fountain
3. Rusholme Ruffians
4. The Queen Is Dead
5. Sheila Take A Bow
6. This Night Has Opened My Eyes
7. Untitled One (Marr Instrumental)
8. Ask
9. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
10. Is It Really So Strange?
11. Frankly, Mr. Shankly
12. Shoplifters Of The World Unite (Reprise)
13. Girlfriend In A Coma
14. Death Of A Disco Dancer
15. Paint A Vulgar Picture
16. Untitled Two (Marr Instrumental)

Extra kudos to Slicing Up Eyeballs for posting select tracks for streaming online. First is a reggae-tinged take on "Girlfriend In A Coma":



Here's an early version of the Meat Is Murder classic "Rusholme Ruffians":



And finally, here's "Untitled 1" — otherwise known as "I Misses You" — recorded at the tail end of the Meat Is Murder sessions:



It's a Christmas miracle!


UPDATE:

The original vinyl rip of this Smiths bootleg — and the clips above — were accidentally ripped in mono. Now, thanks to The Power Of Independent Trucking blog, they have been remastered in stereo.

Lossless FLAC files have been posted here, if you're interested in the new, fancy hi-fi version.

holiday treats from gorillaz and klaxons

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After you're finished unwrapping gifts Christmas morning, jump on your laptop and download some virtual presents from Gorillaz and Klaxons.

First off, Damon Albarn has announced that The Fall, referred to as a "15 track sonic journal" of the band's recent US tour, will be made available free to members of the Gorillaz Sub Division fan club. The album will also get a physical release sometime in early 2011.

Recorded entirely on an iPad, it's a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks — some Albarn solo and others collaborative.  Here's a quick teaser of the video for The Fall's "Phoner To Arizona":




Meanwhile, the Klaxons, who made news last month with their NSFW video for "Twin Flames", will release a free EP Christmas Day.

Landmarks Of Lunacy is a 5-song follow-up to Surfing The Void, but it was actually recorded prior to that album back in 2008.

Produced by James Ford, who recorded the band's debut Myths Of The Near Future, it will be gifted to anyone who cares to visit klaxons.net.

The quality isn't the greatest, but here's a live performance of one of the 5 tracks entitled "Silver Forest":



Merry Christmas, fellow old wavers!

coldplay 'christmas lights' live

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Chris Martin and company issued their contribution to the Christmas canon earlier this month. "Christmas Lights" was released as a single and quickly followed by an equally cheerful video.

This past Sunday night in Liverpool, Coldplay whipped the tune out for the first time live. Featuring Take That's Gary Barlow, it turns into quite the arm waving sing-along:



Unfortunately, Coldplay's treacle sweet single didn't even make the top 10 in the race for the UK's Christmas #1. That honor goes to X-Factor winner Matt Cardle and his cover of "When We Collide" by Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro.

Yeesh.

cut copy's 'take me over' club remix

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Just a couple weeks ago, Cut Copy released the first single off their upcoming third album, Zonoscope.

"Take Me Over" is a step away from the club-ready jams of the last album, but they've taken that into account and floated a free remix from the co-producer of In Ghost Colours, Tim Goldsworthy.

Goldsworthy, late of DFA, turned the krautrock of the original into the ten-minute, cow-bell crescendo of "Take Me Over (Thee Loving Hand Remix)":




For reference, here's the more pedestrian original:




Look for Zonoscope in the US on February 8 via Modular.

ride nowhere finally on vinyl

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Tomorrow shoegaze greats Ride will finally release their seminal debut album Nowhere on vinyl in the states.

As reported by our pals at Slicing Up Eyeballs, Rhino has delayed the 20th Anniversary 2-disc reissue until February but is forging ahead with the release of the 180-gram vinyl pressing.

Nowhere doesn't get quite the same recognition, but it's up there with My Bloody Valentine's Loveless as an essential shoegaze album. "Vapour Trail" stands up as one of the greatest songs of its era:




For a little more Britpop flavor, try "Taste":




Finally, check out this live version of "Dreams Burn Down" from Brixton Academy in '92:



Season's Greetings, shoegazers.

beady eye to drop a "four letter word" on boxing day

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Liam Gallagher's new band, Beady Eye, will follow up the birth of baby Jesus with the release of a video for "Four Letter Word" on December 26 — or Boxing Day as it's known in the UK.

Taken from the forthcoming debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding, NME reports it's not a proper single, just a video. Here's the preview posted on NME today:




If you haven't been keeping up with Liam's goings on, lead single "Bring The Light" was released last month with the B-side "Sons Of The Stage". The latter was the more Oasisy of the two:




The video for the A-side is stripped down and straight ahead, just like Beady Eye's throwback British Invasion sound:



Different Gear, Still Speeding will be released February 28 in the UK and March 8 in the US.

merry christmas, love beach house

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Baltimore's Beach House, proud owners of the #2 spot on the Old Waver Top 40 Albums of 2010 list, have given all of us an early Christmas gift.

"I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun" picks up where Teen Dream left off. And with the exception of some sleigh bells, it isn't particularly Christmassy. But whatever — it's free.

Have a listen here and then download it from a special page on the band's website. Victoria Legrand's dusky vocals and the mournful slide guitar would be a lovely soundtrack as you warm by the fire and half-watch It's A Wonderful Life for the hundredth time:



Marshmallows in your cocoa?

ceo covers beyonce

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Swedish electro kingpin Eric Bergland of The Tough Alliance turned some heads with this summer's solo effort under the ceo moniker.

White Magic is a lush, blissful album of varying electronic textures best known for it's summer party anthem "Come With Me".

This week, Bergland dropped the second single, "Illuminata", as a limited edition 7" available through the Modular website. We'll take a look at the accompanying video in a moment, but first let's focus on the B-side — a relatively faithful take on Beyonce's "Halo":




Thanks to gorillavsbear. As for the A-side, it's pure Nordic pop with a bit of Danish contemporaries Mew mixed in:



Now wash down all that saccharine with a tall glass of Evian.