HelloAngel
ONE love, blood, life
[SIMG]http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/11265cmjday3a-sml.jpg[/SIMG]
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.11
Like many writers who didn’t grow up in New York, I’ve spent the better part of the last 14 or so years wishing I could either write for Rolling Stone (albeit in a very earnest young Cameron Crowe way), or attend the CMJ Music Marathon to see as many bands as I could possibly remain awake for in the span of five days. It’s the “Sundance of Music Festivals,” except maybe not as cool and overwhelming as SXSW.
Now that I’ve moved to the City That Doesn’t Sleep, secured a decent camera and myriad vitamin supplements, I finally have my chance to see what I’ve been missing. Below is part one of what I found.
Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
To describe the rather organized chaos inside Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center (where the CMJ MM is based) on opening day, is to suggest: resolutely hip music lovers wearing myriad festival badges with red swag tote bags rushing about to find more swag. But these aren’t just any music lovers, no, these are industry people (label representatives, panelists, band members and publicists), journalists (print, webzine and blog) and others who just enjoy learning about artists on the cusp of the up-and-up; i.e., “indie” music.
Speaking of panelists, CMJ boasts impressive participants this year. Such luminaries include actress/comedian Janeane Garofalo and co-founder Public Enemy, Chuck D, on the Music Activism 2006 panel; Nina Persson, lead singer of the Cardigans, on the United Nations of Music panel; a CBGB “Ultimate Reunion” with Blondie co-founder Chris Stein and club owner Hilly Kristal; an Ozzfest Reunion; and the 15 Year Lollapalooza Reunion, with George Clinton and Donita Sparks of original riotgrrl group L7 among others.
(Chuck D poses with a member of the press. One passer-by remarked, “that’s the realist man ever right there, dog” after recognizing the rap legend. Photo by JCP for Interference.com.)
Exhibitors and purveyors of swag for CMJ 2006 include: 20th Century Fox (booth replete with “Borat” poster and buttons), Bodog Music with a soundstage (we happened to catch The Heck tuning up), New Line Cinema (studio behind Tenacious D’s “The Pick of Destiny” sporting hilarious tarot cards with the D), and Sonicbids, an online community where anyone can upload their own music and EPK for all to see and discover, and hope that coverage and a record deal follows.
(The Heck tunes up on the Bodog stage. Photo by JCP for Interference.com)
Of course, CMJ is all about the music and the artists who make it. Headliners this year include the Decemberists, the Knife (playing its first stateside shows), Silversun Pickups, Scanners, the Horrors, the Shins, Albert Hammond Jr. (playing his debut New York City gig) and Cold War Kids along with hundreds of others spread out over a swath of venues across the Big Apple for five crazy days and nights.
As it’s best to just dive right in and ignore the fact that scheduling your shows way ahead of time is not the best idea (my mistake!), and that we didn’t have a potentially orgiastic Halloween party to attend (as NYC parties are wont to be), on Tuesday evening we checked out the MySpace.com showcase at Sin-é, a Lower East Side venue famous for hosting the likes of Marianne Faithfull and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion over the years, and Jeff Buckley’s amazing “Live at Sin-é” record.
(Ima Robot gets funky 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
First up was Virgin Records’ Ima Robot, a spastically sexual band out of Los Angeles that owes as much to the Clash as it does to Prince and the Cars. Boasting former members of Beck’s band, and a livewire glittering pixie of a frontman in Alex Ebert, Ima Robot slayed the crowd with its delicious mix of 70s glam and psycho funk, 80s synth pop sensibility and a dash of Blur’s “Parklife” for good measure. Notable tunes included “Creeps Me Out,” “Black Jettas,” and “Eskimo Ride.” If “Velvet Goldmine” is your favorite movie, meet your new favorite band. To get a taste, visit the official Ima Robot website and MySpace page. Ima Robot’s latest release is “Monument to the Masses.”
(Archie Bronson Outfit pays tribute to “those ‘Cherry Lips’” 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Domino Records’ Archie Bronson Outfit, out of London, lately bolstered by college radio hits “Cherry Lips” and “Dead Funny,” suffered from pitiable sound mixing that did nothing to make a case for the bearded trio’s compellingly chunky fuzz rock on Tuesday night. Lead singer Sam 'The Cardinal' Windett had to continually spend time in between songs telling the soundboard crew to turn up drums and vocals, which lead to an awkward exchange of the crew informing Windett that all dials were currently at 11, and that if the EQ went any higher, it would bust. Ouch. Hunched over drummer Arp Cleveland produced militant thumping beats that proved to be the most interesting aspect of most songs and never appeared tired, despite the aggravation of poor sound. Reports indicate the trio enjoyed greater success in its additional CMJ appearances, no sound issues to speak of. For more information on ABO, visit the official website and MySpace page. Its latest release is “Derdang Derdang.”
(Young Love makes the girls swoon 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Last up for our Tuesday night music club was Island Records’ Young Love, a New York-based group fronted by Dan Keyes, a tall, skinny nattily-dressed popster possessing an air of a privileged prep school graduate with an American Express Black card. Its latest release, “Too Young to Fight It” fits perfectly with fellow trendy pop-emo band All-American Rejects, and is destined to make young girls fall in love immediately with tales of, you guessed it—young love, youthful sweat and dancing all night long. For more information on Young Love, visit the official website and MySpace page.
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
After taking Wednesday off to catch up on some rest, and let’s face it, the new episode of “Lost,” we were once again on the move to a special event sponsored by SPIN at the new Puma Store in Union Square, and to a special screening of “Stranger Than Fiction” at the Tribeca Cinemas theater for the CMJ FilmFest.
First up, the Puma Store showcase.
(Scanners take its golden violence to the Union Square Puma Store on 11/2. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Not much is known about the London-based Scanners. Fronted by the enigmatic Sarah Daly, a raven-haired temptress with the looks of a young Patti Smith and the pipes of the legendary Chrissie Hynde, and signed to Dim Mak due to a chance meeting with superstar DJ and label owner Steve Aoki, the only slightly menacing Scanners make propulsive and grimy bottom-heavy rock that is impossible to resist. The show, featuring tunes primarily from “Violence is Golden,” such as “Look What You Started,” “Lowlife” and “Changing Times,” was by far the best performance we had seen yet at CMJ. I think I’ve discovered my new favorite band. Seriously. (Isn’t that what CMJ is for?) For more information on Scanners, visit the official website and Myspace page.
(Silversun Pickups tear it up at the Union Square Puma Store on 11/2. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Silversun Pickups is one of those bands that every time its tunes come on KEXP, I wonder who it is and why I don’t own everything the band has ever done. Turns out I’m not the only one if its jam-packed gig at the tiny Puma Store was any indication of the band’s mounting buzz on the strength of the indie radio staple “Rusted Wheel” and its recent album “Carnavas” on Dangerbird Records. Bolstered by a dreamy, droning Pixies flair for drama on the backs of lead singer Brian Aubert and bassist Nikki Monninger, this Los Angeles band is destined to go as many places as its good humor and tour bus will travel. For more information on Silversun Pickups, visit the official website and MySpace page.
After the Puma showcase, it was rush, rush through Union Square to catch the A train to Canal Street and the screening of “Stranger Than Fiction.” This CMJ Marathon is serious business, and not for the weak of heart, lung and leg.
I had a theory going into “Stranger Than Fiction.” I surmised that Emma Thompson’s author character, Kay Eiffel, didn’t really exist, and that the entire situation—the narrated life and narrated death of Harold Crick (played by a very low key Will Ferrell)—was simply, and in my mind, very obviously, a sign of schizophrenia. I had it all figured out. My predicted ending would reveal itself in the last few moments like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. You know, the whole big twist thing. Well, I’m happy to say that I was very wrong about my prediction. If you’re willing to suspend disbelief and thoughts of “but that’s not even possible!” regarding the core story line of Crick hearing Eiffel’s voice in his head, narrating everything he does as he does it and every thought he has as he thinks it, you will bear witness to one of the sweetest, rewarding movies of the year.
The premise is a lofty one, and something that asks a lot of the viewer. What if a character in a book was real? If your life was narrated, what would it say, what would it say about you? In Crick’s case, it exposes his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He counts everything, be it brush strokes when cleaning his teeth, measuring the distance between any A item to B item, and the number of steps on a crosswalk that will enable him to make the most efficient use of his walking time. An unremarkable man on most levels, Crick, an IRS agent, has no enemies (although he counts anyone as his potential enemy given his job), no relationship to come home to; he simply exists. No day is different than the next, and as the opening line of the movie attests, “This is the story of Harold Crick and his wrist watch.” Tick tock, tick tock. Like sands in an hourglass…yadda, yadda.
The story is so much more than that, obviously, because Crick would not exist without Eiffel (or would he?), and all Eiffel wants to do is kill Harold Crick to finish her long-delayed novel in progress, “Death and Taxes”; but Harold doesn’t want to die because he isn’t ready. All of this poses quite a dilemma, where fiction and reality are both interchangeable and interwoven. With a hugely comical supporting turn by Dustin Hoffman as a literary expert helping to “diagnose” and find the origin of the narrator problem, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a feisty baker who is being audited in more ways than one by Harold, “Stranger Than Fiction” is not perfect, but it’s more savvy, thought-provoking and ultimately more heartwarming than most films this fall. For more information on “Stranger Than Fiction,” visit the official website.
So that’s it for Part One, folks. Part Two coming soon, with performances by Land of Talk, Cloud Cult, Tokyo Police Club and Albert Hammond Jr., otherwise known as that big party at Mercury Lounge on Friday night that was packed out by 930pm. (Thanks to Albert. Duh.)
--With additional reporting by JCP for Interference.com.
Carrie Alison can be reached at carrie@interference.com
By Carrie Alison, Editor
2006.11
Like many writers who didn’t grow up in New York, I’ve spent the better part of the last 14 or so years wishing I could either write for Rolling Stone (albeit in a very earnest young Cameron Crowe way), or attend the CMJ Music Marathon to see as many bands as I could possibly remain awake for in the span of five days. It’s the “Sundance of Music Festivals,” except maybe not as cool and overwhelming as SXSW.
Now that I’ve moved to the City That Doesn’t Sleep, secured a decent camera and myriad vitamin supplements, I finally have my chance to see what I’ve been missing. Below is part one of what I found.
Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
To describe the rather organized chaos inside Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center (where the CMJ MM is based) on opening day, is to suggest: resolutely hip music lovers wearing myriad festival badges with red swag tote bags rushing about to find more swag. But these aren’t just any music lovers, no, these are industry people (label representatives, panelists, band members and publicists), journalists (print, webzine and blog) and others who just enjoy learning about artists on the cusp of the up-and-up; i.e., “indie” music.
Speaking of panelists, CMJ boasts impressive participants this year. Such luminaries include actress/comedian Janeane Garofalo and co-founder Public Enemy, Chuck D, on the Music Activism 2006 panel; Nina Persson, lead singer of the Cardigans, on the United Nations of Music panel; a CBGB “Ultimate Reunion” with Blondie co-founder Chris Stein and club owner Hilly Kristal; an Ozzfest Reunion; and the 15 Year Lollapalooza Reunion, with George Clinton and Donita Sparks of original riotgrrl group L7 among others.
(Chuck D poses with a member of the press. One passer-by remarked, “that’s the realist man ever right there, dog” after recognizing the rap legend. Photo by JCP for Interference.com.)
Exhibitors and purveyors of swag for CMJ 2006 include: 20th Century Fox (booth replete with “Borat” poster and buttons), Bodog Music with a soundstage (we happened to catch The Heck tuning up), New Line Cinema (studio behind Tenacious D’s “The Pick of Destiny” sporting hilarious tarot cards with the D), and Sonicbids, an online community where anyone can upload their own music and EPK for all to see and discover, and hope that coverage and a record deal follows.
(The Heck tunes up on the Bodog stage. Photo by JCP for Interference.com)
Of course, CMJ is all about the music and the artists who make it. Headliners this year include the Decemberists, the Knife (playing its first stateside shows), Silversun Pickups, Scanners, the Horrors, the Shins, Albert Hammond Jr. (playing his debut New York City gig) and Cold War Kids along with hundreds of others spread out over a swath of venues across the Big Apple for five crazy days and nights.
As it’s best to just dive right in and ignore the fact that scheduling your shows way ahead of time is not the best idea (my mistake!), and that we didn’t have a potentially orgiastic Halloween party to attend (as NYC parties are wont to be), on Tuesday evening we checked out the MySpace.com showcase at Sin-é, a Lower East Side venue famous for hosting the likes of Marianne Faithfull and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion over the years, and Jeff Buckley’s amazing “Live at Sin-é” record.
(Ima Robot gets funky 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
First up was Virgin Records’ Ima Robot, a spastically sexual band out of Los Angeles that owes as much to the Clash as it does to Prince and the Cars. Boasting former members of Beck’s band, and a livewire glittering pixie of a frontman in Alex Ebert, Ima Robot slayed the crowd with its delicious mix of 70s glam and psycho funk, 80s synth pop sensibility and a dash of Blur’s “Parklife” for good measure. Notable tunes included “Creeps Me Out,” “Black Jettas,” and “Eskimo Ride.” If “Velvet Goldmine” is your favorite movie, meet your new favorite band. To get a taste, visit the official Ima Robot website and MySpace page. Ima Robot’s latest release is “Monument to the Masses.”
(Archie Bronson Outfit pays tribute to “those ‘Cherry Lips’” 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Domino Records’ Archie Bronson Outfit, out of London, lately bolstered by college radio hits “Cherry Lips” and “Dead Funny,” suffered from pitiable sound mixing that did nothing to make a case for the bearded trio’s compellingly chunky fuzz rock on Tuesday night. Lead singer Sam 'The Cardinal' Windett had to continually spend time in between songs telling the soundboard crew to turn up drums and vocals, which lead to an awkward exchange of the crew informing Windett that all dials were currently at 11, and that if the EQ went any higher, it would bust. Ouch. Hunched over drummer Arp Cleveland produced militant thumping beats that proved to be the most interesting aspect of most songs and never appeared tired, despite the aggravation of poor sound. Reports indicate the trio enjoyed greater success in its additional CMJ appearances, no sound issues to speak of. For more information on ABO, visit the official website and MySpace page. Its latest release is “Derdang Derdang.”
(Young Love makes the girls swoon 10/31 at Sin-é. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Last up for our Tuesday night music club was Island Records’ Young Love, a New York-based group fronted by Dan Keyes, a tall, skinny nattily-dressed popster possessing an air of a privileged prep school graduate with an American Express Black card. Its latest release, “Too Young to Fight It” fits perfectly with fellow trendy pop-emo band All-American Rejects, and is destined to make young girls fall in love immediately with tales of, you guessed it—young love, youthful sweat and dancing all night long. For more information on Young Love, visit the official website and MySpace page.
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006
After taking Wednesday off to catch up on some rest, and let’s face it, the new episode of “Lost,” we were once again on the move to a special event sponsored by SPIN at the new Puma Store in Union Square, and to a special screening of “Stranger Than Fiction” at the Tribeca Cinemas theater for the CMJ FilmFest.
First up, the Puma Store showcase.
(Scanners take its golden violence to the Union Square Puma Store on 11/2. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Not much is known about the London-based Scanners. Fronted by the enigmatic Sarah Daly, a raven-haired temptress with the looks of a young Patti Smith and the pipes of the legendary Chrissie Hynde, and signed to Dim Mak due to a chance meeting with superstar DJ and label owner Steve Aoki, the only slightly menacing Scanners make propulsive and grimy bottom-heavy rock that is impossible to resist. The show, featuring tunes primarily from “Violence is Golden,” such as “Look What You Started,” “Lowlife” and “Changing Times,” was by far the best performance we had seen yet at CMJ. I think I’ve discovered my new favorite band. Seriously. (Isn’t that what CMJ is for?) For more information on Scanners, visit the official website and Myspace page.
(Silversun Pickups tear it up at the Union Square Puma Store on 11/2. Photo by Carrie Alison for Interference.com.)
Silversun Pickups is one of those bands that every time its tunes come on KEXP, I wonder who it is and why I don’t own everything the band has ever done. Turns out I’m not the only one if its jam-packed gig at the tiny Puma Store was any indication of the band’s mounting buzz on the strength of the indie radio staple “Rusted Wheel” and its recent album “Carnavas” on Dangerbird Records. Bolstered by a dreamy, droning Pixies flair for drama on the backs of lead singer Brian Aubert and bassist Nikki Monninger, this Los Angeles band is destined to go as many places as its good humor and tour bus will travel. For more information on Silversun Pickups, visit the official website and MySpace page.
After the Puma showcase, it was rush, rush through Union Square to catch the A train to Canal Street and the screening of “Stranger Than Fiction.” This CMJ Marathon is serious business, and not for the weak of heart, lung and leg.
I had a theory going into “Stranger Than Fiction.” I surmised that Emma Thompson’s author character, Kay Eiffel, didn’t really exist, and that the entire situation—the narrated life and narrated death of Harold Crick (played by a very low key Will Ferrell)—was simply, and in my mind, very obviously, a sign of schizophrenia. I had it all figured out. My predicted ending would reveal itself in the last few moments like an M. Night Shyamalan movie. You know, the whole big twist thing. Well, I’m happy to say that I was very wrong about my prediction. If you’re willing to suspend disbelief and thoughts of “but that’s not even possible!” regarding the core story line of Crick hearing Eiffel’s voice in his head, narrating everything he does as he does it and every thought he has as he thinks it, you will bear witness to one of the sweetest, rewarding movies of the year.
The premise is a lofty one, and something that asks a lot of the viewer. What if a character in a book was real? If your life was narrated, what would it say, what would it say about you? In Crick’s case, it exposes his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He counts everything, be it brush strokes when cleaning his teeth, measuring the distance between any A item to B item, and the number of steps on a crosswalk that will enable him to make the most efficient use of his walking time. An unremarkable man on most levels, Crick, an IRS agent, has no enemies (although he counts anyone as his potential enemy given his job), no relationship to come home to; he simply exists. No day is different than the next, and as the opening line of the movie attests, “This is the story of Harold Crick and his wrist watch.” Tick tock, tick tock. Like sands in an hourglass…yadda, yadda.
The story is so much more than that, obviously, because Crick would not exist without Eiffel (or would he?), and all Eiffel wants to do is kill Harold Crick to finish her long-delayed novel in progress, “Death and Taxes”; but Harold doesn’t want to die because he isn’t ready. All of this poses quite a dilemma, where fiction and reality are both interchangeable and interwoven. With a hugely comical supporting turn by Dustin Hoffman as a literary expert helping to “diagnose” and find the origin of the narrator problem, and Maggie Gyllenhaal as a feisty baker who is being audited in more ways than one by Harold, “Stranger Than Fiction” is not perfect, but it’s more savvy, thought-provoking and ultimately more heartwarming than most films this fall. For more information on “Stranger Than Fiction,” visit the official website.
So that’s it for Part One, folks. Part Two coming soon, with performances by Land of Talk, Cloud Cult, Tokyo Police Club and Albert Hammond Jr., otherwise known as that big party at Mercury Lounge on Friday night that was packed out by 930pm. (Thanks to Albert. Duh.)
--With additional reporting by JCP for Interference.com.
Carrie Alison can be reached at carrie@interference.com
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