6 posts tagged “the smiths”

Well, it's over. I meant to post a recap of who I saw on Saturday yesterday morning, but I got sidetracked; and I've been in bed feeling like rubbish all day today. Not sure whether Lollapalooza's to blame or some other source of lurgee, but I can at least see straight now.

So, Saturday. We got to Grant Park in time to see a snippet of Foals. I had no opinion on them either way, which is odd considering they're one of the many "saviours of rock n' roll" that get trotted out by the NME every year. I also caught a little snippet of The Gutter Twins, featuring the inimitable Mark Lanegan. I wasn't paying too much attention, but they sounded alright.

The first band proper for me was MGMT, whose weird Bowie meets dance sound was perfectly suited to the festival vibe. I really enjoyed them, and their guitarist's shredding all over 'Kids' was fantastic.

Josie went off to see DeVotchKa, who are like a Hispanic gypsy folk take on The Smiths, while Jess and I hung out waiting for Brand New to come on. We saw them live already, but in a terrible venue full of teenyboppers, so we were hoping they'd be better at a festival. Not so much. The highlight of their set was the dudes brawling a few metres away from me. It's a shame, because on CD, they're great.

At least frontman Jesse Lacey was as disappointed as us, at one point telling the crowd "You should all be watching Explosions In The Sky."

Somehow, there was a big gap for us, until we ended up watching Okkervil River while waiting for Broken Social Scene to come on. They weren't what I expected (the name conjured up rootsy blues, but they were more folky and upbeat). I liked them.

Then Broken Social Scene... Broken Social Scene were my second favourite band after Radiohead. For a band with such an inconsistent line-up, they manage to be consistently awesome, and played some of my favourites including '7/4 (Shoreline)' and 'Farewell To The Pressure Kids'... and they had Amy from Stars with them, awesome.

We caught the tail end of Toadies' set (apparently they were big in America, never heard of them... and gladly so), then sat patiently waiting for Rage Against The Machine. I had chosen them over Wilco as I don't know that I would get to see them again.

I was... kinda non-plussed. While musically, they were tight, it sounded exactly the same as the CDs. To me, part of the appeal of seeing a band live is seeing how they mess with their arrangements. Add to that the fact they *kept* stopping so Zach could lecture the moshpit, and it wasn't all that entertaining. A massive shame. I wish I had seen Wilco now.

Sunday was the least action packed of the three days, reflected by the fact we were able to head down so late (not helped by The Weakerthans pulling out).

As we arrived, we could hear Iron & Wine and decided against them as they would be a bit of a Debbie Downer. So, our first act of the day was the brilliant Saul Williams. The girls weren't fans, but he did put on an energetic performance.

We caught snippets of Blues Traveller and Love & Rockets, but the next band proper was The National. Having seen them in the colossal United Center supporting REM, I wanted to see if their sound fared better in a relatively smaller environment... and I am pleased to say it did. I love them.

After they left the stage, the girls went over to catch the start of Kanye West's set while I watched Nine Inch Nails. I'd seen them before and really enjoyed them, but for some reason, the magic just wasn't there this time around... I think mostly because they decided to kill the mood a short way into their set by playing some of the instrumental pieces from Ghosts I-IV... which, while great to listen to when you're chilling out, is not really much fun when you're stood in a field.

They did play an awful lot of material from The Downward Spiral, though, which sort of made up for it. Especially 'Closer'.

Overall, it really was a good weekend, marred only - really - by feeling horribly ill today.

Peter Hook of Joy Division/New Order, Mani from Stone Roses/Primal Scream and Andy Rourke from The Smiths have formed a supergroup called Freebass (the name being a reference to the fact all three are bass guitarists).

According to an article on Pitchfork, guest vocalists rumoured to be appearing on their forthcoming album are...

- Billy Corgan: no big shock, he's worked with Peter Hook before on New Order's 2001 album Get Ready, and toured with the band as keyboardist/guitarist.
- Rowetta: former Happy Mondays backing vocalist, X-Factor contestant and all-round nutter.
- Howard Marks: notorious drug smuggler, friend of Super Furry Animals and author of Mr Nice.
- Gary Briggs: frontman for indie also-rans Haven. The only connection I can think of is that they were discovered by Andy's former bandmate Johnny Marr.

Weirdest. Line-up. Ever.

I stole this from Wendy, who stole it from Cliff.

Put your iPod/Zune/iRiver/Creative thingy on random and write the first line of each of the first twenty-five songs it plays, then see how relevant those lyrics are to your life. No skipping songs that make you look uncool, or manually selecting songs you like.

1. 'Ice Box' by Nada Surf
"Stay until you're sure that I'm asleep, warm and safe and very still."

This is very insightful. Every night, Jess waits till I'm asleep then goes and plays Wii Sports till the early hours of morning. That's why she's tired.

2. 'Love Affair' by Kylie Minogue
"Here in the moment I belong, in a waking dream."

Today, I am very sleepy and not concentrating as it's Thanksgiving and the office is so dead.

3. 'Steps Into Miles' by Hayden
"Your legs walk through the tide like a smile, turn every step into miles."

All the girls at work are wearing jeans, and they're all shorter than me, so this can't be about ogling legs; and we're nowhere near water. Am I thinking too literally?

4. 'Nothing And Everything' by Smashing Pumpkins
"Hiding behind my hair today, my eyes dance with fire."

I don't even own a hair, let alone many hairs that would necessitate an entire face hide.

5. 'One More Time' by The Cure
"I'd love to touch the sky tonight, I'd love to touch the sky."

I'd love to watch Sky Plus tonight, but alas.

6. 'A Man/Me/Then Jim' by Rilo Kiley
"I had one friend in high school, recently he hung himself with string."

I've not heard of any school friends committing suicide, but people I went to school have been adding me on Facebook recently. Hmm.

7. 'New Lace Sleeves' by Elvis Costello
"Bad lovers face to face in the morning, shy apologies and polite regrets."

Jess and I usually sleep butt to butt... although, we call each other butthead and buttface, so maybe it's a subtle nod.

8. 'Animal' by Pearl Jam
"One, two, three, four, five against one, five, five, against one."

Those sound like good odds. Put me down for $20.

9. 'Unison' by Bjork
"One hand allows the other, so much and me."

Thanks for clearing that up, Bjork. No really.

10. 'Goodnight Sweet Night' by Jason Falkner
"Nobody told me this, I could have just asked how you were, how you were."

Jason Falkner is a walking self-help guide. How ARE you, person reading this?

11. 'Darts' by System Of A Down
"May I please remain in this space, for darts screech by my desires?"

Watching darts or playing darts? Watching darts is more fun because you get to laugh at big fat guys.

12. 'Briefcase Full Of Guts' by Dethklok
"Punch your card 'cause your working day has started and you're pushing hard for employee of the month."

We don't have an employee of the month scheme yet. But I do work hard when I'm awake.

13. 'Once In A Lifetime' by Talking Heads
"And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack, and you may find yourself in another part of the world, and you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile."

I'm in another part of the world! Hurrah!

14. 'Sulk' by Radiohead
"You bite through the big wall, the big wall bites back, you sit there and sulk, you sit there and bawl."

If I tried eating wall, I probably would cry.

15. 'Trunk' by Kings Of Leon
"Well I got what she wants, ah her nose, a tied knot."

If by she you mean the generic woman, then yes, I have money. That's all women want isn't it? That or Mel Gibson reading their minds.

16. 'The Queen Is Dead (Take Me Back To Dear Old Blighty)' by The Smiths
"Take me back to dear old Blighty, put me on the train for London town!"

I might be thinking this when winter really kicks in here in Chicago, but right now all I miss about Blighty are people.

17. 'Monkey & Bear' by Joanna Newsom
"Down in the green hay where monkey and bear usually lay, they woke from a stable boy's cry."

I've got nothing.

18. 'Accidents' by The Prize Fighter Inferno
"Oh, come now father dear and turn this blood to choice."

Again, um... yeah?

19. 'Twisted' by Sleeper
"She's seen one and it looks funny, it made her cry said boo to her."

This must be about genitals. Jess is scared of my genitals?

20. 'What You're Doing' by The Beatles
"Look what you're doing, I'm feeling blue and lonely."

Today I am not feeling blue, but it is pretty lonely as everyone left for lunch.

21. 'White Collar Boy' by Belle & Sebastian
"You're a white collar boy and you gave in to the law."

The collar I am wearing is blue with thin white stripes in it. I always give in to the law.

22. 'Walking Higher' by Heather Nova
"I carry you with me like a ghost inside."

This must be about my parasitic twin, Desmond.

23. 'Time After Time Etc' by REM
"Ask the girl of the hour by the water tower's watch, if your friends took a fall, are you obligated to follow?"

I always stick up for my friends, even if they're someone else's HUSband.

24. 'Imaginary Love' by Rufus Wainwright
"Every kind of love, at least my kind of love, must be an imaginary love to start with."

This is true. When I started crushing on Jess, I wished she felt the same.

25. 'Regret' by New Order
"Maybe I've forgotten the name and the address of everyone I've ever known, it's nothing I regret."

I am the most forgetful person in the world. Except Ricci. And my mum.

Jess and I watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off the other night. It's been a while since I'd seen it, and thus I had completely forgotten about this on the soundtrack - an instrumental version of The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' by The Dream Academy.

What's your musical horoscope?  (Put your player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)
Inspired by Stephanie.  

Well right now, I'm listening to solo material by The Dears' guitarist, Patrick Krief. I'll fire up iTunes. I'm on Jess' computer so there's not as much music on here, but at least I know it's all good music. <3

1. 'Heartache' by A Girl Called Eddy
2. 'Lonely In Your Nightmare' by Duran... Duran
3. 'Mouths Of Babes' by Smashing Pumpkins
4. 'All My Hammocks Are Dying' by Chin Up Chin Up
5. 'Closedown' by The Cure
6. 'It's Over' by Beta Band
7. 'Vicar In A Tutu' by The Smiths
8. 'August In Bethany' by The Juliana Theory
9. 'A Control Group' by Mates Of State
10. 'The Authority Song' by Jimmy Eat World

Yeah, make of that what you will. Mystic Meg's stumped.

Audio:  Let's hear your favorite cover song.
Submitted by Suzy. 

'Landslide' by Smashing Pumpkins, originally released by Stevie Nicks.