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Indie

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Joanna Newsom: Have Three On Me
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Criticizing an album before anyone\'s ever heard it would be a bizarre thing to do. Bizarrely, I think I\'m going do just that.
Y\'see, I\'m just a little concerned about one of my favorite artists.
Joanna Newsom\'s Ys was one of my favorite albums of the last ten years, but she\'s announced her follow up, Have One On Me, is going to be a triple. There\'s no track listing yet, but whatever it is will be released on 3xCDs, or 3xLPs.

Is there actually such a thing as a great triple album? Serious question, I\'d like to know. There must be a few, but even still - wouldn\'t they be improved by having a few lesser tracks chopped off to make it a more manageable double album? In fact, wouldn\'t the vast majority of double albums be improved by being edited down to a single?
I tend to feel that 35-50 minutes is the best length for an album, because shorter than that feels a little too short, but longer is kinda tiring. But how tiring a record is depends on what kind of music it is, too.
Aphex Twin\'s triple LP (or double CD) Selected Ambient Works II is over two-and-a-half hours of featureless ambiance. Even though that\'s a long time to do anything (a long time to have headphones on, say), it\'s easy to let it wash through you and only pick up on the broad movements of mood. On the other hand, Tupac\'s double-disc All Eyez On Me is 132 minutes -- nearly two-and-a-quarter hours -- and it\'s exhausting, because you have to listen much closer to hip-hop, to follow the lyrics. That kind of concentration is tough to keep up!
Joanna Newsom is not exactly easy to listen to in the first place. Her voice is polarizing, but even for those of us who like it, Ys, at 55 minutes long, was quite long enough, because her lyrics are so densely arranged that you really have to focus to keep up with them. We don\'t yet know how long Have One On Me will be, but if it\'s roughly three hours then that\'s surely too long to digest in one sitting. And if it\'s not meant for one sitting, why release it at all together under one name?
Joanna Newsom\'s music always seems very deliberate: every syllable is carefully measured, every flourish and flair under complete control. You can be sure that there\'s an explanation for the placing of every antique and animal figure on that cover, above, so the length of the album itself is no half-thought or accident. I imagine she must have some complex conceptual justification, I just can\'t imagine what it is!
Do you agree that triple albums are a bad idea? Or are you happier to get more songs from longer albums?
Have One On Me will be released on February 23rd. A new song, \"Good Intentions Paving Company,\" is already streaming from her label Drag City\'s website.
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Can You Master The SoundUnwound Genre Quiz?
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Hi there!

SoundUnwound is the new music website from IMDb and Amazon. We are primarily a music database, which is editable by all users, but moderated to help keep data quality high. Recently we’ve been adding a few extra features for a bit more fun. We know some of the Chordstrike team have been enjoying them, so we thought we’d let you know too.
We’ve made use of Amazon\'s vast library of 30-second song samples to put together five genre quizzes which test your musical knowledge, and your reaction times. Do you think you know about pop, rock, indie, country or hip-hop? Can you tell the difference between Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato? Pearl Jam and Soundgarden? Modest Mouse and the Manic Street Preachers? Toby Keith and Brad Paisley? Jay-Z and Ludacris?

Yeah, of course you can! But can you make your choice within a few short seconds, before you\'ve heard their voices? The longer the clock ticks, the less points you win for answering correctly. We’ve already seen some users rack up impressive scores. Can you join them on the individual genre leader boards, or on the overall board?
And once you’ve mastered your own specialist subject, why not try the quiz of a genre you know less about? Everything you hear is shown with links to the main SoundUnwound site, so you can find out more about any new discoveries, or add them to your SoundUnwound library.
We have to warn you: please make sure you’ve already done your homework, washed the dishes and put the cat out, because these quizzes can be addictive!

We’d love you to try them out and, if you’ve got any comments on the quizzes or on the rest of the site, please let us know in the comments here, or by sending us feedback.

Ed @ SoundUnwound
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Animal Collective: A Perfect 10
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This just in: Pitchfork has given the new Animal Collective song \"What Would I Want? Sky,\" releasing on December 15 on the Fall Be Kind [EP], a perfect 10 rating. We wanted to mark the occasion since the music blog is stingy with its perfect rating (rightly so). And even though we at Chordstrike fawned all over the band and included them in our Best of the Year list, we\'re not quite sure if the favorable comments in the review fully justify the rarefied rating. Sure, \"consistently different,\" and sounding like \"new age or yoga or the 1990s\" (things that make you go hmm), and the ability to \"take a sound and turn it inside out to make something new, but something recognizable, even familiar\" are all admirable if not altogether coherent qualities in a song. But are those really the things that merit a perfect 10? Indie bands take notice -- there\'s your new playbook for success.

--Lucas HIlbert
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The 100 Greatest Live Albums of All Time
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There are plenty of live albums issued solely as afterthoughts or contract fulfillments, but there are plenty that are as transcendent as the best in-person concert experiences, only with zero lines at the bathroom. For this particular list we came up with the following criteria:
• Only one album per artist.
• Albums were been performed live in front of an audience, but don\'t necessarily have to be culled from a single performance.
• No EPs or singles—this list is about albums
• We decided to limit this list to music, which means no comedy. We wanted to save those records for a separate list for laffers.
Of course, we exercise their judgment regarding quality and/or historical significance. If you disagree with our choices (and there\'s a good chance you will), let us know in the comments.

Here goes:
1. James Brown - Live At The Apollo, 1962
2. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
3. Frank Sinatra - Sinatra at the Sands
4. Bill Withers - Live at Carnegie Hall
5. Judy Garland - Judy At Carnegie Hall
6. Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Live, 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert
7. Ella Fitzgerald - Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert
8. Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won
9. MC5 - Kick Out the Jams
10. Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
11. Neil Young - Live Rust
12. Otis Redding - Live in Europe
13. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
14. Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York
15. Bob Marley - Live
16. The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya\'s Out
17. Roy Orbison - Black and White Night
18. The Who - Live at Leeds
19. Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park
20. Jimi Hendrix - Live at Monterey
21. Cheap Trick - At Budokan
22. John Coltrane & Thelonious Monk - At Carnegie Hall
23. Paco de Lucia, Rodrigo, and Orchestra De Cadaques - Concierto de Aranjuez
24. Maceo Parker - Life On Planet Groove
25. Portishead - Live: Roseland NYC
26. Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis
27. Leonard Cohen - Live in London
28. Kiss - Alive!
29. Eric Clapton - Unplugged
30. Queen - Live Killers
31. Nina Simone - Nina Simone at Town Hall
32. Gram Parsons - Live 1973
33. Jeff Buckley - Live at Sin-é
34. U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky
35. Lucinda Williams - Live at the Fillmore
36. Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
37. Dead Can Dance - Toward the Within
38. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Live in New York City
39. BB King - Live at the Regal
40. Aretha Franklin - Live at Fillmore West
41. David Bowie - Stage
42. Miles Davis - Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live At The Fillmore East
43. Art Blakey - A Night At Birdland, Vol. 1
44. Ani Difranco - Living in Clip
45. Mavis Staples - Live: Hope at the Hideout
46. Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960
47. Depeche Mode - 101
48. Deep Purple - Made in Japan
49. Isaac Hayes - Live at Wattstax
50. Sam Cooke - At the Copa
51. Parliament - Live: P-funk Earth Tour
52. Grateful Dead - Europe \'72
53. Laurie Anderson - United States Live
54. Alison Krauss and Union Station - Live
55. Velvet Underground - 1969
56. Pink Floyd - Pulse
57. The Roots - Come Alive
58. Bill Evans Trio - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
59. Sarah Vaughn - Live At The 1971 Monterey Jazz Festival
60. George Harrison - Live in Japan
61. Peter Gabriel - Plays Live
62. Erroll Garner - Concert by the Sea
63. Thelonius Monk - Thelonious in Action: Live at the Five Spot Cafe
64. Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Live at Luther College
65. Janis Joplin - Janis in Concert
66. Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
67. Willie Nelson - Stars and Guitars
68. John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard
69. The Clash - From Here To Eternity Live
70. Eartha Kitt - Live from the Café Carlyle
71. Ravi Shankar - Live: Ravi Shankar at the Monteray International Pop Festival
72. Wilco - Kicking Television: Live In Chicago
73. Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken
74. Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East
75. Jay-Z - Unplugged
76. The Orb - Live \'93
77. The Ramones - It\'s Alive
78. Etta James - Rocks the House
79. Soweto Gospel Choir - Live at Nelson Mandela Theatre
80. Pearl Jam - Live on Two Legs
81. Björk - Live Box Set
82. Kraftwerk - Minimum-Maximum
83. Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong: Live Recordings
84. Lou Reed - Rock \'n\' Roll Animal
85. Jill Scott - Live in Paris
86. Carole King - Carole King The Carnegie Hall Concert June 18, 1971
87. Alice in Chains - Live
88. John Denver - The Wildlife Concert
89. Eva Cassidy - Live at Blues Alley
90. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live at Carnegie Hall
91. Rush - Rush in Rio
92. Police - Live!
93. Daft Punk - Alive 2007
94. James Taylor - James Taylor Live
95. Neil Diamond - Hot August Night
96. Guns N\' Roses - Live Era \'87-\'93
97. Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett Live In Texas
98. Blue Oyster Cult - Extraterrestrial Live
99. Aerosmith - Live! Bootleg
100. J. Geils Band - Live: Blow Your Face Out

-- Jeff Reguilon
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Who Will Sign Pomplamoose?
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19,000 YouTube channel subscribers, 5000 MySpace friends, and some serious buzz building... Let the bidding begin.

--Courtney Powell
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Interview: Matt McCormick Discusses Music\'s Role in New Film
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Part of Portland indie film darling Matt McCormick\'s heart has always belonged to the music scene. In between creating and screening his own experimental film projects, managing international film label Peripheral Produce and directing the PDX Film Festival, he\'s found time through the years to collaborate with musicians, compose soundtracks for some of his own short films, and direct music videos for The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, YACHT and other acts.

So it\'s not surprising that McCormick recruited some musically-minded friends to collaborate in his first full-length feature film. James Mercer of the Shins and Carrie Brownstein of the recently disbanded Sleater-Kinney play the lead roles in Some Days are Better Than Others, and Portland-based Matthew Cooper, better known as Eluvium, is scoring the film. The trailer was released this week. Watch it below for a taste of the four Portlanders\' collaborative work.

Matt was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about the roles that music--and musicians--play in Some Days are Better than Others.

How did you decide James and Carrie were right for the two lead roles?

There were a lot of factors. The storyline of James\' character actually derives from a music video I made for the Shins a long time ago (\"The Past and Pending\") and throughout the writing process I sort of had his image as that character. I also had worked with him on a couple other video projects and knew he was good in front of the camera, so when the time came to cast the film I gave him a shot to audition and he nailed it. Carrie originally came in to audition for a smaller role, but she asked if she could also read for the bigger role (Katrina) which she also nailed. The character Carrie plays works at a local dog shelter, and in real life Carrie works at the Oregon Humane Society, so she had a very acute understanding of the story line.

What did they bring to the table as musicians that made them interesting to work with, or different from actors without that background?

I have worked with so few actors that it\'s hard to say, but Carrie and James are both very smart, creative people who I think were able to bring a larger artistic sense to the process. It really just felt like one big artistic collaboration.

You\'ve scored some of your own short films in the past - how did you approach the scoring of this film, and how did you decide to work with Matthew Cooper?

Matthew Cooper (who performs under the name Eluvium) is kind of a hero of mine. I recently met him and we realized we were mutual fans of each other\'s work, and it almost seemed like we were just destined to do this project together.

Several other local musicians appear in the film as well. How did that evolve?

There are some little bit parts that musician friends of mine played, but nothing too serious. I guess a lot of it comes down to the fact that I just have a lot of friends who are musicians, and it\'s always fun to work with them in one way or another.

Watch the just-released trailer for Some Days are Better Than Others here, find out more on the Some Days are Better than Others site, and check out more of Matt McCormick\'s work (including music videos for the Shin\'s \"The Past and Pending\" and \"Australia,\" as well as Sleater Kinney\'s \"Jumpers\") on Matt McCormick\'s site.

Some Days are Better than Others (trailer) from matt mccormick on Vimeo.

-- Courtney Powell
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Pavement Reunite!
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After years of rumors, seminal indie-rock band Pavement have finally confirmed they are to reunite. New York-based blog Brooklyn Vegan was first to declare these rumors were the real deal, and on Thursday guitarist Scott Kannberg (a.k.a. Spiral Stairs) confirmed the reunion in an interview with Rolling Stone. The first confirmed date is a Central Park, New York show on September 21 next year. Referring to frontman Stephen Malkmus, Kannberg said \"Steve and I just had a conversation on the phone, and we’d never talked about it before at all. We’ve talked over the years, but the subject never came up. Then our agent asked us about these New York shows, so we went around to everybody in the band, and they said, ‘Yeah, the time is right If everybody’s ready to do it, then we’ll do it and see what happens.’ There was no real impetus — it just kind of happened naturally.” Pavement split up ten years ago after releasing five hugely influential albums. While never big sellers, their reputation has only grown in the years after they broke up, so their reunion shows are sure to be attended by big crowds. \"There’s festivals and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella,\" Kannberg added. \"After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future.\"

It\'s also been confirmed by Pavement\'s record label, Matador, on their blog.

\"After years of speculation, the most important American band of the 1990’s is returning to the stage, with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010.\"

They also say that a pre-sale (password ZOWEE) for the Central Park show begins tomorrow. That\'s right, if you want to guarantee a ticket, you need to pre-pay a year in advance!

--Ally @ SoundUnwound

SoundUnwound\'s editorial team write about the latest big music news and quirky stories which catch the eye. We\'ll be posting a selection of these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more, visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.

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Lost Gems: Chandra
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Every now and again, I get super obsessed with a record, and this week belongs to Chandra. I first heard Chandra years ago, when I was writing for a website that reviews bizarre, hip, and unique vinyl finds called Waxidermy. Someone had happened upon a copy of this long out-of-print (circa 1980) gem of an EP, Transportation, and shared some MP3s. When I heard the tracks, I was totally floored.
Why, you ask?
Because Chandra Oppenheim is (well, was) a 12-year-old girl dynamically and powerfully fronting a no-wave/experimental disco band (think early Talking Heads or B-52\'s, only weirder) that sounds as confrontational, dissonant, beautiful, and odd as any of the work out of the active NYC no wave/noise scene of the day. Beyond that, these were her own compositions, with subjects ranging from the city\'s confusing subway system, to a girl named Kate \"who thinks she\'s really great, but she\'s not.\" (Ever since my first exposure to this song, every time I meet someone named Kate, these are the first words that come to my mind.) Hearing these well-written, exceptional tracks was, as they say on Waxidermy, \"face-melting.\"
Is this children\'s music? Electronic? Post-punk? Experimental? Pop? The answer is yes.
Somehow, I missed the re-issue of the Transportation EP late last year, but I\'m sure glad I discovered it now, even if a few months late! Now with four additional tracks (from a 14-year-old Chandra) tacked on, the EP sounds better than ever. The newer tracks are more accessible, and she\'s accompanied by an all-teen backing band to boot. Although Chandra abandoned her band to focus on school before these bonus tracks could be released, it\'s a thrill to get to hear them now.
Oh, how I wish I lived in a world where the Chandras of world replaced the Miley Cyruses, Selena Gomezes and Demi Lovatos.
It would sure be a lot different.
Check out some tracks below, and let me know what you think.

Amazon.com Widgets

--Alan Wiley
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Monsters of Folk: Exclusive Video
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An exclusive video from Monsters of Folk is now available for your viewing pleasure. We\'re also hosting a Streaming Listening Party of the full album a week before street date release.

Monsters of Folk is the Alt/Indie super group comprised of Conor Oberst (singer for Bright Eyes), Yim Yames (singer for My Morning Jacket), M. Ward, and producer Mike Mogis.

In an era chock-full of super groups (see Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, and Chickenfoot just to name a few), now Indie Music fans of the world can rejoice, too!
--Lucas Hilbert
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Heath Ledger\'s Music Video for Modest Mouse
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The \'Net\'s been buzzing this month with the release of Modest Mouse\'s music video for \"King Rat,\" off their recent EP, No One\'s First and You\'re Next. This video was conceived by late actor Heath Ledger, who received a director\'s credit. It\'s a somewhat creepy animated vid--Ledger made it to protest the illegal commercial whale hunts that take place off the coast of Australia. In an eerie turning-of-the-tables, the vid depicts a crew of whales hunting humans in order to make pet food. It makes my skin crawl, but it\'s sobering, not to mention effective. Check it out.

--Bri Nguyen

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