Apparently, this is the closest we’re going to get to a rumored Mr. Bungle reunion. The song comes from a 7″ vinyl release by Trey Spruance’s Secret Chiefs 3. Spruance was the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Mr. Bungle, which has been inactive since 2000. Mr. Patton contributes vocals for Side A, which is a cover of Jacques Brel’s “La Chanson de Jacky.” Hopefully, this will hold us over until Patton releases the next Tomahawk record, which is expected later this year! You can download “La Chanson de Jacky (feat. Mike Patton)” here or stream it below [via GunShyAssassin]:
[These pics are from Jeff Mangum's Paramount Theater performance last October. Due to the strict no-photo policy, images are difficult to come by]. Last night’s Jeff Mangum show will be the last for the foreseeable future in our area, and it brought most of the 1000+ at Irvine Auditorium on the campus of UPenn to tears. This was our sixth show, including the five-song mini set in NYC two years ago, and it proved to be one of the most memorable. It was our second time with balcony seats, as the only show in Philadelphia sold out in 34 seconds back in November. Luckily, the acoustics of the auditorium were comparable to the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. We skipped out on Neutral Milk Hotel alum Julian Koster’s The Music Tapes after a tedious opening set in Brooklyn several days earlier. Koster told the same long-winded, mythical stories he told during the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. A 30-minute set would have been just right, but the band played on for an hour (equal stage time as Mangum).
Mangum entered stage right with his normal humble but slightly paranoid demeanor, but you could tell he was getting used to and was enjoying performing again after a large string of dates over past few months. He started right into “Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two” to a completely silent audience. It was so quiet you’d have to question, just for a second, if they were into it. The raging applause, yelps, “thank yous,” “we love yous,” etc. quickly put to rest that thought immediately. One of the highlights of the night was the accompaniment of Julian Koster’s singing saw during fan-favorite “Engine,” just as he did earlier in the week in Brooklyn (during a show I missed). Koster hit every note perfectly, and the song never sounded better. An additional highlight was another performance of the ultra-rare “Little Birds,” Mangum’s take on religious baptism, in which he sings in a raised voice, “knowing God in heaven could have … never could forgive him | So I took a hammer and I nearly beat his brains in.” Like most of his songs, the imagery taken from Mangum’s lyrics is both disturbing and beautiful. In the end, the highlight of each and every show was my personal favorite, “Oh Comely.” You can check it out the performance below [via NewJawnVideos] (poor video, decent audio):
One of the best surprises of the night featured The Music Tapes walking in from the rear of the auditorium at the end of “Two-Headed Boy.” On Neutral Milk Hotel’s opus In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, “Two-Headed Boy” is followed by the trumpet-heavy instrumental track “The Fool.” The Music Tapes made it about 2/3 through the main aisle in the orchestra section and stopped, playing the trumpet part of “The Fool” in the middle of the crowd. Mangum has previously told everyone to leave their seats, and approach the stage. The aisles were full, and the entire audience was standing by this point. The trumpet wasn’t mic’d but supplemented Mangum’s strumming guitar masterfully. Jeff and company exited the stage when the song ended. Mangum returned for a two-song encore after thunderous applause from the eager crowd. He went right into “Song Against Sex,” from NMH’s first album On Avery Island. He then finished the set with an epic performance of “In The Aeroplance Over The Sea.” I’ve heard the song live several times before, but it was always missing Koster’s singing saw, which adds a beautiful eeriness to the dreadfully hopeful track. Koster entered once again with saw in hand, and the NMH bandmates played a masterful live version of the song.
Jeff had previously announced these were the last shows for now, if not forever. And he kind of confirmed that last night when a fan shouted “see you soon” from the audience. Jeff responded “maybe” with obvious hesitance and doubt in his voice. One can only hope for anything more, including new music. In the meantime, we will revel in memory of these amazing shows that we never dreamed would happen.
Here is last night’s setlist:
Although Jeff didn’t play the song, listen to Fishpork’s favorite track of 2011, the previously unreleased “Ferris Wheel on Fire” below:
This list may fly in the face of most “best of” lists for 2011. Excluded are the overrated Bon Iver, James Blake, and the array of wince-inducing rap projects that have been embraced by particular hipster circles. Included are some albums that have been relentlessly bashed by the indie blogosphere, but ones we loved, such as The Strokes, Radiohead, and White Lies, as well as some that were completely ignored this year (Feersum Ennjin and Saul Williams).
We don’t call ‘em the best, just our favorites. These are the records that got the most plays on our iPods this year, our favorite albums of 2011:
Jeff Mangum came out of hiding to officially release some brilliant old tracks from the archives, Keaton Henson put out an achingly powerful single from 2010′s self-released Dear…, and a lot of deaf music reviewers shit on The Strokes latest collection of songs (except for us, of course). 2011 welcomed back our all-time favorite artists and introduced us to new favorites. Narrowing down the year’s best was especially difficult this time around, but here is our very biased list of 25 favorite tracks from 2011 (give the page a minute to load the embedded clips):
1. Neutral Milk Hotel – “Ferris Wheel on Fire”
2. Keaton Henson – “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are”
3. The Strokes – “Machu Picchu”
4. Feersum Ennjin – “Hate The Sun”
5. Modeselektor – “Pretentious Friends”
6. HEALTH – “Goth Star (Pictureplane cover)”
7. Tapes ‘n Tapes – “Nightfall”
8. M83 – “Midnight City”
9. SONOIO – “Enough”
10. Radiohead – “Codex”
11. Panda Bear – “Alsatian Darn”
12. Keaton Henson – “Strawbear”
13. The Antlers – “Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out”
The intensely introverted UK artist/musician has no plans to play live shows any time soon … at least in the traditional sense. On the heals of a successful 2011 spurred on by positive word-of-mouth from newly hooked fans, Keaton has decided to stream live online performances in what he’s calling his “Forts” series. These streaming shows will comprise of a hybrid that mixes live performance with elements of the music video. We’re warned that all is not what it appears … with a twist. We were lucky enough to catch the first rare streaming performance by Keaton Henson this afternoon here in the U.S. and look forward to the rest of the series. Henson will certainly make an appearance on our favorite tracks of 2011 list next week! Check out a recording of the “Forts” live performance stream below:
Tracklist:
1. You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are
2. Strawbear
3. To Your Health
While 2010 may have been the year we got to see Jeff Mangum play five songs, who would have thought we’d get to see three full Mangum sets in 2011?! It’s hard to compare that experience even in a year that was loaded with unforgettable performances. We were also lucky to catch James Murphy bid farewell to LCD Soundsystem, Tapes N’ Tapes proved why they are one of the best live bands on the planet, and Portishead blew the roof off of Asbury’s Convention Hall twice in ATP headlining performances. ATP recently announced that it will be returning to Asbury Park next year for another round of I’ll Be Your Mirror Performances, a guarantee that 2012 will have much live music to look forward to. Until then, here is our very biased list of favorite shows of 2011:
Did Andreas Nilsson really not make a video this year? I suppose that takes a bit of the bite out of this year’s favorites list, doesn’t it? Just like last year, 2011′s list includes more from the legendary music video auteur Spike Jonze. While there were many worthy videos this year, we narrowed down a list of ten favorites. Featuring the Beastie Boys sequel to a 25-year-old original, a raucous comedy by Maynard James Keenan, and a performance piece that incorporates light and darkness to perfection, these are Fishpork’s 10 Favorite Videos of 2011:
10. “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” by Beastie Boys (Directed by Spike Jonze)
9. “My Machines” by Battles (Directed by Daniels)
8. “Dance” by Saul Williams (Directed by Cédric Blaisbois)
7. “Midnight City” by M83 (Directed by Fleur & Manu)
6. “Lotus Flower” by Radiohead (Directed by Garth Jennings)
5. “You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are” by Keaton Henson (Directed by David Wilson)
4. “Conditions of My Parole” by Puscifer (Directed by Mike King and Maynard James Keenan)
3. “Fight For Your Right (Revisited)” by Beastie Boys (Directed by Adam Yauch)
2. “Shipwreck” by Modeselektor (ft. Thom Yorke) (Directed by Tony “Truand” Datis)
1. “Enough” by SONOIO (Directed by Matt Sundin and Caspar Newbolt)
While I have never big a huge fan of Black Dice, Eric Copeland’s opening set was a brilliant mindfuck. Drowned in almost indecipherable noise, each song flirted with melody, while maintaining a glorious and painful rough edge. I’m going to go back now and explore the Black Dice catalog and the rest of Copeland’s solo work immediately. Here’s a video from the performance of “Fun Dink Death” that liberateanimals5 took from the balcony:
Avey Tare’s (aka Dave Portner) set up was more basic than what he does for Animal Collective. The solo show featured some samplers, effects, a mixer, and, of course, his mic. There was no guitar or live drums, and Portner confirmed that he wouldn’t be playing any Animal Collective tracks when we passed him at the bar before the show. The result was an uber-emotional performance of tracks mostly from last year’s criminally-overlooked and intensely dark album, Down There, which was inspired by a few enveloping personal issues that Portner was going through at the time, including a divorce from his wife.
I’ve always enjoyed Animal Collective as a studio band more than a live band. While Animal Collective’s intricate collage of samples and loops has never been entirely engaging when recreated live, Portner’s energetic performances and vocal style have always been the exception for me. And it translated last night as well. There were distinct moments where Portner added textures, live loops and his signature and sporadic vocal yelps. Most Animal Collective fans seem to prefer Panda Bear’s solo work, but Avey Tare’s contributions have always engaged me more as a listener. Being able to check out one of your all-time favorite artists perform at your all-time favorite venue is not a bad way to spend a Thursday evening in the city. Check out a video of Avey Tare performing “Lucky 1″ from last night’s show:
Trent Reznor previously teased about an announcement that would come today. And it’s here. Full details concerning his and Atticus Ross’ soundtrack release for David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo are finally here. Trent will self-release the US versions and let Mute Records handle the international release. The official note from Trent is on NIN.com. Fans can pre-order the entire 3+ hour soundtrack in various formats, including digital, CD, and a deluxe package that features six LPs and a bunch of other goodies. The deluxe editions are limited to 3000 copies and will sell for $300. You can also get a free download of a six-song sampler that Trent and company made available on their Null Corporation outfit here.
Need a taste of the soundtrack right now? Download “Oraculum” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross here or stream it below:
Also, check out the full version of Trent and Atticus’ collaboration with Karen O on a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” (the opening track on the soundtrack) below:
And here’s the second full trailer for the film, which hits theaters on December 21st:
After last week’s surprise of Elliott Smith’s previously unreleased “Misery Let Me Down” from the WMUC lost library of his late 90′s in-studio performance, there is more. David Taylor, record librarian for WMUC, posted this update on the WMUC tumblr page:
I have spent the last couple days digitizing the MiniDisc containing Elliott Smith’s ‘96/’97(?) live performance at WMUC. It’s done and the tracks are now available for download. However, it is my regret to inform you that the MiniDisc is not the original source, nor does not contain the full performance. The new recording clocks in at around 18 minutes, 6 minutes less than the previous CD version. Furthermore, the multiple takes of “Say Yes” and “Division Day,” including “Misery Let Me Down,” are entirely missing.
There is some good news. The MiniDisc contains two tracks that are unavailable on the CD, “The Morning After” and “The Biggest Lie.” And the other tracks are now presented in higher audio quality.
We will not have a definitive version of Smith’s WMUC performance until we can find the original ADAT that it was recorded on.
Download MP3s of the 18-minute set here or get the FLAC version here. You can also stream the first song, “The Morning After,” below:
Apparently, this is the closest we’re going to get to a rumored Mr. Bungle reunion. The song comes from a 7″ vinyl release by Trey Spruance’s Secret Chiefs 3. Spruance was the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Mr. Bungle, which has been inactive since 2000. Mr. Patton contributes vocals for Side A, which is a cover of Jacques Brel’s “La Chanson de Jacky.” Hopefully, this will hold us over until Patton releases the next Tomahawk record, which is expected later this year! You can download “La Chanson de Jacky (feat. Mike Patton)” here or stream it below [via GunShyAssassin]:
[These pics are from Jeff Mangum's Paramount Theater performance last October. Due to the strict no-photo policy, images are difficult to come by]. Last night’s Jeff Mangum show will be the last for the foreseeable future in our area, and it brought most of the 1000+ at Irvine Auditorium on the campus of UPenn to tears. This was our sixth show, including the five-song mini set in NYC two years ago, and it proved to be one of the most memorable. It was our second time with balcony seats, as the only show in Philadelphia sold out in 34 seconds back in November. Luckily, the acoustics of the auditorium were comparable to the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park. We skipped out on Neutral Milk Hotel alum Julian Koster’s The Music Tapes after a tedious opening set in Brooklyn several days earlier. Koster told the same long-winded, mythical stories he told during the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour. A 30-minute set would have been just right, but the band played on for an hour (equal stage time as Mangum).
