with a little bit of love and a little bit of yeah yeah

Last night I was watching the Oscars, eating homemade fajitas, and mercilessly critiquing everyone from our comfy couch perch (oh, and Trent Reznor? Winning an Oscar? ..add that to the list of things I never thought I’d see when I was 16 and rebelling by listening to Pretty Hate Machine loudly on cassette in my 1987 Nissan Sentra).

Suddenly, amidst the self-congratulating by Hollywood for itself and victorious weeping, my ears perked up from a song in a commercial that sang charmingly about a little bit of love and a little bit of yeah yeah. It sparkled with both of the rich, seeping warmth and rasp of M. Ward along with the sweet folksy songwriting of Simon & Garfunkel — who was the artist behind this little song? Because I loved him, immediately.

Turns out I did love him actually, already.

The song is one of six new ones penned by Sam Means, half of the now-defunct The Format, for the 2008 indie movie The Sinking of Santa Isabel, about a fellow who goes to live in a treehouse. Sam has always been an amazing songwriter who uses classical sunny pop structure with a refreshing and humble spark, so now that I’ve listened to it a good dozen times — of course it’s him. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to find it.

Yeah Yeah – Sam Means

Soundtrack for The Sinking of Santa Isabel is available here.

how do i get there?

My flip-flopped friend out on the sandy beaches of Florida sent me a tune this week from Akron/Family‘s new album, and I put it on repeat for most of the day Wednesday. This is a big, expansive, primal celebration that has more in common with Sleigh Bells and Yeasayer than the communal freak-folk that I associate with some of their past music.

Silly Bears – Akron/Family

It’s a bright aural assault from their newest album with a Flaming-Lips-worthy title, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT (out now on Dead Oceans). I find it addictively good. According to the album descriptions, “It was recorded in an abandoned train station in Detroit with the blackest white dude we all know, Chris Koltay (Liars, Women, Deerhunter, Holy Fuck, No Age).” How could it not be rad?

I don’t know the music of Akron/Family very thoroughly, but they’ve got their bright spots in my musical library for sure. I do remember being immensely impressed with I saw them at Coachella in 2008 because they had not one but two drummers. That’s enough to woo me. That new track reminds me of the crazy cacophony of “Ed Is A Portal” from their 2007 album Love Is Simple, of which I wrote one time “I’m pretty sure there are some passing Hare Krishnas involved here.”

Ed Is A Portal – Akron/Family

But sometimes they also put aside the riotous tambourine joy in favor of deeply lovely songs, like the straight-up Strawberry Fields of “Don’t Be Afraid, You’re Already Dead” (love is simple). And Akron/Family also started my 2010 with a gorgeous simple hymn that was my theme for last year in a fantastic way. This year is gonna be ours, indeed.

we’re gonna rattle this ghost town

Two posts in a row about the same band? Yeah, because I can’t stop listening to this acoustic version of Walk The Moon‘s “Anna Sun” recorded in someone’s living room. I ripped it to mp3 on Thursday and I think I have listened to it a few dozen times since then in hotel rooms and airplanes all weekend.

The musical joy here is unmitigated. And terrific.

Anna Sun (acoustic living room version) – Walk The Moon

live my life without coming up for air (we got no money but we got heart)

From Thriller to the Britney Spears school hallway to OK Go’s backyard moves, I am forever warped by the stupid joy in communal dance scenes and find myself constantly half-wishing that one would form around me, flashmob style.

Therefore I can’t stop watching this video from unsigned Cincinnatti band Walk The Moon. The song itself is a hook-filled catchy little number, and the video is filmed in a maze-like cavernous building that looks like just the sort of place I’d love to explore. I do hope I’d end up in the basement, because that’s where they go and bust out into an Eighties-tastic dance scene. Just try and watch without smiling.

Recommended if you like The Killers and The Format and dance parties. I hope these guys are playing SXSW next month.

Anna Sun – Walk The Moon

[thanks Ben]

sunset’s just my lightbulb burning out

I’ve long had loud, clattery, live cover versions of this song in my arsenal of cry-into-your-coffee music, but thankfully Adam Duritz sat himself down in a quiet room with his piano and a will last week to record a bunch of Valentine’s Day cover songs, and this was the fruit.

Oh My Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams) – Adam Duritz

Other songs he posted for download last week included versions of material from Steve Earle, Tom Waits, and Bob Dylan. God bless the internet and prolific musicians at home.

hell hath no fury

Such a flawlessly scathing song, and a pitch-perfect video. I cannot get enough. Adele’s sophomore album 21 is out in the States next week, and she also stopped by NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions for Valentine’s Day. A little bitter regret to go with your candy hearts.

March 23: the Fuel/Friends David Bazan House Show!

I am having so much fun with these house shows. In addition to a new one I got going on March 12th with The Head and The Heart (plus Kelli Schaefer, The Moondoggies, and Ravenna Woods), I am extremely excited to have just confirmed another house show with David Bazan on March 23rd! Bazan is one of the most talented songwriters I know of, from his time with Pedro the Lion through his solo career. He’ll be playing to just 50 of us on that Wednesday night.

Ticketing for my show is here, and other dates can be found below. Some still have tickets left – get them here if he is coming to your neck of the woods!

That mini-documentary from 2009′s Curse Your Branches tour will give you some sense of what we’re in for, just in condensed, undiluted living-room form.

DAVID BAZAN LIVING ROOM TOUR 2011
Fri 3/18 – Spokane WA
Sat 3/19 – Missoula MT
Sun 3/20 – Bozeman MT
Tue 3/22 – Ft Collins CO
Wed 3/23 – Colorado Springs CO
Thu 3/24 – Omaha NE
Fri 3/25 – Iowa City IA
Sat 3/26 – Minneapolis MN – SOLD OUT
Sun 3/27 – Milwaukee WI
Tue 3/29 – Chicago IL – SOLD OUT
Wed 3/30 – Grand Rapids MI – SOLD OUT
Thu 3/31 – Cleveland OH
Fri 4/1 – Rochester NY – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/2 – Montpelier VT
Sun 4/3 – Allston MA – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/5 – Brooklyn NY – SOLD OUT
Wed 4/6 – Mechanicsburg PA
Thu 4/7 – Arlington VA – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/8 – Virginia Beach VA – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/9 – Alpharetta GA – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/10 – Nashville TN – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/12 – Birmingham AL
Wed 4/13 – New Orleans LA
Thu 4/14 – Baton Rouge LA
Fri 4/15 – Houston TX – SOLD OUT
Sat 4/16 – Denton TX – SOLD OUT
Sun 4/17 – Austin TX – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/19 – Tucson AZ
Wed 4/20 – Phoenix AZ
Thu 4/21 – San Diego CA – SOLD OUT
Fri 4/22 – Los Angeles CA
Sat 4/23 – Visalia CA
Sun 4/24 – Fremont CA – SOLD OUT
Tue 4/26 – Eureka CA
Wed 4/27 – Corvallis OR
Thu 4/28 – Portland OR

a fleeting beating of hearts

The Decemberists were absolutely perfect last night in Boulder, in my first time seeing them live. I wrote of their new album that it is clear Colin Meloy and I are MFEO, and now I amend that to say TMFEO (totally made for each other). He is as engaging a frontman as my other favorite, Jeff Tweedy, and every single song they played, even the ones I didn’t know, were intricate, shimmering, smart, and galvanized us from the stage. The crowd participation (“Mariners Revenge Song,” anyone?) is truly amazing. I sang and screamed and swayed along as best I could.

This gem of “January Hymn” came halfway through the set and set me off into bliss. “What were the words I meant to say before you left?” So bittersweet.

The set closed with the bookend of “June Hymn,” and it was almost too sublime to breathe or say anything. It was exactly as I hoped it would be — a panoply of song.

Superb, superb show. Go see them live on this tour and get tix in advance — they are selling out many of the shows. And they just announced a second leg which starts in… Colorado Springs?! Uh, okay. Yes please.

DECEMBERISTS WINTER TOUR
# with Mountain Man
+ with Justin Townes Earle

February 12, The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA#
February 13, House of Blues-San Diego, San Diego, CA#
February 14, Fox Theater, Oakland, CA#
February 18, Paramount Ballroom, Seattle, WA#
February 19, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR#
March 4, Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland
March 5, ABC, Glasgow, UK
March 7, Birmingham Institute, Birmingham, UK
March 8, Bristol Academy, Bristol, UK
March 10, Manchester Academy, Manchester, UK
March 11, Leeds Academy, Leeds, UK
March 12, De la Warr Pavillion, Bexhill, UK
March 13, Trix, Antwerp, Belgium
March 14, Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 16, Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK
April 16, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO+
April 17, Holland Performing Arts Center, Omaha, NE+
April 18, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA+
April 19, Overture Hall, Madison, WI
April 21, Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA+
April 22, Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
April 23, The LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH+
April 25, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI+
April 26, Iroquois Amphitheater, Louisville, KY+
April 27, The Pageant, St. Louis, MO+
April 29, House of Blues, Dallas, TX
April 30, Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheatre, Austin, TX
May 1, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
May 2, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta, GA+

The Head and The Heart with Dr Dog in Nashville

So when your dayjob hands you lemons (uhh, Indianapolis in February?), I say you make a lemonade and whiskey mix, with a drive down to see a best friend in Nashville and an uncle along the way in Kentucky. And if it turns out that The Head and The Heart is playing at the Cannery Ballroom that night with Dr Dog, well heck that’s even better.

So this past weekend I rented a zippy car, drove across rivers, through snow, and past Elizabethtown — and found myself in Nashville for less than 48 hours. After a stop at the Flying Saucer, Bethany and I headed straight to the Cannery Ballroom, which was buzzing with excitement (and a long line outside by 7pm). First thing to delight me was that The Head and The Heart has proper merch now (they only had a suitcase of CDs last time I saw them at my house show): white vinyl 7″ singles of “Down In The Valley” b/w “Ghosts,” two sweet tshirt designs (I got the brownish one with raindrops) and posters, as well as download cards for their albums in advance of the Sub Pop physical re-release coming up on Record Store Day.

Down in the front waiting for The Head and The Heart to take the stage, I smiled to listen to the crowd around me talk about them. The excitement was palpable, and it was a shift to have so many people singing along to their lyrics around me, and so far from home (mine or theirs). This band keeps playing bigger stages –just announced: um, Sasquatch mainstage– and it is a joy for me to get to dance and sing along. And I am glad so many more are dancing along with me – their three part harmonies, their clever rhythms, all the smart lyrical twists continue to delight and convert new audiences.

And then wow, did Dr. Dog completely blow me away live. Their technicolor stained-glass stage and fuzzy-knit everything was the perfect visual metaphor for their music – explosive, bright, and warm.

They’re one of the best live bands I have seen in a long time — they’ve forever been on that list I keep running in my head of “I know I need to see this band, really” but never had until Saturday night. I was negligent in 2010 by not naming Shame, Shame one of my top albums of the year. I’ve been compensating the last few months by just listening to it on repeat and trying my hand at the resplendent harmonies, wishing I could shred a guitar like them.

The night ended just exactly like this video shows, shot two days before the Nashville show I was at (in fact many people appear to be wearing the same exact thing). The Head and The Heart joined Dr Dog on stage for a jubilant closing rendition of “Jackie Wants A Black Eye,” probably one of my favorite songs I heard all of last year.

“And we’re swapping little pieces of our broken little hearts….” Absolutely marvelous.

These two bands will pair back up to play the Pearl Street Music and Arts Festival in Boulder in May, and it was announced today that The Head and The Heart have been invited to play at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival June 16-19, one of the very best music festivals this world has to offer you. Telluride organizer Brian Eyster wrote to me last week to tell me that they’d booked the band, and said the opportunity was something that “we rarely if ever give to a young band like this… but we believe in them.”

Me too, Brian. Yay.

SHOW ALERT!
The Head and The Heart are playing another Fuel/Friends house show on the night of Saturday, March 12th, on the way down to SXSW. Follow Fuel/Friends on Facebook to be notified when I post all the details!

[ALL PHOTOS FROM NASHVILLE HERE.]

if i’ve got to remember, that’s a fine memory :: Langhorne Slim in Boulder

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing Langhorne Slim rock the gorgeous Boulder Theatre, just around the corner from where we did that excellent photo shoot and long, chatty interview in ’09.

I’ve raved before how marvelously anachronistic his rootsy music is, and how much I enjoy his raw, ragged, intelligent songwriting. He’s now touring with a band billing themselves as “Langhorne Slim and The Law” (with this rad hoodie I wanted). They shredded the banjo, the standup bass, and the drums, Avett Brothers-style. In fact, Langhorne is now working with Dolph Ramseur (who started the Avetts career) in a pairing that was a long time coming, but according to Slim, just feels right.

Someday I would really really like to see Langhorne backed by a full gospel choir. Can we make that happen, please? Langhorne also told me that they’re working on a new album for 2011 and I, for one, can’t wait.

He closed his set with this Leonard Cohen cover:

you kept right on loving, I went on a fast,
now I am too thin and your love is too vast…

…and she’s moving her body so brave and so free.
If I’ve got to remember that’s a fine memory.

Tonight Will Be Fine – Leonard Cohen

(all photos from the night here)




LANGHORNE SLIM TOUR DATES
# with the Avett Brothers
March 21 @ Visulite Theatre – Charlotte, NC
March 22 – The Pour House – Charleston, SC
March 23 – Jack Rabbits – Jacksonville, FL
March 25 – Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, FL #
March 26 – McRaney’s Tavern – Winter Park, FL
March 27 – Bell Auditorium/Augusta Ent. Ctr – Augusta, GA #
March 28 – The Bottle Tree – Birmingham, AL – headlining
March 29 – Classic Center – Athens, GA #
March 30 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
March 31 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
April 14 – Verizon Wireless Theatre – Houston, TX #
April 15 – Old Settler’s Festival – Austin, TX
April 16 – Palladium Ballroom – Dallas, TX #
June 4 – Wakarusa – Ozark, AR