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David Byrne recounts an exploration of the new New York Times building and muses on the future of newspapers.
December 2007 Archives
Saturday saw us out in the rain for the National Climate March. Given the appalling weather and the minimal level of publicity the turn out of 7,000 or so was respectable, and the rain didn't seem to prevent people from turning out in plenty of costumes and high spirits. It's probably too optimistic to think that the march had anything to do with this announcement, but it's still good to hear it so soon afterwards.
I spent most of the time taking photos, but between the grey skies and my fear of getting too much water in my camera, the results are rather lacklustre. There are still a few shots I'm pleased with, and I think they capture something of the event. You can find them over on flickr.
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Radiohead are finally breaking their radio silence. This interview is based on fan questions, which works fairly well thanks to careful editing. Good to hear the band talk about all the fuss around the release of In Rainbows
We first stumbled across St. Vincent by accident when she opened for John Vanderslice at one of the last Calvin concerts before we moved away from Grand Rapids. While Mr. Vanderslice put on a fine show, I couldn't help but feel that St. Vincent upstaged him with a much more striking set of songs, culminating in a near-perfect cover of Jackson Browne's These Days.
Since then she's been touring extensively and quite a buzz has built, as evidenced by her sold out London appearance in September and an opening slot at Shepherd's Bush Empire in November. By the time she reached Bush Hall last week all that touring had clearly paid off with a more commanding stage presence and a band who were clearly enjoying playing off each other.
Like her fellow Sufjan-alumnus My Brightest Diamond, St. Vincent brings her classical training to bear on her pop songs but the result is generally a less dense sound than that of MBD, with the focus on creative arrangements and rhythm. She's at her best indulging in quirky indie-pop with slightly off-kilter rhythms that regularly defy expectations. With the help of a few stage gimmicks (like a mannequin arm with embedded electronic drums, occasionally used as an over-large guitar pick) and of course a strong set of songs from her debut album Marry Me, she has the crowd in the palm of her hand.
You can hear St. Vincent on last.fm and there are some videos on her website.
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Good news for Beth. Well worth checking out if you have access to iTunes UK
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A new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds record will soon be with us: "The band release single 'Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!' ahead of their 14th studio album on March 3, which shares the same title."
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WorldChanging seem quite taken with our former home
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Covering Amos Trust's "walled nativity set"
