TODAY’S WISH I WAS THERE MOMENT: Arcade Fire Play Free Gig to Obama Staffers

Yesterday afternoon, Arcade Fire played a free show for Obama campaign staffers at the DC Armory. All the Prez’s campaigners were treated to AF and then a performance by rapper Jay-Z.

Pitchfork concisely explains why the Obama staffers deserve it:

If you worked on President Barack Obama’s campaign staff, you spent months grinding hard against serious odds. Maybe you had to endure racial epithets in rural Ohio or outright threats in Northern Florida. You probably had a two-week heart attack when McCain added Palin to the ticket and the polls temporarily turned around. You also earned the undying thanks of millions of people and helped lay a historic milestone that most of us never thought we’d live to see. And now you’re getting a private show from two of the best live acts in the world. Safe to say: You deserve this

NY Times “The Caucus” goes on to explain:

“Members of the large and sprawling group, which includes members from Canada and the United States, turned it out for Mr. Obama during his presidential campaign, showing up in some rather out-of-the-way places — think the tiny Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, Ohio – to help with voter-registration and get-out-the-vote efforts by Mr. Obama among college students. Some of the best shows of the year.”

Arcade Fire have been avid supporters of Obama since day one. But why do the Canadian care so much? After all, how many Americans care about, or even follow, Canadian politics?

At the free show they even played a rendition of Bruce’s “Born in the USA?”! As SNL’s Seth Myers would say: Reeeeeeally?!

As an American, there’s hope for me. Maybe I can now get involved in Canadian politics. YES WE CAN! (;

But I think Arcade Fire’s Will Butler explained their political support well-enough in one sentence on his online journal: “We are about 3 steps removed from WWII.”

Here’s the setlist, as posted on brooklynvegan

Arcade Fire Setlist:
Wake Up
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
Intervention
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
No Cars Go
Haiti
Keep the Car Running
Born in the USA (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)

And you gotta see the photos taken by Bao Nguyen for brooklynvegan. Go there by clicking here. They are GREAT. Here’s a sample below:

Now I’ll just wait for the Obama Staff Ball video to appear on YouTube.

Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys: New Album 78 Percent Done

AM frontman claims the band’s new album is “78 percent done” and should be out this summer.

That’s no monkeying around, either. By the time you read this it could be 100 percent done.

He also says this about their sessions with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme:

“We went out to the desert for a little bit, we did two sessions with Josh, we had a great time. There’s a few other buildings around there but it is certainly cut off. The guy who owns it is called Dave Catching, who plays guitar in the Eagles Of Death Metal, and it’s his house. He was a great host. It’s quite an inspiring place, there’s a certain element of dust in the sound of it.”

Does that mean the material will have a dusty sound?

The band recently played four new songs while on tour in New Zealand: The titles of the new songs are ‘Dangerous Animals’, ‘Pretty Visitors’, ‘Go-Kart’ and ‘Crying Lightning’. Also played, according to a recent update of Wikipedia, was a cover of the Nick Cave song “Red Right Hand”. Last tour, the band had played new songs “Put Me In A Terror Pocket,” “Sandtrap,” and “The Fire and The Thud” live

Bootlegs, anyone?

SLASH to Play Where Top Hats Were Once the Norm: An Inaugural Ball

Slash is one of the many who will be paying tribute to the new President today. The Velvet Revolver guitarist will perform in Heroes Red White And Blue Inaugural Ball.

For more information go to: heroball.org

New U2 Single, “Get On Your Boots,” Received Its First Radio Airplay This Morning

“Get On Your Boots,” the lead single from the upcoming U2 album, which is titled No Line On The Horizon, received its first radio airplay this morning on Irish radio station RTE 2fm. Longtime U2 friend, 2fm DJ Dave Fanning, played the track on 2fm’s The Colm & Jim-Jim Show at 8:10 a.m. GMT. To hear the song receiving its broadcast debut, click below:

To read about how Dave Fanning has been championing U2 since the beginning, click here.

“Get On Your Boots” can also be heard in the music player on U2′s MySpace page.

In other U2 news, the band performed yesterday at the concert in honor of President-elect Barack Obama in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. U2 performed “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” and “City Of Blinding Lights.” To watch U2′s performance from the HBO broadcast of the concert, click below:

Bono did get a bit political during U2′s performance. When U2 took the stage, Bono told the crowd, “Let freedom ring. On this spot where we’re standing 46 years ago, Dr. King had a dream. On Tuesday, that dream comes to pass.”

Bono added that Obama’s election as President of the United States is “not just an American dream but also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli dream, and also a Palestinian dream.”

Bono also spoke about what it meant to the band personally, saying, “What a thrill for four Irish boys from the north side of Dublin to honor you, sir, Barack Obama, to be the next president of the United States.”

Obama addressed the crowd at the end of the event, and said, “I want to thank today’s speakers and performers for reminding us through song and word what it is we love about America.”

To read more about yesterday’s concert in the nation’s capital, see the article from NME.com.

VINTAGE VIDEO: “Bye Bye Love,” “Candy-O,” and “Just What I Needed” By The Cars

The three videos below are from The Cars’ June 1979 appearance on the German TV music program Musikladen. They were shot live at Radio Bremen studios. I chose three songs from the show that were sung by Ben Orr. I always preferred the songs on which Orr sang lead vocals to those that were sung by Ric Ocasek. No particular reason for that, really. Just personal preference. To watch the videos for the songs, click in the appropriate places below:

“Bye Bye Love”:

“Candy-O”:

“Just What I Needed”:

The Cars’ 1979 Musikladen performance was released on DVD in 2000 under the title of The Cars Live: Musikladen 1979. It’s a great DVD, well worth picking up if it is still in print. There is also an interview with the band on the DVD that was done not long before Ben Orr’s death from cancer.

Johnny Marr, University Professor

Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is a busy man these days, currently doing work with Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House fame as well as the UK band The Cribs. But Marr’s most interesting job these days is as a visting professor at Salford University in the Manchester area of northwestern England. Today’s edition of The Sunday Times of London features an article about Marr (pictured above at Salford University) and his lectures. Marr’s first lecture at Salford University, which was titled Always from the Outside: Mavericks, Innovators, and Building Your Own Ark and was delivered last November, drew over 1000 people to the Salford University campus.

Marr talked about his mindset behind doing the lectures, telling The Sunday Times of London:

“One interviewer said to me, ‘Isn’t it a contradiction in terms to come to university to learn how to be a rocker?’ That’s such an outdated, old-fashioned paradigm. To them, true ‘rockers’ are supposed to be hanging about on the streets in leather jackets, throwing bricks through windows. It’s a cliché. We’ve grown and moved on a long way.

“I don’t see anything wrong in education in any creative sphere, as long as it’s not to the detriment of the emotion. What I do know is that if, when I was 16, someone had told me there was a building with a ton of amps in it, musicians hanging about and loads of resources, I’d have walked 10 miles every day to get there.”

Other musicians and music-industry people have lectured at universities in recent years, including former Beatles producer George Martin, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Alex James of Blur, and Patti Smith. I’m sure that the students that attend these lectures get much more out of hearing from those luminaries directly as opposed to reading about the music industry in a textbook. And the fact that music is an industry and has been for many years should not be overlooked. Degrees to prepare people to work in the music industry are now looked upon much more seriously than there were in the past.

John Sweeney, business manager at the School of Media, Music, & Performance at Salford University, was also quoted in the article The Sunday Times of London and told the paper:

“Twenty years ago, these kinds of courses were ridiculed as Mickey Mouse degrees by the academic establishment. Now we are ahead of Oxford in the rankings in media, communications, and popular music, because they do not offer purpose-built degrees that the industry values as highly.

“We have evolved good links with employers. At the end of each degree, we take the students in and look at where they want to be and how we can help get them the right job. Our alumni are everywhere, from commercial studios, facilities houses, and large media organizations to, say, music managers on cruise ships. Some have gone into bands that tour or have been signed. The fact is that overall, between 80 percent and 90 percent of our students go straight into real jobs through placements or graduate schemes, or are talent-scouted. That’s not our statistic, by the way, that’s the government stat based on their annual reviews.

“Managers, label bosses, agents, A&R, and the BBC all come to us because they know they will get high-caliber graduates who fit straight in and have more than the basics covered. We can bring talent and the industry together. With Johnny (Marr), for instance, he will keep a close eye on how certain students and bands are developing. He offers a real and direct way into the world of producers, labels, managers, and A&R. Our students spend a lot of time working, recording, and rehearsing at Blueprint Studios, where, for example, you also find Elbow and the Ting Tings working. It is about how well you are connected to the industry as much as theory.”

Interesting stuff, indeed. To read the full article from the Sunday, January 18th edition of The Sunday Times of London, click here.

paulo gilberto – down to mexico

it’s past 3 am on a saturday night, i’ve drunk too much wine and this is what i’ve found; paul gilbert. i need a life. it is funny though…

the wrestler

aside from mickey rourke in the final role of late that will completely resurrect his career as broken down pro wrestler randy “the ram” robinson, and a wonderful turn from marisa tomei, and a simple yet genuine, engaging story; the movie the wrestler will appeal to 80′s metal fans the world over. as pat prince noted in an earlier post, there’s a funny line from rourke on the death of 80′s hair bands but more importantly for fans of that era, the soundtrack is loaded with hair metal songs from the 80′s from the crue, to ratt to the scorpions. while not hair metal, there’s even a nod to accept (guess which song). a fabulous movie that can be enjoyed even if you’re not a wrestling or a hair metal fan.

LoveLikeFire New Line Up, New Shows

San Francisco based LoveLikeFire came off a long tour late last year and after some serious soul searching discovered change was needed within the band. Original members, vocalist/guitarist Ann Yu and drummer Dave Farrell parted ways with bassist Robert Kissinger and guitarist Ted Parker after determining career and commitment goals were at odds. After holding try outs for the open slots in the band, Yu and Farrell found friendship and kindred music spirits in Martin Mattern on guitar and Eric Amerman on bass. You can watch this short vid from the Owl Magazine with the band discussing thier new incarnation. In the meantime, the band is active and playing gigs. Be on the look out for these upcoming shows:

1/29/09        Beauty Bar San Diego, CA

1/30/09        Spaceland Los Angeles, CA

2/07/09       Red House Walnut Creek, CA

2/12/09        330 Ritch San Francisco, CA

I saw their first gig with the new line up last December and can tell you the band is still on very solid footing. After working out the initial awkwardness that any band would feel in that situation, they hit their groove by mid set and it was evident that the material will hold up and thrive with the band as it evolves. Do yourself a favor and get out there and support LoveLikeFire at a gig near you.

U2 Release Tracklist For New Album, No Line On The Horizon

On Friday, U2 announced the tracklisting for its upcoming album, No Line On The Horizon. The album is slated for release on March 2nd. The band also revealed that the album’s first single will be “Get On Your Boots,” which will be released physically on February 16th and digitally on February 15th.

The album’s tracklist is as follows:

No Line On The Horizon
Magnificent
Moment of Surrender
Unknown Caller
I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight
Get On Your Boots
Stand Up Comedy
Fez – Being Born
White As Snow
Breathe
Cedars Of Lebanon

The “Get On Your Boots” single will get its first airplay on many radio stations on Monday, January 19th.

For more on U2′s upcoming album, see the articles from BBC 6 Music and XFM London.

U2 released some information about the album on Friday, which read:

Produced by Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Steve Lillywhite, No Line On The Horizon began in Fez, Morocco, with further sessions taking place in the band’s Dublin studio, New York’s Platinum Sound Recording Studios, and Olympic Studios in London.

The album will be released in a standard format with a 24-page booklet and as a digipak format with extended booklet and downloadable Anton Corbijn film, Linear. The release will include two limited-edition special formats; a bespoke box which includes the album, Anton Corbijn’s Linear, and a hardback book, and also as a 64-page magazine which includes the album and a download of Linear. No Line On The Horizon will be also released on heavyweight vinyl.