- FILTER Magazine
Transcription
- FILTER Magazine
THE SMITHS • KAISER CHIEFS VS. MORNINGWOOD • CAESARS • GOMEZ ISSUE #6 • JUNE/JULY ’05 We Love You...Digitally HELLO AND WELCOME to the interactive version of Filter Mini. We’re best viewed in full-screen mode, so if you can still the top of the window, please click on the Window menu and select Full Screen View (or press Ctrl+L). There you go—that’s much better isn’t it? [Mini stretches, yawns, scratches something.] Right. If you know the drill, go ahead and left-click to go forward a page; if you forget, you can always right-click to go back one. And if all else fails, intrepid traveler, press the Esc key to exit full-screen and return to a life more humble. Keep an eye on your cursor. While reading Mini online, you will notice that there are links on every page that allow you to discover more about the artists we write about. Scroll over each page to find the H-O-T-T hotlinks, click ’em, and find yourself at the websites of the artists we cover, the sponsors who help make this happen, and all of the fine places to go to purchase the records you read about here.Thank you for your support of this thing we call Filter. Good music, as they say, will prevail. -Chris Martins, Editor-in-Chief Letters, inquiries, randomness: mini@filter-mag.com Advertising and suchlike: advertising@filter-mag.com SEAM U T L AL KKEM TB L MAR BAS NALL-STA E H DIE US PL P IN E AN S T SDRAFT HEAR IT AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME A SPECIALLY PRICED 2-CD SET INCLUDING THE NEW ALBUM SATAN’S CIRCUS & THE BONUS DISC “LIVE AT THE BRIXTON ACADEMY” motown classics reinvented and regrooved INCLUDES THE SINGLE: EIN FUR DIE DAMEN (THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES) //Z-TRIP// //THE RANDY WATSON EXPERIENCE// //DA PRODUCERS// //DJ SMASH// //SALAAM REMI// //MOCEAN WORKER// //DJ JAZZY JEFF & PETE KUZMA// //GROOVE BOUTIQUE// //TRANZITION// //EASY MO BEE// //FUTURESHOCK// //HOTSNAX// //DJ SPINNA// //KING BRITT// //DJ GREEN LANTERN// al Brothers” nk & The Chemic “Rivals Daft Pu H H H H RIP & BURN — rd to date” allenging reco “Their most ch — MOJO and alluring” d. Malevolent “It’s dead-eye — NME IXTON ACADEMY LIVE AT THE BR vital.” “The bonus disc st mo at their captures them — WORD also available Death in Vegas vinyl LPs motown unmixed original versions Available May 24th, On THE LAB. www.fuel2000.com www.continorooms.com z 5 / www.motown.com www.motownremixed.com C2005 Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. In Stores Now! Available At © 2005 Converse, Inc. All Rights Reserved. “Revival” by David Choe “Revival” by Converse To see more of David’s work, visit www.davidchoe.com So many images cloud his head, David Choe must work fast and furious to get them all out. His “Revival” is a chunk of memory about growing up in Los Angeles. Our “Revival” is the EV Pro 2K5, a freshly redesigned classic. What will you revive? ConverseGallery.com. Converse © are available at: Jack’s – Orange County, CA Fluid Surf and Sport – San Clemente, CA EV Pro 2K5 South Coast – San Diego, CA O’Neil – Santa Cruz, CA Beach House – Santa Barbara, CA CONTENTS SPOTLIGHT 6 7 CAESARS, SUBTLE BRITISH SEA POWER, OKKERVIL RIVER,TEAM SLEEP SCENE 8 9 11 On the Road with GOMEZ ANDY ROURKE Spins THE SMITHS LONG-VIEW’s Guide to Manchester D E L U X E PUBLISHERS: Alan Miller & Alan Sartirana Edition EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Chris Martins ENDTRODUCING..... ART DIRECTOR: Tom Manning ASSOCIATE EDITOR: lesley Bargar EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: 12 FILTER FASHION FEATURES 14 16 20 Pond-Hopping: KAISER CHIEFS vs. MORNINGWOOD FOO FIGHTERS Turn Ten: the Decade of Dave Pickin’ and Rollin’ with Coach STEPHEN MALKMUS REVIEWS 22 23 30 ONE-LINERS CD REVIEWS FILTER RECOMMENDED RADIO FR0M THE EDITOR: Six issues in and this just keeps getting better: more music, more issues, more caffeine and booze-fueled editorial benders, more celebratory big-mag bonfires, more original stories… Seriously, where else are you going to find yourself partying in the desert with a guy named “The Devil” (Issue 5––“The Eagles of Death Metal Guide to Palm Desert”), or imaging the sweaty consequences of Thurston Moore and Seal entering the NBA under the leadership of Stephen Malkmus (read on)? If you missed the last issue (Gorillaz, Mercury Rev, Tim Burgess vs. Tegan & Sara, Constantines...), download it for free at www.filtermini.com. And remember, if Filter Magazine is a perfect fit for your coffee table (it is), then Mini was made for your pocket. Good Music Will Prevail. ON STANDS JULY 1 – FILTER ISSUE 16 FEATURING COLDPLAY Join us on “Planet Coldplay,” high above Chicago (seen here: Filter Photo Director Steven Dewall shooting our world-exclusive photos) as we plot global domination with the biggest band on Earth: Filter Magazine’s first returning cover artist, Coldplay. Plus, all the great new music and wacky surprises you’ve come to expect out of every issue! SEND ALL LETTERS TO: mini@filter-mag.com or 5514 Wilshire Blvd, 4th Floor, L.A., CA 90036 Erin Broadley SCRIBES: Catherine Adcock,Todd Berger, Erin Broadley,Ben Bush,CHZA, Steven Leckart,Jack McGrue, Pat McGuire,Bernardo Rondeau, Michael Suter,Chi Tung, Louis Vlach THE MODERN CLASSIC REVISITED AND EXPANDED TO 2 CDS! MARKETING: Danielle Allaire, Mike Bell, Bryan Chenault, Pamela Coady, Penny Hewson, Pat McGuire, Mark Mueller, Paul Moore, Gur Rashal, Eli Thomas / 14 previously unreleased and rare recordings / Full Project Participation by DJ Shadow THANK YOU: Heather Bleemers, John Brown, Tom Christie, Steven Dewall, Charles Fleming, Grafton House, Mikel Jollett, Gregg LaGambina, Rich and Diana Martins, the Oakland Bay Area, Baillie Parker, Stephen Randall, Marc Slott,Yoni Wolf, Jeff Fiorentino, Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora, Neil Marks, Sharon Lord, Momma Sartirana, the U.K. Sartiranas, Joseph Johnson, the Ragsdales, the Masons, Wendy, Pete-O, Rey, the Paikos family, Chelsea & the Rifkins, Barry Hogan, Shalyce, Wig/Tamo and the S.F. crew, Shappsy, Phamster, Pipe, Christian P, Holly Adams, Nikki Hirsch, Shari Yoder, Tony Rovello, Sidney Ponson,Adrian Martinez, Mike Manning, Stacy Chaloeicheep, the Bargar Fam, Adam Leff, Michael Suter / Liner notes and detailed songography by DJ Shadow / Essay by noted author Eliot Wilder / Expanded packaging with deluxe booklet featuring new photos and images / Exclusive excerpts from the upcoming book ENDTRODUCING nearly three months in advance of the book release EDITORIAL INQUIRIES: 5514 Wilshire Blvd 4th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90036 mini@filter-mag.com In Stores Now! ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: advertising@filter-mag.com West Coast Sales: 323.930.2882 East Coast Sales: 646.202.1683 Filter Mini Magazine is published by Filter Magazine LLC, 5514 Wilshire Blvd. 4th Fl, Los Angeles CA 90036. Vol. 1, No. 6, June/July 2005. Filter Mini Magazine is not responsible for anything, including the return or loss of submissions, or for any damage or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Any submission of a manuscript or artwork should include a self-addressed envelope or package of appropriate size, bearing adequate return postage. © 2005 BY FILTER MAGAZINE LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FILTER IS PRINTED IN THE USA WWW.FILTERMINI.COM WWW.FILTER-MAG.COM ALSO COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY SUZUKI K FLASH REMASTERED & EXPANDED: NINE INCH NAILS THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL SONIC YOUTH DIRTY VELVET UNDERGROUND VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO i z www.djshadow.com / C2005 Universal Music Enterprises, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. To learn more about parental advisory program, go to www.parentalguide.org WEEZER WEEZER THE WHO MY GENERATION Available At SPOTLIGHT British Sea Power SPOTLIGHT by Ben Bush Edging out the Spanish Armada for the number one spot on the nautical pop charts, British Sea Power are known for immersing their live shows in the elemental power of nature.With a diligent interest in horticulture, the band travels with a pair of pruning shears inside their guitar cases. They trim the local flora, decorating the stage with tree branches. Their lyrics concur: “Drape yourself in greenery/Become part of the scenery,” and they’ve been known to play concerts from the prow of a boat, bringing their music to the English coastline and isolated islands. Their latest album includes a love song for a disintegrating Antarctic ice shelf. Instead of chopping wood or beheading, British Sea Power take an ax to the frozen sea within. Caesars Subtle [Subtle was involved in a road accident in February that left keyboardist Dax Pierson paralyzed. Contributions to his recovery fund can be made at www.daxpierson.com.] 6 FILTER mini Okkervil River OKKERVIL RIVER PHOTO BY MARY SLEDD by Chris Martins The Subtle sextet is an odd group—six American musical wasteland wanderers who found enough of a home in the Oakland Bay Area to settle down for a minute. Now they make music distinctly out of step with anything you’ve ever heard. With an arsenal of instruments—drums, samplers, electric cello, guitar, bass, sax, keys—Subtle wage artful war on cancer, money, dentists and egos. Vocalist/poet Adam “doseone” Drucker is a showman of the weirdest order (in the celebrated Hunter S. sense), and the music is pure gorgeous. 2004’s A NewWhite explored the farthest reaches of rock, hip-hop, electronic and prog, and rumor has it—after a Beck remix and session with Mike Patton—that something wickedly new this way comes in the fall. CAESARS PHOTO BY FREDRIK WENNERLUND by lesley Bargar I gotta start eating a lot more fish. And seriously, so should you and every aspiring musician in this country. Why? Consider all the kick-ass Swedish bands out there (especially iPod “Jerk it Out” commercial vets the Caesars). And then take it one step further and figure hey, you are what you eat right? And the Swedes eat a lot of fish. So, I figure eat fish, be awesome. Like, I bet childhood friends and Caesars’ bandmates Joakim Ahlund (guitars) and César Vidal (vox) eat something like 15 trout a day. And let’s not even start on the gillmunching capacities of fellow Caesars David Lindvist (bass) and Nino Keller (drums). Just listen to the Kinks-style ’60s psychedelic pop freakout that is their latest and third full-length Paper Tigers. Making the ultimate summer soundtrack—effortless, classic songwriting, beachy harmonies and a Doors’-record worth of electric organ—don’t come without a shit-load of Omega-3s and an unholy consumption of canned mackerel.Trust me. by Ben Bush You know how Yankees are, always trying to make rock intelligent and fancy. Well, leave it to southern mystic, country-punk art-rockers Okkervil River to make it visceral again. In their hands it’s carnivorous: talk of talons, claws and farm animals bleeding from the neck. Critics have compared them to Neutral Milk Hotel, and I won’t be the one to stop them. Final dress rehearsals for Black Sheep Boy, their fourth album, occurred in an unair-conditioned, tin-roofed shed, and recording was done in a jerry-rigged house. The single, “For Real,” is entangled word play and blasts of guitar. Singer Will Sheff, a New Hampshire native, was adrift until he expatriated to Austin and learned to live his life as a disaster epic. We should be grateful he has sung us a documentary about it. Team Sleep by Todd Berger No, it’s not the newest superhero team here to use their cosmic slumber ray on insomniacs and misbehaving children.Team Sleep is, in fact, the eclectic side project of the Deftones’ Chino Moreno and longtime friend Todd Wilkinson, and their self-titled debut is finally hitting the streets (with a little help from Pinback singer Rob Crow, Helium’s Mary Timony, Hella’s Zach Hill, bassist Rick Verrett and DJ Crook). More melancholy than Chino’s other band, Team Sleep eschews the soul-shredding hard-rock nightmares for something more akin to an ambient dream, somber and darkly pretty. In 2001, an unknown dastardly villain leaked a few unfinished songs to Internet and radio, nearly causing the premature demise of the Snoozy Seven.Why they still haven’t invented a cosmic slumber ray is beyond us. F FILTER mini 7 SCENE SCENE Andy Rourke Spins the Smiths by Louis Vlach Ahh, 1982. It was a good year, wasn’t it? I was born, for one. But more importantly (to you, at least), the Smiths arrived in a blaze of self-infatuation, gladiolas, guitar rock and celibacy. Trumpet blasts sounded, and it was known: this wispy cacophony was the death knell of new wave; the synthesizer was living on borrowed time. Of course, we now know that said demise was more akin to a 20-year hiatus, but the respite was appreciated nonetheless. Between Moz and Marr, there wasn’t much room for a third ego, so it makes sense that Smiths bassist Andy Rourke is now searching for that (spot)light that never goes out. With a memoir in the works, a Smiths documentary just around the corner, and a new band preparing to record (Rourke, New Order’s Hooky, and Mani of Stone Roses/Primal Scream—dubbed Free Bass, naturally), Andy’s busier than ever. Thankfully, Filter Mini was able to catch up with him on the eve of his U.S. DJ tour. In honor of the outing, we asked for Rourkie’s perfect Smiths mix. On the Road with Gomez by Pat McGuire If you think for one second that life on the rock and roll highway is all early morning “Tiny Dancer” sing-a-longs with super-tramp groupies, think again: you gotta stay clean out there, baby. They swear they’re not a jam band, but British roots-rockers Gomez have been on the road enough to know what’s important: scrubbing and grubbing. Filter Mini sat down with singer/guitarist Ian Ball before a recent Los Angeles show in support of Out West, their new live double disc recorded over three nights in San Francisco at their favorite venue, to get tips on what to pack, where to bathe, and how to catch whichever asshole’s been jacking your shirts. And remember, if your amp doesn’t go to 11, you can always blame the tour manager. And whose fault is that? It’s always the tour manager’s fault, whatever the problem is.There’s been some dodgy catering going on, and if there is no catering then you’re really at the mercy of the elements. Once you’re clean and fed it’s about 4 o’clock soundcheck, then it’s drinking and that’s all there is to it. What fictional depiction of a road trip is the most accurate to you? Definitely not Almost Famous. That’s the worst. I think the best are the interview sections of The Last Waltz–– you can see it in their eyes. Spinal Tap had it down, what it’s like to be in a band. It’s truly nuts. What spots do you look forward to in the U.S.? The perimeter of this country—that’s where we’ve had our best times. The further inland you venture, the 8 FILTER mini ................................ Andy Rourke’s Smiths Mix............................................................................... Top 5 venues to play in the U.S.: “Rubber Ring” (Louder Than Bombs, 1987) I remember being really proud of the bass line on this track. It bounces along and sits really well with the guitar and vocal. 1. The Fillmore, San Francisco 2. Red Rocks, Denver 3. Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia 4. St. Andrews Hall, Detroit 5. Greek Theatre, Los Angeles “Hand in Glove” (The Smiths, 1984) This song will always be special to me as it was our first single. It has an urgency and passion to it, and a quality that we used as a marker with everything we recorded after. ................................ greater the chances that Subway is your only meal option. What are the most important things to pack? Phone charger and shower gel. Those two things are fucking difficult to keep hold of. Usually it’s kind of a scramble up and down the bus through all the crap that has been bought or given or found that nobody wants to take home, it piles up and you just try and find your things. Do you have a luggage limit? No, some people’s suitcases are the size of a sofa.You’ll never leave a tour with all you brought. Looking at photos of the band, it’s always interesting to see what clothes you’ve lost. “Look, there’s Olly in my fucking Tshirt!” F “William…” (Hatful of Hollow, 1984) We recorded this one in an 8-track basement studio in Chorlton, Manchester for no money. The record company took it to London to remix it, but couldn’t better it. I also play glockenspiel on the song—if you listen carefully, you’ll hear it. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER WRAY-McCANN What does a day on tour consist of? You wake up after noon, or else you’ve got a really long day ahead of you. The trick is to get as drunk as possible the night before so you can sleep all day. The first thing to establish is where you are, and next are the location of a shower and food. One in every 10 venues has got a good shower.This tour has been all about trying to keep alive, because the nourishment factor has been so low. “The Queen is Dead” (The Queen is Dead, 1986) This song shows us at our peak, I think. Mike’s drum intro and Johnny’s searing guitar parts dominate. We all had lots of fun making this record. “How Soon is Now” (Meat is Murder, 1985) This song broke us in the U.S. and was a favorite with fans at gigs around the world. The star of the show for me on this one is Johnny. That vibrato guitar line is a killer. I remember when he recorded the wailing part—he overdubbed it 20 times. “Bigmouth Strikes Again” (The Queen is Dead, 1986) This is just an amazing record. It has so much energy; it never lets up. Great fun to play live, this one. “Barbarism Begins at Home” (Meat is Murder, 1985) Again, with this song…full of energy. Mozzer’s lyrics are the star on this.The bass line isn't bad either! “Last Night I Dreamt…” (Strangeways,HereWe Come, 1987) I think everyone plays a blinder on this one. Steven Street’s production turns this track into an epic. “That Joke isn’t Funny Anymore” (Meat is Murder,1985) Mozzer’s lyrics on this track are only surpassed by his vocal performance—first time I heard it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Very special to me, this one. “There is a Light that Never Goes Out” (The Queen is Dead, 1986) Quite simply, a classic. I think this song sums up what the Smiths were all about. (And I’m very proud of my bass line on this too.) F FILTER mini 9 SCENE Long-View’s Guide to Manchester by Erin Broadley There is a certain nostalgic pungency about the early ’90s that wafts of flannel, the Fresh Prince, slap bracelets, and the peak of the two most potent rock scenes in modern musicology—grunge in Seattle and “Madchester” in Manchester, England. In 1991, while Kurt Cobain was smelling like Teen Spirit and writing songs about how much reality bites, Ian Brown was overseas savoring the success of the Stone Roses’ debut and coddling his muse in a cloud of ecstasy-fueled hedonism. But by 1994, Cobain’s suicide fated slacker chic, and a disappointing follow-up from the Roses hinted that the Mancunians’ serotonin levels had dipped. Seattle may never recover, but in Manchester, the escapist rock of the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses gave way to the retro-romanticism of the Doves, Elbow, and (ahem) new kids on the block Long-View. Filter Mini caught up with Long-View guitarist Doug Morch on the tail end of the band’s stateside tour in support of their U.S. debut, Mercury, to get clued in on the Manchester vibe without watching 24 Hour Party People for the umpteenth time. e Be............................................................................................................. …music venue to sneak in a whiskey ask? I think you could do that anywhere. Security’s not too particular about searching your pants, you know? I’d say a place called the Roadhouse, just off Piccadilly Gardens. I used to work there—it’s like an underground, dive sort of venue. …place to buy a life-size cardboard cutout of David Beckham? You know, I don’t often buy those. Maybe Trafford Center, which is just outside of town. It’s soulless. A hellhole! It’s a massive, horrendous shopping center.We went bowling there one night with these girls and one of them got really drunk and threw up in my car. I was really pissed off. …spot to check out old “Free Ian Brown”graiti? There’s some down where I used to live, in Willington. There was some Ian Brown graffiti on a massive building down there. It was all down Oxford Road, but some killjoy might have scrubbed it off by now. “Blister in the Sun.” My old flatmate runs it, and it’s next door to the venue the Academy, so all the bands that play end up drinking there afterwards. I read that the Latin word for e original city of Manchester translates to a “breast-shaped hi.” So, like, what’s e best strip club around? Going to a strip club is not a common thing to do, especially for people like us. People don’t really do that in Manchester. There’s Fantasy Bar but only weird businessmen go there. …place to get a bowl haircut? [Laughing] I dunno. My friend Mark’s wife cuts my hair. She cuts everyone’s hair around Manchester. What’s the worst store to get caught shoplifting a Smiths CD? Probably a big chain record shop like HMV or Virgin. But you definitely shouldn’t steal from a place like Piccadilly Records because it’s the best indie record shop around. …pub to get completely tanked in when you get sacked …street to find yourself in a bloody brawl? Aidan [Banks, bassist] got punched in the face on or find out your girlfriend has been shagging your best Oldham Street and ended up on Matt’s [Dabbs, drumfriend? mer] doorstep with a kebab and a bloody face. Oldham We always go to a place called Big Hands on Oxford Road. It’s named after the Violent Femmes song, Street is really rough…lots of meatheads.They sniff out a fight anywhere they can. F FILTER mini 11 FLASH Filter Fashion ........................................................................................................................... TANK FARM: www.tankfarmclothing.com xe.com oxdelu www.f , y a w e re FOX: F AUDIOPHILE: available at Urban Outfitters and www.audioph ileclothing.com Boot FRED PERRY: Table Tennis www.fredperry.com NO STAR CLOTH Liquor T-sh ING: ir t www.nosta rclothing.co m 12 FILTER mini Pond-Hopping KaiserChiefs vs. Morningwood 14 FILTER mini excuse that they’re friends with Jack White. Chantal: I apologize profusely on the behalf of the American record industry. Ricky: But it was the best thing that ever happened to us.We’ve had to write songs twice as good. Mini: Numerous British bands have been striking it big here lately—why is this happening now? Even with Brit-pop, even when it was huge in the mid-’90s, its success in the States wasn’t what it was in the U.K. How has the climate changed? Ricky: We actually had to pull our fingers out of our asses and write songs better than we were capable of doing. But none of us knew each other existed at the time—Franz Ferdinand was in Glasgow, we were in Leeds, Bloc Party in London—so no one was copying anyone else, we were just making really good albums at MORNINGWOOD PHOTO BY HELLIN KAY Mini: Ricky, your Kaiser Chiefs have been dubbed the latest U.K. “it-band” to cross over to the United States while Chantal, you’re attempting the same with Morningwood and the U.K… Ricky: We get asked a lot, “So you’re trying to break America?” but America is just another place, the world is just another venue.When you start traveling and playing every night, you discover that people are pretty much the same everywhere. Chantal: I just find British men very charming [laughs]. It’s sort of become a standard practice—I think it’s important to go to England first. Ricky: A couple years ago we couldn’t get anyone to notice us in the U.K. because there were so many American bands here that couldn’t make it on their own soil. The industry was sending out shit bands with the KAISER CHIEFS PHOTO BY JASON KELVIN & STEVIE DEAN by Chi Tung When Shania Twain went from country to KOST 103.5 stalwart, the whispers began.When Outkast traded their Southernplayalistic funk for Polaroid pictures, it was a deafening roar. Crossing over, the rabble declared, is selling out. And selling out is what you do when desperation sets in and the people keep demanding more, more, more. The truth, however, is that crossing over is a many-splendored thing, with bands like Kaiser Chiefs and Morningwood showing us that sometimes, all that glitters is, in fact, platinum gold. That’s why lately, instead of hearing us yammer about the Strokes, you’ve no doubt gotten a healthy dose of Anglophilia instead. On the other side of the Atlantic, the British rags break from plugging Keane to go gaga over Morningwood’s chanteuse, Chantal. But it doesn’t end there. Keep on the look out for NY2LON, which in addition to being a cute acronym (it stands for New York to London), also pits the best of both sides of the pond on one compilation (and in various events). All of which sets the stage for the coolest three-way since Neve, Matt and Denise.That’s right, the Kaisers’ Ricky Wilson, Chantal Claret and Filter Mini—all together, getting our transatlantic groove on. the same time. And then we got our record deals and it just made British music really healthy. Mini: So does it irk you when we the media lump you together into scenes or trends or what-have-you? Ricky: There’s an old phrase I like, “If you can see the bandwagon, you’ve already missed it.” There’s no point in fitting into a scene…when we first sent out our album, everyone hated it because they didn’t have any reference point, and now the same people from the record company are saying how much they love it, and it’s like, “Well, why didn’t you love it when you had it in your hand and you could’ve signed it for 500 quid?” Chantal: People need a point of reference, with anything. “New York City…you guys are like, ‘funcore!’” Any sort of niche they can put you into. But being from New York City doesn’t make you similar. Ricky: Location is not a genre. Chantal: That’s what weirds me out most. It’s like, “Oh, they’re a London band—they all sound like that.” It doesn’t even make sense. I have a question for you, Ricky. What’s the British equivalent of a jam-band, like the Grateful Dead? Ricky: I don’t think we really have that. I don’t really like that kind of stuff anyway… Chantal: No, no, I hate it—you’re lucky, and you’re smart. I don’t think anyone likes that stuff over there. You guys don’t take the Dave Matthews Band over the border—customs doesn’t accept them. Ricky: Or Hootie and the Blowfish. No idea what they sound like, or Dave Matthews. But the second half of our album is actually produced by the guy who produced Dave Matthews. But he’s also done U2… Chantal: By the way, we recorded in London at WAC Studio. It’s really nice. Ricky: We never get the chance; we always go to grotty places like the countryside. I wanna have that really posh studio experience...catering and bedrooms and all that. Chantal: Yeah, I went from gold-tapped faucets and a chef to asking my brother if I can crash on his couch in New York. We wanted to leave the city to record though, it’s so distracting. Ricky: It’s weird—I feel really at home in New York, but I don’t like being in London. It’s really depressing…too big, sprawling. Chantal: I think New York gives off a false sense of homeliness. Ricky: It’s really small though. Chantal: Suffocating.You call it small; I call it suffocating. But it’s great for writing.You should try writing in New York—you’re constantly inspired. But don’t record there; it’s just endless pressure and distractions. And if you’re not living well, it’s really hard to get by there. Ricky: That’s why I like living in Leeds.You don’t have to be rich to enjoy yourself. Chantal: I’m moving to Leeds then. Ricky: I’ve got a spare room now.There’s no bed in it, it’s totally empty, and I’m never here. Chantal: Set it up, I’m flying over. F FILTER mini 15 FOO FIGHTERS TURN TEN (THE DECADE OF DAVE) by Steven Leckart Dave Grohl can hardly sit still as he rattles off the debauched tales of his former bandmates. No, not Nirvana. Scream, the hardcore act that gave a skinny 17-year-old suburbanite his first break in the late ’80s. Apparently one of them used to hook up with a dreadlocked squatter chick who could roll a joint despite missing three fingers. Say what you will about the Foo Fighters’ commercial leanings and those quirky videos where Grohl appears in drag or pigtails—his roots are relatively badass. For a moment though, let’s forget about that loud and grimy scene where Grohl first drummed in bands with names like Freakbaby and Dain Bramage. Forget about the 1990s, that whole grunge thing, and how the rise of “alternative” somehow helped that dreadlocked douche from Soul Asylum pull Winona Ryder. (Perhaps he rolled a really good joint?) 16 FILTER mini It’s 2005 and we’re nestled deep in the armpit of Southern California’s San Fernando Valley. A 15-foot gate surrounds an inconspicuous twostory building. We push “call.” The gate opens. We enter through Door #1, where we’re greeted by a woman who takes us through the less imposing Door #2, and points to the nearest seat in a waiting room of sorts. A lacquered plaque glimmers from beneath a coffee table—it’s an award from a drum magazine declaring Grohl the “Up and Coming Drummer” of 1992. All around, the walls are covered with a decade of staggering history—the Foo Fighters’ four platinum records, a photograph of Grohl alongside Elvis Costello and Bruce Springsteen, a gold record with a photo of the Nevermind baby blown up larger than life. As if the idea of that album (recently added to FILTER mini 17 Nevermind the Everlong: ........................................................................................................................... a discography in brief with Dave Grohl 1995 1995 Foo Fighters (Roswell/Capitol) “The first one was a fluke. It was a demo tape.” 1997 The Colour and the Shape (Capitol) “I was really proud we actually went in and made 1997 1999 2002 a record. Then everyone fucking quit.” to shoot hoops, BBQ and beer bong.” 1999 There Is Nothing Left To Lose (RCA) “It didn’t even seem like an album-making process. We’d go in for a month, then take three weeks off 2002 One by One (BMG) “Did it, scrapped it, did it again in two weeks. Half of it sucks cocks. Worse than getting caught beating off in high school.” 2005 2005 In Your Honor (RCA) “When I listen to it, I’m so fucking charged.We’ve made something where we can keep going unrestricted.” ........................................................................................................................... the Library of Congress alongside Pet Sounds) isn’t intimidating enough, baby’s now rather immense unit makes the task of confronting what’s behind Door #3 all the more intimidating. This is 606, the studio the Foo Fighters constructed about a year ago. We’re here in the midst of all this history not merely to pay homage to Grohl’s elaborate sonic resume (though it is impressive: Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D, Probot, Cat Power, and of course, Nirvana). Instead, we’re here to figure out how 10 years from the band’s inception, after picking up a few Grammys and weathering that period where concertgoers pelted them with Mentos, the Foo Fighters sacked up and created their most dynamic record to date. 18 FILTER mini “When I was 14,” says Grohl, “I thought for sure I would die before I got my driver’s license, ’cause it just seemed too good to be true that I wouldn’t be dead by that time. Then, when I was 17 I thought, ‘There’s no way I’ll live to be 21, because then I’ll get to drink— legally.’ And what a fucking dream come true. I don’t know if this is fatalistic, but it’s kind of that same feeling with albums, where you just think each time, ‘Well God, it’s been so long. Maybe this is a good way to send it off.This is a good last album.’” After polishing off four “last” albums in roughly seven years, the Foo Fighters built 606 and set out to prove they can sound tougher than the Eagles (Grohl’s comparison), but without abandoning that head-bobbing sense of melody that made “Big Me” an unexpected Top 40 hit in 1996. Their latest sendoff is a “schizophrenic” double record called In Your Honor, the first disc of which boasts some of the loudest, most hectic songs the Foo Fighters have ever done. “When I was writing the Probot songs, people would say, ‘Are those new Foo Fighters songs?’ And I’d go, ‘Noooo. Those are too heavy for our band.’ But then I started thinking,‘Well, what the fuck is that supposed to mean? Why can’t we just do whatever we wanna do?’” Thus, on the other end of their punk-metal doublekick opus is a disc of acoustic tracks shorn up by harmonica, string sections, piano (a lá Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones no less) and guest appearances by Josh Homme, Petra Haden and—oddly enough—Norah Jones. Yes, Norah Jones—the smooth jazz vocalist who garnered a duffle bag of Grammys and made all of your dads’Top Ten lists in 2003. Something tells me that if the circa-’88, high school-dropout Grohl could magically travel through time, he’d beat down doors one through three and kick his own ass, or at least scream out what we’re all thinking: What the hell?! “That’s bullshit. If you truly love music, there shouldn’t be any sort of boundaries.When we listened back to the track, for a minute I got kind of worried and thought,‘Is this too fucking weird?’ And Nate [Mendel, the Foo Fighters’ bassist] said,‘That’s exactly why we should put it on the record.’As men grow older and you start to get gray hair coming out of your fucking ears and you’ll fart in front of anybody—you just don’t give a fuck anymore. It just feels so good to be able to do everything, rather than just one thing. And it does almost come down to that feeling of like,‘OK, how much can we get away with now?’” For a minute I thought, “IS THIS TOO FUCKING WEIRD?” And Nate said, “THAT’S EXACTLY WHY WE SHOULD PUT IT ON THE RECORD.” Granted, that single song’s bossanova vibe seems entirely counterintuitive to anything on disc one (let alone everything Grohl’s previously released), but hey, this is 2005—the age of iPod Shuffle and the musical culture clash.We’re not only tolerant of complete artistic randomness, we’ll actually shell out cash to get it. And in that sense, perhaps, the Foo Fighters are poised for their biggest success thus far. One can trace dozens of tangential lines out from the sonic nucleus that is just Dave Grohl—they’re all over the walls. But at the end of the day, at least this day, we’re sitting in this building where Grohl’s begun to etch his own drastic tangents within the one single, solitary project that has always been closest to his heart. After 10 years of living in the shadows of untouchable credibility cast by his former band, and nearly two decades since those days of just beating the living shit out of a drum kit (though always with impeccable time), Grohl has finally relinquished that defeatist attitude of simply trying to get out another “last” album. “This is like square one. In 10 years when I think about when and where we started becoming the band we’re capable of being, it will be right now, here in this place. And I bet you in 10 years we’ll be sitting at this table talking about another fucking record.” He looks around and realizes everyone in the room is laughing. “Tony Robbins, thank you very much.” F FILTER mini 19 DOUG MARTSCH POINT GUARD KATHLEEN HANNA SHOOTING GUARD Stephen Malkmus’ STEPHEN MALKMUS SMALL FORWARD WeSweat OnYous JOSH HOMME 6TH MAN THURSTON MOORE POWER FORWARD SEAL CENTER Pickin’and Roin’ with Coach Stephen Malkmus 20 FILTER mini Judd. He might be good; I don’t think anyone wants to guard him. He may not be very durable is what I’m worried about—he might have fragile ankles or something. Thurston Moore is pretty tall. He’s not very athletic, but he does wear sneakers. He’s still wearing sneakers at 40. I know Thurston—although he’s a rangy, skinny guy, his ankles are little tanks. He’ll last. He can play power forward. He has to become a banger though; he just needs to get under there and clear the boards.We’ll take that. I need a shooting guard—that’s an important position, a big provider. That’s a tough one…I don’t think anyone’s worthy. We need a scorer. That’s our problem—Doug can shoot, but he’s gonna get torn up on defense. Maybe we should get a woman in there. How About [Le Tigre’s] Kathleen Hanna? She wears sneakers. Ha, yeah.You know who I’ll take is that guy Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, he’s really tall. He seems like he might be coordinated, not like one of those guys in high school who was really dorky and then got into the guitar.You can tell he’s pretty jocky, his guitar playing is JOSH HOMME PHOTO BY STEVEN DEWALL, DOUG MARTSCH PHOTO BY TAE WON YU So we wanted to do something a little different with this. Let’s make two fantasy teams: one basketball team made of musicians, and one band made up of basketball players. Well I know Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch is good. He’s short and he’s got a beard, but he can still shoot. I imagine he would shoot two-handed set shots for some reason. Well he does shoot set shots but he hits them. It’s hard to shoot from 20 feet. I don’t do that. I imagine myself to be like Pau Gasol [power forward, Memphis Grizzlies]—a long-armed passer, an all-arounder with a couple blocks. I’m not one of those up and down people. I lay back, but there’s less cherry picking if I’m on the court. I’ll play small forward, but I’d rather be a point guard. I think Seal can play center for us. He’s not gonna want to play anything now with his new wife. Sheryl Crow, right? No wait, who is it? Heidi Klum. Right. She can come to the games and cheer like Ashley MALKMUS PHOTOS BY ROGER KISBY by Pat McGuire So Stephen Malkmus has a new solo record out. And yeah, it’s great, and yeah, we love him, and yeah, chances are you do too. But when Filter Mini got the chance to chat with the underdog-loving indie prince himself, we didn’t waste our time together talking about songs or influences or any other inconsequential trifles. No, we had more important things to discuss: hoops. SM—headmaster Jick, Pavement pioneer, and ravenous b-ball fan—took a break from his upcoming tour preparation and his own fantasy basketball league (with members of Sleater-Kinney and former bandmate Bob Nastanovich) to indulge us in our true fantasy: the Malkmus indie rock and jock draft. pretty coordinated. He can be the sixth man super sub. What’s your team name? The WeSweatOnYous. I’d let Kathleen Hanna sweat on me. I’m sure she smells like patchouli oil or whatever expensive essences the Beastie Boys can buy her. Now let’s pick a fantasy band made up of basketball players. The drummer needs to be solid and dependable— someone who plays every game, doesn’t sit out like a sissy. So the great iron man from this year…it definitely won’t be Shaq. I’ll take Jamal Wilkes. He was graceful. I’ll take “Sleepy” Floyd on bass. He went to Georgetown. He’ll be a little behind the beat if he’s sleepy, and it sounds like he could be a bluesman with that name. It could be a Pink Floyd-style cover band. If he’s on bass, then I’ll need someone a bit more up on the drums, like Michael Ray Richardson; he can bring the drugs, because that’s what drummers do. I’m switching from the dependable drummer to the druglaced drummer.That’s better. So far it’s kind of a Miles Davis, guard-of-funk heavy band, but that could change with the singer anytime. I want a white singer. Nancy Lieberman. No, she can’t sing. Umm…I’ll say Kyle Korver, he’s on Philadelphia, he looks like an indie rock guy. He’s got long hair and he’s an incredible threepoint shooter, which is always important in a front man. You don’t want to go shitty ’90s grunge with Scott Pollard? Yeah, he looks the part. I’d like to have one Pacer on my band. Steven Jackson looks like he could be a sexy dude, kinda skinny, and he’d look ’70s if he had a moustache. We’ll say Steven Jackson with a moustache can play rhythm guitar. All I need is a lead guitarist—I need a real bruiser, someone pretty cool. I’ll say Jamal Magliore. He was a big cokehead in college, always getting arrested and stuff. He’s a Canadian also. He could be good then.There’s a big history of Canadians making it big in the music world—Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, and those are very similar to Jamal Magliore. It’s pretty obscure to have a 7-foot center on lead guitar, but throw in some of that trouble he got into, and he can connect with Michael Ray. It’s like Living Colour all of a sudden. So which player would you liken most to your career? Maybe Reggie Miller—he’s still going, he could play another year and it wouldn’t be pathetic.There are some things you have to do when you get older, if you still want to do it. I need to talk to a therapist, or some other person who’s my age and still good, because you don’t want to be sitting there with a drum machine and, like, the Dust Brothers at 40.Then again, you can just do whatever you want to do and fuck the rest. Of course, Michael Jordan…when he came back it was totally pathetic. I’m more like Ray Allen, towards some middle-late point in my career. But still scoring a lot. FILTER mini 21 REVIEWS REVIEWS One-Liners: A miniature take on selected Filter Magazine reviews ........................................................................................................................... CD Reviews ........................................................................................................................... (Go to Filter-Mag.com or pick up Filter Magazine’s Spring Issue for full reviews.) 87%/86%/93% Seventeen Seconds/Faith/Pornography Rhino Rhino reminds us of a time when Robert Smith made us frown for all the right reasons. Morrissey 88%/91% …Manchester DVD/Live at Earl’s Court CD Attack-Sanctuary Moz shows that while time and audience demographics may change, an ego never does. Spoon 90% Gimme Fiction Merge Earth will now transmit Spoon’s raw-edged pop through space—true evidence of intelligent life. Super Furry Animals 90% Songbook:The Singles Vol. 1 XL A disorganized best-of befits a schizophrenic band’s decade of making pop go crazy. Oasis 88% Don’t Believe the Truth Epic The band we love to hate loves to let us, proving us all daft cunts for doubting they still could. Quasimoto 88% The Further Adventures... Stones Throw Madli—err, Quasitmoto’s beats give grit, jazz, funk, soul, and an earful of sensual bruises. Hood 88% Outside Closer Domino Surprise! Britain’s got tumbleweeds too, and they bounce and float across Hood’s most realized landscape yet. Stephen Malkmus 87% Face the Truth Matador Our disinterested ’90s prince finally captures the best of Pavement, proving he meant it all along. Sleater-Kinney 87% The Woods Sub Pop The SK beat keeps that magnificent, 22 FILTER mini fuzzy, powergirl rhythm, while our tomboy-tennies tap on in approval. British Sea Power 87% Open Season Rough Trade BSP leave their huge, icy atmospheres to the new kids, and opt for clean, if transcendent, simplicity. Fischerspooner 84% Odyssey Capitol NYC’s tongue-in-cheek electroclash gurus pull the tongue partway out, but that good-time taste lingers on. Autechre 83% Untitled Warp England’s subterranean cyborg duo stumbles through lines of blip and code on a perfectly askew dancefloor. e Raveonees 80% Pretty in Black Capitol Who says channeling Hank Williams, Elvis and the Ronnettes means you’ve got a retro fetish? Oh, we do. Télépopmusik 78% Angel Milk Capitol Trip-hop dinner party music for sure— but only your cool friends are invited to this out-oftime soiree. e Soundtrack of Our Lives 78% Origin,Volume 1 Capitol If after five albums, you’re just at the origin, then you might wanna leave the space-pop to Oasis. Sloan 91-100% 81-90% 71-80% 61-70% Below 60% ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ a great album above par, below genius respectable, but flawed not in my CD player please God, tell us why 92% A Sides Win: Singles 1992-2005 Vagrant When Canada is the center of the music scene, not only do we start worrying about losing to a country with pony-riding police, but we’re reminded of all the other cult Canadian bands we’ve almost forgotten. And when Sloan releases a near-perfect singles collection in the U.S.—showcasing the best of their timeless, kitschy, indie-pop purity—the fans pull down their furry parka hoods to reveal that the so-called American cult is much more a sensation. LESLEY BARGAR Bebel Gilberto 84% Remixed Six Degrees Records Banana Republic executives rejoice! For this record might be the greatest pants-buying soundtrack ever! Shit, I haven’t been so pumped about wellcut, overpriced corduroys since I first heard OK Computer at the Gap in ’99…that album made $85 cargo pants with pockets on the crotch totally sensible, and this sexy Brazilian music makes you feel rich, more organized, more together. Remixed is good martinis, and better herb by a sunny pool, except the pool is in the middle of the mall. MICHAEL SUTER Fruit Bats 88% Spelled in Bones Sub Pop Sub Pop has become the de facto home of sublime, homespun folk-pop, so it’s no surprise that Fruit Bats’ Spelled in Bones oozes hazy, delicate beauty from its pores. “Silent Life” would make for a great soundtrack to Thoreau’s Walden; the banjo-effect in “Canyon Girl” is like some strange fruit that begs to be picked.Try filing this record next to your Folk Implosion and Death Cab for Cutie—you’ll go batty for it. CHI TUNG 101ers FILTER ALBUM RATINGS e Cure 91% Elgin Avenue Breakdown Astralwerks Never mind any of that I-can-totally-seethe-future-of-the-Clash-here stuff. That’s just wankery. Joe Strummer’s pre-Clash band stands tall without the name check—swaggering around all blues-rock-like, with Joe Strummer’s inimitable vocals and protopunk sounds marking the twists and turns. It’s exactly the record you would make if you grew up listening to Chuck Berry but were really angry. On the intro to “Gloria” a strained voice yells, “Fuck the discos!” Fuck the discos, indeed. CATHERINE ADCOCK e Perishers 85% Let There Be Morning Nettwerk Finally, a band from Sweden making their North American debut! But seriously folks, don’t be fooled into thinking you’re up for some cocky garage jams just because of these soft-rock crooners’ heritage and “The” band title. Listen to every other band from Sweden to party on Saturday night, then listen to the Perishers to recover on Sunday morning. A bloody-mary-breakfast Sunday, but a Sunday nonetheless. PAT MCGUIRE Prefuse 73 90% Prefuse 73 Reads the Books Warp Prefuse 73 Reads the Books, interpreted for both musicologist and hip-hopper:This EP is a brilliant collision of organic and electronic. [Damn yo, the banjo never sounded so crunk.] It’s spun glass meets woven wicker [nod your head to the cello, money—shit is mad ill], as Prefuse gives the Books’ material the old postmodern treatment. [Oh snaps! Did you hear that beat? Dripping water and shit.] The two collagists form an alliance the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Eno and Byrne. [Yeeeaaah boyeeeeeee!] JACK MCGRUE Nations by the River 89% Holes in the Valley Astralwerks Thank Adonai the popular music world is finally learning to appreciate the awesome awesomeness of singin’ traditional Hebrew songs! Okay, so it’s only one part of one song in the midst of a slew of intimate, folky,Appalachian-style country jams from members of the Sleepy Jackson and Gelbison. Hey, don’t ask me how these Iron and Wine-style minimal acoustic numbers—let alone a Klezmer band hit—came out of a bunch of guys from Down Unda, but Shabbat has FILTER mini 23 REVIEWS never sounded so good! LESLEY “half-jew, but the right half” BARGAR e Crimea 87% Tragedy Rocks Warner Brothers You ever throw a Valloween party? On February 13, the night before Valentine’s Day, invite all of your single friends over to wear black, get drunk and celebrate being alone. And kinda scared. Be sure to pop in Tragedy Rocks, which will be a Valloween staple for years to come. When British rockers the Crimea sing (and sometimes talk) about misery and despair, they seem to be under the impression that it’s the best topic on earth. Nothing wrong with some healthy brooding and candy. TODD BERGER e Secret Machines 79% The Road Leads Where It’s Led Reprise Backing the title track—a big anthemsized chunk of space rock—are a handful of covers, defanged and fuzzed-up. Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks” boards a Champagne Supernova while Dylan’s “Girl from North Country” floats in slo-mo slipstream. The soul-stomper “Money (That's What I Want)” is thinnedout to seven minutes and even Krautrock legends Harmonia are honored as their celestial “De Luxe (Immer Wieder)” soars. Unfortunately, the Secret Machines have turned their dials from scorch to simmer. BERNARDO RONDEAU Lungfish 80% Feral Hymns Dischord So Lungfish are a legendary Dischord emo band, and how dare I do anything but sing their praises. I’m not going to pretend I’ve been swimming in the Lungfish bowl for the last 15 years. Listeneing to this album was the first time I’d ever heard them. And the whole thing sounds like…“War Pigs.” Five listens later and it still sounds like “War Pigs.” Redundant dirge riffs, retching vocals, abstract lyrics. I kinda liked it. Neighbors didn’t. PAT MCGUIRE e Herbaliser 84% Take London Ninja Tune If you thought trip-hop and breakbeats died with Shadow, you haven’t heard the Herbaliser. If you thought the art of femcee’ing perished with MC 24 FILTER mini Lyte, the only Jean Grae memorabilia you own is an XMen comic.This is a wake-up call for both; its production alludes to blaxpoitation-era funk, ’60s lounge-pop and yes, Shadow. And then there’s Jean, taking London by storm as she growls, spits and pummels her way through four of the album’s strongest cuts. Cyclops who? CHZA Can 92% Soon Over Babaluma Mute BABALUMA! Exotic space-utopia among the desolate tundra of Nimbus—or is it Europa? Stereolab rents a place a few doors down, but Can are the stone-landlords of said celestial province where beats no longer disintegrate into ambient clouds, but rather pump and pulse, all with fuzz violin that would make John Cale throw up his rush. Drum-machine or drum-kit, moog or guitar, 1970s or 2070s? A must-own, devoid of minute-long transitional silences to fuck up your three-disc shuffle. MICHAEL SUTER Mayday 82% Bushido Karaoke Saddle Creek The third full-length from Ted Stevens’ (Cursive guitarist/head of now-defunct Lullaby for the Working Class) Mayday is Saddle Creek. By which I mean it’s got Mogis slide guitar, soulful country pop jams, raw and personal lyrics, and an overall multi-instrumental richness. Good, for sure. But, and maybe this is the downside of being a part of such a label/community, Ted lacks something that the other Nebraska headmasters keep pumping into our system, leaving Mayday a bit lost in the shuffle. ON INCLUDES AN ADDITIONAL 45 MINUTES OF EXCLUSIVE BONUS FOOTAGE FEATURING SOME OF THE BEST MC’S TO EVER BLESS THE MIC! www.freestylethemovie.com www.organicfilms.com “HEAVEN SENT! IF UNIVERSITIES EVER START GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN ROCK STARDOM, DIG! WILL SURELY BE A CORNERSTONE OF THE CURRICULUM!” - THE NEW YORK TIMES 2-DVD SPECIAL EDITION over two hours of bonus material * band member & filmmaker commentaries * deleted and extended scenes * music videos * live performances FEATURING THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE AND THE DANDY WARHOLS LESLEY BARGAR Shout Out Louds 88% Howl Howl Gaff Gaff Capitol It takes a certain skill to sound apathetic about rocking someone’s face off. As if you just noticed you were in front of a microphone and holding a guitar. “What? Am I supposed to play this or something? Fine, whatever.” Shout Out Louds have mastered this skill, belting out enjoyably somber indie-pop tunes over the course of their debut LP and never breaking a sweat. “What? You want more rocking? Okay, I guess…” TODD BERGER WWW.DIGTHEMOVIE.COM WWW.PALMPICTURES.COM REVIEWS Kinski 83% Alpine Static Sub Pop Martian by way of the Pacific Northwest, the instrumental quartet Kinski run the intergalactic gamut on their second Sub Pop long-player. Alpine Static’s nine riff-riding, fiery comets singe only to be soothed by the occasional cosmic balm brewed from loose flutes and pedal drones. Like Mogwai minus the soma, Kinski careen on elastic guitar strings and kit propulsions. Part muffy Humbucker roar, part spikey jangle mesh, the band’s voiceless rock is well-versed in head heritage. BERNARDO RONDEAU Statistics 81% Often Lie Jade Tree Listen, we’ve all got musical skeletons lurking between our slacks and sweaters. So, while I know Often Lie by Statistics is a generic My Bloody Valentine appropriation with some serious Built to Spill and electronic gesticulation tossed in, that won’t keep me from queuing it up on my iPod. Of course, I might have to hide the screen while I'm on the subway. CATHERINE ADCOCK Lali Puna 80% I Thought I Was Over That Morr Music I think remix albums suck. Having said that, there are some artists that beg to be remixed, either because their sound is so mutable, or because, well, the original version sucks. Lali Puna is Sir Re-MixA-Lot, so it makes sense that I Thought I Was Over That is exactly that—songs that reenter your consciousness, for better or for worse. Enjoy it while you can, cuz remixalitis is right around the corner. CHI TUNG Augustana 77% All the Stars and Boulevards Epic Let’s play a game. Close your eyes and imagine it’s the summer of ’95. You’re cruising down the highway in your brand new Saturn on the way to see that adorable Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping. The Goo Goo Dolls and Sponge blare from a mix tape and you’re getting super stoked for the big Gin Blossoms show this weekend. Now open your eyes. Was that fun? Well, about as much as All the Stars and Boulevards. Nostalgia’s got its limits. TODD BERGER A Band of Bees 90% Free the Bees Astralwerks Man, it was freaky. I was sitting in my comfortable porch swing, wearing a puffy vest, and this crazy old dude with a shock of white hair rolled up in a Delorean and told me to get in. He threw in this CD by A Band of Bees, but he wasn’t sure if he got it in 1955 or 2005. I told him it sounded like Revolver, and he said it sounded like Sam & Dave, and when I said that I love Van Halen, he pushed me out of the Delorean.What a dick. PAT MCGUIRE e Redwalls 86% De Nova Capitol If it sounds like the Beatles, talks like the Beatles…it isn’t always the Beatles. True, the Redwalls have the whole effervescent-harmony-thing down pat, and if they sound a little too in love with the idea of being in love, well, that might be because “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” is such an ideal template. Lyrically though, these young gunz could stand to use more later-Beatles nuance—sounds like the Beatles, but reads a little more like the Wonders. CHI TUNG Xiu Xiu 83% La Foret Jade Tree Oh Jamie Stewart, explain to me the unpredictable complexities of love.Your latest makes me want to slap you backhanded, only to follow that with a dose of Xanax.You’re self-indulgently shocking while tragically self-exposed. La Foret is at one point the experimental and edgy Xiu Xiu we heady types love, but then it dishes out the easy pop for everyone else to fight over. I find you both obnoxious and attractive, and even that I love to hate. Good thing you don’t like chicks. CATHERINE ADCOCK Can 93% Future Days Mute The first album in the second-wave of remastered reissues from Germany’s most versatile groovenauts, Future Days begins with the shades drawn, and by the last throb of “Bel Air”’s voyaging 20 minutes—a brave new world indeed is found. No longer a mere rock group at this (altered) state, Can re-invent wholesale psychedelia into morphing, rhythmic layers of collective sound. As Damo Suzuki’s last album with the band, Future Days finds him already dissolving in the gorgeous lysergic drift. BERNARDO RONDEAU Dredg 76% Catch Without Arms Interscope Despite high hopes for romantic progrockers Dredg after 2002’s El Cielo, the band’s latest puts them back on the bland wagon, embracing anthemic rock like it’s going out of style (oh wait…it is). Dredg’s darker take on power rock almost rescues it from the throes of recent U2 and late-’90s Creed, but besides the haunting standout “Sang Real,” Catch Without Arms (Wide Open) spends less time experimenting, and far too much time loitering on nü-rock nostalgia lane. ERIN BROADLEY TUNE IN! Filter Mini is proudly distributed by the following stations: The Filter Recommended Radio Chart is Filter’s compilation of our favorite college, indie, modern rock and adult album alternative stations around the country that we know will always bring you what Filter loves best: Good Music. This list of top-20 singles of the week is made up of the most played songs of our select stations. Read on, and check filter-mag.com every week to see what Filter and the in-the-know programmers across the country deem best. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. SPOON: “I Turn My Camera On” (Merge) SPOON: “Sister Jack” (Merge) THE WHITE STRIPES: “Blue Orchid” (Third Man/XL/V2) COLDPLAY: “Speed of Sound” (Capitol) THE DECEMBERISTS: “16 Military Wives” (Kill Rock Stars) FEIST: “Mushaboom” (Cherry Tree/Interscope) AIMEE MANN: “Going Through the Motions” (Super Ego) MIKE DOUGHTY: “Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well” (ATO) DAVE MATTHEWS BAND: “American Baby” (RCA) BECK: “Que Ondo Guero” (Interscope) BECK: “E-Pro” (Interscope) HUSKY RESCUE: “Summertime Cowboy” (Catskills/Minty Fresh) GORILLAZ: “Feel Good Inc.” (Virgin) EELS: “Trouble With Dreams” (Vagrant) THE DECEMBERISTS: “We Both Go Down Together” (Kill Rock Stars) FEIST: “One Evening” (Cherry Tree/Interscope) THE GO-BETWEENS: “Here Comes A City” (Yep Roc) AIMEE MANN: “Dear John” (Super Ego) THE RAVEONETTES: “Love in a Trashcan” (The Orchard/Columbia) THE MOUNTAIN GOATS: “This Year” (4AD/Beggars Group) Chart based on electronically monitored airplay data of the week of May 18th 2005 provided by www.mediaguide.com for the following commercial and non-commercial radio stations: KCRW - Los Angeles, CA, KDHX - St. Louis, MO, KDLE/KDLD - Newport Beach/Santa Monica, CA, KEXP - Seattle,WA, KITS - San Francisco, CA, KOOP/KVRX - Hornsby/Austin,TX, KXLU - Los Angeles, CA, WAWL - Chattanooga,TN,WDBM - East Lansing, MI, WDET - Detroit, MI, WFMU - East Orange, NJ, WFPK - Louisville, KY, WFUV - New York, NY, WKNC - Raleigh, NC, WKQX - Chicago, IL, WRAS - Atlanta, GA, WRGP - Homestead, FL, WRVU Nashville,TN, WTMD - Townson, MD, WXPN - Philadelphia, PA, WYEP - Pittsburgh, PA.