the oh so quiet show

Spellemannsprisen is Norway’s version of the Grammy awards but more interesting (to me at least) since I haven’t heard of most of the artists. MIC Norway has info about the winners in English so I decided to check some out, primarily Odd Norstoga (pictured, from dagbladet) since he won “Spellemann of the year”…which sounds major. [via it’s a trap!] I wish there were full mp3s on his site but there are craploads of clips and I’ve listened to enough of them to decide that I like his music, and I want it, and gimme, and so on…

Oh, I didn’t even describe the music. Damn, I’m bad at that stuff. It sounds folksy and acoustic. And the songs are in Norwegian. Thank god I’m not a music reviewer.

The National Bank won for “Best Pop Group” and just a few days ago Petter gave me an mp3 of theirs so I shall pass the mp3-ness onto you:

The National Bank - I Hear the Sparrow Sing

It took me a while to get used to (not sure what to think of Thomas Dybdahl’s voice and for whatever reason I’m really picky with singing voices) but I like it. I wouldn’t know how else to categorize it besides “pop” so there’s your description. “Pop”. (You didn’t think I could get much worse, and look, I just did.)

Lastly, I checked out the winner in the electronic/contemporary category, Lars Horntveth (leader of Jaga Jazzist, whom I’ve never listened to for some reason…well, I’m doing that now). If you scroll down a bit you can open the “Pooka” minisite by clicking on the album cover and download an mp3. I’ve listened to this before but I’m giving it another go; it’s cool but I’d want to hear more songs. Grr, gimme more! The downloadable song “Tics” sounds more orchestral than electronic but is a good mix of the two….things. Yeah. It reminds me of Kim Hiorthøy (who’s on the same label), an artist I like but haven’t gotten very into.

Oo, the Jaga Jazzist mp3s are pretty neat.

Lee gave me some (okay, an album of) Feist (her French site seems better) mp3s as part of some holiday song swapping goodness. He just posted a review of her performance at The Glee Club and after reading it I really wish I could see her at Joe’s Pub. Doh. Having a class on Tuesday nights has really screwed me out of lots of concert opportunities, but I also have this food issue and mixing something I love (music) with something less loved (food) could end up in a cataclysmic explosion. Or not, but I’ll just tell myself that.

Her album “Let It Die” is supposed to come out in the US…soon. April or May? I’m sure I just read about it today yet I’ve already forgotten. I’m incredibly unhelpful, sorry. You can download some mp3s courtesy of Womenfolk.

I bought I Am Kloot’s album at Kim’s Video the other day (along with two other used CDs; it was in the “used electronic” section…o-kay) and have since then decided I love the album. So I dropped some more non-existent money on two tickets to their show at Pianos, figuring the age limit is non-existent. $8 is cheap, although it’s actually $10 on ticketweb, which is still cheap but …I get annoyed by those little charges. It’s still better than ticketmaster though. For the first few years of my life all concerts seemed to cost more than $35, which in ticketmaster-land was closer to $50.

I Am Kloot has a bunch of media things on their website, but mp3s are better. This song isn’t representative of the whole album, but I like it and I think that’s enough justification:

I Am Kloot - Proof [removed]

Since the “BUY TICKETS” link for Kaiser Chiefs at Bowery Ballroom isn’t working I’m going to assume it’s sold out. Which is for the best, I suppose. $15 more for me. Or not less.

I listen to The Innocence Mission a lot. Maybe an obscene amount, as in more than when I used to listen to Radiohead all the time (which is saying a lot). Listening to “Small Planes” on the bus ride back to dorm-ville while feeling like a sack of crap was uplifting for those few minutes.

The Innocence Mission - Small Planes [removed]

I hope you like the song as much as I do. Here are the lyrics:

I know what you mean,
when you want to run to meet the world,
intentions may not carry you far.
Small planes are here
but they never leave my room at all,
they don’t make it through,
they don’t make it out.

I want to be like Sister Veronica,
whose life connects with so many lives.
Small planes are here
but they never leave my room at all.
They don’t make it through,
they don’t make it out.

My words to him
they didn’t touch him, not at all.
And I never can say what I mean to say.
Small planes are here
but they never leave my room at all.
They don’t make it through,
they don’t make it out.

Twenty-five miles or thousands of miles,
when am I going to leave here?
Twenty-five miles or thousands of miles,
when am I going to get there?
Twenty-five miles or thousands of miles,
who am I going to help there?
Twenty-five miles or thousands of miles,
when am I going to get there?

For some reason I never paid as much attention to this song as I did tonight. I’m not one to interpret songs but after listening to this I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never leave here, or get there…once I get there I’ll have to come back here and re-instill the desire to leave again. The idea of small planes reminds me of Bjork’s Isobel video.

On an unrelated note, M. Ward is playing at Knitting Factory on Wednesday, March 2nd. That would make me a lot happier if I could actually go. Hopefully there are people out there who want to go and can go.

I might have an extra ticket to see Doves at Bowery next month. I’m hoping due to a miracle my friend will be able to come with me but if not, anyone want to come with? Doooves? Mrrrh? NEVERMIND, FOUND SOMEONE, LAADEEDAA! And would anyone want to come see Kaiser Chiefs? SOLD OUT, LAADEEDAA! Or I Am Kloot?

Or should I just go by myself? Maybe I need to make more friends…

Diana put some Annie mp3s on her music blog. You’ve probably heard her music already so my assumption will spare me from having to describe it in words other than “dance/pop”. Her album is coming out March 7th. I’ve wishlisted it, which doesn’t mean much since my wishlist is mainly a graveyard of stuff I don’t get around to buying (especially if it’s an import) but I ultimately end up buying something if I like it enough.

I don’t remember the first time I heard her music but the first song I heard was “Chewing Gum”, which for some reason I didn’t really like. I didn’t not like it but …maybe I heard it too many times. Mm well, I like “Heartbeat” more (yay for real drums!). I first heard of Annie from Telle Records (their website has been kind of dead for a while) and later from tiktak. 679 Recordings has more info.

If you live around London you should go to Sunkissed Live [tickets], a huge night of Norwegian music goodness (Annie is DJ-ing).

I just typed up a long entry and Firefox crashed, which happens …well, almost never. It was probably for the best since now you get a very condensed version of what I originally wrote.

- saw Emiliana Torrini perform at the Housing Works Used Book Cafe; played seven or so songs; forgot some lyrics and looked horrified but is adorable so I don’t think anyone really cared; now I really want Fisherman’s Woman

- wasn’t as into the other performances since I just wanted to see Emiliana but I stayed for the whole show (7:30-10:oo); Damon and Naomi played well — nice combination of acoustic guitar + bass / keyboard; Mike Doughty had a lot of fans in the audience and played an encore; showed us what was in his pockets; needs more people to go to the Philadelphia Zoo with him

So that was kind of random, but there ye go. Overall, it was a great evening worth the $25. Otherwise I would’ve been trapped in my dorm with my roommate watching TV/singing/something else involving sounds I wouldn’t willingly listen to. I’m glad to have heard about the concert or else I may not have heard of the Used Book Cafe. It’s a great place to hang out and impulsively buy books. I was thinking what a great place it would be for Magnet to play. Someday…

I made a few crappy mp3s from Emiliana’s performance [removed]:

• Lifesaver
• Sunny Road
• [a cover?] - she semi-forgets the lyrics midway
• Heartstopper
• Nothing Brings Me Down

Brooklyn Vegan took nice photos. I decided I’d rather sit closer at a strange angle and get a perfect view of the right side of everyone’s body than be father at a good angle. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. On a random note, the air had a strong beer smell. But hey, everything you buy in that cafe goes to charity so …drink up?

Making mix CDs is fun. I’m making one now of electronic/instrumental (I guess whatever doesn’t have singing) stuff. Unfortunately I couldn’t fit everything I wanted on one CD:

1. Kippi Kaninus – The Pianoplayer Takes a Bath
2. E*Vax – The Process of Leaving
3. B. Fleischmann – Pass By
4. Solvent – Solvent City
5. Satellite Grooves – I Love The Rain
6. Neat Little Boxes – Hospital
7. Chessie – Clear Block
8. Fridge – Cutup Piano + Xylophone
9. Illoin – Kismet
10. Phonem – Information Technology (One And A Half Degree Channel)
11. Kaptein Kaliber – Hunden Tok Hønene Våre
12. Lineland – Rock I, Rock II
13. Marianas – Bring Flowers
14. Markant – Vice Versa
15. Múm – Please Sing My Spring Reverb
16. Plone – Top & Low Rent
17. Console – Walk Like a Worm (there’s an official site but I can’t remember what it is)

And…that’s it. Unrelated: Bowery Ballroom has a bunch of good shows coming up. I haven’t listened to Embrace very much but I heard they’re good and that’s my vacation week. Mm, shall I go concerting?

Raveonettes tour dates (with Autolux), wee! [via Filter, which has info about their new album]

• April 26-27 – New York – Mercury Lounge
• April 28 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Southpaw
• April 30 – Indio, Calif. – Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival
• May 3 – San Francisco – Great American Music Hall
• May 6 – Portland, Ore. – Dante’s
• May 10 – Minneapolis – First Avenue
• May 11 – Chicago – Double Door
• May 12 – Milwaukee – Mad Planet
• May 13 – Indianapolis – Patio
• May 14 – Nashville – Exit/In
• May 17 – Austin, Texas – the Parish
• May 19 – New Orleans – Twiropa
• May 20 – Tallahassee, Fla. – Beta Bar
• May 22 – Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. – Culture Room
• May 25 – Athens, Ga. – 40-Watt Club
• May 27 – Carrboro, N.C. – Cat’s Cradle
• May 28 – Washington, D.C. – Black Cat
• May 29 – Baltimore – Ottobar
• May 31 – Hoboken, N.J. – Maxwell’s
• June 1 – Philadelphia – North Star Bar
• June 2 – Boston – Paradise
• June 6 – Cleveland – Beachland Ballroom
• June 7 – Newport, Ky. – Southgate House
• June 8 – Detroit – Magic Stick
• June 9 – Millvale, Pa. – Mr. Small’s Theatre
• June 10 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Showplace Theatre
• June 11 – New York – Webster Hall

I’ve never seen them live. …I wanna gooo.

I don’t remember exactly how/when I first heard of Emiliana Torrini, but it was some years back when she released Love in the Time of Science and audiogalaxy was free (I used to be permanently attached to audiogalaxy). “Unemployed in Summertime” is one of my favorite songs from the album but the entire album is good. I know “good” is a useless word but…well. I’m not eloquent.

Her new album Fisherman’s Woman came out this year. Not in the US (except on iTunes) but hopefully at some point it will. It sounds much more laid-back and acoustic than her other one.

Via brooklynvegan I found out she’s playing at Housing Works Used Book Cafe, which means I’ll have something to do on Friday night. Thank god someone just bought something from the poofy shop (hell, you should too!) or I wouldn’t have had enough money in my paypal account. I was hesitant to get a ticket at first since it’s $25, but it’s for charity and the store is cool (I ended up spending $25 there today anyway) and …um…I haven’t spent money on food for a week, so I’ll just pretend that’s what I was saving up for. Amadeep has nice things to say when he saw her perform last month so I’m sure it’ll be a good time.

I checked out BC Camplight since they’re scheduled to play with I Am Kloot at Pianos on March 10th and …it’s good stuff. Good stuff meaning I feel compelled to buy their 5-song EP with my meager earnings in my paypal account. You can download three songs from their website, so you may as well give them a listen. I’m not even sure which song I like the most. They’re all kind of similar in a happy and laid-back kind of way but not. But yes. Er. Yeah. Their music sounds different than most of the music I’ve been listening to lately; it’s not trying to sound like anything else. It’s carefree and weeee. Weee.

Also, you can download the new Doves album, Some Cities [via Chips & Cookies]. I did. It’s awesome. Of course I’ll buy it as well (unless I can get a free copy).

Still I Am Kloot album-less, but there are US tour dates. Thursday, March 10th at Pianos? I’ll be there. Maybe. Buy tickets.

(The ticketweb page says it’s 21 and over, but I’ve been there two times and…uh, did I go on weird days or do they just not care? Someone from NYC must read this and know. I don’t want to waste $8. I could get a nice walk going there though.)

(They’re also playing at Mercury Lounge on March 8th with Stars. Which doesn’t apply to me because Tuesday nights and Mercury Lounge equal evil, but maybe it applies to you.)

I’m sad that I am not 21 or over, which means I cannot go to this Rothko show. I’m interested in seeing The Winter Pageant (who reminds me of Homesick for Space…whom I haven’t listened to in ages) and The Octopus Project.

There are worse things. It’s just that there aren’t a whole lot of shows I feel the need to go to in the first place. As long as something doesn’t take place on a Tuesday or Wednesday I’m pretty free to go. Until I age a few more years. (Obviously didn’t go see the Kaiser Chiefs though.)

…my first sentence was stupid. I’d be sad if I were 21 or over anyway.

Listen to a live performance by The Innocence Mission (aka my favorite band) plus an interview at npr.org. It is lovely. “Moon River” kills me. In a good way. The songs are from their latest album, Now The Day Is Over, which I received as a holiday/nice-to-meet-you gift from Andy, who introducted me to TIM in the first place. Since last November I have gotten four of their albums, which is not enough.

They’re crappy but I’ve heard worse. I know because I’ve recorded worse stuff. Ha…ha. I had too many mp3s (15) so I just picked a few I liked [removed]:

• Don’t Know What I Can Save You From - In the beginning I think Erlend received his fingerless gloves. Then he talked about Carson Daly and getting a jacket from the Smoothie King. And then they…uh, play the song.
• Singing Softly To Me / The Girl From Back Then - The audience is called nerds and told to e-mail President Bush rather than bombard KoC with e-mails. And someone’s cell phone goes off, causing Erlend to imitate an American, or …someone. Excuse my stupid laughing.
• When You Wish Upon A Star - They passed out some chocolates but there wasn’t enough for everyone (that would’ve been from a huge bag) so Erlend passed out some water. I was very, VERY thankful because I happened to be strangely thirsty. Ignore my stupid voice. I’m the one who says “Are you thirsty?” (to Diana. Someone threw a bottle at some point which I guess didn’t work too well? Oh, they go into this song after talking about going to Orlando and spending a few days in Downtown Disney. At least, I think that’s the relation.
• I Like To Be Left Alone - This is the last song Erlend sang because…they want to be left alone, haha. Take a breather.

There’s an ad in the latest Filter for Magnet that mentions a spring tour. However, the first thing that caught my eye was how the ad was pseudo-ly styled after the swirly thing on the homepage except much worse. Which made me sad because I spent a decent amount of time making the swirly thing not look like crap. So if you actually see the ad, just know that I didn’t do it. Maybe it was really rushed. Also, I don’t know anything about the spring tour. Hahaha….yay.

Kings of Convenience = ohhh so good. Listening to the songs from last night has been blissful. I’ll have some good stuff up soon.

Update: No Magnet touring in the US until maybe late spring/early summer.

Erlend and Eirik [flickr]

From the first notes they played I felt like I was in heaven. Yup. They were that good. Kings of Convenience made me forget the myriad problems plaguing my mind for a span of two hours or so (no opener and they started sometime after 9:30) and transformed Bowery Ballroom into…a happy place. A happy place where people laughed and hummed and clapped and smiled and were just so happy that these two Norwegians could serenade NYC for the night (after a stint on the “trashy” Carson Daly show, as noted by Erlend. ;D).

Highlights? The whole concert was the highlight. I’ve watched videos of their performances before but you just have to be there to feel the quietness of the audience and the calm visages on Erlend and Eirik while they play. Oh, and the sporadic smiles; there were many of those. Erlend has a huge smile! It just pops out of nowhere. And he likes to boogie, if I can use that word. Boogie. Okay, maybe …wiggle? He likes to wiggle. I got a very close look at the wiggling, or his legs at least since he is mega-tall. And he likes giving out chocolates to the audience. And bottled water. For one time in my life I was parched and while waiting for the concert to being I grew thirsty. The angel of Poland Spring that is Erlend passed out bottles to the audience after the bag of assorted Hershey chocolates (some of which smelled like puke, according to Erlend) wasn’t enough for the whole audience. Aw.

Okay, there were some highlights. Perhaps super-highlights? Here’s a list:

• “When You Wish Upon A Star”
• the last song after the encore
• Erlend taking photos of the audience and Eirik telling him to delete the one of him in the bathtub after finding out the memory card was full
• All that guitar playing? That was good.
• All that singing? Also good.
• the whistling audience
• the humming audience
• the clapping audience
• the jacket from the smoothie king
• um…everything

Okay, not a great list. But wow. I would love to see them again tomorrow (technically today) but I doubt I’ll go. I’d end up in the back, for one thing, and tonight I was in the front row on Eirik’s side. He sat in our corner while Erlend played an acoustic version of “Like Gold”.

I have tons of audio clips, but won’t get that up until later. It’s probably all crap quality but…mm. And I have crap photos! Diana has better ones, I’ll have to bum some off of her.

Thank you, Kings of Convenience, for creating much happiness and good feelings and smiles. And H20. You create beautiful music. And you’re both very hug-worthy.

I first heard I Am Kloot a few years ago due to a friend’s recommendation but I never got around to buying their stuff, either because I could never find it in stores here or I was just lazy. The inability to find a CD in a store is a crap excuse for not getting it when the Internet exists…oh well.

I dug up some mp3s after hearing that their latest album (not necessarily that new; it came out in 2003 in the UK) was just released in the US. As usual, I don’t know how to describe the music but it’s Brit-pop-rock type stuff that I particularly like. Which means…I don’t know. You can download some of their songs at epitonic.com (I love “Over My Shoulder”) and listen to songs on their official site and their US site.

I’m listening to Dear Leader right now. I know I’ve heard them before but for some reason their music didn’t stick with me until Arthur played it on the stereo and…hey, sounds good. I could describe their music but it would be easier if you listened to it yourself.

What to do in March? See Levy perform every Wednesday night at Pianos! I’d be tempted to go every week if it were freeeee but I’ll make sure to go at least once.

Totally random: Sin-é is pronounced “shin-ay”? I don’t know why I find that funny but …I do.

Both Kings of Convenience shows at Bowery Ballroom next week are sold out but they will be performing on Carson Daly on Monday, Feb 7th. You can reserve tickets at 1iota.com. Of course, if you really want to go to the shows you should just go to Bowery Ballroom since they usually have extra tickets. And by the way, I AM SO CRAZY EXCITED LOOK AT THIS CRAZINESS IT’S ALL IN CAPS!!! KOC I LOVES YOUUUU. And by the way, I still can’t really tell Erlend’s and Eirik’s voices apart but by seeing them play maybe I will learn…

Doves tickets that went on sale last week (I think?) for their show at Bowery Ballroom on March 15th are sold out too [via brooklyn vegan]. So yay! Unless you don’t have tickets. In which case…argh. Read On Louder’s overview of the new Doves album.

I made a page for Guero related news, which would be just about any new Beck news, but there ye go. Information page, not a blog. That’s the difference.

Here’s an example of a non-Guero related thing. Launch party hosted by Beck and Kirstin Dunst: wow, that’s random. Another one: The Secret Life of Beck Hansen. I’m not sure what to think about it. Should I change EVERYTHING I think I know about Beck based on this one article? I’d rather not. As I have no experience with Scientology nor do I know anyone who follows it, I don’t have much of an opinion about it. But I’ll look at it like I look at other religions/cults: people are nuts, or a few of them are nuts. I’m even more sure of this after being made to read the bible in school.

I won’t go into that. It has nothing to do with music. LALALA.

Lastly, as always, Magnet should come back to the US. If I keep saying this it’s bound to happen, even if it takes a few months/years. If he opened for Doves like he did in the UK some time ago that would be awesome, but I’m sure he won’t. I had the teeny tiny hope Magnet would tour with Doves the last time they were in the US but I think the Rapture opened, or maybe Elbow.

Oh, I got the new Beck EP on iTunes for free for signing up an account through paypal (because you get five free tracks). Sweeet.

I like the new Hot Hot Heat single, “Goodnight Goodnight”, and Pitchfork does too.