Attention, TMT readers: The Flaming Lips have just confirmed that they ll be performing The Soft Bul

Jonathan Meiburg from Shearwater and Damien Jurado are both sensitive dudes, so it makes sense that they would team up together for a US tour this fall, Shearwater supporting their recent The Golden Archipelago ( TMT Review ) on Matador and Jurado slingin his equally new Saint Bartlett ( TMT Review ) on Secretly Canadian. What doesn t make sense, though, is the see who can be quiet the longest contest that they seem to have decided to both participate in during their tour. Guys, I know both of your singing voices barely register bournemouth hotel england above a whisper, but is this really necessary? My money is on Jurado, as I m pretty sure Meiburg will immediately lose once he lets out his bellowing baritone every night.
Attention, TMT readers: The Flaming Lips have just confirmed that they ll be performing The Soft Bulletin scientifically proven to be one of the greatest albums in the history of music in its entirety at London s Alexandra Palace! The show, part of ATP s Don t Look Back series, will take place on July 1, 2011. But which version will they perform? The UK version? The US version? I have my money on the 5.1 version (tracklisting below).
And hey, for all of you outside of London, don t worry: I m guessing this won t be the only time the Lips will perform The Soft Bulletin in its entirety. They wouldn t want all that practicing to go to waste, right?
05. What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [In Our Brains] By Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the Big Bang That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe)
Most everybody has heard about The Morning Benders by now, but how much do we really know about this indie band from Berkeley? (Four guys from the Bay, joking about matutinal alcoholism? A likely bournemouth hotel england story!) Big Echo ( TMT Review ), contrary to what you might have assumed by the Benders surge in popularity, isn t even their first album. I mean, had you heard about them before bournemouth hotel england this spring? Yeah. Surprised? It helps when a member of Grizzly Bear co-produces. Get this, then there s also no connection with the mid-90s Calvin bournemouth hotel england Johnson/Doug Martsch project The Halo Benders. More like The Truth Benders, if you ask me.
By now, The Morning Benders have been resounding across the States and Europe since early this year, and they don t intend to put a halt to that reverb. After almost constant touring, both as headliners and supporting the likes of Broken Bells and The Black Keys, they re continuing to spread Big Echo across the plains. Look out, Europe and North America they re comin back around. Around. Around. (And then heading bournemouth hotel england to Australia for January dates, bournemouth hotel england where the echo puns change into boomerang jokes.)
The upcoming Dirty Projectors tour follows Dave Longstreth, a young owl enthralled by his father’s epic stories of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole, a mythic band of winged warriors who had fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones. While Longstreth dreams of someday joining his heroes, his older sister, Amber Coffman, scoffs at the notion, and yearns to hunt, fly, and steal her father’s favor from her younger sibling. But Coffman s jealousy has terrible consequences, causing both owlets to fall from their treetop home and right into the talons of the Pure Ones. Now it is up to Longstreth to make a daring escape with the help of other brave young owls. Together they soar across the US and through the mist to find the Great Tree, home of the legendary Guardians bournemouth hotel england of Ga’Hoole Longstreth’s only hope of defeating bournemouth hotel england the Pure Ones and saving the owl kingdoms.
Meanwhile, Dirty Projectors are releasing an expanded two-disc version of 2009 s Bitte Orca ( TMT Review ) on September 28 through Domino, which includes unreleased tunes, B-sides from the album, and a very special and intimate live acoustic performance at New York’s Other Music record store. Pre-order the expanded Bitte Orca here , download the Other Music version of Temecula Sunrise here , and keep your fingers crossed that Longstreth and the other young owls of Dirty Projectors find the Great Tree somewhere during their tour.
Considering their mutual love of playing while surrounded by fans, it only makes sense that some crafty individual conspired to get Dan Deacon and Lightning Bolt to tour together. bournemouth hotel england Or maybe it was conceived by the bands themselves? Either way, both artists will hit the road together on a quick seven-date tour this fall. Deacon is still selling copies of last year s Bromst ( TMT Review ), while Bolt are hocking their 2009 classic Earthly Delights ( TMT Review ). You may now take a few minutes bournemouth hotel england to imagine how many LATFH candidates will be at their Brooklyn, bournemouth hotel england NY tour stop. Don t say I didn t prepare you in advance.
Chicago-based band Chord, which features Trevor Shelley de Brauw of Pelican and Phil Dole of X-Bax, have announced bournemouth hotel england that their second album, Progression , will be released through Important Records this fall. If you ve never heard of Chord, well, I must admit that they have a pretty bournemouth hotel england interesting vision driving the band: The band spent its debut album exploring the possibilities of single-chord songs by selecting one chord and making it the focus of the entire song. Each member played bournemouth hotel england a separate note from the chord, and through the magic of experimenting and jamming, bada-bing bada-boom: a song was composed.
The new album is keeping the past model of one chord per song with each member playing a separate note, but this time around, bournemouth hotel england the band is getting more experimental with the composition and structure. The band selected its preferred chords and then charted out how the song would be played; one composition is free-form and tone-driven, one is controlled by shifting intensity of performance, and the third is dictated by a grid-like chart where each players note continually shifts, though the combination of voices bournemouth hotel england continue to maintain the chord.
In addition to the experimentation with composition, structure, and chord selection, the band has also assured me that, despite the CD and LP having a similar internal structure, both formats are designed to be played concurrently, forming the full six chord arc of the total piece.