Kingblind Top 15 Albums on 2005 (The near misses)

In the middle of our countdown we wanted to let you know about the near misses in our top 15 records of the year. They are some fine, fine records that are totally worthy of your hard earned cash. Soooooo let’s take a look.

Beck:: Guero
With this, his eighth proper album, Beck has shed himself of Sea Change’s need to shelter himself in his songs. We have our urban craftsman back, to stir the dust in sampled record grooves and unearth for us, again and again, the new in the old and vice versa. Post-every-post, we have Beck. Welcome back old friend
Que Ondo Guero:: (MP3)
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The New Pornographers:: Twin Cinema
Twin Cinema is another great pop album from the New Pornographers, a release that’s crammed with so many memorable melodies that the bumpier moments fade into the background.
USE IT:: (MP3)
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Go Team:: Thunder, Lightning, Strike
Thunder, Lightning, Strike is simply amazing. It is filled with boundless, glorious noise, sewing together flamboyance, quirkiness, sturdy sampling, and a well-traveled feel that can take you anywhere you want to go.
Bottle Rocket:: (Music Video .WMV)
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Iron & Wine + Calexico :: In The Reins [EP]
If it was a foregone conclusion that the long-awaited Iron & Wine/Calexico team-up wouldn’t result in anything revelatory (or incendiary, as it were), it was almost as inevitable that it would be rewarding all the same; safe, not sorry, sad and elegant as ever.

M.I.A.:: Arular
M.I.A.’s debut record is both intensely urban and aggressively modern. The group’s sole member, Maya Arul, infuses her blend of hip-hop and chunky electro with raw, tribal overtones and a healthy dose of sex appeal. There are elements of world music here, in Arul’s multilingual vocal as well as the tonal shifts and instrumentation (like the drone that opens up “Hombre”). Her delivery uses a variety of yelps and tics full of street-wise confidence and bratty energy. But there’s also an appealing melodic sense, like early Neneh Cherry or Miss Kitten when she’s not in diva mode. M.I.A. doesn’t really sound like anybody; the music is just experimental enough to wiggle out of easy comparisons. The IDM-style bleeps and beeps of “Galang,” for example, give an already catchy song extra punch. The only problem with the record, a common flaw for debuts, is a sameness from track to track which robs it of the ability to surprise. Still, Arul is hugely talented and her abundant originality packs a wallop.
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Kingblind.com Top 15 Albums of 2005 (#9 thru #5)

Well folks here it is… our final top 15 albums of 2005. From 38 writers in 8 countries we have tallied all the votes, crunched the numbers and POW… this is it… broken down into 3 groups (15 to 10. – 9 to 5. then 4 to 1.) Here is our list. And just in case you are wondering, the number 1 was a real bitch. We thought that a tie might be in order, however, we did finally decide on just ONE… Well enough talking.. ONTO THE LIST!!! Number 9 thru number 5

5) LCD Soundsystem:: S/T
In the same way that Trail of Dead’s Source Tags and Codes was a homage to Sonic Youth and other ’80s underground favorites, LCD Soundsystem is also a tribute of sorts. To all of the great electronic and alternative artists that are finally getting their due (The Fall, Can, This Heat, Brian Eno, etc), this album is a direct product of their contributions. Only the very best can pay tribute without coming off as total poseurs. James Murphy has paid his dues for years and played an important role in bringing his musical heroes back into the popular consciousness. And while LCD Soundsystem is grounded in the past, quality and talent make it an album deserving to be listened to for years to come.
Tribulations:: (Quicktime Music Video)
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6) Kanye West:: Late Registration
West blew up last year with the bling/backpack synthesis of The College Dropout, the preppy-fabulous debut smash that people still can’t stop arguing about. For some, Dropout proves hip-hop is in a rut, as an example of what everybody else isn’t doing; for others, it proves hip-hop is still evolving, as music nobody outside hip-hop could make. Whatever your pet theory on the state of hip-hop, Dropout gave you a challenge, flaws and all. But Late Registration is an undeniable triumph. And an easy choice as one of the best albums of 2005
Golddigger:: (MP3)
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7)Animal Collective:: Feels
Feels is a big, daring collection with recurring themes of psychedelia, folk-rock, prog-rock, jazz, and modern classical composition. Above all the album is cohesive and tangible. This music spreads out ethereally, pulsates, and is ambitious and strange, punctuated by echoes of George Harrison, Brian Wilson, and Motown. Animal Collective seems more inspired by the elements within, rather than in an imitation of that music: There are bombastic drums that would be at home on Pet Sounds on the dynamically thrilling “Grass,” and on “Flesh Canoe” there are guitar voicings taken from the pages of Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. Perhaps the loveliest of domestic love songs exists in “Purple Bottle,” a relaxed transitional ripple that has not one but three build-and-release crescendos. Lead by Avey Tare, AC can be gentle and engulfing, but then will just as easily bare its teeth, even on a beautiful washy song like “Bees” where fright mingles with an rusted autoharp, a spare confluence of harmonized voices, and tucked-in, dreamy synthesizers. On “Daffy Duck” AC tries on a late-’90s Aphex Twin mood, just without the metallic, chrome coldness, and that idea envelopes into an identifiable heart-on-sleeve yearning. Feels should restore faith in the idea that rock musicians can take time and create complete albums that are equally bold, inventive, and meaningful–a far cry from the current vogue of releasing a collection of disparate singles as an album.
Grass:: (MP3)
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8) Wolf Parade:: Apologies To The Queen Mary
Apologies to the Queen Mary is a diamond in the rough – though the rough is duly eclipsed by the shine of the diamond. Despite its filthy surroundings, it is plainly glorious for all to see.
You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son:: (MP3)
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9) My Morning Jacket:: Z
It’s both rare and marvelous to hear a good band make its first really great album. This hasn’t been an era for disciplined, focused LPs, which makes listening to My Morning Jacket’s Z—with its 10 fantastic tracks packed tightly into 47 minutes—so bracing that it’s hard to trust. Maybe Z is all surface, and will tear easily with repeated use. And isn’t it kind of choppy? My Morning Jacket usually follows a smoothed-out boom-and-twang sound, but Z is all over the map stylistically, and the songs don’t fit together too neatly. Or maybe they do. Better play it again. It’s not hard.
Wordless Chorus:: (.Mov Audio)
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Kingblind.com Top 15 Albums of 2005 (#10 thru #15)

Well folks here it is… our final top 15 albums of 2005. From 38 writers in 8 countries we have tallied all the votes, crunched the numbers and POW… this is it… broken down into 3 groups (15 to 10. – 9 to 5. then 4 to 1.) Here is our list. And just in case you are wondering, the number 1 was a real bitch. We thought that a tie might be in order, however, we did finally decide on just ONE… Well enough talking.. ONTO THE LIST!!!
Number 15 thru number 10

10) The High Strung:: Moxie Bravo
How do you lose one of your guitarist and song writers and then figure out how to do it all as a trio?? Personally I have no idea… But the Detriot trio The High Strung has and in the process they have quickly become one the best bands around.. their latest record “Moxie Bravo” has all the best bits of the early Kinks and The Who all wrapped up in one brilliant package.. Great .. Just flat out great.
A Real Meal Ticket:: (MP3)
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11) Paul McCartney:: Chaos and Creation in the backyard
It is far and away the most solid record he’s delivered since the mid-’70s. His decision to make the album with producer Nigel Godrich, known for his work with Radiohead, Air, and Beck, is just as significant as it looks on paper, in addition to making Chaos and Creation one of the best-sounding albums of McCartney’s solo career.
Jenny Wren:: (MP3)
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12) Queens of the Stone Age:: Lullibies to Paralyze
Simply put, there is no other rock band in 2005 that is as pleasurable to hear play as QOTSA — others may rock harder or take more risks, but no one has the command and authority of Queens at their peak, which they certainly are here. They are so good, so natural on Lullabies to Paralyze that it’s easy to forget that they just lost Oliveri, but that just makes Homme’s triumph here all the more remarkable. He’s not only proven that he is the driving force of Queens of the Stone Age, but he’s made an addictive album that begs listeners to get lost in its ever-shifting moods and slyly sinister sensuality.
In my head:: (Music Video)
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13) Crooked Fingers:: Dignity and Shame
The fourth full-length installment from Eric Bachmann & Co., Dignity and Shame is twelve powerful songs of love, lost and found, illustrated by Bachmann’s heartbreaking yet newly hopeful lyrics. From the bold trumpet and decidedly Spanish mariachi guitars on the opening instrumental Islero to his trusty lap steel and sparse, captivating piano notes, Eric Bachmann and his Crooked Fingers continue to redefine a sound that simply cannot be pigeonholed.
Call to Love:: (MP3)
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14) Antony & the Johnsons:: I am a Bird Now
As whole, the record is hardly notable for its special guests; the beauty of Antony’s singing, the ferociousness of his delivery, the profundity of his songs, and the unflinching nature make the disc truly transcend such. Just the fact that this beautiful record evokes so much emotion and opinion (both postive and negitive) is truly an astounding task.
You are my sister:: (Music Video)
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15) Gorillaz:: Demon Days
Less accessible than its eponymous predecessor, it creates a darker, less cartoonish world where hip-hop, brit-rock, electronica and Dennis Hopper monologues all seem perfectly at home. Great stuff.
Feel Good Inc:: (Music Video)
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Kingblind’s Top 15 Albums of 2005 UPDATE

Kingblind.com is busy finishing our top 15 albums of 2005.. We will return on Monday with the complete list… Enjoy the holidays.

Kingblind Downloads

The Mars Volta:: Scabdates
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New York Dolls/ Johnny Thunders:: Street Trash
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Drive-By Truckers: 2005-07-26, Cincinnati
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Sun Kil Moon:: Tiny Cities (Album Review)

At the risk of being excoriated repeatedly by The Modest Mouse Club, I must first admit that the only record I own of theirs is Good News for People Who Love Bad News, perhaps the most displeasing entry in the band’s catalogue for fans, and I haven’t listened to that for, like, three months. I know, I know. It’s criminal that I would dare examine Sun Kil Moon’s Tiny Cities without first understanding the preexisting emotional resonances of the songs included. It’s criminal because I’m encroaching upon a space from which I have actively sequestered myself. It’s criminal because it took Mark Kozelek to show me that behind Isaac Brock’s disconcerting, awkward vox is a strong lyrical foundation. But here’s the thing: all that doesn’t really matter.

It doesn’t matter because there are two types of tributes: those that are merely rote rehashes (you know, Eve 6 cover bands and such) meant solely to evoke happiness through precise nostalgia and those that view music as a reconstructive endeavor—those that see each note and lyric of every song as conditional appearances. Neither supercedes the other when they encounter a tyro’s ear, but the latter possesses the most puissance because of its transformative nature. Song is best viewed as an incomplete science offered by its creator as a challenge to all of us; a challenge to unravel, to decipher, to deconstruct, and especially to reconfigure. Tiny Cities, while lacking in certain respects, does all these.

A striking feature of the entire album is its brevity. Ghosts of The Great Highway was marked by density and extension, layered narratives and visceral characters, presented no more wondrously than in the 14-minute opus of “Duk Koo Kim.” With a total run time a little over 30 minutes, Tiny Cities requires a paradoxical speed to understanding the tales described since songs seem to blossom as quickly as they furl. Sometimes you feel that this was definitely to the album’s detriment, especially on “Space Travel Is Boring.” The orchestral support never feels as though it was offered the chance to expand the sonic parameters and was instead thrown in almost without consideration. “Dramamine” presents the same phenomenon, since when the backing band enters there’s only a little under two minutes left and the piece has exhausted its transformative effects. The collapsed nature of the album is a bit surprising given Kozelek’s historical strength with extended soundscapes.

This still doesn’t terribly dilute the album’s aggregate impact, and many will surely appreciate the ease with which the lyrics and themes of the originals were translated into the acoustic environ. Kozelek doesn’t seem to derive the strength of the songs from public foreknowledge—except, perhaps, on his quotidian rendition of “Ocean Breathes Salty”—and instead employs his own strengths and, this is key, interpretations. Slight inflections and vocal emphases create perceptible changes in mood and tone and Kozelek once again does both deftly, so though he may not have written the songs themselves, he is undoubtedly the source of each one’s momentum.

In the long run, however, Tiny Cities should not be considered anything more than an interesting exercise of Kozelek’s tiniest muscles or a musical junket into slightly different territory. This fact is especially true for those of us who appreciate the man more than the message and even the opposite. Cover albums are tricky things because they conjure some of the most vivid memories and tell you to consider only the contours while the rest is reformed. The greatest impediment to the endeavor may ironically be those that are the most appreciative of the songs since they will be the least open to the process. I’m particularly dispassionate about Modest Mouse’s efforts, and even with Kozelek’s laudable work on this outing I feel that something more robust could have emerged had the roots been original.

MC5 in Federal Court !!!

All is not well in Detriot rock city.. CLICK TO READ

Kingblind Downloads

Mark Eitzel:: My Pet Rat St Michael
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Clem Snide:: A Parable
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Sufjan Stevens:: The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
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Link Wray Dead at 76

Link Wray died in his Copenhagen home on November 5th at the age of 76. Sometimes credited as the ‘inventor’ of the power chord, Wray was an important figure in rock music, especially in the aesthetic development of subversive and underground forms of rock music. He was buried in Copenhagen on Friday, November 18th, with his family in attendance.

Wray’s most famous song was “Rumble,” which became a success in 1958. Despite its relative tameness today, the discordant sound of the single back then was enough to get banned by many radio stations. Though he didn’t win over conservative music listeners, he influenced everyone from John Lennon and Quentin Tarantino to Pete Townsend and John Kerry.

In addition to the power chord (a mainstay in punk and heavy metal), Wray was also known to experiment with the clarity of sound. As stated on his official website: “Link virtually invented fuzz tone by deliberately punching holes in his amplifier speakers. He was also a true pioneer of the use of distortion on instrumental rock recordings.”

Wray continued touring the latter part of his life, playing 40 concerts in America this year alone. He is survived by his wife Olive and son Oliver Christian Wray. Please visit Wray’s official website for more information.

Kingblind Downloads

Mogwai – Peel Sessions
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Elliott Smith: 1999-04-05, Columbus
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Spoon:: July 16th, 2005 at Coney Island (Siren Festival) in Brooklyn, NY
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Pete Doherty’s Ex-Manager Erased From ‘Albion’ Video

The man accused of selling pictures of Kate Moss snorting Cocaine has been digitally erased from Babyshambles new video.

The original version of the ‘Albion’ video contained a snippet of Pete Doherty and James Mullard walking in Trafalgar Square together.

But Doherty’s ex-manager Mullard – allegedly linked to the leaking of the ‘Cocaine Kate’ snaps – has had his face disguised in the video.

Mullard can now only be seen as a pixilated image in the promo.

Despite the allegations, Mullard has consistently denied any involvement in selling the snaps, and sees him being erased out of the promo vid as petty.

He told the London Evening Standard: “It is annoying. It is so petty.

“I think the record company did it believing it would be a feather in their cap keeping Pete happy. But Pete isn’t a vindictive person and I don’t think he would have ordered it.”

‘Albion’ is released on November 28.

Kingblind Downloads

Clash City Rockers (live, .mov)
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Pearl Jam w/ Sleater-Kinney:: Harvest Moon (Neil Young Cover)
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Wolf Parade:: You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son
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Richard Hell and the Voivods:: Love Comes in Spurts
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Dangerdoom:: The Mouse and the Mask (Album Review)

Though oddball MC MF Doom and DJ Danger Mouse are staunch advocates of the hip-hop underground, they’ve both flirted (or are currently flirting) with mainstream acceptance: DM made the CNN crawl with his now infamous Grey Album mash-up of the Beatles and Jay-Z, and is now getting maximum verbiage for the new Gorillaz album, and Doom was a member of 3rd Bass/major-label approved outfit KMD, and has contributed verses and beats to a host of heavy-hitting albums (Ghostface Killa, etc.) over the past few years. Fans of all shapes and sizes have drooled at the prospect of a collaboration between these two outrageous talents, but it almost seemed like too perfect an opportunity, leading some fans to wonder whether the dream would be better than the reality. A cross-marketing effort with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, The Mouse and the Mask is a whirligig of sidewinding production and Doom’s alien flow, enhanced by a host of cameos by characters from Space Ghost, Harvey Birdman and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Rather than detract from the funkified weirdness, the guest spots from the Adult Swim crew actually add to the craziness — in some cases, as with Master Shake’s series of angry/pensive voicemails, they provide a thematic thread in which Doom can get lost. From a base hip-hop level, The Mouse… features some of Danger Mouse’s most adventurous beats to date, surpassing even the rhythms he formulated for Jemini and Cee-Lo. Freed from the constraints of Gorillaz’s commercial reputation, he appears here a man reborn, unleashing an unrelenting torrent of bass-booming tracks that utilize cartoon string sections, jerky time signatures and backwards-looping spliff-wasted samples. Doom makes a perfect vocal foil; his avuncular flow and lunatic ramblings wrap phantasmagoric tales around DM’s beats and hooks, his tongue still flapping as it’s ripped out of his face by boogeyman breaks and hairpin hooks. The album’s concept could well have turned into a forty minute commercial for the network; it’s a testament to the two artists’ abilities that they integrated talking food, bumbling superheroes and birdman lawyers into their stew so smoothly. “A.T.H.F.” is Doom’s paean to Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but it’s delivered with such tongue-twisted aplomb that it’s difficult to discern its actual meaning without a lyric sheet. “Space Ho’s” features a hilarious back-and-forth between Doom and Space Ghost, with SG sounding like an agitated Bill Curtis as he fights to keep his show from falling into the hands of the masked villain. “El Chupa Nibre” and “Old School” are largely devoid of cartoon cameos, but their beats wiggle and squirm as if they’re being devoured by fire ants, while a marijuana-crazed Doom wrestles with his psyche and tries to beat the bugs out of his brain. Not since Prince Paul first unleashed 3 Feet High and Rising has a hip-hop album come out of leftfield with such commercial potential — but then again, that’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from these guys. The Mouse and the Mask won’t be everybody’s cup of tea; crunk crazies and clubbers probably won’t have the patience to digest it, but then, they probably don’t watch Adult Swim, either. (– Jason Jackowiak)

Hives Hot To Record New Album

Swedish rock act the Hives has begun working on material for its next studio album, which it hopes to have ready for a fall 2006 release via Interscope. “It’s so new,” frontman Pelle Almvqist said of the latest Hives songs. “We haven’t played any of the songs live yet, but there’s some really good ideas floating around.”

The group just finished a tour of Japan and Australia, likely the last shows it will play in support of its 2004 album “Tyrannosaurus Hives.” That set debuted at No. 33 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 171,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“We’re not too fond of time off, actually,” Almvqist says. “We’re in this band because we like being in it, and time away is good so you don’t burn out, but I’ll give it two weeks before we want to start working again.”

Although the details haven’t been finalized, the artist says the Hives are mulling a new approach for the next album, “because the last three albums have been done the same way, with the same guy just recording us. We want to get the songs in order first but then we’ll do it some way different. We don’t really know how yet, but we have some ideas about different producers or recording it in a different place.”

Fans will be tided over with the Nov. 22 release of the DVD “Tussles in Brussels,” which Almvqist says has “all the building blocks of a good, proper Hives show,” plus a cover of Dion and the Belmonts’ “Born To Cry.” The DVD is rounded out by new videos for “Abra Cadaver” and “A Little More for Little You” shot in Memphis by director John Michael McCarthy.

Almvqist recalls, “We’d always wanted to do something with him, and we said, ‘Do you want to shoot a video? We have seven hours before sound check.’ And he said he really wanted to, and he’ll make two! So we made two videos in seven hours, but they both turned out really cool. If you have a good idea, you can do it pretty quickly. It doesn’t have to cost $1 million, either. Same thing with making records, actually.”

Also included is a faux Hives documentary narrated by Little Steven Van Zandt. “Apparently Bruce Springsteen saw us on TV and kind of introduced Steven to us, which is weird enough as it is,” Almvqist says with a chuckle. “When they got to Sweden on an E Street Band tour, they looked us up and had us come down to the show. We’ve been friends since.”

The tongue-in-cheek film was a reaction against typical “behind-the-scenes” footage of bands, according to Almvqist. “We bought like 10 or 12 DVDs before we made this to see what other bands had done, and most band documentaries keep to the formula,” he says. “Oh, we’re at a radio station doing an interview! Let’s film that! We’re meeting a crazy fan. Let’s film that! We’re shooting out the window of the van while traveling. Let’s film that! We just said that anything as far removed from that as possible would be good, so we made a movie.”

Which Ministry album are you?

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Kingblind Downloads

Bill Cosby:: Talks to the kids about drugs
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Charged G.B.H. – City Baby Attacked By Rats
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Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers – L.A.M.F. The Lost ‘77 Mixes
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Gorillaz, the world’s more popular virtual band, won Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon on November 3rd, 2005. Afterwards, they took the stage to play “Feel Good Inc” live.
CLICK TO VIEW Requires Quicktime

Low rebounds from bassist’s exit, sets tour plans

Despite bassist Zak Sally’s recent departure, Minnesota-bred slowcore standard-bearers Low have mapped out a late-winter tour schedule with a new bassist.

The trio will tackle a couple of early December shows in their native state before gearing up for the tour’s proper start in late January. Bass player Matt Livingston–a veteran of Low frontman Alan Sparhawk’s side project, Retribution Gospel Choir–has been selected to replace Sally, and will make his debut at the band’s Dec. 9 show in Minneapolis.

Low will then set out on a string of dates that kicks off Jan. 26 in Milwaukee and currently runs well into February.

Low is continuing to support “The Great Destroyer,” which hit stores in January. Produced by David Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev,) the album was the band’s seventh full-length release and first on the Sub Pop label.

This is the second time Sally has parted ways with Low. He left the band in early 2003, only to rejoin when Low was asked to open for Radiohead on their summer tour. His resignation letter was posted on the band’s website.

“On a personal level, I can’t hope to express what the folks that have helped, supported and listened during my 12 year tenure in Low have meant to me,” Sally wrote in his letter. “This band has been my entire adult life, and I had a hell of a ride. Thanks for everything. Take care, all of you. I mean it. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
December 2005
9 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
10 – Duluth, MN – Sacred Heart

January 2006
26 – Milwaukee, WI – Miramar Theatre
27 – Chicago, IL – Logan Square Auditorium
28 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
30 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
31 – Toronto, Ontario – Lees Palace

February 2006
1 – Montreal, Quebec – Cabaret Music Hall
3 – Brooklyn, NY – South Paw
4 – Washington, DC – Black Cat
6 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
25 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
27 – Salt Lake City, UT – In The Venue

March 2006
1 – Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
2 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
3 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
4 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
6 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
7 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
9 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Richards on Richards

Kingblind Downloads

Almost entire Cypress Hill catalog available online (Free & Legal)
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Spoon: 2005-11-05, New York
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Decemberists: 2005-10-27, Seattle
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Outkast’s ‘Idlewild’ Bumped To Next Year

Originally planned for release earlier this year and then bumped to December, the soundtrack to the OutKast film “Idlewild” has now been removed from LaFace/Jive’s 2005 schedule. Group member Big Boi said over the weekend at the Vibe Awards that it would appear sometime during the first quarter of 2006, but a label spokesperson says there is no confirmed date.

“We’re trying to pick the single right now. It’s all about a gut instinct,” Big Boi said at the Vibe Awards.

The change in the soundtrack’s release date has apparently had a corresponding affect on the roll-out of the movie, which HBO Films was eyeing for early January. A company spokesperson says a new date has yet to be nailed down.

“Idlewild” is set in the 1930s, and Big Boi says that period in history has rubbed off on some of the music. “In our own little way,” he said earlier this summer. “Just with the Ragtime feel. It’s hip-hop. It’s OutKast. It is what we’ve been doing for years. Some songs have a little more piano or whatever, but the whole project was a natural progression from a double CD. It was like, where do we go from here?”

Big Boi stressed, “This is an OutKast album. It isn’t like a soundtrack where we go get this person or that person.” (Gail Mitchell, N.Y. and Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. billboard)

REM and Patti Smith reunite!

REM guitarist Peter Buck joined Patti Smith onstage in Seattle at the weekend.

The union came at Smith’s sold-out performance at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle (November 11), owned by Buck’s wife.

After an acoustic set by Smith and her guitarist Lenny Kaye, Buck, along with other members of his Minus 5 collective Bill Rieflin, John Ramberg and Scott McCaughey, came on for an eight-song set of Patti classics and a few covers, including Bob Dylan’s ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and garage rock classic ‘Pushin’ Too Hard’ by The Seeds.

For the encore The Minus 5 came back on for a version of Smith’s ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Nigger’ to close the evening’s proceedings.

Smith has long been a pal of REM – she guested on the band’s 1996 Top Five UK hit ‘E-Bow The Letter’, and joined the band in London’s Hyde Park for a version of the song this summer.

Kingblind Downloads

Various Artists – Badasss Cinema: Music of Blaxplotation Films
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Zodiac Mindwarp – Tattooed Beat Messiah
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Guided By Voices:: The Electrifying Conclusion (DVD Clips)
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Fox puts abrupt stop to ‘Arrested Development’

There was no official announcement — there rarely is when the networks wield the ax — but after two and half wonderfully funny seasons, Fox’s Emmy-winning “Arrested Development” is dead.

Network TV’s best comedy has been abruptly pulled from the Fox schedule for the rest of November sweeps and has had its `order” for this season cut from 22 episodes to 13.

The episodes that have already been filmed will be burned off in December and, as of January, “Arrested” will vanish, the victim of low (really low) viewership.

Also whacked: “Kitchen Confidential” — one of the season’s better new comedies — which followed “Arrested Development” on Monday nights. It has also been pulled from November schedule (the two sitcoms will be replaced by repeats of “Prison Break”) and its final installments will also show up in December. “Kitchen Confidential” only got to air three episodes but its audience was even smaller than the one for “Arrested Development.”

Kingblind Downloads

IRON & WINE with CALEXICO:: Live At The Triple Door 2005
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Robert Fripp & Brian Eno:: John Peel’s Top Gear
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Rogue Wave:: Descended Like Vultures (Album Review)

In Magnet magazine, Rogue Wave leader Zach Rogue explained the title of his sophomore album by saying that “the vulture is one who judges.” Okay. And then, less than four minutes into said album, Rogue sings, “You could never publish my love.” Where’s the love, Zach? Haven’t you been reading your press? We love you, dude.

Unlike Rogue Wave’s timid debut, Vultures blazes forward with the kind of assured bravado not usually seen this side of U2. Whether it’s introspective ballads like “California” or the window-rattling bombast of the album’s first single, “10:1,” Zach Rogue is equally adept at painting sweeping vistas or monochromatic still-lifes.

The only thing standing between Rogue Wave and arena-ready success is knee-jerk critics who might blow them off as Shins wannabees (The Ankles?). While the 31-year old Zach Rogue does share Shins frontman James Mercer’s slurred delivery and innate melodic gifts, he far surpasses Mercer in terms of sheer likability. You simply can’t argue with a line like, “Screw California/Friends that are never there;” and this from a man who lives in Oakland, no less? Like Stonehenge, Nick Drake, or the perfect plum, Vultures is so infused with Quality that it stands as a monument not just to the human spirit, but to the origin of mankind itself. This album is a minor masterpiece.

Kingblind Downloads

Pinback:: Fortress (Music Video)
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Various Artists – Soul Funk Anthems
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Various Artists – Never Give In: A Tribute to Bad Brains
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Kraftwerk DVD Details Announced

Kraftwerk have revealed details of a DVD release. The double-disc set entitled ‘Minimum-Maximum’ will feature shows from the foursome’s recent World Tour, with additional material from the Edinburgh MTV EMAs in 2003.
The DVD will be released on 5th December, and the full tracklisting is as follows:

Disc One
‘Meine Damen Und Herren’
‘The Man-Machine’
‘Planet Of Visions’
‘Tour De France 03′
‘Vitamin’
‘Tour De France’
‘Autobahn’
‘The Model’
‘Neon Lights’
‘Radioactivity’
‘Trans Europe Express’

Disc Two
‘Numbers’
‘Computer World’
‘Home Computer’
‘Pocket Calculator/Dentaku’
‘The Robots’
‘Elektro Kardiogramm’
‘Aero Dynamik’
‘Music Non Stop’
‘Aerodynamik/MTV’

Neil Diamond 12 Songs (Album Review)

Attempting to accomplish for Neil Diamond what he accomplished for Johnny Cash with 1994’s landmark American Recordings, producer Rick Rubin applies a similar aesthetic to 12 Songs, building an album from the ground up and using only Diamond and his guitar for its foundation. When considering the breadth of Rubin’s production experience with everyone from Donovan to Jay-Z, this stripped-bare approach is one that he’s employed only with the utmost discrimination, when he has the highest degree of confidence in the artist and when that approach serves a broader purpose within the artist’s career. What would become a mere gimmick in the hands of a producer with a lesser understanding of how an artist constructs an identity instead serves as an insightful “in” for reexamining that identity or even as a means of altering a career arc.

Pairing with Rubin, then, works to Diamond’s advantage, in that it gives the singer the opportunity to explore and challenge his dwindling relevance with far greater efficacy than did his self-deprecating cameo and subplot in Saving Silverman. Scraping away the velveeta from Diamond’s last run of hit singles (including his Barbra Streisand duet, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” and “Hello Again” and “Forever In Blue Jeans”), Rubin foregrounds Diamond’s strengths as a singer-songwriter throughout. Despite the fact that his songs have been recorded by hundreds of artists since the early 1960s (including Cash, who used “Solitary Man” as the subtitle for the third of his American Recordings albums in 2000), horribly dated singles like “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” and “America” have made it easy to forget that, as a songwriter, Diamond knows his way around a mean hook. Even when Rubin, serving as a strict editor, pushed Diamond in a more somber, introspective direction than he’d ever sustained for a full album, Diamond still produced a set of songs with memorable, often compelling melodies.

While the songs never disappoint—”Save Me A Saturday Night” is honestly as catchy as anything Fountains of Wayne have ever recorded, and “Captain Of A Shipwreck” hinges on some surprisingly deft turns of phrase—Diamond’s idiosyncratic vocal style, his tendency toward the needlessly theatrical delivery, occasionally comes off as perhaps too affected to take at face value. The enthusiasm he brings to the rousing “Hell Yeah,” for instance, goes over the top, drawing attention to itself such that it can be mistaken for a stunt performance, in a way that Rubin’s production never does.

By focusing so intensely on Diamond, Rubin makes it easy to overlook the first-rate contributions of the backing band he assembled for the project, including guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench of (Tom Petty’s) The Heartbreakers. One noteworthy exception, however, is the SmiLE redux treatment Brian Wilson brings to the reprised “bonus” version of “Delirious Love,” which turns an already upbeat song into a gleeful experiment in joycore pop that never becomes unduly twee. It speaks to how well-written the song is, ultimately, that “Delirious Love” is a standout track in both Wilson’s and Rubin’s reiterations.

And it speaks to how well-written each of the 12 Songs are and to how smartly executed Rubin’s production job is (this album is a full rebound from Weezer’s nearly unlistenable Make Believe) that the album stands as, if not the best of a phenomenally strong year for music, one of the most indisputably interesting pop albums of the year. 12 Songs doesn’t fully parallel American Recordings in that no one ever truly questioned Cash’s legacy, even as he and Rubin undertook to expand on it so greatly. Instead, 12 Songs reestablishes, for the first time in 30 years, Neil Diamond as a relevant figure in pop music. As strong an album as it is, it suggests that the follow-up could be even better. (Jonathan Keefe)

Win tickets to see the new film: Walk the line (The Story of Johnny Cash)

Walk The Line starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon is the amazing story of the life of music legend Johnny Cash. Wanna see the film??? Wanna win some free tickets??? No Problem!!

See the movie before it opens to the public! We are giving out ten pairs of WALK THE LINE passes for select cities.
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Kingblind Downloads

The White Stripes: Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD (9/27/05)
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Mars Volta – Scabdates
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deus:: in a bar, under the sea
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Kingblind Downloads

My Morning Jacket: 2005-11-05, Seattle (Easy Street Records in-store)
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Bonnie “Prince” Billy: “Hearts”
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The Beach Boys 1960s SMiLE – a stereo reconstruction
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MUCKY DUCKY! Peaches album will be ”more hardcore”

Peaches has revealed all about her forthcoming third album, saying she recorded in a “total L.A. experience.” Does that mean she shaved her muff?

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Peaches says that her time there was spent in great comfort and luxury. “It was amazing: I had a house, a heated pool and a studio,” she said. “I’d wake up in the morning, swim and then work on stuff.”

Lyrically, it doesn’t sound as if Peaches is hanging up the strap-ons just yet. One song, ‘Hankie Code’, deals with the practice of whacking a black snot rag in your pocket to signify you’re a giver, while ‘Two Guys for Every Girl’ extols the joys of a two-cocks-and-a-pot threeway. “The lyrics are all real dirty about guys getting down with each other, and then I join in,” Peaches enthused, moistly. “Everybody fantasizes about the two-girl thing – to hell! Guys gotta get sexy with each other!

“I feel bad for guys because girls live it out: They can be as sexual as they want with each other and with guys,” she added. “But guys get scared that they’ll be considered gay. I’m not attacking them . . . I am trying to include them.” Quite right, quite right.

Peaches has also roped in some top guests for the new record, which is due out in April. Josh Homme turned up to play some guitar, as did Feist and Peaches heroine Joan Jett. “I made sure I was in my gold bikini, pressing my ass against the studio glass for her,” Peaches said.

DFA 1979 Delay Production Of New LP

As Death From Above 1979’s legend grew this year, so too did discussion of their sophomore album, a record the band intended to start working on in the late summer/early fall when they had a brief break in their almost non-stop tour schedule.

Well, you know what they say about the best-laid plans. Along came the opportunity to tour with Nine Inch Nails and Queens Of The Stone Age, and away went recording the new album this year.

“You write the songs over the course of a long time and it’s really natural and organic and whatever, and then suddenly it’s like, OK, here’s a month, go make a record. We couldn’t do that. Well, I’m sure we could, but it wouldn’t be any good,” bassist Jesse F. Keeler said from Los Angeles as the band kicked off their biggest tour of the year. “Everyone’s so concerned about time — is there time to do this, is there time to do that? It’s sort of like, ‘Well, if you want us to rush things, I guess we can. It’s not a good idea in my mind.’”

“There’s no real structured plan right now, it’ll happen in its own time,” Sebastien Grainger said in Pensacola, Florida a week later. “I don’t want to be in a position where we start a record and then our label commands us to finish it because we have to start a touring cycle or something weird. You’re trying to make something good, that’s art, that you like, but you have to keep your business perspective in mind.”

Currently up in the air is whether the band will actually do two different versions of the record, something that was mentioned on their website earlier in the year. The plan was to do the album once as a two-piece and a second time as a full band.

“Well, that’s kind of a strange thing because it was a fleeting idea,” Grainger said. “The reason that idea even exists is because when we were talking about writing the new record, I had the idea to independently work on the songs, like in a different format. So while we were writing them as Death From Above as a two-piece, I would, as an exercise in writing, do it with a full band.”

Still, Keeler wouldn’t rule it out, saying that it could happen in the time between the completion of the new LP and its eventual release.

The only thing that is for certain is that the recording will take place at Keeler and Al-P’s Toronto studio, MSTRKRFT. The bassist and his studio partner have been busy this year, remixing tracks for Bloc Party, The Kills and Panthers, among many others, and will release an electronic LP, entitled The Looks, under the MSTRKRFT moniker in early 2006.

“We’ve been working on an LP and we just finished our first single,” Keeler said of the project. It’ll start getting distributed sooner than later. “It’s pretty dancey. It’s sort of like how Earth Wind And Fire would make house music rather than how Tiga would make house music.”

Keeler is also fairly certain working in his own studio will make it easier to do the new DFA 1979.

“Nothing went the way we wanted it to last time from beginning to end, so it was really hard. Hopefully next time it’ll be like we wanted it to be in the first place.”

Grainger places a little less emphasis on the importance of the studio in the recording process.

“It’s all the same to me, I’m not a studio nerd. It’s all about the songs for me,” he said. “If the songs sound good, they sound good. If they don’t, they don’t. I’m not that obsessed with a studio environment. I enjoy being there, but it’s mostly about if you’re doing justice to the songs or not, you don’t need thousands of dollars of equipment to do justice to a song. You can set up a mic in the middle of the room and do justice to a song. If we haven’t learned that by listening to a million recordings, from Robert Johnson to Johnny Cash, it should be about songs and not about what console it’s being recorded through.”

Right now, DFA 1979 are in the U.S., playing to thousands before QOTSA and NIN hit the stage. How in the world were the Canadian boys picked out of the crowd to open on the behemoth tour?

“Originally it wasn’t the NIN tour, it was the QOTSA tour and they asked us to do it,” Keeler said. “We had doling out mutual admiration for each other and then they asked us to do the tour. Of course we said yes. We were under the impression they were going to do a tour of really nice venues, like Roseland in New York, places like that — nice big ballrooms. So we said yes to that because it sounded pretty fucking cool. “Then somebody told us the Queens and Nine Inch Nails tours were combined. For a minute we thought maybe we weren’t going to be doing it because maybe NIN had other obligations and they’re bigger than Queens, but then we got the call that everyone said it was cool.”

“I’ve been hanging around mostly with the Queens guys,” Grainger said about three dates into the tour. “There are two separate party vibes that happen between the band. I’m more into the hanging out part of it. It’s been just like hanging out with friends. I got a chance to meet the Queens guys during the summer when we were doing festivals. There’s a part of that band that likes to indulge and then there’s a part of that band that just likes straight-up hanging out.

Kingblind Downloads

Various Artists – Illegal Art Compilation
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Various Artists – This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles Rubber Soul
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Christoper Walken – Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven
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Weezer:: BBC Sessions
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Queens Of The Stone Age to unleash double live DVD/CD

Queens Of The Stone Age are to release a double live DVD/CD featuring footage from their London summer shows at Brixton Academy and Koko.

‘Over The Years And Through The Woods’ is released on November 21 through Interscope.

Directed by Chapman Baehler, the DVD features 20 live tracks plus bonus features from throughout QOTSA’s career, including songs with Dave Grohl, Mark Lanegan and former bassist Nick Oliveri from the ‘Songs for the Deaf’ era.

“We did some commentary when we were drinking. We kind of just watched stuff and messed around. If you turn the language to French, you’ll hear us talkin’ trash,” frontman Josh Homme told Billboard.

The release also features a 15 track bonus CD.

“The songs we chose are alternate versions and different arrangements. It was a way to show wingspan, like how far out things can go,” added Homme.

QOSTA had to reschedule their summer shows in the capital after Homme was taken ill before the first attempt and the London bombings on July 7 prevented the second attempt.

Kingblind Downloads

Pinback:: AFK
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!!! Is this thing on?
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Enon:: Kanon
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Cash sets posthumous new record on album chart

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) – More than 46 years after making his first appearance on the Billboard album chart, Johnny Cash has rewritten chart history by coming up with the highest-debuting title of his career.

“The Legend of Johnny Cash,” the 41st charting album by the Man in Black, entered The Billboard 200 at No. 11 in the week ended October 30, as promotional efforts gather momentum ahead of the November 18 release of the Cash movie “Walk the Line.”

That makes this new set the third highest-charting album of Cash’s career. The only two LPs to chart higher were “Johnny Cash at San Quentin” (No. 1 for four weeks in 1969) and “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” (No. 6 in 1970). Pushed down to fourth place is “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison” (No. 13 in 1968).

On the Top Country Albums list, “The Legend of Johnny Cash” bowed at No. 3 and is the 75th Cash album to chart. It is the highest-ranking album by the late country veteran since “American IV: The Man Comes Around” peaked at No. 2 the week of September 27, 2003, shortly after his death. Of Cash’s 75 chart entries on the tally, nine have achieved pole position, six have reached the runner-up spot and four have gone to No. 3.

Since Cash appeared on the very first country album chart, published in January 1964, he once again holds the record for the longest chart span, which now stretches to almost 42 years. Cash has to share that record with George Jones, who also appeared on that very first country album chart. Jones slipped to No. 34 last week with “Hits I Missed… And One I Didn’t.”

Beastie Boys:: Live from MSG video (Brass Monkey)

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Dangerdoom – ‘The Mouse And The Mask’ (Album Review)

Having made a name for himself thanks to the utterly ace Jay Z/Beatles bootleg “Grey Album”, the musically multifarious Dangermouse returns minus regular rhymer Gemini but instead bearing the super-scary MF Doom aka the Mask by his side.

Now that Mouse and Gorillaz have proven that cartoon can be cool, DM takes it one paw-print further by embarking on a rollicking ride through stoner-centric samples from US comedy “Adult Swim” and space-age “Star Trek”-esqe soundscapes. Whether bouncy backdrops, swelling string sets or tightly packed b-boy beats, the whiskered-one manages to be irreverent and inventive at the same time. A mind-muddling medley of animated aurals, superbly stuttered sampling and drop-dead delicious drum patterns, it’s the ideal blanket of beats for a high-calibre rapper to lay down skewered stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

Over on mic duty and Doom is indeed a metaphor monster, a slaughter of similes and quite simply one of the sharpest spitters around. “Back when the mask was brand spanking new; before it got rusted from drankin’ all the brew,” he raps with ease on the screw-ish styled strings of “Sofa King”. Skip a couple of tracks and he’s script-flipping just as effortlessly on “Basket Case”. “I accidentally spilt some kerosene/ And dozed off with the L lit, doped up on thorazine. Matter of fact, make mines a double.” The former KMD-er occasionally veers off into the down-right confusing, but it matters not; in fact his random raps match the music perfectly.

Doom isn’t the only royal rhymer though, as Talib Kweli waxes lyrical on the ’70s Shaft sounding “Old School Rules” and the Wallie Don himself, Ghostface Killah is in the hizouse for “The Mask”. Similarly, another of rap’s under-rated, Cee Lo Green sounds spectacular on the beautiful ‘Benzie Box” – watch out for a forthcoming album from Green and Mouse coming soon.

Today however, it’s the DM & Doom show. Occasionally there’s an unspoken battle between the two as the beats and rhymes jostle for ones full attention. It’s on the acerbic uttering of “No Names (Black Debbie)” though that the two halves truly become whole. “They raps ain’t got no gift like a lonely Christmas,” says Doom over Mouse’s moving electro-esqe, strutting sonica. Proof once more, that you can be experimental, extreme and eccentric but be excellently hip hop all at the same time.

Kingblind Downloads

Elliott Smith: 1996-03-30, New York
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Mesh: Under the Covers free and legal album download
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Godspeed You Black Emperor! March 16th, 2003- St. Louis, MO
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The White Stripes Announce Details Of Special EP Of covers and live tracks…

The White Stripes have announced details of a special rarities and covers EP. The five-track release called ‘Walking With A Ghost’ features a cover of the title track originally by due Tegan and Sara. All the remaining four live tracks were recorded in Brazil or for KCRW. The EP is available to download from November 14 and hits the shelves in a physical release on December 5.
‘Walking With A Ghost’ tracklisting is as follows:

1.‘Walking With a Ghost’
2.‘Same Boy You’ve Always Known’ (live in Manaus, Brazil)
3.‘As Ugly As I Seem’ (live on KCRW)
4.‘The Denial Twist’ (live on KCRW)
5.‘Screwdriver’ (live in Manaus, Brazil)

Kingblind Downloads

The Magic Numbers – live at Hultsfred Festival 2005
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XTC: “Spiral”
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My Morning Jacket: 2005-10-26, Cincinnati, Oh
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Boards Of Canada:: The Campfire Headphase (Album Review)

The last full-length release from Boards Of Canada (Geogaddi) came out three years ago and in the meantime there have been whispers upon rumours upon hearsay about when they would finally release a new album. I remember some talk about an album coming out during the leap year (2004), but as with most talk about the reclusive duo, it never came to fruition. Instead, they took their time and finally announced that their next album would be called The Campfire Headphase with very little dramatics other than the overzealous fans who found themselves flipping out at a release date finally set in stone (or at least some very soft chalk).

Soon after the announcement about their album was made, supposed leaks of the release hit filesharing systems with a vengence and opinions were soon posted near and far regarding whether they were the real deal or not. Most of the leaks were debunked as tracks by other artists or by overzealous unknown artists trying to make a name for themselves, but the underlying question about the music itself raised some interesting questions. There was a time (close to the release of (Music Has The Right To Children) where the music of Boards Of Canada was something that was unique and stood out from a good majority of artists creating similar-sounding efforts. Their mysterious, almost hermit-like reclusiveness only added to the equation, but there was no question that their music inhabited an almost singular world, and it gained them a huge, almost rabid following.

I hinted at it before, but when the supposed leaks of the new Boards Of Canada spread across the internet, the odd thing wasn’t how fast they were shot down as fakes, but how long it often took to actually debunk them as so. In only a couple of years, the group went from inhabiting a small, nearly self-created fraternity to being questioned whether their music was actually what people were saying it was. In the past 5 years especially, software and hardware advances have made it possible for just about anyone with enough time on their hands to mimic what the group was such a spearhead of back in the day.

I have to admit that I was really looking forward to The Campfire Headphase as much as a lot of people, but after listening to it time after time, it’s sometimes hard for me to believe that it’s even the same group that blew my mind with their earlier releases. As I explained above, it’s a matter of everyone else finally catching up with them, and in the case of their newest album, the duo doesn’t do enough to distinguish themselves from the hoards creating similar-sounding music. After opening with the noodly intro of “Into The Rainbow Vein,” the release launches into “The Chromakey Dreamcoat,” and despite a clever take on the popular musical as the title, the track just sort of noodles around with a repeated, slightly out-of-key guitar loop, a couple melodic synth washes, and some fairly standard programmed beats.

“Satellite Anthem Icarus” again shuffles along with a strummed acoustic guitar melody and several layers of fluttering analogue synths, but the result is fairly languid while “Dayvan Cowboy” literally sounds like a completely generic instrumental trip-hop track that could have poured out of the mixing table of just about any bedroom producer. It’s innocuous and clean, and just interesting enough that it will probably be used for backing in about 10 different corporate commercials if the duo feels like doing some licensing with The Campfire Headphase (and honestly, I wouldn’t blame them).

That’s not to say that the whole album is a wash, because there are moments where the magic of the group really shines through. “Peacock Tail” is a lovely, psychedelic ambient piece that’s on a par with anything off their great (In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country EP) while “Hey Saturday Sun” is a swirling folk trip-out that almost perfectly blends their old styles with touches of new (guitar and analogue synth melodies twirl around one another in slightly eerie ways). Another highlight is “Slow This Bird Down,” which clocks in at over six minutes and shuffles along with almost unnerving, panning washes of otherworldly synths and some sputtering beats. Sadly enough, though, The Campfire Headphase is a letdown from the duo who has at least seemingly always managed to stay slightly ahead of their contemporaries. I don’t fault them for trying some new things, but the results are mixed at best. Others may find it to be just what they were looking for, but I can’t help but feel let down.

Kingblind Downloads

The Mars Volta: Live in Concert
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The Fiery Furnaces:: Some rarities
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Prince:: Purple rain live
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Green Day’s 9 minute uncensored “Jesus Of Suburbia” video
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Super Furry Animals / Caribou hit the road

Beginning tonight, the creature-centric cavalcade comprised of Super Furry Animals and Caribou will migrate across the U.S. and Canada, grazing through a city near yous. Hailing from what are arguably the two silliest countries in existence, Wales and Canada, the mammalian pairing promises to treat the eyes as well as the ears using an uncanny tactic known as the “multimedia performance”. What a concept! As the birds begin flying south, these animals will meander approximately westward:

11-01 Montreal, Quebec – Club Soda
11-02 Toronto, Ontario – Phoenix Concert Theatre
11-05 New York, NY – Webster Hall
11-06 New York, NY – Webster Hall
11-07 Boston, MA – The Roxy
11-08 Washington DC – 9:30 Club
11-09 Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
11-10 Norfolk, VA – the NorVa
11-11 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
11-12 Atlanta, GA – The Loft
11-15 Houston, TX – Meridian Red Room
11-16 Austin, TX – La Zona Rosa
11-17 Dallas, TX – Gypsy Tea Room
11-19 Lawrence, KS – Granada
11-20 Chicago, IL – Metro
11-21 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Café
11-24 Vancouver, British Columbia – Richard’s on Richards
11-25 Seattle, WA – Neumos
11-26 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
11-28 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
11-29 Hollywood, CA – Avalon
11-30 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
12-01 San Diego, CA – House of Blues

Dan Snaith (aka Caribou, formerly Manitoba) will the comforts of off-days by tacking an additional eleven headlining shows onto this already heady tour. Catch Caribou apart from the Animals herd on these dates:

11-03 Ottawa, Ontario – Babylon
11-04 Alfred, NY – Alfred University
11-14 Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon
11-18 Tulsa, OK – The Venue
11-20 Chicago, IL – Smart Bar (DJ set)
12-04 Calgary, Alberta – Broken City
12-05 Edmonton, Alberta – Starlite Room
12-06 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Amigo’s
12-07 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Pyramid Cabaret
11-10 Waterloo, Ontario – Starlight
11-11 Hamilton, Ontario – Casbah