The hangover is over (hah!)

What inspired me to end with such a terrible hangover?

The answer is Summercase festival.

Friday afternoon, that's when everything starts. It's 7:30 pm and Edwyn Collins is performing. Seems like a classy concert, but I can't really recognize the band, until they play this:



You should hear this song sung by Spanish people making "ee oo hh i" fuck. How to explain?




Later a fresh beer and Grinderman. Yes, you're right. Nick Cave with some weird musical project which I guess I couldn't understand. I know (because I play in a band) that playing can be very evasive. But hey, there's people in front of the stage. From what I've heard, Nick doesn't know how to compose, but did "compose" all the songs by himself. To me it was like "I want to sing this song like this, and it will sound better if you make nyaon-nyaon and you start beating your maracas against the crash while I play some notes whenever I want"

Luckily I didn't like them. I left during the fourth song to another stage, where Blondie was going to perform half an hour later. So really close, in the 4th line, there they were. Debbie Harry was looking amazing. With a black and white striped dress, a strass short jacket (more like sleeves) with holes and some amazing shoes. I can't believe she's 63.



Listen to this while you read:



Chicken skin So yeah. I wanted to see them performing forever and it was worth it completely. I can't say they played all the hits because they have so many, but every song they played was a great. It was breathtaking to hear the 40000 persons there shouting "atomic" or making the "uhu wohooo" of heart of glass.

In a moment of craziness she threw her shoes to the people. How diva!

When Blondie ended we started to run to see Interpol in the other scenario.

I love Interpol. It's the typical band that I would hate because indie kills my ears, but they are special to me. I especially enjoy the way they play with guitars and bass. The voice melody to me is irrelevant, but I'm in love with the guitar games.

It was an intense concert, but the problem is that they're not "fun" to see, and it became a bit repetitive in the end.

But they deserve a video, of course they do (it's short, but the one that sounds better)



Interpol was over and we went for more beers. Drinking beers and listening to Maxïmo Park while waiting for the Verve.

I remembered the Verve's singer as a hot guy. But oh!!! (wet panties) Again, the concert was good technically, but they forgot about the audience. In a fest like that, people can die with such quantity of almost depressed or incredibly involved with the music people.

But still songs like this made my eyes shine:



Tomorrow a review for the CRAZY Saturday

Debbie, I wanna grow like you. And of course you can hate me for my musical likes and dislikes

MUAH!!

Who the hell saw that coming?

Here’s a quick history of Interpol:

Early years: frontman Paul Banks is born in England; he soon moves to America and spends some time in Spain; he ends up at NYU where he is a double major in English and Moles; guitarist Daniel Kessler is also born in England and soon moves to America; at an early age, he evinces talent for what will eventually become passions: music and looking at the floor; bassist Carlos D, nee Carlos Dengler, is born in New Jersey; early passion for fascistic fashions evinced when he dresses up as Idi Amin for Halloween (and President’s Day and Thanksgiving); drummer and eldest member Sam Fogarino is born in Philadelphia; during the Depression, he is unable to secure employment and enrolls in the Army where he eventually attains the rank of Captain; during World War II he storms Normandy and saves Western civilization.

2002: After several years of rehearsing and gigging, band lands on seminal record label Matador and releases their debut album, Turn on the Bright Lights. Pitchfork rates the album a 9.5. Upon realizing this score is .4 points higher than the Strokes debut, TigerBeat4Ever smashes head through computer monitor.

2004: Band’s follow-up, Antics, released. Pitchfork awards album an 8.5, or 2.83 points per good song. Upon realizing score is .5 points higher than the one awarded to Strokes sophomore album, Room on Fire, TigerBeat4Ever smashes head into the nice new LCD monitor he bought to replace the first one.

2007: Band’s third album, Our Love to Admire, released. Five minutes after placing album in CD player, TigerBeat4Ever removes it and stares quizzically at the shiny side, wondering if he purchased a defective copy. Surely it’s impossible that the band who wrote “Evil” wrote this, right? Upon realization that album was awarded a higher score than Strokes third album, First Impressions of Earth, TigerBeat4Ever slams head into the soft net he installed to prevent future monitor mishaps.

Let me make this clear: I like Interpol. It took me a while, but after having heard the six good songs on Turn on the Bright Lights repeatedly, I got over my aversion to the abrasiveness of “SHE CAN READ SHE CAN READ” and learned to love Paul’s voice and the band’s over-arching gloominess. It’s just that Interpol’s songwriting ability seems to be like that of Eminem’s and Robert Smith’s, i.e. directly proportional to the misery of their waking lives. If Eminem had never gone ten times platinum, we’d still be listening to entertaining songs about poverty and murdering gay people rather than songs about the hassles of fame and nauseating positivity like “Lose Yourself.” Interpol get worse with popularity. We could probably get a get another great album out of them if we could just find some way to make them all broke. (My solution: double the price of dry cleaning and Valtrex.) The good songs on Interpol’s follow-up are amazing; it’s just that there are only three of them. Interpol ain’t the Blood Brothers: it’s not like they have shrieking and explosions to keep you from getting bored during longueurs. Their slow songs induce narcolepsyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy whoops, I just feel asleep with my head on the keyboard - I’m listening to Interpol as I write this. Maybe I should put a net there, too.

Interpol’s new album does not contain a single great song. I struggled with writing that sentence. Not out of any great love for the band, but because I’m writing this using Microsoft Word 2007 on Vista and it keeps crashing every fifteen secon

Hello? Sorry, crashed. There are a few songs I like – “All Fired Up” is pretty good. But that have-to-got-to-NEED-to hear it feeling that I get out of bed for in the morning is missing, and this is a band that’s capable of generating it. (Semi-side note in reference to track 8, “Rest My Chemistry”: quit nicking the “Where is My Mind” riff; you’re just going to remind me how the Strokes stole it to much better effect and I’m going to get whiplash or break a lamp.)

Remember when She Wants Revenge first came along and everyone stopped accusing Interpol of being Joy Division copycats (which they never were) and started accusing She Wants Revenge of being an Interpol cover act (which they most certainly were)? She Wants Revenge’s appropriation of Interpol’s sound was so complete as to be legally actionable. Even though I loved their breakthrough, “Tear You Apart,” as well as every subsequent track played on radio, I never listened to the album at length or took them seriously as an act.

That’s over now. Their new single, “Written in Blood,” is a minor classic; on par with if not better than “Tear You Apart.” It contains what no song on the new Interpol album does: a knock-out hook. (A “hook” is the memorable, catchy part of the song. Some of you knew that, but a lot of you like Radiohead, so I thought I’d quickly explain.) Also in stark contrast to Interpol, the lyrics are not nonsense. (Seriously, “we spies, we slow hands” sounds like Ebonics.) I want to talk about how great the cowbell in the chorus is, but you all know why I can’t. Add to this their second single, “True Romance,” and they’re 2 and 0. It actually forced me to go back and listen to their debut from start to finish, which is more than half good.

I’m not crazy. I’m not saying that She Wants Revenge is a better band overall, or that the quality, complexity, and originality of their best songs exceed the best by Interpol. I’m just saying, with absolute certainty, that their forthcoming album will have a minimum of two great songs and that Interpol’s current album contains zero. They’re a better band right now, and it’s a turn of events that no one would have predicted a year ago.

Last week, we finally got a title and tracklist for Interpol's forthcoming and hotly-anticipated third album. Our Love To Admire isn't due until July 10th but a small taste has already surfaced on the internet. The ridiculously titled "The Heinrich Manuever" surfaced earlier today, and it's a nice but unimpressive ditty. Interpol has been promising a bit of a departure on Love To Admire, but this isn't it.

Guess we'll have to wait until July (or until more leaks) to see if the well-coiffed gentlemen were just bullshitting us. You can get your "Heinrich" on here.

Interpol - 2007 Tour Dates:

Recommended Viewing:
Here's the band playing "Heinrich Manever" live in Canada on April 15th.

Saquatch! Music Festival is poised to step out from the shadow of bigger American music festivals such as Coachella and Bonnaroo this year. The Washington State festival is running strong in it's sixth year and Sasqautch! organizers have snagged the likes of Björk, The Arcade Fire, M.I.A., Spoon, and Interpol for this year's 2-day run. Additional acts will be added over the coming weeks

The festival will take place over Mermorial Day weekend (May 26-27) at George, Washington's Gorge Ampitheatre and will host over 50 artists spread out over three stages.

In addition to the amazing line up, the organizers have decided to go green and make this year's festival carbon neutral.

Tickets for Sasquatch! go on sale March 3rd via Ticketmaster or Livenation.com.

Confirmed Line Up:

Interpol guitarist/songwriter Dan Kessler talked to BBC 6 last week about the band's forthcoming yet-to-be-titled follow-up to 2004's Antics.

Kessler reports that the band enjoyed experimenting during the sessions for its third LP and let the guitars take a lessened role.

The new album is due out in June via the band's recently inked deal with Capitol Records. The NYC art rockers made the jump to the majors from its former indie home at Matador Records this past summer. The descison came after Interpol joined forces with 3D Management, the company that also handles Coldplay's business affairs.

Interpol is currently in the UK finishing final mixes for the new album.

Recommended Viewing:
A 2005 live performance of "Not Even Jail," from Antics.

In a posting on Interpol's website, the NYC gloomsters have revealed that they have begun work on their third full-length since 2004's Antics. The yet-to-be-titled LP will be the band's first after leaving indie label Matador for the big-league Capitol Records this past summer. The move came after the band switched over to Coldplay's management company, who are also signed to Capitol. The band had this to say about the recording sessions:

Expect Inerpol's third to drop sometime in late 2007.

Lest anyone think New York's favorite gloomy guys in ties have disappeared for good, Interpol is back in the studio writing for their third album and the long awaited follow-up to 2004's Antics. According to an update from the band, the quartet's been writing for the last 6 months ... at least when bassist Carlos D. is not DJing or on the cover of random dance music magazines.

Singer Paul Banks hinted at some inter-band troubles, an affection for Jersey City and also revealed some of the new song titles.

Rumors still abound about the band's label status; the word Interscope has been tossed around, but nothing's been confirmed. If anyone still needs to pick up Antics, now is a good time; it got the re-release treatment with some video extras in the mix.

*Written by B_Werner