Oxbow Releases New Album, Preps SXSW Show
Oxbow, the San Francisco noise-blues savants known for their controversial, carnal, and cathartic live performance, are putting finishing touches on their new album, The Narcotic Story, slated for a June release on Hydrahead. The album marks new territories for the band, who will cross the boundaries of chaos with multi-Grammy winner Joe Chiccarelli (Joan Baez, Frank Zappa) at the production reigns for the album.
In addition to the new album, Oxbow will also be part of the highly anticipated Hydrahead SXSW showcase alongside post-rockers Pelican, Stephen Brodsky’s Octave Museum, Daughters, and a slew of others.
If you haven’t been infected with the band’s innovative approach to exorcising rhythmic demons, check out the boys’ eerie aesthetic on their latest CD/DVD Love That’s Last, available in record stores all over the place. You may see more than you bargained for.
Fred Miketa
Video: The Knife’s “Like A Pen”
Roughly penciled cartoon characters chase one another through a tunnel of hand-drawn strobelights. An indiscernible brown object with legs (hmm, I wonder what that could be) takes center stage as it stomps its feet in time to the synth-ravaged beat. If that doesn’t sum up The Knife’s “Like A Pen” video, then you’ll have to watch it yourself.
It’s all happening xlr8r.com’s Video Section.
Final Fantasy LARPs Out Loud
If you thought Rush was geeky–with their hockey-hair mullets and myriad references to wizardry–then you haven’t met fellow Canadian Owen Pallett. The 25-year-old Torontonian, who records strikingly original violin compositions and breathy vocals under the moniker Final Fantasy, attempts to “remodel fantasy fiction as a musical medium, and one that is satirical,” he says. Central to Final Fantasy’s aesthetic are ’80s videogames, Lewis Carroll, and Gore Vidal’s Duluth.
Trained in violin from a young age, and continuing its study through his time at the University of Toronto, Pallett played in numerous groups, including The Hidden Cameras, Picastro, The Arcade Fire, and Les Mouches (which he describes as “like Grizzly Bear but more aggro and less good”). He also wrote two operas and scored a few videogames alongside his brother, who worked in the gaming industry. After a string of group projects, Pallett decided to go it alone; he recorded his first solo effort as Final Fantasy, Has a Good Home, in 2005.
Pallett says Has A Good Home “isn’t that great,” but his second album, He Poos Clouds, sure is. The record finds Pallett channeling singers as far flung as Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and actor/director John Cameron Mitchell while threading together lyrically rich, oddly constructed narratives, including an ode to Toronto real estate mogul Brad Lamb (the brilliant “This Lamb Sells Condos”). Recorded with a string quartet in Barcelona, He Poos Clouds followed a couple of basic rules: Every song had to be written for strings and voice (so as to be recreate-able in the solo live setting with a violin and sampler); and, as a whole, the album had to “attempt to modernize each of the eight Dungeons & Dragons schools of magic.”
Though most people try to disguise their gaming past, Pallett’s pride in his nerdy, theatrical side has paid off. In September, Final Fantasy was awarded Canada’s inaugural Polaris Prize (akin to Britain’s Mercury Prize), which is based on artistic merit, and chosen by critics from across the country. Having beaten out The New Pornographers, Wolf Parade, Broken Social Scene, and Metric for the award, Pallett’s typical Canadian modesty shines through when he discusses the win: “I am skeptical about the designation of an album as ‘best,’ because… I don’t like the idea that the quality of an album may be judged on the musical aptitude,” he says, adding, “I would’ve been extremely happy if any of the other nominees won. Happier, perhaps.”
But twenty grand is twenty grand. “I’m giving $9000 to the other musicians involved in He Poos Clouds because they’re all otherwise unemployed or have new babies,” Pallett enumerates. “I’m giving $5000 to my boyfriend to pay off his student loan. [And] I’m giving $6000 back to Blocks, [a Canadian artist collective and record label], to finance the making of more ‘not the best’ albums.”
The 12 Days of Christmas, Day 7
Creative Director Brianna Pope’s holiday is all about birds, blue, and brown. She finds the perfect way to have all three and still cart her junk around with this combination from Gama-Go.
This bag/wallet combo is perfect for any bird- and magazine-loving girl who can’t let go of the whole brown/blue thing. I know, it’s long-gone, but to me the color combination will never die. NEVER.
And neither will this bag, which is the perfect size for carting around magazines (unless you subscribe to W) and all the other crap that accumulates in a day. The inside is lined with light teal satin and has a small zipper pocket and some penholders.
The wallet is ideal for someone who needs to organize their jeans pockets but doesn’t want to carry around a clutch-sized wallet. It zips all around and folds open to reveal a dark teal interior, a coin pouch, a billfold, three slots for cards, and a clear outside pocket for your ID. The best thing is that all this fits in your back pocket. Or in the matching bag.
The Gama-Go bird satchel is available at gama-go.com for $54.
The Gama-Go bird wallet is also available in other styles (including a cute mock-cigarette pack) for $24.
Both items are vegan.
Brianna Pope
The Other Days of Christmas
Day 1, Kids in the Hall DVD Megaset
Day 2, Eye of the Hawk beer
Day 3, Sad Ghost salt & pepper shakers
Day 4, This Heat’s Out of Cold Storage Boxed Set
Day 5, Dustin Dollin’s Project 8 No Skool Vans
Day 6, Toys from Kid Robot
Day 8, Official Tourist Rave Hoods
Day 9, M-Audio IE-10 earphones
Day 10, King Jammy’s Selector Choice Boxed Set
Day 11, Madvillain action figure
Day 12, XLR8R Subscription
Junior Boys Hosts Video Contest
To top off a hugely successful 2006, Canadian duo Junior Boys has created a personal meem (that’s a social network, folks) that features things like album previews, updates, and contests for the fans.
One such item is the duo’s “So This Is Goodbye” contest, a user-submitted video competition where fans are allowed to use live footage and free music clips from the Boys’ upcoming Studio B performance on December 7 to create a music video for the album So This Is Goodbye. Working with their label Domino and social networking site imeem.com, Junior Boys will host the contest until March 1, 2007. The winner will receive $1000 in cash and the chance to show their video at certain Junior Boys shows.
Check their meem for MP3 clips and further entry details.
So This Is Goodbye is out now on Domino Records.
Clinic’s St. Martins College Gig Cancelled
Clinic, the Liverpool four-piece band that makes quirky, creepy rock music, was scheduled to play at London’s acclaimed art school Central St. Martins next week. Their prestigious gig was to the be the first at the venue since the Sex Pistols performed there in 1977.
Apparently, the student population of St. Martins wasn’t impressed with that fact, and protested that the performance would be a disruption to their studies. The school complied and the gig–which was to be Clinic’s sole performance in London–has been cancelled until another venue can be found. According to a press release from Domino Recordings, the performance will be rescheduled “at a venue where hopefully, today’s gen-x and y’s can freely enjoy rock n’ roll with out waking up the kids.”
If you’re curious as to what kind of band causes art students to protest about noise, check out Clinic’s latest album Visitations, which is already in stores in the UK and out January 23, 2007 in the US, on Domino.
Clinic: Those surgical masks will clearly have art students cowering behind their easels.
Beinghunted and Electronic Beats Contest
Berlin’s style gurus Beinghunted.com and T-Mobile Germany’s music site Electronic Beats have joined forces for a holiday contest. Naturally the prize is top-notch: a Sony W810 Walkman cellphone. But they’re going to make you work for it.
In order to win the phone, or even have a shot at winning, you’ll need to identify the city where the photo below was taken. Then head over to the Electronic Beats site and find the City Report for this location. Submit that link with the contest entry form to Beinghunted.com, and you might just be the lucky winner.
Prizes
1. One Sony W810 Walkman cellphone
2. One Electronic Beats goodie package
3. One Electronic Beats goodie package
All entries must be received by Monday, December 11, 2006.
Identify this city in order to win the cellphone.
C.neeon: Bright Lights, Big City
Amid the neo-rave/’80s clubwear and serious party frocks of London Fashion Week, C.neeon‘s designs stood out boldly from the black-and-khaki-clad pack. The runway show from C.neeon–a brand created in 2001 by Berliners Clara Leskovar and Doreen Schulz–featured a cavalcade of interesting clothes bearing striking, Bauhaus-inspired graphical prints in colors (muted rust, celery, chocolate brown) last seen on ’70s macrame wall-hangings, or maybe in the work of Art Deco painter Erte. C.neeon’s separates look classy, but come in urban, wearable shapes–hoodies, simple separates, leggings, and (for the guys) baggy, free-flowing tracksuits. (When you start to feel too old for that neon Billionaire Boys Club hoodie, this could be an apt next move for your wardrobe.)
The C.neeon girls have been super busy–after wrapping up a solo summer show at Berlin’s decorative arts museum, the Kunstgewerbe, they were immediately tapped to design a collection for forward-thinking London chain store Topshop. We caught the pair during a rare moment in their hometown, and took this photo of them while they listened to Johnny Cash’s Live at Folsom Prison. Leskovar summed up Berlin style for us in one phrase: “We’re too poor to wear Versace, and we have too many ideas not to make our own fashion.”
The 12 Days of Christmas, Day 6
Kelsey Guntharp may take XLR8R’s advertising department seriously, but the rest of her life is just one giant playroom for this lady, made all the more fun with a selection of toys from Kid Robot.
I love toys. I still sleep with my teddy bear, Wilbur, who is so old his insides are all over my bed every morning.
Now that I’ve embarrassed myself, I’ll tell you about some toys that will cheer up your holiday and remind you to have fun. After all, if you take life too seriously you’ll get wrinkles and cancer, and who wants that? Plus, these playful creatures are limited-edition collectibles, for you nerds like me.
Munny and his accessories.
This season Kid Robot has a new Holiday Munny. Munnies are a series of DIY vinyl toys for you or your six-year-old niece to color. Holiday Munny comes with four accessories and a coloring book that includes a cutout Munny ornament.
Uglydolls make huggable toys for your sensitive boyfriend. These guys are adorable little plush dolls with various monstrosities to snuggle by the fire. Try, for example, the new Peaco, a pink “shy guy” with three eyes, a blue tongue, and floppy…ears? Mine sits in my lap while I work.
Uglydolls Peaco and Moxy.
Fun with reading! FriendsWithYou HAVE POWERS! is a new book chronicling all of the awesome FriendsWithYou brand toys, including their ever-adorable Malfi dolls. Plus there’s Kid Robot’s new I Am Plastic-360 color pages of collectible toy history.
Other toys to watch for: Montana Fatcaps (a new series of little creatures made from paint caps, with designs by famous graffiti artists ), Monsterisms and Molvox (vinyl figurines from Monsterism Island), and Sonny Angel (sets of creepy yet cute baby-doll figurines with various, uh, headgear). Now go! Play! You won’t shoot your eye out.
Holiday Munny is available for $29.95. Uglydolls are available for $19.95 each. All toys can be found at Kid Robot.
Kelsey Guntharp
The Other Days of Christmas
Day 1, Kids in the Hall DVD Megaset
Day 2, Eye of the Hawk beer
Day 3, Sad Ghost salt & pepper shakers
Day 4, This Heat’s Out of Cold Storage Boxed Set
Day 5, Dustin Dollin’s Project 8 No Skool Vans
Day 7, Gama bird satchel and wallet
Day 8, Official Tourist Rave Hoods
Day 9, M-Audio IE-10 earphones
Day 10, King Jammy’s Selector Choice Boxed Set
Day 11, Madvillain action figure
Day 12, XLR8R Subscription
Holiday Munny and coloring book.
