Sad People Feeling Sad Things

Sometimes people get into very bad moods; but not the type of bad mood that can be dispelled with jokes and friendly banter. I'm talking about the type of mood that causes a cloud of pain for all around, and there is sadness in the hearts of everyone which makes it tough to get through the day. Then there are the arguments brought on by irritation and grumpiness and before you know it, the whole place is filled with terrible feelings. But these moods are unpredictable. At times, they can seem like they are gone, dust on a windy day, but then, suddenly, they return and the desert of sadness fills back with hot sand. (Oh! to see the clouds part only to find that the harsh, brutal blizzard has more pelting and frosting planned.)

Other times, people are in great moods. They are handsome, funny, and jovial; spreading goodness all across the land. And this mood lasts long and heartily, like a large quantity of stew. People begin to sing and great books are written and all things look, sound, and taste delicious. Good moods are the good type of mood.

But good moods can be tarnished by bad ones, ground into hateful dust by the devil's teeth. A bad thing has occurred when that happens, and nobody wins.

That is what I am thinking about today.

Welcome Manimal Vinyl!

CTD welcomes a new exclusive label: Manimal Vinyl Records
Manimal is a kick ass label based out of LA boasting artists such as BAT FOR LASHES (!!), CAROLINE WEEKS, ALEXANDRA HOPE, HECUBA, RIO EN MEDIO and more. We're super excited to have them on board and can't wait for their new releases...

Here's a few teasers:
Alexandar Hope "Invisible Sunday" video
released 3/17/09

Polyamorous Affair video
new album coming in July.

Top 10 of SXSW

After 6 days at SXSW, it took me a couple days to comprehend the madness that encompassed Austin last week. So, now that I'm back to reality, here is my list of top ten moments that made the trip worth while...

10. My signature drink for the week — Shiner Bock — great taste, miserable hang-over.
9. Last minute Spin party that kept us up just long enough to get no sleep before our trip to the airport. Where's the party?
8. Issac trying to convince me that, with Brook's contacts, I could get Dinosaur Jr. to remix an Odawas song.
7. Running into at least 5 people I knew, and meeting at least 5 people I hope to run into again.
6. The TX sunshine, the heat, an escape from the windy city and a desire to return to Austin, preferably when SXSW is not invading.
5. After 4 years of attending panels on the same topics, I finally found some that were interesting, and not a reiteration of everything I have heard before.
4. The Dutch—whether or not everyone considers them the happiest people on Earth, they surely are a joy to be around.
3. Eating everything from migas, to BBQ, to peach cobbler to a chicken fried steak and my favorite — the breakfast taco — another reason why I should have started eating bfast years ago.
2. My iPhone survived being submerged in a stale beer, soggy pizza crust and roach infested puddle. See picture below...

1. I easily attended 20 shows in 4 days, from a vast collection of artists. In a somewhat sequencial order, the ones I remember: Honkey, Anathallo, The Shaky Hands, Justin Townes Earle, Janelle Monae, Ladyhawk, Heartless Bastards, The Avett Brothers, The Decemberists, Cold War Kids, Afterhours, Dinosaur Jr., Guy Sebastian, Aqualung, O+S, Sebastian Grainger, Cursive, Circle Jerk, PJ Harvey, The Handsome Family, Daniel Johnston, And You'll Know Us By The Trail of Dead

Week in Preview

So many times we have seen the week through the lenses of someone's "past glasses." And so many times have we been awed at what went before, retiring to our easiest easy chair and getting lost in what was, while the present slips through our fingers. But on this day I bring you better. On this day I bring you a thing that has wowed kings across America, a thing called the Week in Preview. Instead of recapping the events of the past and telling tales of times that can never be lived again, I will tell you the juiciest gossip, the whitest lies, and the full truths about who is and who is not gay; all before it ever happens. That way, you can know which days to look forward to and when to prepare yourself to "live in the now." It is yet another solution to one of the scores of problems that now face us in this world of the future (need I remind you that the future is now?). Buck up, you, all your problems will be solved by the experts as long as you have the patience to just wait for the solution.

So at last, here it is, the Week in Preview:

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The Birds of Isla Vieques

This is a field recording I made on my computer one morning when I couldn't get back to sleep. Barring rain, a distant rooster would start at exactly 0350 and the rest of the island would wake up in a rolling euphonic wave, rushing steadily toward our door over the next fifteen minutes, until it ended up sounding like this. If you can identify these birds, please comment!

Apologies for the rustling of bed sheets and the heinous fan noise at the end but there's one super loud squawk. If it bugs you, edit away.

Download Birds of Isla Vieques.mp3

Ambient Update 3.19.09

It appears I have a sort of weekly ambient update going on here... Well, here are a few gems of information that crossed my droney little eyes:

First, I've been reviewing many of the Miasmah releases this year. It is fair to say this is one of my favorite labels at the moment. So when I saw last night that they are going to start pressing some of their records on vinyl, I was rather ecstatic. The first album to receive the vinyl treatment is Jacaszek's "Treny," due out in early April. Another bit of Miasmah news - due sometime this summer is an album from former Slowdive drummer Simon Scott called "Navigare." I still listen to Slowdive regularly (a couple of us here in the office celebrate "Slowdive Friday's") and the songs on his myspace page sound VERY promising. Yep, I'm excited.

My last bit of news for the week is in reference to the ongoing Wordless Music Series, held in New York. I've never made the trip out to one of these, but have been blown away by the shows they put together, like the Stars of the Lid, Deaf Center, Hammock, and Tim Hecker performances for instance. On May 8th, Mono (backed by the Wordless Music Orchestra) is performing the New York premiere of Arvo Part's Symphony No. 4 (Los Angeles), the composer's first new work for orchestra in 30 years. May 29th is the U.S. debut of Wolfgang Voigt's legendary ambient project, Gas. Also that evening is a rare live performance of Brian Eno's 1975 classic "Discreet Music," played by the Contact Ensemble.

St Kilda

Wonderful.

Extremely limited 3" ep from Graham Richardson (Last Days)

From the Phantom Channel website:

"Warm, shimmering soundscapes are formed using drifting, melancholic drones and subtle, heart-breaking harmonic shifts which mingle with intriguing forgotten sounds and digital scree.

JasperTX's seminal "I'll Be Long Gone Before My Light Reaches You" remains a suitable reference point and perhaps the more wistful aspects of Stars of the Lid's repertoire. With four tracks gently unfolding over twenty minutes, St Kilda will most definitely tug at your heart-strings, but those who listen deep enough will discover a journey of triumph over adversity."

40 copies are available in the UK/Europe directly from Phantom Channel
30 copies are available in the US through n5MD Mailorder

I believe there are still some available.. Just got my copy in the mail yesterday.

My most anticipated album of the spring

Thanks to the lovely folks at Stereogum for providing my weekly fix of Bat for Lashes. Another video posted today. Seriously can't wait for this album. Easily will be one of my top for the year!

This Man Haunts My Dreams

The Bitter Tears record release show was truly a spectacle and amazing! More photos will be posted soon. Do yourself a favor and see them in person:

Thu Mar 12 Gasthaus Elgin, IL w/Canadian Rifle
Fri Mar 13 Basement 414 Lansing, MI
Sat Mar 14 The Old Miami Detroit, MI w/I, Crime and Red Swan
Sun Mar 15 The Glasslands Brooklyn, NY w/Miami Ice Machine 8pm
Tue Mar 17 Mohawk Place Buffalo, NY w/Tracy Marrow
Wed Mar 18 The Pour Haus Louisville, KY w/Softcheque
Fri Mar 20 Valley O the Vapors Festival Hot Springs, AR w/Haymarket Riot & tons more. All Ages!
Sat Mar 21 The Cinemat Bloomington, IN w/Push Pull & Haymarket Riot All Ages!

Please go see The Bitter Tears

The Bitter Tears release show is tonight. Great press starting to roll in, but today all you need to do is get your butts out to The Hideout to see them play. Monica Kendrick says this in the Chicago Reader:

The gentlemen in the Bitter Tears put on memorably distressing live shows...They’ve hit upon another way to bolster their music’s staying power: in songs that split the difference between sloppy country and deranged vaudeville, they display an all-consuming sense of tragedy that gives their comic turns a dark and powerful heart.

Hummers AREN'T the worst thing for the environment..?!?

Thought you might be interested in this piece I found in The Guardian this week (one of the finer UK dailies). I apologize for the obvious connections between this and some of my previous posts....ahem! :)

Bonnie Prince Billy & Vivian Girls interviews

Found this while reading some of the UK newspapers online this weekend.
Quite a good listen this one, especially when the Prince himself, Will Oldham, confesses a love for R. Kelly, and a dislike for Bon Iver (without ever having heard their music!)
Oh, those alt. country types...always so controversial...
and don't forget, BPB's new epic tome, 'Beware' comes out on Drag City on March 17th...

Hopes and Past Desires

Video for Rafael Anton Irisarri's "Hopes and Past Desires," part of his 7 inch EP on Immune. With just two songs, Irisarri puts nearly all other ambient recordings from the past year to shame. If you like what you hear, be sure to also check out his 2007 full-length "Daydreaming" on Miasmah.


kisses,
mcdroney

Vidzzzzz

Read more about the making of the Speck Mountain and Bitter Tears videos.

The CTD twins have done it again. Little Susan and Tall Annie came out, rowed the boat, and gave us some videos to watch. Readers of this blog will know that these videos were posted on Monday of this week, but they may not know the story behind them. The rumors, of course, are true. Annie dropped the wire while Susan was preparing to cut it and the videos are music ones that are seen to the sounds of Speck Mountain's "Angela" and a few songs by The Bitter Tears. The first, Speck M., was created by jumping through a hoop both before and after it was lit to a state of flaming, but the creator, knowing the danger of fire, decided to skip the last, flaming step and jump only through the unlit hoop. Once the hoop was discarded, it was carded once again and everybody went home.
I can't remember who the second video was for, but I know that there are some numbers floating around that are inaccurate. One of the few bits of truth that you will get from this blog entry is that the man hours put into the video was significantly less that the 50 that has previously been attached to it. The truth, which is a lie, is that it took more like 20 minutes and that it was drawn by six apes, all of which were captured from the wild and never named. After they were skinned and eaten, a journal of animation experiences was found in the sleeping bag of one of the apes. Below, I have included an excerpt from the 14th of June 1994.

The mailman came twice today and then he came a third time. Today was a strange day.
The color of the sky in the morning was the same color as gold. That was a nice thing to see.
There were four oranges in a row, laying on a table. I was glad that there were not five.
A merman or some mermen appeared in the sink after lunch. That was another reason why today was a strange day.

Fredrik Video Feature

Check out videos from one of my favorite bands of 2008: Fredrik on BrightestYoungThings.com
Or try these links:
Alina's Place
Angora Sleepwalking

Bitter Tears New Album, Video and Show!

Ooooeeee...Carrot Top Records is under my control for the next ten days! Let's celebrate by releasing an amazing record. Tomorrow, Tuesday March 3rd, The Bitter Tears release Jam Tarts In The Jakehouse. To celebrate the release, The Bitter Tears will be hosting a Record Release Show at The Hideout this Saturday March 7th.

"Chicago's The Bitter Tears are a truly extraordinary group of musicians that one must experience in the live concert setting to truly appreciate the in-your-face absurdity and pure drama that their rambling catchy dada cabaret has to offer. Their often humorous and overwrought lyrics run the gamut of satire, lust, and the grotesque"—A Thousand Ears

Check out this video made by some All-Star CTD employees, Tyler, John, Brook and Kristin: