New Releases @ saki 2/1/11!

Kinks - Kinda Kinks (reissue)
Bardo Pond - S/T
The Clash - Give 'Em Enough Rope (reissue)
Demdike Stare - Trypych
Dirtbombs - Party Store
Ducktails - III: Arcade Dynamics
Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
Isis - Oceanic
Junk Culture - Summer Friends
New Original Sonic Sound (Sonics tribute)
Outsiders - CQ
Pop Ambient 2011
Pakistan: Folk & Pop Instrumentals '66-'76
Seefeel - S/T
John & Beverly Martyn - Stormbringer! (reissue)

Only a few more Disappears tickets left!

We're running low on guest list spots for the Disappears show this Friday at The Empty Bottle. Come pick up a copy of the new record, or any other Disappears, Brain Idea, or Tyler Jon Tyler item to get on the list! You can even pick up a copy of MILD VILNC #01, the new zine from Brian of Disappears for a whopping $2!

saki Ticket Giveaways!

saki has a few exciting ticket giveaways coming up in February and March and there are even more to come! For any of the shows listed below, all you have to do is come in to saki and buy any item from any of the bands on the bill and we'll get you into the show for FREE! It's that easy - buy good music and then get to see it live for FREE. Listed below are the shows we're giving away right now. Make sure you check our newsletters, facebook, twitter, events page, or this here blog, to stay up to date on all our events and promotions at saki!

Friday, February 4th
10pm @ The Empty Bottle

Disappears w/ Brain Idea & Tyler Jon Tyler

Saturday, March 12th
10pm @ The Empty Bottle

Obits w/ Jaill & Loose Dudes

*** The new Obits album Moody, Standard and Poor comes out on 3/29. Since this is after the date of the show, you can come in and pay for your copy ahead of time and we'll have it here waiting for you on the 29th. Or you can just buy something from Jaill or Loose Dudes 'cause they're purdy good too!***

Thursday, March 17th
10pm @ The Empty Bottle

Sic Alps w/ CAVE & Wet Hair

Heading to college? Try a degree in "The Beatles"

(from the ever enlightening Daily Swarm)

...yes, she's Canadian. Yes, she's won a Juno award. But who cares? She has a MA in THE BEATLES. Good luck with that in the job market. No word yet on if she's going to get a second degree in The Rolling Stones, or an advanced degree in The Kinks.

Falling pianos, among other things: Tim Hecker discusses the album art for Ravedeath, 1972

We've been anticipating the new release from Tim Hecker, Ravedeath, 1972, (Kranky) for quite a while now. Check out what the artist has to say on Pitchfork regarding the album artwork for his new album, as well as the traditions at MIT.

Stream new Sacred Bones Chilean psych records!

On 2/8 Sacred Bones will be releasing two awesome records from what appears to be a burgeoning young Chilean psych rock scene. I could tell you that both the Follakzoid and the Holydrug Couple LPs are really good, but you can hear them for yourself at Sacred Bones' SoundCloud page! You can find both records at saki!

William Shatner does Black Sabbath with Zakk Wylde

No word about whether or not they'll do "Snowblind". One can always hope. (Make it so Mr. Sulu!)

SIC ALPS "NAPA ASYLUM" 8.0 ON THE PITCHFORK OF THE INTERNETS

Here at CTD, we've been aware of Sic Alps for a while now, what with their numerous singles, Siltbreeze release, previous Drag City compilation 2xLP Long Way Around To A Short Cut, and now, the internet has officially caught up with the future - nea, our future! See what they say:


"...despite the fact that they've ripped out some pretty great singles, Sic Alps make music that's best absorbed on full-length albums. As their odd tics, off notes, and bevy of stops and starts build up, the logic of their approach becomes clearer and more addictive. On Napa Asylum they've wisely stuck to their patient, understated approach-- and pretty much perfected it."

Find it, buy it, live it, love it....here.

Disappears: Superstition video

Killer video for a killer song on a killer album.



Buy Disappears at saki for a FREE TICKET to see them at The Empty Bottle!

50 Free Records at The Whistler!

Every Wednesday in February the first 50 patrons at Logan Square bar, The Whistler, will receive a FREE copy of a Whistler Records catalog item. They're staying hush-hush about what they'll be giving away and when, but Whistler's line-up ain't half bad...

The Piano Drop

Opening track from Tim Hecker's "Ravedeath, 1972" / 2.15.11 / Kranky

Tonight At The Bottle

Tuesday, January 25th (9:30pm, free w/ RSVP (maybe it's not too late)

Vee Dee
Estrogen Highs
Thee Hardy Mums

The Empty Bottle

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...rock n roll!

Happy 50th, Daniel

 
Hi, how are you?

Daniel Johnston is fifty. To celebrate, you can listen in to a free radio stream.

But there's more. Included: a telephone number to wish him a (by now belated) happy birthday and the ability to give him a (monetary) present to help kick-start his first comic book.

Whether you chose to listen, donate, game, or walk the cow, this is fun stuff.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Box Brown comics @ saki!

saki now carries comics by Philadelphia artist, Box Brown. Akin to our favorite illustratrix, Emily Flake, Box Brown's comics are a little bit slice-of-life and a mix of gentle and not-so-gentle satiric wit. You can follow his arguably best known, and my favorite web comic, Bellen! at BoxBrown.com.

saki carries the Everything Dies series 1-5, Bringing It All Back Home, and Love Is A Peculiar Type of Thing. All are worth your time. Come in and check them out, and then fall in love with them and buy them.

FREE tickets for Disappears @ Empty Bottle!

We've kept no secrets about how much we love the new Disappears record, Guider. It's a revved up, badass motorcycle ride of an album that holds strong from start to finish. If you stop in to saki you're likely to hear it playing loud, 'cause that's how we like to play it.

If you'd like to hear these songs live (and you should) you can stop in to saki and pick up a copy of Guider or the first Disappears album, Lux and you'll get a FREE ticket to see Disappears at The Empty Bottle on 2/4 with Brain Idea and Tyler Jon Tyler! This is a can't miss lineup so take advantage!

While you're here, make sure you pick up a copy of MILD VILNC, the awesome new zine from Brian Case of Disappears. It features an interview with Steve Shelley on Sonic Youth's EVOL, Captured Tracks, Weekend, Veronica Falls and the work of Brian Roettinger.

Until Then

Heartbreaking version of Broadcast's "Until Then" by Thomas Meluch (Benoit Pioulard) & Rafael Anton Irisarri (The Sight Below). RIP Trish Keenan.

6 Predictions For the Music Industry in 2011

6 Predictions For the Music Industry in 2011 by Jason Feinberg

The music industry had a wild ride in 2010. Companies came and went, layoffs hit every sector, rapid growth delivered opportunity, and Spotify still didn't launch in the U.S. This year, 2011, should be no different.
Here are some predictions and thoughts about what 2011 may hold for the music industry.

via MediaShift

For Real...

We are really serious about blogging.
img via

As Loud As Possible

saki is proud to announce another addition to our fine selection of blogs and magazines -- the inaugural issue of noise/experimental zine As Loud As Possible. This issue features interviews with the likes of Carlos Giffoni (No Fun) as well as an overview of the legendary Broken Flag label, as well as loads of reviews and much more. Limited supplies, so act quickly!!!

Faun Fables "Light Of A Vaster Dark" 7.4 on Pitchfork

From the (virtual) horse's mouth:

"Faun Fables' fifth album, Light of a Vaster Dark, keys on the American prairie tales of writers likes Willa Cather and Laura Ingalls Wilder to explore the role of women in the early American Midwest. That might seem like an unlikely prompt for a band to reinvent itself, but, for Faun Fables, it's just that: Light of a Vaster Dark is as provocative musically as it is thematically, with rhythms and choruses that swell and arrangements that are smart because they stay out of the way. It's a pop reinvention, if you will..."

DC371 LP and CD are available from Saki...here.

Stream: Destroyer's "Kaputt"

Stream the new Destroyer album at Hype Machine! Buy it at saki on the 21st!

CTD Press Update 01/18/2011 ~ Now Available Exclusively/Semi Exclusively from CTD

FEATURED:

Disappears
“Guider”
Kranky krank151










Pitchfork 7.0!
“...on Guider, they’re more interested in being hypnotic. They’ve embraced repetition, using it as an end of its own rather than a way to find hooks. Disappears offer lots to latch onto - memorable riffs abound, and revving tempos propel the tunes like a car stuck in 5th gear.”
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14988-guider/


Dusted:
Listen to Guider’s title track, in which the group finds a balance between the airy explorations of one-time labelmates Deerhunter, and the currently popluar school of fuzzed-out post-Jesus and Mary Chain garage punk...much of what lends the album distinction is the tension created between the band’s bold, confident projections and the more delicate core at their center.
http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6186


COMING SOON!

The Ex
“Catch My Shoe”
Fishtank/Konkurrent ex123









Spin:
“...when new vocalist Arnold DeBoer lets his guitar take over, the band becomes a polyrhythmic dervish - lurching and locking into angular post-punk grooves that pivot around bursts of noise and melodic traces of African pop.”
http://www.spin.com/reviews/ex-catch-my-shoe-ex

Alternative Press = 3.5/4:
“This quartet’s latest work still bellows in and out with the urgency of a boxer’s lungs and new singer Arnold DeBoer maintains a strident edge while adding a barely perceptible undercurrent of lightness.”
http://www.altpress.com/reviews/sort/release/ex-catch-my-shoe

Huffington Post:
“...when The Ex revved up I really did not know what to expect. Theirs is not complex music; riffs are short and drum patterns are basic. There are no lightning-fast solos; the guitar work is sound-oriented. There’s a heavy element of trance, but there is also something to listen to, that develops nicely.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michal-shapiro/punk-meets-world-video_b_806161.html

Consquence of Sound:
“It’s got hooks and noise, songs to dance to sand songs for fighting. The lineup change isn’t the cause of this though; instead, it’s just further proof that The Ex were just as important and powerful with G.W. Sok in the band’s mixture. Sok will be missed, but this record is too good to whine about leaving.”
http://consequenceofsound.net/2010/11/15/album-review-the-ex-catch-my-shoe/

Stereogum:
“If you’re suspicious, don’t be: If you heard the “Maybe I Was the Pilot” b/w “Our Leaky Homes” 7″ you know new high-in-the-mix vocalist Arnold de Boer (of Zea) does a great job. The group’s always been good at losing players, adding duct tape, finding rebirth in those cracks: This voice is different and cleaner than Sok’s, but it brings a new power, revitalized power to the room. In addition to de Boer, they continue drawing influence from African music and trumpeter Roy Paci shows up on a couple tracks....”
http://stereogum.com/554021/the-ex-cold-weather-is-back-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

Get set for invisible war machines

 While the boy in me thinks the technology is fascinating, these sorts of steps could be wildly destabilizing.  From the MSNBC Cosmic Blog.

John Roach writes:Within a few years the Brits may deploy invisible armored tanks onto the battlefield, a breakthrough in stealth technology that Harry Potter would certainly applaud.

And not just tank, submarines as well.

When the invisible tanks start rolling on the battlefield, the Navy, too, may be deploying submarines outfitted with technology that makes them invisible to sonar, according to researchers at the University of Illinois. In the journal Physical Review Letters, they reported the successful testing of a prototype acoustic cloak.  

 Yikes and double yikes.

Perhaps Bob Dey would be interested in this for live performances? Might get him over his stage fright.

Amazing Randi Debunks Psychic Fraudsters

CTD Boxing Method!

Here is our Safe Boxing Method, presented in video form and hosted by a local artist friend of ours!

Whoa, here she comes: John Oates' mustache of spirituality

From the Daily Swarm (www.dailyswarm.com):

The end of the Hall & Oates era came in a hotel bathroom in 1990 in Tokyo, where they had just performed at a Yoko Ono–sponsored concert commemorating the death of John Lennon. There, in a sad, reflective moment, John Oates said good-bye—to the mustache.

“It really was a kind of spiritual moment for me,” Oates says, laughing. “The mustache represented a me I no longer was. I shaved it off and never looked back.” The next day, he and Hall were waiting at the Tokyo airport for a flight back to the States when Miles Davis appeared. “He came up to me with those red eyes of his,” says Oates. “He got like three inches from my face and kinda drew his finger across his own upper lip, as if he was shaving, and he said to me [in a deep, raspy voice], ‘Now the lovin’s gonna be better.’ ” Oates pauses. “And then he went up to Daryl and said, ‘I used to tell my hairdresser, I want my hair to look just like Daryl’s.’ ”


Ummmmmmmm. Okaaaaaaaaay.....

Re: Very Important Research of the Day

Yesteryear's tax dollars hard at work.



Courtesy of  The Daily What

Write About Love contest winners!

A while back, we told you about the best value-add ever for the new Belle & Sebastian album "Write About Love." You know, the one where you buy the album and then submit a 300-word essay about love...

Well, the contest winners have been announced and you can read all of their submissions at the Matablog. I think these essays are best read with this playing in the background:

Viva The Vagrants

If you're a vintage rock fan you already know there are a ton of reasons to love 1966. The Music Machine's "Talk Talk", The Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard", The Standells "Why Pick On Me", The Alarm Clocks' "No Reason To Complain", Q'65' "The Life I Live", The Eyes' "I'm Rowed Out", The Monks' "Complication", the list could go on and on and on.

Here's another you can add if you're not already familiar with it.

That gem and The Vagrants' impossibly awesome debut single "Oh Those Eyes" are getting the deluxe treatment from the good folks at Light In The Attic on I Can't Make A Friend 1965-1968. The CD and LP (180g vinyl) include liners from the all knowing Mike Stax, creator and editor of the Ugly Things, best damn garage, psych, beat, and punk zine around.

For Respect

A very young DON CABALLERO, circa 1993 on the burm in Pittsburgh. Filmed during the golden era of music before anyone wore grey outfits with suspenders with really bad haircuts. Granted, these fellas went on to mutiple musical endeavors, most noteably BATTLES, THE POISON ARROWS, STORMANDSTRESS and KNOT FEEDER.






If you know what a burm is, you must be from Pittsburgh.

Rama Lama. Fa. Fa. Fa.

God bless Rob Tyner. Types like him are sorely missed in today's music "culture". He's a man for you, baby.

Dance To The Best Of ESG

Stephen Slaybaugh recently wrote a review of ESG's best of comp., "Dance To The Best Of ESG" (released in December) for the Agit Reader. It's a great primer for anyone new to ESG.

Give it a read and then think about how much influence this group has had on so many of today's post-punk/dub inspired indie rock bands (not to mention their huge presence in hip-hop and dance tracks), and then come pick up "Dance To The Best Of ESG" at saki!

Vivian Maier: Discovered Works

I came across this video the other day. It's about Vivian Maier, an amateur street photographer from the Chicago era who worked from the 1950's through the 90's. John Maloof, a local real estate agent, came across her works at auction and quickly moved to acquire any other works by Vivian that he could find. He now owns a massive collection of Vivian's photographs which have never been seen by most people. There are a good amount of her pictures on the blog that John started, but as you can see in the video, there are thousands more of her photographs yet to be seen. This is a really cool story that should yield pretty interesting results for some time. Check it out!

Scott Tuma/Mike Weis w/ Angel Olsen & The Cairo Gang

Scott Tuma/Mike Weis
The Cairo Gang
Angel Olsen

Sunday, January 16th @ Empty Bottle
This is an early (7pm), cheap ($3) show

New Releases @ saki 1/11/11!

The Decemberists - Castaways & Cutouts LP reissue
Dismemberment Plan - Emergency & I
Las Robertas - Cry Out Loud
Cake - Showroom of Compassion
Cake - Sick of You 7"
Residents - Not Available
Wire - Red Barked Tree
Tapes 'n' Tapes - Outside
Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7" Records from the USA book
Pixies - Wave of Mutilation LP
Jimi Hendrix - Blues LP
High Dials - Anthems for Doomed Youth

Travel to Saturn

I love astronomy. I will do my best to post only the coolest of the cool stuff I run into. I think this counts.

In 2007, the leader of the Cassini imaging team, planetary scientist Carolyn Porco, gave this talk at TED highlighting images of the coolest planet, rings, Titan, and Enceladus.


Now, an admirable lunatic, obviously deeply moved by this presentation, has recreated this talk in stop action LEGO minifigs, including the faces of the audience! Uh, yeah.

Flying to Saturn: Carolyn Porco in LEGO from 20Tauri on Vimeo.

Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco - or rather, her Lego doppelgänger - takes you on a fascinating journey with Cassini-Huygens, a space mission investigating Saturn and its intriguing moons. This stop-motion animation is a recreation of Porco's real-life presentation from the 2007 TED conference. (Maia Weinstock, 2010)

No. I'm serious.

Keep buying records!

One of my favorite blogs, YVYNYL (that's 'why-vinyl') posted recently about the 14% increase in vinyl sales in 2010. There's probably not much crossover between vinyl consumers and those who purchase Lady Gaga ringtones but I like the general point he's trying to make here.

Rub My Tummy

Mount Kimbie: Before I Move Off

Mount Kimbie's "Crooks & Lovers" was one of those albums that I just kind of forgot about when making my Top 10 list. That being said, it still might not have made the Top 10 - definitely the Top 15 though... I especially love this track:

Pitchfork's Best of 2010: The Infographic

This idea actually came to me in a dream, but when I woke up I realized that I wasn't smart enough to make it happen. In another dream a naked indian led me to Jim Morrison's ghost who told me to put on a free concert called Waynestock, but that's a whole other story...

This infographic displays all of Pitchfork's album reviews from 2010 in handy graph form. You can filter it to only show their Top 50 albums or their Best New Music selections if you want. It's pretty nifty.

via

Woke up with this image in my head

Why? I dunno.

Tears Run Rings

Happiness 3 by tearsrunrings
Reunion by tearsrunrings

My favorite shoegaze album from 2010 - Tears Run Rings "Distance"

MIT Media Lab Prints Out a Sweet-Sounding Flute with a 3-D Printer

This is some future shit going on here. Star Trek replicator meets auto-CAD meets HP Officejet 6000.

MIT Media Lab's Rapid Prototyped Flute MIT Media Lab

 The flute was created on an Objet Connex500 rapid prototyper, a 3-D printer that can print in multiple materials at the same time. The flute was constructed from a few different materials – a rigid material for the body, a softer one for the mouthpiece, another for sealing the air in at the proper places – during a print run of about 15 hours, during which time the materials were added on one thin layer at a time.

What does a playa do when his shitty band is no mo?

Answer: Joins another, possibly **even shittier** band. TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek has joined Jane's Addiction's "creative team". Maybe his maximum ballon burst?


Oh, and if your band includes, or necessitates having a "Creative Team"....STOP. IT. NOW. As in YOUR BAND. JUST. CUT. IT. OUT.

That aside, maybe Mr. Sitek will learn this song and play it live with Troupe de Janes.

Free Handsome Family MP3s from Magnet

For their year end, Magnet has been posting snippets from recent guest editors. They chose to feature The Handsome Family on New Year's Eve.

The Handsome Family recently self-released Scattered: A Further Collection Of Lost Demos, Orphaned Songs And Odd Covers. It's only available from their website,

but you’ll be able to buy it at the duo’s upcoming West Coast shows, which kick off January 19. If you’ve never seen the Handsome Family live, trust us: You need to.

Download the two Scattered tracks “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and “Drinking Beer On The Roof” by following this link to the Magnet website.

And if you happen to already have tickets to Wilco's upcoming Boulder, CO shows, please be sure to get there early and enjoy the excellent opening act.