It's not exactlyBeyonce's 'Single Ladies,' butTitle Tracks' 'Steady Love' takes a look at single girls who are looking (and looking and looking ...) for love."It's about all these female friends I had who really inexplicably didn't have anybody and had been single for a long time,"Title Tracks singer and guitarist John Davis tells Spinner.
It seems that the odds were stacked against his girl friends, though."It was so strange but D.C., I guess, is one of these weird towns where there aren't many single men, or desirable single men,"the former Q and Not U drummer says of his hometown.
The peppy beat pop song, which is the lead single for Title Tracks' February-released debut album 'It Was Easy,' takes more than its style from the 1960s Brit invasion bands. The song's third-person perspective, says Davis, is reminiscent of theBeatles'She Loves You,' where the narrator is also talking to a friend about their situation.
"It's a little bit different from the songs on the rest of the album. It's like I'm talking to you, my friend, about you and this other person. I find that an interesting stance as a narrator in a song. More frequently songs are about I feel this way, I am upset, I love you. This is interesting to take the point like how 'She Loves You' is as this third person. For me, a lot of the songs I write, it's about just me or about me and you. But not about you guys!"
Davis is happy to report that the song's real-life inspirations have ended up in relationships, even if they haven't had a ring put on it:"Most of the people that were the subjects of that song have now found people who are developing into good things."
It may have taken North Carolina indie rock pioneersSuperchunknine long years between recordings, but it's not like band members have been idle in the time leading up to the recent release of 'Majesty Shredding' -- frontman Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance continue to help run Merge Records, the successful indie label they founded over two decades ago, guitarist Jim Wilbur has his own solo project and also plays with McCaughan inPortastatic, while drummer Jon Wurster moonlights as a radio comedian and also gets behind the kit with theMountain Goats.
With so much going on, it's no surprise it took the band nearly a decade to get around tomakinga new record, but the spirited 'Majesty Shredding' has been warmly welcomed by fans new and old alike. Spinner caught up with McCaughan as he wound down a banner year that included not only the comeback of his own band, but also saw his label release one of the biggest albums of 2010,Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs.'
How does it feel to put out a new album almost a decade after your last release?
It feels good that people are actually listening to it and liking it. One of the reasons we made another record is that over the years we've been playing a few shows here and there, and at a certain point, if you're still playing shows, you want new songs to play. So it's also been awesome to have songs from the new record to pad into our set. And they seem to blend well with our old songs, so it's worked out really well.
Watch Superchunk's Video for 'Watery Hands'
The new album has that classic bouncy Superchunk sound but also sounds really fresh and current at the same time. Do you feel your sound has evolved in any specific way over the years?
Hopefully it's evolved, in the sense that you don't want to do the same thing over and over again. And I don't think our new record really sounds like any of our other records, though I think musically it's maybe more similar to some of our earlier records than the last couple things that we did. I think each record we make is a little bit of a reaction to the one we made before.
The last album we made, 'Here's to Shutting Up', and the one before that, 'Come Pick Me Up', were both maybe on the poppier side, and we were doing more with strings and horns and more complicated arrangements. But I think this time around we were ready to kind of strip it down a little bit. I mean, it's not as stripped-down as our first few records -- there's certainly a bit more going on -- but I think that it's just a little bit more direct than the last couple records we made.
Was there a deliberate move to try something new?
It was -- and it was both deliberate and also logistical. In other words, the last couple albums we made, it was all four of us writing songs together over the course of weeks and months all together in a room. And when you're writing that way, you can kind of work over ideas endlessly, the four of you, and find all kinds of stuff. And that's good, but it also means you can end up with some pretty wacky ideas that are maybe hard to pull off live, but work great in the studio.
No one had the time to write that way this time -- Jon was living in New York, and everybody's been really busy, so this time around, it was more like me writing the songs, making demos and sending them around, which is kind of the way that we used to do it. Writing them by myself on acoustic or electric guitar means that they're just naturally going to be a little bit more straightforward.
But as far as it being deliberate, we wanted some new songs to play live -- songs that would be really fun to play, songs that we could just plug in and play and not worry about, 'Oh, do we have this keyboard?' or 'Do we have to play this other part?', so it was both deliberate and also just a function of where everybody's at in terms of how we could write songs.
Watch This Exclusive Spinner Interview With Mac McCaughan About 'Majesty Shredding'
Superchunk is also touring again for the first time in years. How has it been being back on the road?
It's been good! One of our goals in both making the record and touring after it came out was that nobody has to do this -- it's not our main job anymore, so let's do it in a way that's fun for everybody and is not going to drive us crazy. We've kept the runs of dates pretty short, which is different than it used to be. But it's also just so you're not away from home as long, and it just kind of works for what everybody wants to do now. But the shows have been really fun -- the crowds have been great, and the reaction to the new songs has been really good, so it's been awesome.
Now that Superchunk is a going concern again, do you think it will be tricky juggling your duties at Merge with being in the band?
I don't think that Superchunk is ever going to be in the mode where we're touring for five or six months in the year like we were at one point, so the balance is always going to tilt towards Merge. But it's really fun to be able to be somewhat active like we have been lately.
Merge Records celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, what has it meant to you, knowing the label's done so well in an industry not always known for longevity?
It's kind of crazy -- in some ways, it makes you feel old, knowing it has been that long {laughs}. We did a book about Merge called 'Our Noise', going through all the photos and flyers and all that stuff ... That book was really great, but it's definitely like, wow -- looking at yourself at 19, seeing how different everybody looks, can definitely make you feel your age, you know? But it's awesome.
For us, it's really satisfying that we get to work with a lot of artists we first started out with, like Lambchop and Polvo, as well as working with new bands. To me, frankly, Arcade Fire still seems like a new band to us, even though they've been on the label for six years at this point. So the whole journey has been really great.
Watch This Merge Records Retrospective
What's it been like for Merge to have had a hand in the incredible success of Arcade Fire, and the release of 'The Suburbs' this year?
It's been awesome. Really, for a band that's out there as much as the Arcade Fire is, they're doing so much hard work touring and supporting their record that a lot of their success can be pinned on the band. They really bust their ass to get the word out there about the music and to play their music all over the world. There are a lot of people that want them all the time -- that's not an easy thing to face every time you put out a record, to have it be the most anticipated record of whatever year it's coming out. I mean, that's a lot of weight, you know? But they seem to handle it really well -- they're a special group.
And it's that time of year again, when everyone's counting down their favourite albums of the year. Were there any records that really stood out for you?
I'm in the midst of making a list, actually ... For me, {Broken Social Scene's} 'Forgiveness Rock Record' is one of the albums Ilistened toa lot this year. I really like the new album by Parting Gifts -- it's the side project of Greg Cartwright, who's in Reigning Sound. I really like theWild Nothingalbum, the newEdwyn Collinsrecord, and theNew Pornographersrecord is one of my favourites of the year.
When I think about the records that are my favourites, I can't really mention the Merge records, which are the ones I've actually listened to the most. But if I start naming two or three, I'll forget all the other records we put out {laughs}. I can't start playing favourites, because I really do love them all. So those are some of the non-Merge releases that I've listened to and loved this year.
Growing up is tough to do when you're in a rock 'n' roll band, asCage the Elephantfound out. The Bowling Green, Ky., band's 2009 debut has sold an impressive 400,000 copies in the States alone, but on their sophomore set, 'Thank You, Happy Birthday,' they don't necessarily take time to reflect on their recent success. If anything, it's quite the opposite.
"After really trying to control everything in my life, it just unraveled before my eyes,"Cage lead singer Matt Shultz tells Spinner."I had a huge hypocrisy in my own world. A lot of the songs are written about that, discovering that."
As previously noted, 'Thank You, Happy Birthday' takes on a host of influential '80s and '90s rock influences, from theButthole Surfers, thePixiesandPavement, and was actually recorded before US audiences became widely familiar with the group. They spent a long time in England, penning songs before returning stateside, only to scrap everything from those lengthy sessions."We were close to band suicide,"Shultz says."We were all ready to drink the Kool-Aid at once, together."
Those itching for some new Cage got a taste this past November when the stuttery, 'Shake Me Down' was released. But it's the bass driven, Weezer-inspired song 'Aberdeen' that Shultz says works as a great indication of the band's more grown-up sound."I had this personal revelation,"he says.""I'd continue to see myself go back to the same thing that enslaved my life; over and over, putting my hands in the fire, even after I realized what I was doing to myself and the people around me."
'Thank You, Happy Birthday' is due out Jan. 11 on Jive.
Cage the Elephant Perform 'Tiny Little Robots' in Our Studios
Matthew Adam Hart was all set to release 'The Weight's on the Wheels,' his fourth album under the nameRussian Futurists, when he opted to scrap everything and start from scratch. Having self-produced his previous three full-lengths, the Canadian singer, songwriter and sampler wrangler decided his latest batch of wordy, down-and-dirty electro-pop jams could use some cleaning up. For this, Hart enlisted Michael Musmanno, a producer whose work withOutkast,Arrested DevelopmentandLilysmade him an attractive potential collaborator.
"It definitely wasn't something I ever thought I would be into or open to at all,"Hart tells Spinner."It was a combination of a good idea and someone I really liked. I had done my version {of 'The Weight's on the Wheels'} and I thought it was great. That was the version I was committed to putting out, but I rethought things. I'm not someone who changes the formula that much from album to album, but I thought maybe I could challenge myself a bit in the way it sounds, at least, and make it different from that end. As soon as it started rolling, it took on a life of its own. I was into it right away."
Released last month,"The Weight's on the Wheels"is a sing-songy synth-pop album with a shiny '90s R&B feel. It's the glossiest Futurists album yet, and Hart is so pleased with the results that he plans on working with outside producers from here on out.
"I'm way more open to it now,"he says."I'm considering the stuff I do at home now a bit more of a demo. I think I'll always from this point on be working with someone else. It's good to ask for help. The earlier stuff, I stand behind it. I like it, but some of it can be a really hard listen."
Hart refers to the production aesthetic of his earlier albums as"lo-fi, but not on purpose."Thanks to Musmanno, he says, nothing has been lost in the mix.
"I like the clarity of the newer production, the way you can still make something really full of lots of intricate sounds, but people can actually hear them,"Hart says.
Even if Hart shares production credits on future Futurists albums, he likely won't justify his plural moniker by welcoming other songwriters into the fold.
"I'm really interested in the idea of writing for other people,"Hart says."But that's the one thing I do have a singular focus on: the songwriting process. I really like doing it by myself, because I just feel like if there are too many cooks in the kitchen, it can water down an idea. Some bands are great at doing it. There's obviously a chemistry they have. But that end of it is going to remain the same."
Russian Futurists Performs 'Register My Firearms? No Way!'
Instead of giving her fans Christmas songs to get them through the holidays, piano soul rockerDiane Birchwanted to do a little something different -- an EP where she covers the likes ofEcho and the Bunnymen,Sisters of MercyandJoy Division. On her latest project, 'The Velveteen Age' -- which is out now via S Curve -- Birch reminisces about her teenage Goth phase and the music she loved during that time.
"The whole purpose of doing these covers is that they were such monumental songs from bands that were so significant to me at a time in my life when I was a really rebellious and lonely teen. They were my comfort"Birch tells Spinner."I also wanted to give some more music to my fans without having to make them wait until the next album and figured this would be a fun project for me to do."
For the EP, Birch recruited her friends, New York rock collective thePhenomenal Handclap Bandto fill out the sound."We just started talking that it would be great to collaborate at some point but there was never really the opportunity to do that,"Phenomenal Handclap Band co-founder Daniel Collás says."Then the opportunity came up for the EP and she asked if we were interested, so I was like 'Yeah, let's try and make it happen.' It was really tight in the schedule but we made it happen that way."
Birch came up with a laundry list of songs that could potentially make it on 'The Velveteen Age,' and there were times during the recording process that Collás recalls would bring another contender to the list."There was a longer list then we scaled it down from there that. There were a few that were chosen because they worked better or sounded better,"he says."{This Mortal Coil's} 'Tarantula' came up super last minute. One day we saw it on YouTube and we played it a bunch of times and realized we could totally adapt this song to us."
The singer-songwriter also made sure that each song was one she could adapt to her own style, such as Joy Division's 'Atmosphere.'"'Atmosphere is a perfect example of a truly great song that works in so many different formats,"she says."It was a song that always gave me lots of comfort as a teen but when I sat down at the piano and played it, it seemed to work. I thought perhaps I could bring my own thing to it and hopefully it wouldn't just sound like a karaoke version of the original."
Like 'Atmosphere,' Birch wanted to revive each of the songs on the seven-track EP with the team's own flavor and style."To me, the point of singing someone else's songs is to bring something new to it and show another side of the song that perhaps people didn't hear before,"she says."Personally, I get a real kick out of showing the versatility of a good song. Playing in piano bars and restaurants in L.A. helped me understand the universal appeal of a great melody and something to sink your ears into. Whether it was Radiohead or Cole Porter, there was something very simple and magical about a good song that broke down the barriers of genre and spoke to everyone on a basic emotional level."
With this unique project, Birch knows that not all of her fans will be into it."I wouldn't be surprised if a few egg's get thrown my way but honestly I don't care,"she says."These bands mean as much to me as anyone else who sat in their bedroom blaring those tracks into their ears. Either way, I hope people will appreciate the covers for what they are. Hopefully they will get to know a few more things about me and get even more excited for my upcoming solo record."
The new Spider-Man musical scored byU2'sBonoand theEdgehas been dealt another blow after the lead actress was forced to pull out of the production.
As previously reported by Spinner, the preview show on Nov. 28 came in for heavy criticism after a string of technical malfunctions repeatedly brought the show to a halt. During the performance Natalie Mendoza, who plays new character Arachne in 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark', found herself stuck for 10 minutes, suspended above the crowd.
Now it has emerged that Mendoza suffered a concussion after being hit by a rope offstage, theNew York Timesreports.
"Natalie Mendoza suffered an injury and, on doctor's orders, will be out of the show for a brief time,"lead producer Michael Cohl said in a statement. Although the actress did return for the second performance she has now decided to follow medical advice.
Her spokesperson Shea Martin said,"She's a professional actress, she wanted to go in and see if she could do it, and keep mastering what is a very technically advanced show."
The show features 27 flying sequences and countless pieces of moving scenery. According to the State Labour Department, the production has made modifications in an attempt to avoid further safety issues. A spokesperson for the department said,"The production has explained to us the details of the accident. They also indicated that they have made changes to prevent this type of accident from happening again. We plan to follow up regularly to ensure that these modifications are adequate."Until Mendoza is deemed fit enough to return her understudy America Olivo will take on the part of Arachne.
Actor Reeve Carney Performs 'Boy Falls From the Sky'
Wilco'sJeff TweedyjoinedYo La Tengoon stage Friday night (Dec. 3) during the band's sold out Hanukkah show at Maxwell's performance venue in Hoboken, NJ. The event, which was the third night of Tengo's Hanukkah celebration, saw Tweedy as the opener, playing an acoustic set of Wilco's tune, 'Jesus, Etc.'
"Jesus, don't cry, you can rely on me honey, you can combine anything you want, I'll stick around, you were right about the stars, each one is a setting sun,"he crooned while strumming the guitar.
The Illinois native assisted Yo La Tengo with Phil Ochs' 'Chords of Fame,' as well as their tunes, 'The Race Is On Again' and 'Can't Forget,' among others.
Watch Jeff Tweedy and Yo La Tengo perform 'Jesus, Etc.'
To celebrate the holiday season, AOL Music is thrilled to announce a month-long series of giveaways. We're gifting rare items sent to us by dozens of artists, fromTaylor SwifttoOzzy Osbourne. If you're looking for the perfect holiday present for a friend or family member (or yourself), here's your chance to score something awesome. See thefull calendar of upcoming giveaways.
On Dec. 4, AOL Music and Spinner are giving away an autographedDeerhunter'Halcyon Digest' CD. To enter, follow@spinnertweeton Twitter and retweet theannouncementof the giveaway, or comment on Spinner's Facebookpostabout it by 3PM EST on Dec. 5. A winner will be chosen at random and notified on Dec. 5. Be sure toread the official contest rules.
While he may still be best known for his turns at the helm of Jane's andPorno for Pyros, Farrell went multidisciplinary decades ago. As a wholehearted early adopter of dance music, his forays into blending electronic beats and performance art with a little rock swagger long predated later hipster dance-rock crossover trends.
So nothing about his event Thursday night in Miami would or should have surprised longtime Farrell-watchers -- except maybe that it wasn't quite that weird. It was against the sprawling backdrop of Art Basel Miami Beach that Farrell chose to fete his latest venture with manager/business partner Garrett Chau, Precision Guided Musicians.
Born from Farrell mishearing a friend who was talking about smart bombs ("precision guided musicians"), the organization hopes to spur on the creation of smart bombs of music and art in a mission of spreading world peace and parties. That means, in concrete terms, a nationwide search for a new up-and-coming artist, who will receive a grant, a series of gallery shows and the opportunity to design the organization's visual aesthetic.
It also means, for music lovers, a series of new destination events. Precision Guided Musicians is also a series of worldwide parties, the largest so far planned withCoachellafounder Paul Tollett and set for next summer in Southern California.
The kick-off event was decidedly more modest and in line with Farrell's desire to grow the project organically. Rather than glitzy South Beach, he chose to hit midtown Miami venue Bardot, a shabby-chic venue at the border on the city's Wynwood warehouse arts district.
His appearance here was billed alongside vixenish wife Etty -- who sported an enviable set of platform pink stilettos -- as a performance by"PerryEtty vs. DJ Chris Cox."Even if what that meant in practical terms was unclear, the 200-capacity venue was crammed with celeb-watchers by the show's slated 11PM start time. Of course, though, this was Miami, which meant that Farrell ambled towards the decks with Cox fashionably late, shortly before midnight.
The set would eventually morph into more of a live performance, featuring two new PerryEtty tracks. Mostly, it was a relentlessly high-energy DJ set with Farrell improvising across the top, and pop art stills and videos playing on a screen behind them. He and Cox went hard out of the gate, choosing an opening track that sampled Beethoven's Fifth and launched into hard bass and high BPMs.
It felt more like Miami's annual Winter Music Conference, which made it a shame that there was physically no room to dance. Some revelers managed anyways, pushing into a small space in front of the DJ booth to fist-pump as Farrell vocally riffed. Over one disco-house track he went vaguely mystical, singing things like"take my hand;"another time he turned a call of"Happy Hanukkah"into a long, atonal chant of the word"happy."
So no, this was not a staid art event. But in Farrell's mission for Precision Guided Musicians of luring people in with, first, a raging party, it was a wildly successful debut.
While electronic artistJimmy Tamborellohas received acclaim for his glitched-out work asDntel, it's no secret the musician has seen more success in a group setting.
As one half of electro-pop duoPostal Service(alongsideDeath Cab for CutiefrontmanBen Gibbard), Tamborello made a lasting impression on every 'O.C.'-obsessed indie kid back in 2003 when their album 'Give Up' rocketed up the charts and went gold. But despite being such a big hit, the pair has yet to record a sophomore set, and, according to Tamborello, sadly, that's the way it's going to stay -- for a while, at least.
"There's not much of an update,"he tells Spinner in between fielding questionsabout his newDntel EPs ('After Parties 1' and 'After Parties 2')."We had a couple of false starts {a couple years back}, and went on to other things. I don't think it'll ever be officially over -- but there's a good chance that it'll never come together."
"It was really just like, we started working on a couple of songs, and then Ben got busy with Death Cab again,"he adds.
Watch Postal Service's 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight'
While Tamborello currently subscribes to a mantra of never-say-never, he also maintains that there's no point in anyone holding their breath for a new Postal Service recording (likely a sore point with Sub Pop, who saw 'Give Up' become their No. 2 seller of all time, trumped only byNirvana's 'Bleach.')
Considering the Tamborello is busy promoting his 'After Parties' series -- which features instrumental-only cuts geared for club kids, and is due out Dec. 7 --- writing a full platter of emo-tinged electronica is the furthest thing from the guy's mind.
"I think at this point, everybody just assumes it's not going to happen. It'll be a pleasant surprise if we can get it together."
On Monday, whenMadonnaopened her first Hard Candy Fitness gym,she saidits Mexico City location would prove an ideal spot to work out all the kinks and make any necessary adjustments before taking the brand worldwide. By Wednesday, she had already learned her first big lesson: businesses need permits.
TheAssociated Press reportsthat the gym is currently operating without the necessary requirements from the local government -- namely, a land use permit, a security plan and proof of adequate parking. If the new business can't produce a land use permit by Friday, it will be forced to shut down.
Granted, the proper paperwork shouldn't be hard to obtain. Upon learning of the gym's plan to open on Monday, the local municipality chief, Demetrio Sodi, granted a special week-long permit which allowed Hard Candy Fitness to go ahead with its grand opening plans. That celebration included a ribbon-cutting and dance class taught by Madonna, with music provided byPaul Oakenfold.
But Hard Candy Fitness isn't the only mover in that neighborhood with ties to the music industry: Sodi's niece is Latin Grammy winnerThalia. As for the Material Girl, well... lesson learned.
