the fyrehaus

As reported by Brooklyn Vegan and Punknews.org, the Futureheads have started their own label to release their own music, including their new single “The Beginning of the Twist,” due out on March 10th. This Is Not the World, the band’s forthcoming third LP, will also be released on the label, dubbed as Nul Recordings. This comes after publicized problems between the band and their past label, Warner Brothers, and a canceled US tour that was blamed on an injury but rumored to do with these label woes. They have just started a UK tour.

This is all well and good, but what I really want to talk about is Barry Hyde’s outfit and accessories in that above photo. Am I crazy, or is the bow tie kinda hot? And the trumpet! There is some weird Marcel Marceau stuff going on over here and I’m into it.

Seattle radio station 90.3 KEXP has some of my photos from the Foals show at Bowery Ballroom included with their review. You can read the review and see the photos here.

Elisabeth suggested the title of this post, comprised of words uttered by a terribly dressed hipster chick as she got on stage to join in with the The Teenagers on their song “Homecoming,” and the dry reply by singer Quentin Delafon. (Elisabeth, did you know his name is Quentin Delafon? Could there not BE a better name for this guy?)

Click on the photo for more images of Quentin and The Teenagers crew. It was a rather lovely evening, as Elisabeth and I both got to hear our favorite songs (sample line from my fave: “F*ck, Nicole is out of control / Call Nicole and f*ck Nicole;” sample line from Elisabeth’s #1: “I f*cked my American c*nt / I loved my English romance”). We also decided that Quentin is the French version of Alan Rake from The Rakes, as he pretty much does the exact same dance moves, just a wee bit smoother. A bit of Parisian flair as opposed to British gawkiness. Also, they are both the width of pencils.

Bear Hands opened, who were very good and obviously from Brooklyn. Their lead guitarist, Ted Feldman (again, a wildly appropriate name) looks to be about 12 and was possibly lured into the band with the promise of comic books and Bazooka Joes. The pun of their name did not dawn on me until we left the show. I fear I am slipping in my old age.

It used to be that whenever I made my year-end lists, I made cutesy little categories with cutesy wink-nudge winners attached. One category was called “Still Need to Make a New Album,” and the winner was always Portishead.

Now, according to the band’s website, the time has come at last!

We’re pleased to announce that we’ll be releasing our album, titled THIRD. on April 14th 2008.

The album has 11 tracks and is 49 minutes 13 seconds long.

It has a release date! It has a TITLE! It has a specified length for some reason! The wheels are in motion! Beth Gibbons is going to rise like a phoenix and kick collective ass!

Okay, dudes, I finally finished this: my Top 50 Albums of 2007. It’s also got my annual “Hot Dozen,” which are albums I liked but maybe not quite enough to make the big list. Each album comes with release info, recommended tracks, and myspace links so you can hear the music for yourself. And, like every year, I try to make it look as pretty as possible, so I hope it provides some nice eye candy. If not, you’re lame and I didn’t want you looking anyway. Nyah.

Courtesy of the Cribs myspace, today’s dose of cuteness:

From L to R: Ross, Gary, Ryan. Already perfecting that rockstar sneer, weren’t you, Gary?

By now, you might have heard about Bjork ripping up that photog’s shirt in New Zealand when he disregarded a request to refrain from taking photos of the tiny but fierce Icelandic wonder. Perhaps he didn’t know about her well-documented hate-hate relationship with paparazzi?

A fierce debate is going down at the Livejournal Bjorkish community about whether or not the singer was within her rights to deal with the guy in a violent fashion, with many fans taking the argument that celebrity comes with its downfalls and she should know better. My favorite part of the entire incident is that she fell down on the ground as she ripped the guy’s shirt—not because I’m out to make fun of her but because that would totally happen to me. Getting all pissed off and deciding to make a statement and falling down on your ass in the process? Yeah, that would have been me, too. Bjork, I sympathize.

Comrades. Sons and Daughters are coming to the USA. Attend and be dazzled by sparkly outfits, daring hemlines and pulsing goth-rock beats.

3/12 Austin, TX - Antone’s
3/17 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
3/18 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
3/19 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
3/21 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall Of Williamsburg
3/22 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
3/23 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s
3/24 Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Downstairs)
3/25 Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa
3/26 Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
3/28 Chicago, IL - Double Door
3/29 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
3/31 Denver, CO - Hi Dive
4/1 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
4/3 Seattle, WA - Neumos
4/4 Vancouver, BC - Richard’s On Richards
TBD Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
4/7 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

Thanks to The Music Slut for the heads-up.

Via The Modern Age: Shins keyboardist Marty Crandall has been arrested for drunkenly beating up on his ex-girlfriend, former America’s Next Top Model contestant Elyse Sewell. Elyse showed off her bruises on her Livejournal and explained how Marty is still in jail, unable to post his bail of 25K, and detailed her own brief stint in jail after the incident, including a warden who asked, “What’s Tyra going to say about this?” Classic.

Here are my questions:

1. Am I really expected to believe that this dude is 145 lbs?
2. What would Zach Braff say? You can’t go around hitting on girls with a band that has a lady-beater in it.
3. If the Shins can generate this much random excitement, why is their live show so dull? Where was this “blitzkrieg of violence” when I was falling asleep on my feet at 2 AM listening to “Phantom Limb”? I was just waiting to see a Corona bottle get smashed over someone’s head. I feel cheated.

Hello, all. I’m Nicole, first-time poster, long-time fan and music gobbler. Megan gave me an account here so I can shove good tunes into your face and enhance your quality of life. I’m still working on my personal best of ‘07 list, but in the meantime, I wanted to take a moment to demand that you all listen to Foals.

Foals had a very successful 2007; they recorded their upcoming debut LP Antidotes in Williamsburg and blogged about the surreal life in Brooklyn, then blew the collective minds of normally stoic hipsters at CMJ, and released the frantic, exceptional singles, “Hummer” and “Mathletics.” Their latest single is “Balloons,” a start-stop, anxiety-riddled dance floor shark attack. Now the self-described “snotty art school dropouts hungry for the dollar” have been signed to Sub Pop and Antidotes is due out in March and it’s way too long for me to wait.

Foals will be swinging by the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in mid-February, so do not miss it, as they put on a great show. Niall Doherty of The Fly agrees.

Foals are the most exciting band I’ve seen live in ages and they also make great records. The vocals are a paranoid, primal holler. The guitars are complex math-rock and the rhythm section baits the dancefloor. A lot of indie music sounds smug, but Foals sound relevant and righteous.

Yeah, so if you don’t believe me, listen to that guy. Just don’t stand too close to the stage; you might get kicked in the face. With love.