Sofia Coppola has been laying low since her misunderstood 2006 film Marie Antoinette; basically she’s enjoying (hopefully) motherhood and being married to the lead singer from that French rock group Phoenix.

Coppola always straddles a fine line with us; in that we have to be in the right mood for her stylized films.  When the mood fancies us The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation and her take on the doomed French Queen offer pleasures few film directors can match.  But again, the mood has to strike.  I wouldn’t argue if someone said her movies come of as slow, precious, fey, etc.

That style, of blending old school cinematography with excellent music, is on full display in this Dior commercial.  It’s set to the Brigitte Bardot song “Moi, Je Joue” (interestingly enough one of the few great Bardot songs not written by Serge Gainsbourg) and stars model Maryna Linchuk.

If this doesn’t make you want to go to Europe and traipse through the cobblestone and country side, sipping wine in cafes and wearing ascots, then I don’t know what it would take. Mostly, I just wish my entire life had the sheen of 60’s French new wave cinema.

Mp3: Bridgette Bardot – “Moi Je Joue”

Cinematic Titanic, the creators behind the movie skewering MST3k, are taking on one of my favorite awful Christmas movies this year.  It’s available now and might just be worth the $15.

Mp3: Milton Delugg – “Hooray for Santa Claus”

Don’t let the name of Brooklyn’s Pains of Being Pure at Heart scare you aware from their sublime and shimmery sound.  With a name like that you’d expect black eyeliner emo crap.  Instead you get something emotional, but not whiney or schmaltzy.

It’s a slightly updated take on that jangly, mid 80’s/early 90’s rock and calls to mind bands like New Order and then later Black Tambourine or My Bloody Valentine.  Still, it’s impressive that their sound is so cohesive, well-arranged and poppy without losing any of that edge.

Signed to Slumberland Records, which is building an impressive roster that includes the Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion, Brickolage and others, the band’s debut album doesn’t drop until Feb. 2009 but it’s certainly on our radar.

For the Art Boonparn-directed clip for “Everything With You,” which shows up on the album, the New York quartet’s represented by keyboardist/vocalist Peggy and her best friend, who have pillow fights, share gum and otherwise wander a graying city.

I know the Vivian Girls have been getting a lot of great press this year – and for good reason.  However, when I listen to POBPAH I only think how much better/enjoyable they are making comparable music.

Mp3: Pains of Being Pure At Heart – “Everything With You”

I finally got my hands on Jenny Lewis’s new solo album Acid Tongue and it’s immediately clear that as a solo performer she is much more interesting than she is with her band Rilo Kiley.

Mostly, I think because Lewis is interested in a southern musical stew throwing country, blues, gospel and rock into a pot and seeing what works. It’s obvious these are the genres of music that have influenced and moved her musical outlook.  As a solo artist she is allowed to pursue what interests her the most, with Rilo Kiley it’s almost like she is forced to reign it in for the sake of everyone else in the band.

The album has plenty of highlights and stretches what we have come to expect from Lewis.  If before this album I thought she was a capable front woman for a band or need the soulfulness of The Watson Twins as a crutch, I’m now more than curious about what her future holds.  In many ways this album has raised her ceiling – she’s like a poor woman’s Neko Case.  And I don’t mean that as an insult, but rather the highest compliment I could give a female country artist.

There are a few throw away songs on this album, not that the songs are bad per say, but that I just don’t care for them because they are uninteresting in a pedantic way (”Pretty Bird,” “Bad Man’s World” and “Black Sand” come to mind).

The best songs here have those awkward phrasings and lyrics, that while on her last album seemed to be a detriment, here it works in her favor.  It gives the album personality and a certain quirky charm.  It also helps that several songs shift genres over the course of their duration – “Jack Killed Mom,” and “Acid Tongue” are the best examples of the wildly shifting sounds at work.

Anyway, this wasn’t meant to be a fullblown review of Jenny’s new album.  I came to praise her duet with Elvis Costello on “Carpetbagger.”

Though I don’t think she’ll ever want to be a prototypical Nashville country star, the child-actress raised in Hollywood could be considered something of a country music carpetbagger.  Which is not to say her love of southern musical culture isn’t genuine, I think she combines those tropes better and in a more cohesive sound than many who try.

“Carpetbaggers” is an uptempo rocker and stolen from Elvis Costello.  Even at his age his voice is one for the ages – smoothed out but still nasally. It’s like he’s not even trying in this song and yet, I don’t think it would nearly work as well without him.

Knowledge bomb alert: Carpetbagger, while now considered a derisive term for any politician running for office in a district other than their own, i.e. Hillary Clinton running for Senator of New York, the term was originally given to Northerners who moved south during Reconstruction (1865-1877).  Southerners were worried that white republicans from the north (who came with their belongings in travel carpetbags) were going to loot and plunder their defeated lands.  Which is probably true, since with a coalition of freed slaves and scalawags (southerns who supporter reconstruction) they attempted to politically control confederate states.

Mp3: Jenny Lewis – “Carpetbaggers”

Director Rod Lurie seems to be channeling Valerie Plame, Judith Miller and Robert Novak all in one big journalism-political fictional stew.  And I’m all for it.  The cast here looks sterling with Kate Beckinsale getting a meaty roll and a journalist who goes to jail rather than give up her source, Vera Farminga as an outed C.I.A. operative could be the potatoes and then everything is rounded out with the tasty additions of Alan Alda, Matt Dillon, David Schwimmer, Angela Bassett, Noah Wyle and Harry Lenix.

Having just seen David Gordon Green’s Snow Angels, it looks like Beckinsale is finally moving away from low-grade romantic comedies and schlocky vampire flicks.  And that is a great thing for film buffs.

Nothing But the Truth is both written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Rod Lurie, of The Contender and Resurrecting the Champ previously. The film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and is being distributed by Yari Film Group. Nothing But the Truth will arrive in very limited theaters starting on December 19th before expanding wider throughout January.

Mp3: The Decemberists – “Valerie Plame”

LA’s The Happy Hollows draw easy comparisons to both Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with vocalist Sarah Negahdari’s quirky delivery and fuzzy guitar lines and abrupt tempo switches from the deft rhythm section of Charles Mahoney and Chris Hernandez .  Comparisons aside, however, it’s hard to not to be immediately drawn into their infectious rock.

The band has decided to release their new The Imaginary EP, which comes out tomorrow in physical format (Heart Records), a day early in that old “pay what you want model.”  Check out the widget below and if you pass the along to five friends then you can download it for free.  And it’s totally worth it. Both for you and your friends.

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Britt Daniel is one of us.  Yeah sure, he’s the front man for Spoon and that makes him nothing like us on a certain level.  But seeing him kick around Portland at shows, whether it’s checking out White Rabbits or Los Compesinos!, I get the impression he’s one of us.

Wearing jeans, red chucks and t-shirts he blends in more than most of the crazy fashionistas here, except it’s Britt Daniel and he stands out because of who he is.  Still, I get the sense that Britt Daniel was the most popular guy in high school.  Not in that captain of the football team kind of way, but the kind of guy who floats between cliques, excels at everything, is loved by cheerleaders, teachers and moms alike.  He’s that guy.

And we’re all the better for it.  Nowhere were these traits on display more than during his solo set at Wonder Ballroom for MusicFest Northwest.  He was charismatic and coy, often laughing at his mistakes and having fun.  He came on the stage with a simple “thanks for coming to my show” (as if noone would show up?) before blasting into “The Beast and the Dragon, Adored.”

His set was rife with material from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Gimme Fiction and Kill the Moonlight. But the highlights were the three new songs he debuted.  One was “Writing to You in Reverse,” a song Spoon played at Pitchfork Music Fest that’s been kicking around; the second had no name but it was an aggressive uptempo number in the vein of their Telephono days.  You could almost here the Pixies influence in the tune’s rawness.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get great video of the song; a shame because it was the best of the three.  Finally, he played “Who Backs Your Money?”

But over the course of the hour that he played there is no doubt that Britt Daniel is one of the biggest rock stars we have, even if he refuses to act like it.  His mini-set with Quasi/Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss was one of the highlights of the entire music fest, just an awesome surprise.

He left the stage with an even simpler slight wave of the hand and “goodbye.”  In five years I doubt I’ll remember most of the music I caught this week, but Britt Daniel solo isn’t one of them.

Mp3: Britt Daniel (w/Janet Weiss) – “Who Backs Your Money?” (new!)

Mp3: Britt Daniel – “Underdog”

Mp3: Britt Daniel – “The Beast and Dragon, Adored”

Mp3: Britt Daniel – “Something to Look Forward To”

More videos from the set after the jump.  MORE »

Deaf Indie Elephants recorded this great cover of Devendra Banhart throwing some love to perhaps the greatest summer song ever, Mungo Jerry’s “In the Summertime.” 

He doesn’t deviate much from the song and I never thought I’d miss the washboard in this lazy, ramshackle of a song, but it’s a good cover and a great way to start the morning.

Mp3: Devendra Banhart – “In the Summertime”

It cracks me up everytime he sings the line “When the weather’s fine you got women on your mind.  Have a drink have a drive go out and see what you can find.  If her daddy’s rich take her out for a meal, if her daddy’s poor just do what you feel.”  Just puts a big ole shit-eating grin on my face.

M4a: Mungo Jerry – “In the Summertime”

Also, I just learned that Mungo Jerry was an English folk group and not some Appalachian American musician.  If you could see my face it would be the look of extreme disappointment mixed with utter happiness. Because the song and the video below is just that awesome.

Kristoffer Ragnstam is a Swedish singer/songwriter. We just got our hands on a copy of his 2008 album Wrong Side of the Room. At first listen he comes off in the same mold of Jack Johnson or John Mayer, but his arrangements and ambition seem to be something much grander than either of those two guys. I’d say he has more in common with Beck, more than anyone else. He’s eclectic, shifting from genre to genre effortlessly.

In “Swing that Tambourine” the song starts off with that Southern Cali, slow-dub rhythm – you know the one made obnoxious in every Jack Johnson song and the one that Sublime helped make popular. Still, about a minute into this song when the pianos start twinkling and the other instruments begin to build it’s clear that he has something much more glorious in mind than your average campfire sing-along song.

The video, directed by Adam Buncher, has Ragnstam in a Twilight Zone situation of trying to escape from a box! Twist ending alert!

Also: This is a great interview with him.
Mp3: Kristoffer Ragnstam – “Swing that Tambourine”
And: Wrong Side of the Room drops Aug. 19 on Bluhammock Records [Buy the record]

I’ve been racking up a lot of new music and I’ve been doing an otherwise terrible job at sharing it with you all. So here’s some great tunes to kick start your Wednesday morning. I checked out The Republic Tigers last night at the Towne Lounge.  You never know how you feel once you get out of work and if staying up late is worth it.  I didn’t stay for the whole set, but what I did see I was impressed with.

I do sorta dig The Republic Tigers breed of sensitive electronic rock. It’s not quite progish, not even close, but that’s the descriptor that comes to mind. Like it’s an Americanized late-period Britpop.  The Tigers write tight upbeat pop songs, with dark and moody underpinnings.

Photo by: Jalapeno at Philly’s North Star Bar

One day I will get my camera back up and working.  So on to the new music.  MORE »

Vamoose is a crew duo (Oldboy and Everiman) from NYC, often times backed by both a live band and a DJ. Don’t know much about them, but I’m digging the song. The video, on the other hand, could use some work. Though there is something endearing about the low budgetness of it and how the crew doesn’t seem concerned at all with being viewed as cool.

As it is, this toes the line between slinky summer jam (that organ and horns are reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield) and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it became a quasi-club anthem.

This cracked me up from their website: “People are going to drive their cars, smoke their cigarettes, drink their alcohol, drive their petroleum powered SUVs, but what if we were just a bit more conscious about it all? People are going to be people, but what if there was a small alternative to these activities? What if you could do these things and help yourself AND the world at the same time?

Armed with hybrid cars, clear rolling papers, and bottles of smart water, we will prove on our journey from NYC to Los Angeles that alternative options, can be better for us all.”

Admirable, I’d offer. Lyrics are definitely NSFW or grandma.

Mp3:Vamoose – “Step Out”

We’ve been jamming out to this tune and anticipating the Omaha band’s third album O, which streets on June 17. You can stream Tilly and the Wall’s new album on Spinner this week.

“Pot Kettle Black” is a fighting song, though the video seems to have the band traveling and doing some good ol’fashioned busking.

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Last night I made the effort to go out and watch the Celtics crap away a game they could have won. It was especially frustrating because with the exception of Ray Allen the team played intensely poor basketball. Lackluster defense and poor execution of the offensive end. And still, they could have won the ball game if they played a modicum better in the fourth quarter.

It’s apparent, more than anything else, that the Lakers are not the better team in this series. But that in no way guarantees the Celtics will wrap this thing up for banner #17.

I watched the game from a pizza place with a poor reception and me thinks I should have stayed home to stream the radio feed from my computer. Oh well.

Here’s some tunes that have been getting me through the past week and a half. I know there’s a heat wave going on back east, but out here in Portland it’s the middle of June and I’m wearing a winter coat in the morning and using a bit of heat when I get up. Ridonkulous.

- The Hold Steady are streaming their new LP Stay Positive. It’s a doozy of an album. Similar to their past efforts but satisfying like Linus’s comfort blanket. Give a listen on their Myspace page.

Mp3: Sigur Ros – “Gobbledigook”

You’ve got to love a band that is self aware enough to title one of their songs after what it sounds like to listen to them, if you don’t speak Hopelandic, that is. But the Icelandic band has created a sound that defies language or location or time. An almost impossible feat. This one has a Dave Matthews guitar line, as if “Grey Street” were remixed by Animal Collective.

Mp3: Last Town Chorus – “Loud and Clear”

I had the chance to see Last Town Chorus open up for Kathleen Edwards a few weeks back. I didn’t care much for Kathleen Edwards, but was completely blown away by the one woman band of Last Town Chorus – otherwise known as Megan Hickey.

The band is Megan and her lap steel guitar and she uses it like a gut wrenching weapon; bending and twisting notes to wring every ounce of heartbreak and love from them. It is a simultaneously beautiful and frightening thing to watch. Her performance was like dark magic in that regard. There is nothing more spectacular than listening to music that is played in the silences between notes.

Also, the crowd was mostly made up of NPR listeners, seriously I was the youngest person in the audience, and they had no idea what to make of Megan Hickey. Sure, some clapped out of respect or being an automaton, but honestly I think most were scratching their heads in bemusement.

Mp3: Travis – “J Smith”

Scottish rockers Travis are one of the best going. For whatever reason they’ve slid below the radar, even after the superb 2007 album The Boy With No Name. They’re back in the studio working on a follow-up already, tentatively titled An Ode to J Smith. Word on the street is that this could be a concept album of sorts or at the very least the band’s stretching their musical chops. The first song from that album is a heartier rock affair and has drawn comparisons to Queen, though I don’t hear that. Still, the final half of the song is killer, with an excellent guitar solo leading into an operatic outro that is just chilling. It’ll be great to hear this one in context.

Mp3: Mason Jennings – “Soldier Boy”

There are two modes where Minnesota troubadour Mason Jennings shines: when he’s penning sensitive long songs or rocking out like a railroad busker. Isn’t that really all we want him to do? I’ve resigned myself to knowing that Mason will never be anything more than this, that the greatness I had hoped for him might be beyond his reach. Still, this is an ebulliently bouncy tune in the railroad busker tradition. There’s a line in this song that goes, “She broke my heart with my best friend’s name and my mind still works, but it’s not the same.” It’s odd phrasing, but somehow Mason makes it work.

Mp3: Love Psychedelico – “Standing Bird”

I had never even heard of this band until some promo material came across my way. BUT. I haven’t been able to stop listening to this song for about two weeks now. With it’s crunchy keyboards and full on attitude, this is one addictive song.

The band is a Japanese pop outfit and something tells me I’ll be digging deeper into their catalogue. I have no doubt that this will be my summer jam in 2008.

Mp3: Parenthetical Girls – “Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)”

I saw Parenthetical Girls (a Portland band) open up for Los Compesinos! last week and though they came off as taking themselves waaaaaay too serious, that is until the cloyingly cute keyboardist opened up her deadpan wit and sarcasm. I will begrudgingly admit that they have the chops and the sound to make a name for themselves. Their theatrical arty rock seems destined for the Pitchfork crowd and a good barometer for whether or not you might enjoy them is Sunset Rubdown – adventurous, unstructured songs, that have the ability to transform your world. And when they occasionally added a structured melody it was a thing to behold.

Still, though I danced like a crazy guy during Los Campesinos!, it’s been this band that I haven’t stopped thinking about. I’m intensely curious to hear what they sound like recorded and wonder where their career will take them. I could see it go either way – flame out or make it big.

Mp3: Tilly and the Wall – “Pot Kettle Black”

Tilly and the Wall hail from Omaha and are most noted for having a tap dancer as their percussionist rather than your standard drummer. Cool, but a gimmick like that only works if you can back it up and they certainly can. “Pot Kettle Black” comes roaring out of the gate and is a rave-up rock tune. It’s like a call to arms from start to finish.

Mp3: The Sweet Serenades – “I Can Never Die”
Mp3: The Sweet Serenades – “First Taste of Trouble”
Mp3: The Sweet Serenades – “Coming Closer”

You know sometimes you get strange emails and it’s like huh? Well, a while ago I got an email from this dude named Martin Nordvall. He was from Sweden. And though I’m sure he sent the email to like 500 other blogs he took the time to personalize it a bit so I was charmed.

And then I was floored by his band’s music. So much so I included three tracks to listen to! There is something in the water in Sweden. But The Sweet Serenades are Nordvall and his friend Mathias Naslund. And together they create some badass rock and roll. They obviously owe a huge debt to The Boss and The Stones, but also Kings of Leon and The Strokes. Think crunchy garage-riffs, hand claps, lots of ooh and aahs and shout backs.

The duo only has one EP under their belt, 2007’s First Taste [buy] and they should be coming out with an album in the fall of 2008. If this early taste is any indication I’ll be lapping up the full meal.

Shifting Gears

Things have been getting pretty busy around these parts for me and so I’m not quite sure the direction the site is going to take over the coming months. Though I’m sure for like the five people who check in everyday what it means is that I’ll probably be scaling back and maybe doing one giant post with some news, Mp3s, videos, trailers, etc. It’ll be like a Sly Oyster variety hour only you’ll get it in 10 minutes. We’ll see, just thinking out loud here.