Lettercamp and Five Three Dial Tone Records have tried to keep this under wraps for as long as possible, but Lettercamp’s “Raccoon Panda” has been remixed by members of LCD Soundsystem, Sloan, Electric Six, Royal Bangsand K-OS, as well as Daniel Johnsonand Musicontrol. If you look hard enough, you can find the Royal Bangs and Daniel Johnson remixes online, but the entire collection of remixes will be packaged with the 10″ vinyl that you can pick up at the FREE Lettercamp performance September 18 during D.I.Y. Street Fair at The Peach Pit. I’m just giving you something to look forward to while promoting my own DFA-endorsed vanity label.
In other Interesting Local Music News Happening That No One Will Pay Attention To Until Some Other Part Of The Country Tells Our Local “Journalists” That It’s Worth Writing About, SALEM’s debut album is out. And it’s fucking great. I made this witch house post a couple months ago, mostly to troll you bozos who hate everything new that isn’t your band, but also to see how many wacky band names I could collect. Well, SALEM sort of invented (or gets credited with inventing) all this “drag” noise. And they’re from Michigan/Chicago. So regardless of whether or not you’re into the sound of teenagers robotripping over drum machines, it’s sort of noteworthy to know this region is responsible for yet another genre that’s being embraced elsewhere. Here are some tracks to get angry about. And yes, that’s a choir singing “O Holy Night” buried into the melody of “King Night”. So rad.
Wasn’t there some show on TV where a bunch of people had to spend the night in some haunted building or something? I don’t remember what it was called but I remember the night-vision commercials of people running from ghosts and screaming through hallways. Despite it all being total bullshit, it looked awful and I don’t know why anyone would volunteer for that.
Oh hey, here’s something much worse — The Hamtramck Labor Day Festival! Except instead of volunteering, they charge you $10 per night and you get to sleep on a bed of hypodermic needles surrounded by packs of wild dogs.
New to the festival this year is Camptramck, an enclosed campground just south of the festival grounds at Veterans Park on Jos. Campau. Whether you want to stay the entire weekend or just want to hang out for the night, you’re welcome at Camptramck. Pack your tent, grab a sleeping bag, and make a weekend out of the Hamtramck Labor Day Festival.
Campground Opens at 5:00pm Friday Sept 3rd Campground Closes at 11:00pm Monday Sept 6th
I’ve seen a few episodes of Band of Brothers and I’d honestly feel safer sleeping in a trench in the Ardennes Mountains in the middle of a mortar attack than in a parking lot in Hamtramck. That’s a Battle of the Bulge joke, kids. World War II humor all up in herr.
I spent the last five days in San Francisco, working the final music festival that my port-o-john company had planned for me this summer — Outside Lands. I know nobody really gives a shit because it’s not local and your band wasn’t playing and (probably) none of your friends were in any bands that were playing, but it makes me feel important to list all the sweet shit I get to do. It also proves that I have a much more informed opinion when it comes to most everything because I actually leave the state to see things and hear things. Seriously, I’m like really good at my opinion. Check it out, bro.
Coachella was big and hot, but clean, impressively organized and well put-together. Bonnaroo was epic fucking disorder and filth and should be shut down by the Center for Disease Control. Outside Lands was pleasant. Maybe a little boring, but pleasant. Temperatures in the 60s. Only three real “main” stages. And more than enough space for all the idiots. It was nice and comfortable. I can’t really find anything to complain about other than the fact that Golden Gate Park isn’t located anywhere close to the BART, so trying to catch a cab with 80,000 other people could be painful. Tickets were also a little pricey. Fortunately I didn’t have to pay and, given how big that park is and how impossible it would be to keep everybody out, I don’t think a lot of other people did either.
I’ve seen some of my favorite live shows of the year at festivals. Die Antwoord and PiL at Coachella. Royal Bangs and Darryl Hall / Chromeo at Bonnaroo. Wolf Parade and Why? at Pitchfork. But the Outside Lands lineup was sort of a list of “leftovers” from the previous fests. Mostly the run-of-the-mill shit that shows up everywhere — Phoenix, Edward Sharpe, Mayer Hawthorne, Kings of Leon, The Soft Pack, etc. I was only really looking forward to seeing three acts: Electric Six, The Strokes and Empire of the Sun.
Due to the “workness” of my trip, I missed out on Empire of the Sun. This bums me out because I’m sure they would have made my list of favorite 2010 sets. Hell, they should be my favorite band just based on their cover art. I did see both Electric Six and The Strokes, though. Two of my favorite bands ever ever and both played really smart festival sets — lots of early material from The Strokes (setlist) and all the dancey favorites from Electric Six. Good times. As for the other stuff, here are some choice statements you’ll already be familiar with if you follow me on Facebook:
• This is the third time I have had to endure the band Phoenix live this summer. I know everyone (figuratively) and their Dad (literally) loves them, but jesusfuckingchrist…I put them right up there with Sublime on the list of bands I would pay a monthly fee to make sure their music is never played in my presence.
• Janelle Monáe’s live show is like a tribute to OutKast’s “Hey Ya” video. I’m pretty sure all of these people on stage are Andre 3000.
• I just heard Electric Six soundcheck a new song. It sounded very much like Electric Six soundchecking a new song!*
That’s all the wit I had in me, I guess. And this is all the festival-ing I’ve got in me for the year. I’m tired. There’s nothing happening this weekend, is there? FFFUUUUUUU-
*The song was “After Hours,” which you can listen to here, along with their Spinners cover that I am very much in love with.
According to me, the place to be tonight is the Majestic Complex. After getting dinner at the Cafe (Cafe’s kitchen is closed this evening) while catching Todd Barry’s set, head upstairs to the Stick for Warpaint, Javelin and Beach Fossils. There are probably a couple of you who recognize what a solid lineup that is, but for the most part this site is the equivalent of a special education class where I’m just going through the motions trying to teach a bunch of mongoloids how to 2010 while knowing full well most of your development stopped somewhere in the late 90s. So here we go with the spoon-feeding…
Warpaint is four chicks from L.A. and I could tell you more but all of it would be overshadowed by the fact that Shannyn Sossamon was a member of this band at one point. So hot. Excuse me one moment, I have to take care of something.
Javelin is from Brooklyn. They make music on those computer thingies you hate. Their SOLD OUT 12″ on Thrill Jockey is one of my most favorite EPs of the year. Their full-length ain’t too shabby either.
Beach Fossils are also from Brooklyn. They have this really cool song that everyone (except you) knows called “Daydream”. They have another good one, called “Vacation” that you can hear on their MySpace. Click some links! Hear some things!
I’m not sure if anyone noticed but Todd Barry is doing a set in the Majestic Cafe on Monday. He’s in town working on the vampire version of Clueless or something and must have figured that after spending a day in Detroit, he’d have hours of new material to present. I know we usually talk about music on this here interzone but if any group of people in Detroit have some sort of sense of humor, it’s probably someone who follows the local “music scene”. Get it? I just called every local band a joke.
Anyway, Todd e-mailed me and asked If I wanted to do some sort of interview to help him promote this gig. After proving to him that I am a child who is incapable of conducting an interview (I honestly asked him about this), he offered to just make a video of his ceiling and send it to me. So here it is. (upgraydd quicktime if you can’t see the video)
So yeah, I’m sort of excited about this. I’ve seen Todd before in Royal Oak and he’s a funny dude. If you haven’t seen him anywhere before, just ask YouTube. I also really like the idea of comics performing in the Cafe because it’s something different and has to be funnier than listening to hipsters try to out-clever each other during concerts. And at least this will justify those goddamn tables in there. You can get tickets here or maybe get them at the door if there are any left.
I’m sorry didn’t get this up in time for you to purchase one of the now SOLD OUT cassettes, but Coyote Clean Up has a new album that you can stream right here. It’s called Downhill Exxxpress and it’s “another collection of chilled out beats perfect for summer rail grinding and kick flips. Sexy has just gotten sexier with 12 tracks filled with tender vibes and sensuous lyrics. The follow up to Autumn’s classic Double Trouble, Downhill Exxxpress picks up where Chrissy has left off. In the collage style of haunted lounge house the album is smooth style you not gonna wanna forget.” I love this shit.
While you’re on that bandcamp site, Ann Arbor’s maximum cosmic punks Mazinga have put most of their discography up as free downloads. It is my suggestion to you that you load both Coyote Clean Up and Mazinga into one playlist and set it to shuffle. Blow your mind fo real, homeboy.
On Saaaaaaaturday there’s this house show that I think you should attend. I know you don’t like house shows because it’s not your house and you’re uncomfortable taking a shit in someone else’s bathroom with a line of people who just want to fuck or do blow in the room with a lock on the door and even though you’re a courtesy flusher you know as soon you open the door everyone waiting to get in there is going to know you took a shit and the rest of the night you’re going to be the guy who made giving a blowjob even more uncomfortable for some poor girl because of the funk you left behind but I really think you should go to this one.
The first 50 people who show up will get a disc of new Prussia songs, called Prussia Goes To The Disco: A Summer Mixtape. It’s not really a mixtape because it’s all new Prussia material — just not Prussia-type material that people might be expecting. Does that make sense? I dunno. Here’s a song from it.
Lord Scrummage, Just Boyz and Zurf Boyz will also be playing this show. At least that’s what the bill says. Hopefully this will be one of those rare times all these dudes show up to their own gig. That’d be sweet.
The American Apparel-PLEX
4163 Commonwealth (Woodbridge)
Detroit, MI
It’s five bucks and there will be an actual bar, woot woot!
Tonight at The Crofoot / Vernors Room / Pike Room, there will be records. Lettercamp 10″s were picked up today and we’re currently sorting them by color. There are purples, greys, greens and pinks…and we still have six more boxes to sort through. They will be for sale tonight, but for the six of you who are Five Three Dial Tone Records die-hards — we’ll be doing our usual Special Show Editions at a later date and you’ll have much more advance notice.
Also tonight there will be the first Motor City Special 12″ release. We’ve made some hilarious internets about this but I think you can get your hands on one of these tonight just like if it was a normal merch booth item. I think. Don’t quote me. Ever.
Also also tonight Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr is releasing their EP. I’m not sure what format it’s in because I don’t remember seeing that detail anywhere and I don’t really feel like looking it up. But it’s good. Promise.
Also also also tonight there will be bands. Like 15 bands, good or bad or havent heard, between all three venues. And if you figure out which door is the cheapest to walk through, you’ll get access to all three rooms (but you didn’t hear that from me). So stop being jerkoffs and come drink some beer anytime.
