Picture Discs, the New (((GRRLS))) album

Friday, May 30, 2008

Although there is an inevitably expensive new life entering the atmosphere of my own, slightly older life basically any week now, I have not been able to stop myself from dropping a few bucks here and there on two truly wonderful picture discs.

The first, a pre-order of CocoRosie's "God Has A Voice, She Speaks Through Me," which came with a digital download of the single and also a direct download of the song's new video. I have pretty high hopes for the upcoming album this song is on, but am becoming increasingly skeptical about it. Why? I'm not too sure. Does it have something to do with this video, although it's beautiful? Maybe.

and the second, the David Horvitz picture disc released by my beloved Parenthetical Girls, featuring an OMD cover ("Maid of Orleans: The Waltz of Joan of Arc") and a remix of a song from their not yet released new album "Entanglements," which (according to their website) is coming out September 9th on Tomlab!

Here's the OMB cover below:



Rumor has it the album also features a cover of "Windmills of Your Mind," known best to me by having also been covered by my soul twin Dusty Springfield, adding only further proof to my assertion that I was meant from birth to love this band more than any other. I've got my fingers crossed (in vain?) that another east coast tour is forthcoming. September 9th cannot come fast enough for me!

Unsleepiness, & CocoRosie

Friday, May 16, 2008

Anyone who tells you that pregnancy is a completely beautiful and ethereal experience from start to finish is just flat out lying. The baby himself is awesome, but just about everything about the process of GROWING him is unpleasant. Feeling him moving around is neat, yes, but it's much less neat when he's moving around so much that he wakes me up at 4am and won't let me go back to sleep. This is the third day in a row, almost like he's on a very specific "messing with Mom" schedule that revolves around a.) waking me up at insane hours of the night doing jumping jacks in the womb and b.) refusing to move when other people who want to feel him kicking touch me, only to resume his cosmic dancing once they give up. I wish he spoke English, or I spoke his language, so I could ask him what he is DOING in there. Did you lose your keys, little baby? I promise they aren't between any of my ribs, so you can really stop prodding around in there, really.

Also, the rest of the world apparently already knew about this and didn't tell me, but CocoRosie released the first single from their next album, forthcoming in 2009, called "God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me." It took a few listens to grow on me, but I'm digging the new direction they're taking. Apparently folk artists from places like Madagascar and Reunion Island have been contributing to the record. According to Touch & Go, "CocoRosie is currently working on the follow up to their last full-length, The Adventures Of Ghosthorse & Stillborn, slated for release in 2009. This new work will continue in the vein of God Has A Voice..., exploring spiritual dance music, driven by oceanic and apocalyptic themes." I can't wait! Touch & Go is streaming the tune here if you feel like betraying the almighty Pitchfork and making up your own mind about it.

I've been wanting to write about the apocalyptic themes I've been seeing in SO MUCH music lately in general, but I'm way too exhausted right now to get into it as deeply as I want to. Has anyone else noticed it, though? Have you all heard that new Portishead single, "Machine Gun," as a quick example? It's like there's just something floating in on the air, getting into people's bodies, turning their minds toward a new order. It excites and terrifies me at the same time.

Speaking of CocoRosie, if you haven't already seen any of the performance CocoRosie did with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam last month, it's liable to blow your mind. The clip of "Black Rainbow" is my favorite:

Holy hell, little baby, please SETTLE! I know it's cramped in there, but I'm new at this, dude. Is it food? Is it breakfast you want? Can we negotiate?