my worst nightmare: anthropomorphic lions with lasers in drape-looking pants torturing me. and I'm Fabio.

This book is the foulest thing I've ever seen in my life. I just vommed in my mouth a little bit.

the return of Sufjan! new EP download

"... a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s 'Sounds of Silence'..."


Sufjan Stevens is finally back. With new music. Which isn't an instrumental art piece about an expressway. zomg.

I know a lot of people will be excited about this. Sufjan Stevens, he of the "I'm planning to make an album about all 50 states" claim (which btw, I wonder he was ever serious, just expecting people to read it as a deadpan, surreal exaggeration and never bothering to correct us for being foolish enough to believe it), seemed to be in reclusive musician mode, retiring from the glare of his past achievements. It seemed unthinkable that such an utterly prolific musician could drop in output so dramatically, and at such a crucial time. Plus he just seems too grounded to really go insane with all the pressure. Maybe dude was just waiting it out. My expectations for an Illinoise follow-up had dropped and dropped (or just changed), and maybe that's a good thing.

Come On Feel The Illinoise was an unbelievable, future classic of a record, and its B-sides collection The Avalanche is so imposingly good that it probably would have garnered universal star reviews if released as the A-sides. My bandmate Josie loves Sufjan with her whole heart and used to want to marry him. After the number of listens I gave Illinoise in the months I first got it, I can't really listen to it in the same way anymore, but I can't think of many other modern records that had such a huge initial impact on me. So new Sufjan material is quite exciting.

The title track of this new EP, All The Delighted People is straight up insanity. So much (somewhat overpowering, yet effectively so) orchestral freakouts, sombre choirs, and an overriding grandiose feel. In a way, it's one of his most symphonic pieces, not just in the instrumentation, but in the way it swoops and sweeps and progresses through movements. Whoa.

The rest is not particularly cohesive, but you know what you're in for - there's a varied range of pastoral folk, a "classic rock" version of the title track (dude must demo everything ad infinitum, bet there's four other versions on his hard drive), horns, strings, observant lyrics, just download it etc. Can't wait for another immaculately thought out record that expands to the seams of his chosen concept, but this gets the ball rolling.

Download it legally for just US $5 right here: Sufjan Stevens bandcamp or just stream to your heart's content with the mp3 player below.

mp3: The End of The World Is Bigger Than Love

"Some things you just go through. You don't write about it, you don't turn it into art because it can't be turned into art. I didn't write any songs that year because you can't pour manure into an espresso machine and expect a cappucino to come out. When they announced the results and the streets filled up with people celebrating I felt happy to be part of something bigger than myself. It was a feeling that lasted me until the very last days of December 2008 when I finally sat down in my old teenage room at my parents house and I wrote this song. Then the year ended."

Thanks for that Jens Lekman.

If you know me you'll know there's nothing I love more than a big fat, melodramatic song concept. What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen? The Best Part Of Breaking Up (! ! ! ! !). I am a SUCKER for it. I love a big cheesy overaching idea that pretty much tells you exactly what the song is, and the fact you know the knockout punch is coming doesn't make it any easier to dodge.

Ah, Jens. The End of The World is Bigger Than Love? What a thing to call your new single. With El Perro Del Mar calling an album Love Is Not Pop, that's two Swedes seemingly trying to downplay the significance of love (or... pop?), all the while knowing that they are kidding themselves on every level possible. Anyway, new Jens song is swooning and beautiful and charming and has wonderfully arranged sings and everything a Jens Lekman song should be. DOwnload it like so...

ps. are these two made for each other?

While you're at it, it's really worth downloading Jens' Summer in 3/4 Time mp3 mix. It starts off with an Au Reviour Simone track Jens himself has managed to CUT UP (presumably from 4/4 time) into a 3/4 waltz. This is a lot of work and it kinda surprised me that it still works as well as it does (though you certainly hear the edits in a few places. But from there it goes through an assortment of loosely connected tracks that will totally you up. Put it on the stereo and drive on a roadtrip to find a blanket and a fire with a loved one.

the fear monster + shark gangz

"Fear is a normal emotion we all experience, sometimes constantly! We are speaking of fears with which almost everyone can identify, such as the fear of speaking in public, the fear of change, the fear of shark gangs, the fear of being alone, the fear of failure, the fear of fear itself, the fear of failure. The list could go on because we often let the fear monster surface."

Maybe fear is holding you back? Fear is like a big black monster that hides behind a wall with claws and a sweatband that says "fear monster". I found this out from a highly informative book called Willpower - How to GAIN it and MAINTAIN it. A simple "building block approach" Personally I am a very fearful person. One of the largest causes of death in the western world is great white sharks/true love.


Thanks Auckland City Library basement



BTW did u know sharks travel in packs and often like to attack people in SHARK GANGS of like 2, 7 or 25 sharks? AHRGHWE SHARK GANGZ.

Antony & The Johnsons vs John Lennon

There's some songs that just seem uncoverable. How about Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (the title track, too conceptual)? Blowing In The Wind (sure, Peter, Paul and Mary, but can't imagine it being anything less than sickening by most artists). Or MJ's 'We Are The World' (hate it, still uncoverable). It's all about sincerity, surely one of the hardest things for anyone to muster when playing another's songs, and surely one of the most important things to muster when playing a song who's sincerity feels directly connected to the original artist, or a song which needs to be delivered perfectly and with an impossible amount of sincerity to avoid ridicule. Alas, this is a very indefinable quality. And the need for a perfect marriage of artist and song further complicates things.

Antony Hegarty is one of the few artists I'd give almost free rein to do what they want. Sure, there's songs he'd be terrible and overblown for, but it's that same melodrama that makes him able to touch certain untouchable material. He's gotta be one of the few people I can imagine not destroying 'Imagine', which he's set to cover on Thank You For Your Love, his new EP.

He has the best voice in the world and he makes my heart snap in two when he sings. The cover remains sight unseen, but here's the title track.

Listen: New Antony and the Johnsons: "Thank You for Your Love"

I really like it, it gets a hard soul vibe as it nears the end with all the great horn arrangements - kinda feels along the wavelength of Fistful of Love in some ways.

And since Antony's such a love it/hate it proposition. If you like that, this might also be your thing...

Dirty Projectors playing Bob Dylan's 'Dark Eyes via Stereogum.com'

Swedish pop stars

There's a new Robyn record out now called Body Talk Pt 1. I cannot wait. Hope she achieves worldwide domination off this record. Latest single is really great. She riffs on the one lyrical note through the whole song, but it still works. This is her version of a club banger. You can listen to it right here: http://www.robyn.com/killingme/

El Perro Del Mar still breaking my heart, now via Robyn
Speaking of amazing Swedish pop. El Perro Del Mar consistently manages to break my heart with her songs. She started out as this charmingly glum one girl doo-wop act on her self titled record, which is a must for anyone who likes Phil Spector kinda pop. Then went choral for a misunderstood second record, then did an 80s pop thing over eight songs and called it a record (it's still really good). One of the songs off that last record was remixed by Robyn. It's a subtle remix, but she adds Robyn styled beats and starts to trade lines with Sarah as the song progresses. I was SUPER excited at this remix when I downloaded it several months ago, yet only just remembered to listen to it now. But it's worth a closer look if you passed it by. So here we are. Two favourites at once!

El Perro del Mar - Change of Heart (Robyn's Rakamonie Remix): "El Perro del Mar - Change of Heart (Robyn's Rakamonie Remix)"

it's not too late

My other band Debutantes still exists. Above you'll see a poster from a show that we did several years ago (Phony Bone's singer is now Panther and The Zoo, and Jane De Jong is now major label hope Ruby Frost), we're kinda one of those bands that has always been pretty casual. It's quite rare that we play a show and actually finish a recording of a song. Whether we've had the wrong lineup, not enough motivation, or for whatever reason, it's kinda this funny thing where we just never broke up. That's probably because it's always been one of the most fun bands to be in, with the most amazing people. Andy and Sean and Shane are some of my most favourite people ever. One of the most recent happenings... uh, which was over a year ago, was that our drummer Sarah left to concentrate on Wildwood Lights, and the result is that Shane Warbrooke of Bemsha Swing has jumped on the kit. I love his drumming.

We most recently recorded this song, and it's the first to feature our new lineup with Shane.... (free download). It might be a bit of you if you like that college rock kinda thing.



It's looking likely that Bear Cat won't really be playing live much over the next several months, which depresses me terribly, though I have lots of Bear Cat new stuff to record and keep me busy with. Josie has to pass university so she can't really play shows, so here's to other projects. Perhaps it's not too late for Debutantes to focus and make our magnum opus.