no weather

What can i say, i was blown away by Stellastarr*'s performance last night... all my initial skepticism went away, and while watching, i had that feeling of "wow, this could get big". I'm no fortune teller, but, based on what's come out of nyc in the past couple of years and the assumption that Stellastarr*'s debut album will be released in august as we heard, i came up with this little "august theory"... check this out:

27 august 2001: new york brings you The Strokes's debut album, we all know the rest of the story.
20 august 2002: new york brings you Interpol's debut album, history is happening as we speak.
xx august 2003: new york brings you Stellastarr*'s debut album, will the rest become history?

Looks like august is a lucky month for new york bands! alright, maybe i'm a little ahead of myself here, but think about this, they're taping last call with Carson Daly next week, which may be a first for a band with no signed deal (yet) and no album (yet)... and NME - perhaps not the best reference these days but an influential one nonetheless - is already falling for them. I'm telling ya, keep your ears open, i'm onto something here.
And by the way, My Coco is still my favorite song of theirs, it'd better be on the album!

I didn't pay enough attention to Elefant this time, the place was packed and hot and i had to get some air, but what i heard from afar sounded good. It's too bad the show was at the knitting factory, i really don't like it, probably the most un-sexy venue in the city. Speaking of un-sexy, i only watched a couple of Peaches songs, she sounded fun and all, but my body didn't agree with it... so i had to go chill by the bar with tired peeps like myself, which was as equally if not more fun.

cocoon

From Filter Magazine:

"Details are yet to be confirmed but Bjork is rumored to be playing an outdoor NY Fesitval this summer. The still unannounced festival is scheduled for June 7 & 8 and is rumored to have another major act already scheduled. Other Bjork North American dates are still being scheduled and finalized. Stay tuned for more details as they become available."

I hate to start more rumors, but we heard that the other major act already scheduled for this new east coast festival starts with an R and ends with a D...

long gone before daylight

First Magnet, and now NME... it's the month of the Interpol covers! Greg said the other night: "they will be on the cover of Spin by the end of the year, mark my words". Mark his words.

I've been getting lots of new albums recently, right now i'm loving the new Cardigans. Is it just me or Nina Persson's voice sounds especially good on this record? The album isn't as uptempo as Gran Turismo, but it has some real gems on it - so far the two standout tracks are Couldn't care less and Please Sister. It's kinda of a sad album overall, and i like it.

Super Gyration

I've seen The Datsuns live more than i ever thought i would... and every time, i know what to expect, there's no surprise, it's the same old ass-kicking hard-rocking stuff. In the case of The Datsuns, i think the no surprise effect is a good one, you go see them for the spectacle, for the guitar solos and for Dolf's half-singing half-screaming vocal style. A couple of songs, In Love and my own personal favorite Motherfucker from hell are noteworthy, but otherwise, it's definitely not the songs that you will remember when you leave the gig. You'll remember the energy, the kicks, the attitude, and yes, the hair. I'll probably never listen to their record, but i'll go back see them whenever i need my dose of good hard rock live.
Last night's openers, The Sights, were really good - i could have guessed in less than a song that they were from Detroit... these days, rock bands from Detroit just have a similar kinda sound. good stuff.

Earlash interviews The Walkmen.
NME photographs Interpol at their friday Astoria gig.

failure

I only have good things to say about Prosaics. Last night, they played well and even cracked a smile - i didn't - when someone (obviously not there for them) asked if they knew any Cure song... the trio plays dark post-punk-inspired songs infused with nervous energy and intense rythm. Any band who has strong basslines and a good sense of humor will most certainly be on my good side. I only wished we could hear the vocals a little better. They'll be on tour in the UK in the next couple of weeks, catch them if you can.

New galleries in the photo section: stellastarr* and Radio 4.

i might be wrong

Correction on the Radiohead news, the new album is now rumored to be called Hail to the thief... waiting to get tracklist confirmed tomorrow. [link from greenplastic]