Crib Notes

Atlanta’s print media have been hit particularly hard by the national recession. Like the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Creative Loafing, Paste magazine is bearing the burdens of advertisers’ slashing budgets as well.

Paste is taking the unique approach of reaching out to readers to help ease its financial burdens. Last week the magazine launched a reader appeal campaign to generate funds.

Many of the artists the mag has covered, including Neko Case, the Decemberists, Of Montreal, She & Him, Josh Ritter, the Avett Bros., Brandi Carlile, the Indigo Girls and others have donated rare and exclusive songs to be given away to anyone who donates to the cause. There are other giveaways as well, and both R.E.M. and Band of Horses have donated signed posters to be given away to random supporters.

It’s an inventive and exceedingly graceful approach to solving such a dilema. Whether or not it works remains to be seen.

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Of Montreal’s “An Eluardian Instance,” from Skeletal Lamping has been given the remix treatment from producer/composer extrodanaire John Brion. The so-called “First Time High (Reconstructionist Remix)” is a sneak peak of what the forthcoming remix EP has to offer. If anything Brion’s interpretation reins the song in a bit, via some very subtle changes in the mix, and at a decidedly more logical pace.

“An Eluardian Instance First Time High (Reconstructionist Remix).”

(Photo courtesy of Polyvinyl Records)

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Last week Of Montreal unveiled the video for “An Eluardian Instance” on Rolling Stone’s Rock & Roll Daily blog.

At first glance it seems like the video player is stalling as it tries to keep up with the visual stream, but take a closer look and you’ll notice that the video is comprised of what appears to be hundreds of thousands of still images placed together, causing the herky jerky effect.

Of Montreal ~ An Eluardian Instance (2008) Dir: Jesse Ewles from jesse ewles on Vimeo.

We’ve seen this kind of thing before with something like No Age’s “Boy Void.”

… and closer to home with the Coathangers’ “Tanya Harding.”

The visual effect is cool and very psychedelic, and if you stare at it long enough the stop motion nature of it all feels very natural. But as with everything else, Of Montreal’s mastermind Kevin Barnes takes it one step beyond the realm of the rational with all sorts of added visual/mental stimuli, such as little crabs wandering through the frame, and all sorts of other Frankensteinian narratives and weirdo point-of-view shots that make you wonder what really is going on under the surface here.

Since the first time I listened to Skeletal lamping I have wondered about the mountian goats mentioned in the songs and if it bares any reference to the Mountian Goats’ frontman John Darnell. This video doesn’t answer anything in that department. In actuality the mountain goat that does make an appearance in the video only leaves more unanswered questions concering his symbolic significance and/or double entendre in this particular song. Make of it what you will …

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Per Chad’s post a few days ago, former CL cover models Of Montreal performed last night on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” As usual, the band brought its own eclectic formula to the stage complete with a few colorful characters — other than Kevin Barnes, of course — to round out the performance.

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An Eluardian Instance EP

Last Thursday Of Montreal vocalist/mastermind Kevin Barnes spoke with Rolling Stone’s Rock and Roll Daily blog about what will come after Skeletal Lamping. Barnes told RS that he has something a little noisier in mind:

“It’s sort of abstract in my mind, but right now what I’ll create will be mesmeric and kind of physical music. Try to create music that you have a physical reaction to. Try to touch you on a level that’s not strictly intellectual but more physical, and that’s not to say you’ll dance to it.”

In the meantime a comprehensive Of Montreal DVD is in the works. The group filmed a show in Los Angeles during last year’s Hissing Fauna tour as well as a show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta last month. The plan is to release a DVD that compiles the group’s videos, the two live performances and some documentary material as well.

This week Of Montreal plays the Late Show with David Letterman on Thurs., Dec. 18th. After that the An Eluardian Instance EP featuring remixes from Grammy-nominated producer Jon Brion (Spoon, Kanye West, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple) is due digitally Jan. 6th/Jan. 27th on CD and LP via Polyvinyl Records.

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Skeletal Lamping, the latest full-length from Athens’ whimsical art-pop ensemble, and CL’s Nov. 5th cover artists, Of Montreal is holding strong as the #1 record on CMJ’s Top 200 list for its forth week in a row.

Click below to see the group’s current round of U.S. and European tour dates, which include two performances at the 40 Watt in Athens on Dec. 30th and 31st.

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Casper & the Cookies: Jason NeSmith (second from right).

For today’s episode of Roll Call we call out Jason NeSmith (A.K.A. Casper Fandango) frontman for Casper & the Cookies.

Who are you?
Jason NeSmith of Casper & the Cookies.

Describe yourself in three words.
filibuster
cloudy
hypno-toad

Who — dead or alive — would most you like to meet?
Ron Geesin. He plays ragtime improvisational piano, performs home studio experiments, writes for ensembles in a variety of styles, gives lectures, and creates art installations designed to help people with autism. He’s a common sense lunatic.

Who would you most like to slap in the face?
I would like to slap California in the face for voting ‘yes’ on Proposition 8.

What song do you wish you had written?
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, & Understanding?” Not only is it a fantastic, multi-layered song, but I would be a millionaire!

Elvis Costello or Elvis Presley?
It’s hard to imagine a history of popular music without Elvis Presley. Let’s find out.

LP, CD or MP3?
MP3 Monday through Friday, LP on the weekend (a.k.a. the media mullet).

If you could start one trend, what would it be?
It would be great if I could snap my fingers and cause car manufacturers to be passionate about discovering a practical alternative energy. Barring that, I’d like to see the return of natural Licorice and the corresponding demise of Green Apple Flavor.

If you could end one trend, what would it be?
I think fewer bands should write their own songs. It’s time for a new Brill Building.

With whom would you most like to play a game of spin the bottle?
Dude, I’m happily married. But the answer is the woman on the cover of Whipped Cream and Other Delights. That would be a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Casper & the Cookies forthcoming album, Sound of Silence is due for release in 2009.

“You Love Me” MP3

(Photo by Courtnie Wolfgang)

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If you’re one of those people who likes to plan in advance, than you will be happy to know that Of Montreal is playing a New Year’s Eve show at the Fabulous 40 Watt in downtown Athens.

So if you just saw their fantastic show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, and want to see them again, and hopefully not have to endure the hell ride into ironic false hair metal that was Limozeen, this is your ticket.

Some thoughts on the Atlanta show that happened over the weekend…

Of Montreal played to a comfortably crowded house on Saturday night at the Tabernacle. It seems like it was only yesterday that they played the old Eyedrum downtown to all of about eight people. Alas, that was eight years ago, and since then their following has grown exponentially. Icy Demons played a cool, rhythm-heavy set, but my memory of their show is tainted by the travesty that was/is Limozeen. I don’t know where these guys came from, but I hope that I never have to endure their shite metal shtick ever again.

I lived through indie rock in the ‘90s and the one thing that never ever sat well with me was the bloated sense of irony that was such a huge part of the culture. The slacker chic thing really did a number on the collective consciousness of the times that still creeps out from time-to-time in the here and now. Remember when Urge Overkill dressed-up and did that Neil Diamond crap? Pavement’s image? Weezer’s career? Unfortunately I do too. These days it shows up in horribly mutated outgrowths, like those FreeCreditReport.com commercials where the dipshit slacker guys sing about how badly they screwed up their credit and now they have to work at a seafood restaurant.

At one time indie rock was dominated by this kind of tongue-in-cheek stupidity, and bad memories of those times are made all the more horrible when a band like Limozeen is given a stage in front of a huge audience. It’s a terrible idea and in their minds it justifies what they are doing.

In essence it was a bad joke… A fake metal band… Something that could have been funny if it lasted for a maximum of 1-to-3 songs tops. But no… These guys went on and on and on, thrashing their fake wigs, posing in ridiculous outfits, wailing, riffing and taking the joke way too far.

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Today’s Air Loaf features CL’s Chanté LaGon and Chad Radford chatting about Of Montreal and the new album from the Athens band, Skeletal Lamping.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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(Album cover image courtesy Polyvinyl Records)

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Today Of Montreal unveiled a new video for “Id Engager,” which is the first single to be released from their forthcoming album, Skeletal Lamping (due out October 21 on Polyvinyl). The video was directed by Marc Reisbig and Hanne Berkaak of the animation team SSSR.

Watch the video below.

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Of Montreal has abandoned the days of geometrically safe album packaging in “The Skeletal Lamping Collection,” a mind-bending line of totes, lamps, apparel, decals and CD’s stemming from the philosophy that all art objects should be unique, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Designed by collective artists, Gemini Tactics and The Bee With Wheels, Skeletal Lamping products are what the Garden of Eden would look like on an acid trip; legless horses dashing through rich floral blobs, rigid bursts of light, and pale caricatures anonymously floating among the chaos. The band hopes to inspire new trends in the music industry, breaking away from standard packaging techniques, steering the infusion modern art and music in unexpected directions.

Read more about it at Pitchfork.

(Courtesy Of Montreal)

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Polyvinyl has pushed the release date for Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping to Oct. 21.

This new date falls three weeks later than the original release date of Oct. 7, which was reportedly changed due to the complexity of the CD and LP’s packaging needing more time to be completed. In the meantime, the album’s first single, “Id Engager” has received the remix treatment from Diplo’s Mad Decent and DJ Sega, and is due out Sept. 30.

And don’t forget, Of Montreal plays the Tabernacle in Atlanta with Icy Demons on Tues., November 11.

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In celebration of Music Tapes‘ For Clouds and Tornadoes, and the release of the long-awaited film, Major Organ and the Adding Machine, many members of the famed Elephant 6 collective will converge for a variety show tour in October. Julian Koster, William Cullen Hart, Scott Spillane, Laura Carter, Eric Harris, Nesey Gallons along with The Singing Saw, the 7 Foot Tall Metronome, Static the Television and many others will host what Julian Koster describes as “a big orchestra, variety show, silly happy thing.” The large gathering of E-6 members will be playing numbers from the catalogues of the Music Tapes, the Circulatory System, Scott Spillane, Gerbils, Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control, Nana Grizol, Nesey Gallons and more.

In addition, Orange Twin Records has announced the imminent release of Major Organ and the Adding Machine, a short film by Joey Foreman and Eric Harris. The film is nearing completion and will premiere during the E-6 “Holiday Surprise” shows in October. The film is currently being submitted to film festivals and will be coming out as a CD/DVD set in the fall of 2009. Accompanying the Orange Twin DVD edition will be the expanded version of the film’s soundtrack, originally released in early 2000, that includes several unreleased bonus tracks and new liner notes by co-director Harris. The film and album feature musical and theatrical contributions from Jeff Mangum, Kevin Barnes, William Cullen Hart, Julian Koster, Andrew Rieger, Dixie Blood Moustache and other participants from Athens music scene of the late-90’s.

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Today RollingStone.com’s Rock&Roll Daily Blog posted a new of Montreal MP3, titled “Nonpareil of Favor,” from the forthcoming full-length, titled Skeletal Lamping which is due for release in the US on Oct. 7 via Polyvinyl).

Follow the link to download Of Montreal’s “Nonpareil of Favor.“

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Last month Athens’ long-standing psychedelic pop eccentrics Of Montreal began dropping hints about their forth coming album Skeletal Lamping. Now the album’s cover art, track list, some tour dates and a new member have all been announced. The album is due to arrive on October 7 via Polyvinyl Records.

Ahmed Gallab, who also goes by the name Sinkane and has appeared as an auxiliary member of Caribou in the past, is the latest addition to the OM line-up.

Skeletal Lamping track list
Nonpareil of Favor
Wicked Wisdom
For Our Elegant Caste
Touched Something’s Hollow
An Eluardian Instance
Gallery Piece
Women’s Studies Victims
St.Exquisite’s Confessions
Triphallus, to Punctuate!
And I’ve Seen a Bloody Shadow
Plastis Wafers
Death Is Not a Parallel Move
Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
Mingusings
Id Engager

Of Montreal tour dates:
08-08 Myslowice, Poland – OFF Festival
08-09 London, England – Field Day Festival
08-10 Leicester, England – Summer Sundae Weekender
10-07 Durham, NC – Carolina Theatre
10-08 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
10-10 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
10-15 Paris, France – Elysee Montmarte
10-16 London, England – Koko
10-17 Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz
10-18 Rome, Italy – Circolo Degli Artisi
10-19 Berlin, Germany – Lido
10-20 Stockholm Sweden – Debaser Medis
10-21 Copenhagen, Denmark – Amager Bio
10-24 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
10-25 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
10-26 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
10-27 Chicago, IL – The Riviera
10-28 Toronto, Ontario – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10-30 Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre
10-31 Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
11-01 Richmond, VA – The National
11-08 Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
11-11 New Orleans, LA – Howlin Wolf
11-12 Houston, TX – Warehouse Liv
11-13 Austin, TX – 507 E. 6th Street
11-14 Dallas, TX – House of Blues Dallas
11-15 Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall
11-16 Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
11-17 Murray, UT – Murray Super Theatre
11-19 Seattle, WA – Showbox So Do
11-20 Portland, OR – Roseland
11-21 San Francisco, CA – Regency Center Grand Ballroom
11-22 Los Angeles, CA – TBA

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According to a Myspace blog post from Of Montreal’s frontman Kevin Barnes, the group’s new album, Skeletal Lamping is recorded, mastered and ready for a projected October 2008 release date on Polyvinyl Records.

In his post, Barnes states, “i am so bored with art that makes sense and ‘works’. i wanted to do somethings that didn’t ‘work’.”

To read the rest of Barnes’ post, click here.

It’s hard to know what to make of all this romanticizing of dysfunction and disconnect. As both a long-standing fan and critic of the group, OM’s previous release Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? was a difficult one. The album is a conceptual take on Barnes’ descent into the role of a villain, and he spells out his life’s dramas with the willful and sickening cries for attention of a reality TV show — via a very dark conceptual trip.

On paper it sounds great, like an obscure, Roald Dahl novel set to music. But the album is impenetrable and somewhat unapproachable. Hissing Fauna is an insider’s look at a train wreck in progress. So what happens next? We’ll have to wait until October to see how Skeletal Lamping sifts through the debris.

Tentative song titles include:

“Exquisite Confessions”
“Feminine Effects”
“Mingusings”
“Our Last Summer as Independents”
“Softcore”
“Tender Fax”
“Paradigm Kisses”
“Plastis Wafer”
“Play With You”
“Jasmin’s Car”

(Photo by Rennie Solis)

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FREAKS OF THE YEAR: Kevin Barnes (center, in dress) and the merry Of Montreal

(Photo by Jim Newberry)

The polls are open for the 2008 Plug Independent Music Awards, and there’s plenty of local nominees that need your vote. Athens band Of Montreal’s Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is up for best album and several other categories. Deerhunter’s Cryptograms is up for best indie-rock album. The Black Lips’ Good Bad Not Evil is down for best punk album. Paste magazine, Criminal Records, Album 88 (WRAS-FM 88.5), and Elliot Garstin’s “Sunday School” program on the now-extinct 99X (WNNX-FM 99.7) drew nominations, too.

In short, it’s an indie-rock fest for Atlanta indie rockers. If you don’t want to go local, you can always cast a vote for deserving contenders such as Battles, El-P, Spoon, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. The ballot closes Feb. 8, and the awards ceremony takes place March 6 at Terminal 5 in New York City.

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