Tampa Calling

TV on the Radio’s serene guitarist-falsetto singer Kyp Malone had a pretty nice chat with Pitchfork last week. (Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombol likened him to “human chamomile tea.”) In the interview, he talked about TVOTR’s Saturday Night Live debut (”I was immediately told how shitty the sound was by people who were outside the room”), the Jonas Brothers’ performance on SNL last week (”The Jonas Brothers probably had Mickey Mouse standing in the control room with a gun. I’m sure it was a handgun, not an assault rifle.”), and being hand-picked by David Bowie to contribute a cover of “Heroes” to the War Child: Heroes album.

Another concert announcement that came down the pipelines last week: Hall & Oates. The duo plays Ruth Eckerd Hall Wed., April 15. Tickets are $49.50 to $79.50.

Also on the concert radar is a solo concert by Dresden Dolls songstress Amanda Palmer (pictured) at State Theatre March 26 ($16); Blue October plays Jannus Landing April 22 ($25); and Manchester Orchestra at State Theatre June 2 ($11).

If you missed it Friday night, the Whites Stripes played Conan O’Brien’s last Late Night show, marking their first live appearance since they canceled their 2007 Icky Thump tour due to Meg White’s anxiety problems. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know the standard classic mixtape love songs – “Wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton,” Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” “I Will Always Love You,” (Dolly or Whitney, you pick the version), “At Last,” by Etta James, most of the Beatles’ early catalog. But what about modern, 21st century love songs, i.e., those that came out after January 1, 2001?

Up until I started preparing this, I never really thought much about it, but surprisingly, I came up with a wealth of ideas, almost too many. The songs I thought up are not necessarily traditional ballads (though there are several), are not always romantic or saccharine or even very nice, do not always offer bold statements of devotion or everlasting ardor. But in each, the meaning is clear even if it isn’t always spelled out clearly.

“Fell in Love with a Girl,” The White Stripes, White Blood Cells (2001)
The song made stars of pasty, Detroit-based indie alt blues duo Jack and Meg White, both because it was nice and short and tasty raw, and because it has a really cool Lego video. Check it out, if you haven’t already seen it a few dozen times.

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