Listen Up To My New CD

Ben Folds is giving you plenty of choices for his new album Way To Normal due out 9/30. You can pre-order the Super Deluxe version for a whopping $85:

The Super Deluxe Box Set edition features the CD, a DVD featuring 60 minutes of footage (includes 4 live performances, the "Hiroshima" video, a special performance of "Cologne," and loads of b-roll and interviews), 36 page booklet, full length 180-gram double vinyl, exclusive bonus cd with 8 live tracks, and the collectible box will come with an autographed fluorescent poster while supplies last!

Or the Deluxe version with only the CD, DVD, and booklet; standard CD version; 180-gram double vinyl version; or the easy and cheap iTunes version.

And don't forget, you can download the first single You Don't Know Me now on iTunes.

Can't Remember

Speaking of Rock bands, the Stereophonics are finally releasing their latest album here in the states nearly one year after its original release in the UK. Pull the Pin is out on September 9 and they're touring here in the colony to celebrate:

September 2008
5th - Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
7th - Virgin Festival, Toronto, Canada
8th - World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA
9th - Webster Hall,New York, NY
11th - 9:30 Club, Washington DC
12th - Mr Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
13th - Metro, Chicago, Il
16th - Henry Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
17th - Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
19th - Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR
20th - Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
21st - Showbox Market, Seattle, WA

I've found over the years that they've released some killer tunes, but I haven't been completely sold on an album's worth. Killers: Maybe Tomorrow, Dakota, A Thousand Trees, and the absolutely stellar Have a Nice Day. A new greatest hits package is being released later this year as well (likely first and maybe only in the UK) and that's probably all you need. Nonetheless, if you're going to give Pull the Pin a shot, head on over to the always reliable Newbury Comics to pre-order your autographed version.

Official Site
TheirSpace
Facebook

Plus I've just realized that I'm repeating myself. Sigh - time for a three-day weekend.

As If You Have a Choice

For some reason I feel as if Snow Patrol is a guilty pleasure, but I appreciate how honest they seem in their mainstream appeal. If ever a band was to be classified simply as Rock, Snow Patrol is it. Their last two albums became so ubiquitous that during one season, I'm pretty sure I heard Open Your Eyes in ER and Grey's Anatomy, and I don't even watch those shows. Run was featured as one of the first free single downloads on iTunes and I was immediately captured by the drama of it all - the likes of which (outside of U2) I had not really heard since Live. Selling the drama works.

Well, they're releasing a brand new album that is sure to soundtrack a year's worth of commercials and CW shows.

"Musically, lyrically and sonically the best record we've made," frontman Gary Lightbody says of the set, produced by longtime collaborator Garret "Jacknife" Lee.

A Hundred Million Suns comes out October 28.

TheirSpace
Official Site

Do You, Don't You Want Me To Love You

Congratulations to Paul McCartney who is no longer considered a corruptible influence to Israeli youth. Actually, there's a bit more to the story than that, but the short of it is that Macca is performing in Tel Aviv on September 25, a show 43 years in the making.

We've Done Enough Thinking

Today is the day - Matthew Sweet's newest masterpiece Sunshine Lies is now available for purchase: iTunes (with 5 extra tunes!), Amazon.com.

I've compiled just a few reviews in no particular order:
Too Poppy
Pop Matters
allmusic
Spin.com
A Cracked Pot
Daily Breeze
KTVU
North County Times
Courant.com
Earvolution
OC Weekly
Times Online
Charleston.net
San Diego Weekly Reader
The Olympian

There are others - feel free to post them in comments. Thanks to the Matthew Sweet email lists for already compiling some of these.

UPDATE: The AV Club has weighed in.
UPDATE 2: And so have Starpulse, MassLive.com, The Press-Enterprise, & a horsecrap C- rating by HeraldNet.

Yip!

If you've ever wondered what Paul McCartney says nine seconds in to the song What Goes On, the website What Goes On: The Beatles Anomalies List is not to be missed. It is an utterly exhaustive and exhausting catalog of every single blip, mistake, snippet of chatter, missed line, and the like The Beatles ever committed on tape of their official releases. It's been around since Usenet's prime and given the overall appearance of the site (i.e. frames, yellow and blue backgrounds, etc.) it looks like it hasn't been updated since then (although it notes January 2008 as the most recent update.)

Get Beatle-geeked. Thanks, Tim.

Oh, and evidently he says, "Yip!" in the left channel.

You Are Just a Dream

Neil Young is hitting the road with Death Cab for Cutie and Wilco this fall. Wow.

Oct. 14: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 16: Winnipeg, Manitoba (MTS Centre, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 18: Regina, Saskatchewan (Brandt Centre, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 19: Calgary, Alberta (Pengrowth Saddledome, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 21: Everett, Wash. (Comcast Arena, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 22: Vancouver (GM Place, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 29: San Diego (Cox Arena, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Oct. 30: Los Angeles (Forum, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Nov. 1: Reno, Nev. (Events Center, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Nov. 4: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Nov. 5: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center, w/ Death Cab For Cutie)
Nov. 29: Halifax, Nova Scotia (Metro Centre, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 1: Montreal (Bell Centre, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 2: Ottawa, Ontario (Scotia Bank Place, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 4: Toronto (Air Canada Centre, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 7: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 9: Chicago (Allstate Center, no opener specified)
Dec. 12: Philadelphia (Wachovia Spectrum, w/ Wilco)
Dec. 15: New York (Madison Square Garden, w/ Wilco)

Alright, so it looks like my best shot will be seeing him in early November with DCFC. No complaints there, although seeing Wilco open for Young would be a legendary experience.

Speaking of Wilco, Billboard reported yesterday that a new album is expected in the spring. Interestingly, Jeff Tweedy said he "kinda hate[s]" all their previous albums.

"But as something that feels artistically in keeping with who I am today, I think that they are inevitably going to fall short of that as time goes on. I mean, they just don't continue to mean the same things to me, and a new record is kind of where it's at."

Ok, I can accept that. But from my perspective, there's not much to hate on those previous albums!

Put Everything Back in View

Brandon Schott snapped this picture for me while on vacation recently! How very thoughtful. Thanks, Brandon!

To repay this kind gesture, I have no doubt that the fine readers of Too Poppy will be sure to add Brandon's music to their fine collections:

Golden State (ages like the finest of wines)
Carousel (Revisited)
RELEASE

Also, check out this upcoming important event in LA:

TURNING TOWARD THE SUN:
An Evening of Music and Entertainment
to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater LA
Sunday, September 14, 2008 7PM
Safari Sam's
5214 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
Confirmed acts: Brandon Schott, Just Off Turner & Moving Picture Show

That Is a Dream it Is What it Seems

Man, if I only had some free time on my hands ... Nada Surf wants you to produce their next video for Weightless.

The contest winner will be chosen by a panel of judges with a proven track record of excellent taste, and Barsuk Records will award the winning entry $3,000.00 cash.

Second and third place winners will receive copies of the forthcoming Nada Surf vinyl box set (due for release this fall, and including all five of the band's studio albums on vinyl, packaged together with a retrospective book of poster art, lyrics, and liner notes), an assortment of Nada Surf t-shirts and CDs and some gear from the good folks at www.dakine. com.

Nice. Get all the details on the contest and upload your video here. You can download Weightless via iTunes here.

We Give You Everything You Ever Dreamed Of

Oasis has had quite an elaborate online presence for a number of years rivaled by only a few others (like U2 for example.) In anticipation of their new album Dig Out Your Soul due October 7, they've revamped their website complete with Web 2.0 features. For more, click here.

In music news, they are releasing a limited edition box set version of the new album.

This amazing looking set contains four heavyweight 12" vinyl discs, two CDs, a DVD and hardback book all housed within an embossed hardback box. In fact this is the only way to get the album and the complete set of all 9 bonus songs, remixes and films that were recorded during the album sessions.

It is only available at their site and will set you back a not insignificant £50.00 - something for the best of fans. For more, click here.

Here's the "trailer" for the new album:


UPDATE: Stereogum has posted a YouTube leak of Shock of the Lightning, the first single. I agree: sounds like Oasis.

Sonic Boom

Recently, I've found myself revisiting Flight of the Knife by Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears and it keeps getting better with each listen. At first, I felt like I needed to be an Olympic gymnast just to keep up. Once I realized that keeping up was a losing proposition, I just let myself become absorbed by the journey the album takes.

The influences are obvious, whether it's Jellyfish and Queen on virtually every song or distinct references to British Beatlemania. La Madame on the Moon sounds like a deep album track from McCartney's 70s albums. The Curious Disappearance of the Sky-Ship Thunder-Man must be considered in the same context as the classics Rocket Man and Space Oddity and is the strongest track on the album. Yet despite the similarities, Bryan Scary sounds completely original - there's no one quite like him.

I still can't get my head around the music and lyrics - they feel like a sonic assault in the best of ways yet I'm left pondering what the fuck I just heard. Scary is the maddest of geniuses and his music is absolutely challenging and thrilling. At the heart, though, are catchy-as-hell tunes that you can't shake and wouldn't want to. The Flight of the Knife is a trip you can't miss.

The Children Are Angry

Have you heard any of Ben Folds' new album? Careful...

Singer-songwriter Ben Folds responded to the inevitable leak of his forthcoming album Way To Normal in a unique way: he leaked it himself. Only the songs weren't real — he spent eight hours recording "fake" versions of six tracks during a late-night Dublin, Ireland session in early July, then let friends work their magic on the Web.

Clever, Mr. Folds. If you haven't heard the fake versions, here you go.

More on Way To Normal here.

Save You From Your Old Ways

According to NME.com, The Killers' new album will be "stripped down."

"This record is stripped down in a lot of ways," said bassist Mark Stoermer. "Each instrument has its place, and things aren't clouding anything up. We're not trying to be bombastic. It's our most poppy record but also our most experimental."

Poppy? That's my game! The album is "rumoured" to be called Day and Age and is expected out in November.

Remember That Night

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is releasing a live CD/DVD package on September 16 called Live in Gdansk.

"It was the most satisfying and enjoyable experience in my touring life," Gilmour reports. "I think on the last solo record ('About Face') I made back in '84, I was a bit nervous about the Pink Floyd thing and wanted to stay away from it, whereas most of what the Pink Floyd thing is is a sound that I love. On ('On An Island') I finally got to a place where I felt free from any pressure either way from that whole specter."

Gilmour re-affirms that these days "the thought of going back to Pink Floyd just doesn't interest me." But he doesn't yet have solid plans for his next recording venture, either.

Never did pick up On An Island. Any good?

Fly Away From the Pain

Stereogum has posted a Getback video of Matthew Sweet performing Byrdgirl acoustically from what looks like his home studio. Nice. They made a point of sharing some of the more negative comments from their followers. Not nice.

"Tuneless?" "Bland?" "Awful?" They're obviously not listening to the same album I've been listening to for the past several weeks. At least one said it was "pure pop bliss." Exactly. Guess it's not cool to listen to Sweet anymore. Enjoy the too poppiest album of the year at your own social risk, people!

I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today

Guster recreates and creates...

Despite all the procreation, we've been putting the finishing touches on about 17 new songs this summer and we ought to begin recording them in a month. For those of you keeping score at home, we've moved from Reprise/Warner Brothers Records to Aware/Columbia Records. Expect a new album in early oh nine.

Me gusta Guster.

It Really Would Be Something

So I spent last weekend in downtown Chicago to go to Lollapalooza and the Cubs only to find out I should've been in Springfield meeting one of my idols! Instead, Cardinals fans bumped into Paul McCartney at the Circle K as he's vacationing along Route 66.

Frick.

I'm Never Wrong

This is not news to you hardcore fans of Matthew Sweet, but be sure to check out the excellent interview in Performing Songwriter's latest and the pre-order deal at Newbury Comics - autographed booklet anyone? Of course now that I ordered mine, I felt it was ok to share the news about this limited edition opportunity!

And if you haven't been able to sample any of the album - officially due out on August 26 - get ready for a hell of a way to end your summer. After spending weeks with the album, I'll take my gushing initial review of it even further by saying that overall, it's his best work since Girlfriend. This is top-shelf too poppy goodness here people so don't miss out. As the kids once said, "all killer, no filler."

Let the Clocks Be Reset

Kaiser Chiefs' new album will be called Off With Their Heads and is due out on October 14. The highlight for some might be that Lily Allen appears on a couple tracks, which is ... whatever.

Tracks:

01 Spanish Metal
02 Never Miss a Beat
03 Like It Too Much
04 You Want History
05 Can't Say What I Mean
06 Good Days Bad Days
07 Tomato in the Rain
08 Half the Truth
09 Always Happens Like That
10 Addicted to Drugs
11 Remember You're a Girl

I quite enjoyed the retro Brip-poppiness of Yours Truly, Angry Mob (thanks Guitar Hero III.)

From a Great Height

Way2Poppy and I had a hell of a time at Lollapalooza this past Friday where we saw Mates of State and Radiohead, who were both exceptional. Raconteurs were just ok - I have to say I was a bit disappointed.

Radiohead epitomizes modern rock sophistication. They are entirely professional, utterly passionate crowd-pleasers. Check out their setlist:

15 Step
Airbag
There, There
All I Need
Nude
Weird Fishes
The Gloaming
The National Anthem
Faust Arp
No Surprises
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Reckoner
Lucky
The Bends
Everything In Its Right Place
Fake Plastic Trees
Bodysnatchers
Videotape
Paranoid Android
Dollars & Cents
House of Cards
Optimistic
2 + 2 = 5
Idioteque

I'm partial to their poppier Bends / OK Computer era so I was particularly thrilled to hear those two albums fairly well represented. With their performances of Fake Plastic Trees and Paranoid Android, Radiohead solidified their status with me as one of the best bands of my generation. I have a whole new respect for them. Oh, and their light show was easily the best I've ever seen.

This was my third time seeing Mates of State and with each show, they keep getting bigger and bigger yet their sound remains grounded as simple, catchy-as-hell tunes. The songs from the new album sounded especially great and I can't wait to see them a fourth time when presented with the opportunity.

I took some mobile shots of our time there but they were terrible. See Lollapalooza's official photos to get a good sense of what went down. Those were the only shows we ended up seeing. I would've loved to see Wilco, but we chose to see them sing during the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley on Sunday instead!

Setlists
Photos

Did You Want To Be In Love?

Keane's new album is called Perfect Symmetry and will be in stores October 13. They are offering the first single Spiralling free at their site until August 11 and via paid download at most online services come August 12. So get it now.

The track features a woozy, New Wave synth groove, a repeated, Cure-style shouted "ooo" and a sternly delivered list of questions from vocalist Tom Chaplin: "Did you want to be a winner? Did you want to be an icon? Did you want to be famous? Did you want to be the President? Did you want to start a war? Did you want to have a family? Did you want to be in love?"

Sounds like Keane is branching out a bit. Jon Brion produced Perfect Symmetry, their third album, so it already has my attention.

TheirSpace

MP3: Keane - Spiralling (via official site)

You'll Love What We Have Planned

Popshifter has quite an extensive interview with Roger Joseph Manning Jr. of Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook, Malibu, TV Eyes, Air, Beck, and the like. Nice!

Make It Possible For All White Boys to Dance

Quite a bit of information on the new Ben Folds album Way To Normal, due in stores 9/30:

Starting Monday, August 4th at 10 AM thru Thursday, August 7th at 10 PM, iTunes and Ticketmaster will be running an exclusive Ben Folds album/ticket pre-sale promotion. When you pre-order Way To Normal ($12.99 - 13 new tracks) you instantly gain access to a Ticketmaster pre-sale that allows you to purchase Ben Folds tickets before they are available to the general public.

You'll also get two news tunes you can immediately download. Here's the tour:

Wednesday, September 24th Washington DC*** Constitution Hall
Friday, September 26th Boston, MA Orpheum
Saturday, September 27th Storrs, CT University of CT
Tuesday, September 30th New York, NY Terminal 5
Wednesday, October 1st New York, NY Terminal 5
Friday, October 3rd Fort Wayne, IN** Embassy Theatre**
Saturday, October 4th Louisville, KY** Whitney Hall**
Wednesday, October 8th Athens, OH Ohio University
Thursday, October 9th Detroit, MI State Theatre
Friday, October 10th Chicago, IL Congress
Saturday, October 11th Green Bay, WI Resch Center
Thursday, October 16th St. Louis, MO Paegent
Friday, October 17th Minneapolis, MN Myth
Saturday, October 18th Kirksville, MO Truman State University
Wednesday, October 22nd Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
Thursday, October 23rd Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
Friday, October 24th Houston, TX Warehouse Live
Saturday, October 25th Austin, TX Stubb's
Thursday, November 13th San Francisco, CA*** The Warfield
Friday, November 14th Los Angeles, CA*** Wiltern Theater


*Check back often - more tour dates to be added!
**Denotes shows not included in ticket/album pre-sale promotion
***Dates will be available for pre-sale starting Tuesday, August 5th at 10 AM and ending Friday, August 8th at 10 PM!

You can also pre-order a deluxe box set autographed by Mr. Folds himself here. Finally, BenFolds.com is getting revamped and will feature user-submitted YouTube videos (more here) as well as a new fan club and store. Wahoo.

UPDATE: Spinner has the exclusive premiere of Folds' new video for the first single Hiroshima, which sounds exactly how you want Ben Folds to sound. The stop-animation video freaks me out a bit - reminds me of nightmares I had as a kid. Quality work, though.

UPDATE TOO: Stereogum has You Don't Know Me, his collaboration with Regina Spektor from the new album. Nice to hear, but I can't say I'm overwhelmed by its greatness.