The Walkmen

Over the Weekend (June 2 Edition)

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We’re gearing up for a big month of new music, so we have a couple of videos to help you get ready.

The solo debut of Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen will be released tomorrow, and he’s done a great job with teasing us with videos leading up to the release.  First, there was the behind-the-scenes of the showgirl revue for the upbeat “Alexandra”, and just last week saw the release of the modified lyric video for “I’m Retired”.  We’re going to put the spotlight on “11 O’Clock Friday Night” (a perfect song for a Monday) however, just so we can see some footage of marching bands from the area that I once called home long ago.

Tomorrow is also the release date for Fucked Up’s Glass Boys, and you can prep yourself with their video for the song “Sun Glass”.

We have Jack White’s second solo album to look forward to next week, but for those of you who are a bit impatient, Pitchfork has the link to the stream of Lazaretto available for you to listen to now.

And finally, confirming what we all should have expected, Mike D announced that he and Ad Rock will no longer release music under the “Beastie Boys” name with the recent passing of MCA.  Normally I would use this opportunity as an excuse to post the video to “Sabotage”, but AV Club beat me to the punch with their story.

Over the Weekend (May 27 Edition)

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We took the day off yesterday in recognition of Memorial Day.  This is how we at RIJR celebrated, with Gary Clark Jr.’s superb rendition of the National Anthem from this year’s NBA All-Star Game.

The Atlantic had a nice piece where they asked musicians their thoughts on what the most influential song in history was.  Personally, I felt that Walter Martin, formerly of The Walkmen, gave the best answer.

Speaking of The Walkmen, Hamilton Leithauser’s solo debut Black Hours is available for streaming on the NPR website; they also have a stream of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Only Run up as well.  Next week sees some other highly anticipated new albums, including Sunbathing Animal from Parquet Courts and Glass Boys from Fucked Up.  Pitchfork has the streams for both.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s always worth seeing Eels live.  You never know what kind of set you get, from a somber strings-enriched performance to a retro-variety hour show, or having Steve Perry from Journey randomly showing up and performing live for the first time in nearly two decades.

Chris Cornell gave a quick interview to Rolling Stone talking about looking back to the days of Superunknown.  The best part of the interview was the discussion about his interactions with Artis the Spoonman, giving new insight into their relationship.

Finally, I think that I need to inform our audience that a banjo cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood” exists.  And it’s not bad.

Over the Weekend (Apr. 28 Edition)

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Ho hum, another Monday, another day of new music and videos.  Wait a second, that sounds great!  On to the links.

Moby re-worked a song from director David Lynch (deeming it a “re-version”) and released it on Record Store Day last week; today he uploaded the video on YouTube, and it’s a delightfully spooky black-and-white film that fits the ethereal, hazy music perfectly.

One of our favorite metal acts, Red Fang, is about to head out on tour once again, because they don’t believe in resting on their laurels.  As a bonus for showing up to their show, they’re giving out a free 7″ record which features a new single, “The Meadow”.  You can take a listen right here, courtesy of Noisey.

The first new Pixies album in over two decades will officially be released tomorrow, and the band has uploaded a track-by-track overview on YouTube.  Also be sure to check out the bonus track, “Women of War”, as well.

And Pitchfork has the video of a one-of-a-kind performance, with members of Beach House, Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen, and Fleet Foxes performing a tribute to Gene Clark of the Byrds with a recreation of his solo album No Other.  Check out the whole show here.

Over the Weekend (Mar. 31 Edition)

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It looks like a pretty good Monday–a lot of new music, videos, and other fun stuff to kick off your week.

We mentioned this on Friday, and today our suspicions were confirmed: The Antlers are about to release a new album!  Familiars will be released state-side on June 17, so mark your calendars now (or just save the hassle and pre-order).  Meanwhile, watch the music video the band released for the lead single, “Palace”–it’s as delicately gorgeous as you would expect, and the band has already done the courtesy of providing the lyrics for you on their Tumblr.

Stereogum has the premiere of the single from former member of The Walkmen Peter Matthew Bauer, the festive “Latin American Ficciones”.  It definitely evokes the spirit of his former band, especially in the insistent trebly guitar, with a nice spare percussion backing track.  This follows on the heels of the recent new music we’ve heard from other former members Walter Martin and Hamilton Leithauser.  It’s unlikely that any of the projects will reach the heights of the best work of The Walkmen, but all of the songs that have been released are rather promising, so fingers crossed.

Everyone should be familiar with Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” right now, but you may not know the “science” behind the hit.  Owen Pallett takes a look at the underlying music theory that makes the song work so well.  He takes a couple of liberties to make it easier to understand for beginners, but it’s a solid look at the underpinnings of the tune.

This actually appeared on my Facebook feed on Friday, but I’m linking to it now because we need more ways to kill time at the beginning of the week.  NPR has a quick quiz of “Name That Drum Fill”, and I think most people should do pretty well.

And finally, last night I had the great pleasure to see album-of-the-year frontrunners The War On Drugs in person at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland.  It was a blistering set, and the new songs really kick live.  We may run a quick review of the show in the next couple of days, but I’m going to pass along a video from one of the highlights of the show: it was when Jim James of My Morning Jacket showed up for the encore to sing a cover of John Lennon’s “Mind Games” with the band.

Covered: “Another One Goes By”

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Covered is a feature where we examine the merits of various cover songs, debating whether or not they capture the spirit and intent of the original, if the cover adds anything new, and whether or not it perhaps surpasses the original.  If we fail on those counts, at the very least we may expose you to different versions of great songs you hadn’t heard before.

I’m going to kick off this feature with a true toss-up in my mind: “Another One Goes By”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkdTcuuS9jI

We’ll start off with the version that I imagine most people heard first, the cover as done by The Walkmen.  For many, A Hundred Miles Off was a bit of disappointment, a small bump on the road between Bows + Arrows and You & Me and other later successes.  The band has even shown indications that they agree with that assessment, from their interviews to their setlists, but there are some undeniable great songs on that record: “Louisiana”, live favorite “All Hands And The Cook”, and the closer “Another One Goes By”.   The fact that the last one was a cover would probably come as a shock to most people, since it has all the elements of a natural Walkmen song: warm organ/bright piano, trebly guitar strums, and plaintively yearning lyrics that fit Hamilton Leithauser’s unique voice perfectly.

 

Here’s the original, from the band Mazarin.  The immediate difference that’s apparent is the driving drumbeat that keeps the tempo up throughout the song, giving the song a drive that provides a counter to the melancholic lyrics.  The added filter on the vocals give the lyrics a more haunted quality, and enhances the theme of mourning over lost opportunities.  But considering the similarities in the rest of the song, it’s easy to see why it was a natural fit for The Walkmen to cover.

In the end, it’s hard to argue one or way the other which is better.  It’s clear that The Walkmen were able to capture the wistful but mournful spirit of the song, but chose instead to convey this through a quiet, laid-back shuffle of a drumbeat and a more expressive vocal performance.  It truly comes down to my particular mood at the moment as to which version I prefer.