One of the two of the writers of this blog doesn’t own a record player, so the significance of the upcoming “Vinyl Saturday” is lost on him. For the one that does, and for all of you out there who do own a record player, then June 20th is your next chance to snap up limited 7″s from Wilco and Modest Mouse.
Put on by the same folks who work on the now annual Record Store Day, Vinyl Saturday will feature fresh wax from not only Wilco and Modest Mouse, but also 7″s from Green Day, Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn, and Al Green, among others.
The Wilco record will feature an A-Side from their upcoming album Wilco (The Album) entitled “You Never Know” and a B-Side entitled “Unlikely Japan” – which is an early version of “Impossible Germany” from Sky Blue Sky.
As for Modest Mouse, their 7″ is the next in their series leading up to their August release of No One’s First & You’re Next, and it will contain the tracks “Autumn Beds” and “Whale Song.” The first in their 7″ series – “Satellite Skin” – is out now. The vinyl is sold out, but you can still get the tracks through iTunes.
Check the Record Store Day website for participating stores in your area.
Modest Mouse – Satellite Skin (mp3) from the forthcoming No One’s First & You’re Next
Between being sued by former band-mates, touring, preparing to release a new album, and covering Woody Guthrie, Wilco has been on people’s tongues a lot recently. And now, with their new album, Wilco (The Album), already having been leaked, the band is being pro-active and streaming it on their website.
Go here if you want to take a listen. (Be advised, you need Quicktime in order to hear it.)
Also, take a look at their new shirts, with which they send lettering so you, the wearer, can customize it. What they should have done was left it as ____ (The Shirt) and send you a nice big felt-tip pen to fill in the blank yourself.
Wilco (The Album) will see it’s proper release on June 30. Pre-order your copy with your shirt.
As a follow up to news yesterday that former Wilco member Jay Bennett was suing front-man Jeff Tweedy, we have the following response from Mr. Tweedy concerning this curiously late
and perhaps misguided lawsuit. Click here if unaware of what we are talking about.
“I know exactly as much as everyone else does. I’ve read the news and I honestly have no idea what these claims are based on. It was such a long time ago. Aside from everything else, I’m being sued for not paying someone for appearing in a movie I didn’t produce. Go figure. I am truly sad it has come to this. I am equally convinced, however, that I have done nothing wrong and that this will be handled fairly and swiftly.”
While I am anything but a legal mind, I have to agree with Mr. Tweedy’s assessment of the merits of this suit. Based on my experience watching I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, perhaps Mr. Bennett is merely suffering from a case of being an asshole.
Wilco – At Least That’s What You Said (mp3) from A Ghost Is Born
Wilco has been in the news a bit lately – first with the announcement that their new album is creatively titled Wilco (The Album), then with their release of a Woody Guthrie cover on the band’s website. And today, it’s come out that Jeff Tweedy is being sued by former member Jay Bennett over royalties from the band’s 2003 DVD I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, which was released just after his departure from the band.
Now I’m not much for the legal wrangling of a former band member, so the more important Wilco news is the details that Billboard.com has on the new album:
“Wilco (The Album)” offers a little bit of everything while making good on frontman Jeff Tweedy’s stated goal to use “the studio as another instrument.”
That approach is best heard on the nearly six-minute “Bull Black Nova,” which is built on a pulsating rhythm akin to “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” from “A Ghost Is Born” and is layered with clattering piano and unhinged, interlocking guitar workouts.
Elsewhere, Wilco offers up unusual song structures on the gauzy “Deeper Down,” which has short verses that come to a full stop and a wealth of sonic details in its nooks and crannies.
The gripping “One Wing” builds from a quiet introductory section to a strident, arena-worthy stomper, while strings and horns color the majestic final portion of album closer “Everlasting.” Premiered last year on “The Colbert Report,” opener “Wilco the Song” is a humorous, self-referential rocker with the reminder that even when life gets you down, “Wilco will love you, baby.”
Get the rest of the information over at Billboard. If that didn’t make your Cinco de Mayo better, nothing will.
Wilco – When You Wake Up Feeling Old (mp3) from Summerteeth
Get yourselves over to wilcoworld and get the band covering Woody Guthrie’s “The Jolly Banker.” Any donations made will go toward the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, whose mission is “…to promote, perpetuate, and preserve the social, political and cultural values that Woody Guthrie contributed to the world through his life, his music, and his work.”
Not a bad cause. Wilco also understands if you’ve been adversely affected by the current economic times and are unable to donate, and will allow you to get the song for free if you’re unemployed or unable to donate. But since you’re looking at blogs at 3PM, you don’t have that problem, do you?
Click through to get the song here.
