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At risk of losing whatever small amount of sweet indie cred this site affords me I have to post about Clash of the Choirs because I have a strict bros before street cred policy. That's right, my buddy Scott Metcalf was selected to be a member of the Queen City's choir fronted by Cincinnati's own Nick Lachey. Scott's one of those ridiculously talented people who has taught himself how to play everything. Piano, guitar, you name it.
So with that being said if you find yourself with nothing to do tonight through Thursday, check out the show or at the very least, go here and vote for Cincinnati's choir. If they win it'll mean a $250,000 donation to help support Children's Hospital here in Cincinnati. If nothing else, vote for Cincinnati to help Scott in his quest to take down Michael Bolton and his choir. Developing...
There was a flurry of blog activity about White Williams a few months ago but I never got a chance to really give the music a listen. Now that I have I think I love it! As far as the delay in getting around to it, better late than never right? I mean, if anything, I should give the man some kind of recognition since he's a graduate of Cincinnati's very own DAAP. Cincinnati and an unwitting resident were also the source of inspiration for the the album cover seen at left. Mr. Williams told Dazed magazine the cover was inspired by the story of, "a girl from Cincinnati, who was really upset about something, a boy or something, and she was bawling over it but it didn't keep her from hitting from this bong." Sounds about right... Anyway, I finally got a chance to listen to what all the fuss was about and I'm pretty disappointed in myself. This should have been in heavy rotation around my place for quite some time now. I guess I have a lot of catching up to do.
There's plenty to keep my ears busy here with the perfect touch of T. Rex, Beck, etc... thrown in for good measure. The laptops, synths and other various instruments provide the perfect backdrop for Williams' impressionistic lyrics. Give the following track a listen and see for yourself. That is, if you've been living under a rock like me for the past few months and haven't already heard it. Then again, that's not to say you can't listen to it again... and again...
Okkervil River have made a 9-track mixtape of cover songs called Golden Oppportunities available as a free download on their website. Not only do you get the music but they're offering liner notes and printable artwork for download as well. The album features songs from The Fugs, John Cale, Randy Newman, and Serge Gainsbourg among others along with thematic ties to "The Stage Names".
The songs from Golden Opportunities were recorded at various radio stations, concerts and empty hotel stairwells while the band was on tour in Europe and America over the last year. Make sure you download the mixtape here. The Serge Gainsbourg cover below should be more than enough reason to hurry up and get that done.
