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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ACL lineup changes now officially official, Sonic Youth out, Dirty Projectors in
Also, Marva Wright, “The Blues Queen of New Orleans,” recently suffered a stroke and will not play her set.
Dirty Projectors and Mike Posner will now both take the stage Sunday in Zilker Park.
Dirty Projectors are now playing at 5 p.m. on the Dell stage. Michael Franti and Spearhead are now in Sonic Youth’s old slot at 7 p.m. on the Dell stage.
Some comments from Fresh and Clean, the fest’s publicists:
“ACL Festival lineup planning and booking starts a full year in advance, with the goal of delivering a bill each year that is fresh, eclectic and phenomenal. As the Festival weekend draws closer, reworking and filling-out the lineup becomes more challenging due to existing tour schedules and availability. So, we’re as bummed as you are when a one-of-a-kind band has to cancel their appearance (due to circumstances beyond everyone’s control). But even with all of the switch-a-roos, the 2009 event is sure to rock your socks off. Plus, you’ll get to wiggle your toes in Zilkers lush, new grass!”
Photo credit: Domino
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Fun Fun Fun grids out now.
Here are the grids for Fun Fun Fun, taking place Nov. 7 and 8 at Waterloo Park.
On Nov. 7, the headliners are:
Ratatat, 8:30 p.m., Orange stage
The Jesus Lizard, 8:35 p.m., Black stage
Destroyer, 8:45 p.m., Yellow stage
The Pharcyde, 8:50 p.m., Blue stage.
On Nov. 8, the headliners are:
Danzig, 8:30 p.m., Black stage
Of Montreal, 8:30 p.m., Orange stage
Whitest Kids U’Know, 8:45 p.m., Yellow stage
Kid Sister, 9 p.m., Blue stage
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Lucinda Williams to get married onstage
This could be the first wedding where the bride complains about not enough vocals in the monitor.
Former Statesman music writer Chris Riemenschneider, now with the Minneapolis Star Tribune, is reporting that Lucinda Williams plans to marry her manager Tom Overby onstage during her Sept. 18 concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis.
A former Best Buy executive, Overby was introduced to Williams by mutual friends about five years ago in Los Angeles, where they both now live. Overby co-produced Lucinda’s most recent LP “Little Honey.” The couple regularly hang out in Minnesota, where Overby lived for many years.
Williams was married to Long Ryders drummer Greg Sowders for a brief time in the 1980s. This will be the 56-year-old singer-songwriter’s second marriage.
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New, “queer issue” of punk zine Maximum Rocknroll all about Austin punk
The October issue (#317) of long-running punk zine Maximum Rocknroll is “the queer issue.” As you might expect, there’s a big vintage picture of Big Boys frontman Randy “Biscuit” Turner on the cover, an autobiographical piece by Dicks singer Gary Floyd and a feature on gays in early Texas punk.
Look for interviews with the almighty Limp Wrist, Bromance, Extra Tongue and more.
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Beatles fans, rejoice! Box sets are worth the wait
Beatles fans, which includes most everybody at one time or another, have been waiting for decent-sounding Beatles CDs since, oh, about 1987, when the Fab catalog made its debut on five-inch aluminum.
They sounded lousy even then — shrill, tinny and limp. They don’t really sound like something that changed the world. They certainly don’t sound like a rock band that changed the world.
Technology has gotten better, and music can be converted from master tapes to digital files with ever-greater clarity. And the ‘87 Beatles CDs — the first and possibly only way the vast majority of music fans younger than, say, 40, have ever heard this world-historical music — have sounded lousier every day since.
So Beatles fans might want to consider lobbying for Sept. 9, the day the Beatles remasters hit the shelves, to be declared some sort of national holiday.
Because these CDs sound extraordinary. And they sound extraordinary in a way that will go a long way toward letting folks who have heard the band only on ‘87 CDs understand why this rock band changed lives.
First, the specs. There are two versions of this music: a stereo set and a mono set. The stereo versions are available in individual CDs ($18.98) and in a box set ($259.98). The mono versions are available only in a limited edition box set ($298.98); the albums will not be sold separately.
The stereo versions of the 14 extant albums (all 12 original UK studio albums, “Magical Mystery Tour” and a two-CD set of “Past Masters”) contain liner notes and original sleeve artwork in a fold-out digipack design. Each disc contains a mini-documentary about that particular album.
The mono (or monaural, meaning a single speaker or channel is providing the sound, which is how AM radio and most hi-fis worked until the late ’60s) set includes a 13-disc set in replica LP jackets mimicking original artwork and inner sleeves. There’s also a plastic inner sleeve, a plastic outer jacket and a booklet putting the mono mixes in historical context. (Short version: The Beatles themselves worked personally on the mono mixes and often didn’t bother to have a hand in the stereo mix.)
The mono versions are for two kinds of people: 1. Folks who first heard the mono albums in the ’60s and want an experience that is closest to that. 2. Really nerdy Beatles fans. (As of Sept. 3, both the mono and stereo box sets are sold out at Amazon.com; they swear there are more coming.)
The mono versions sound amazing — this music was originally intended to be heard in mono, as that’s what most folks had at the time.
While a small amount of compression and limiting was used on the stereo versions, none was used on the mono versions, so they might sound smaller by comparison. But everything up through “Sgt. Pepper’s” sounds vibrant and deep.
“Please Please Me” twists and shouts in ways it didn’t before; “With the Beatles” and “Beatles For Sale” sound gutsy and tough instead of timid. “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver” have never sounded more thrilling rendered inones and zeros. For years, “Sgt. Pepper’s” sounded like an experimental pop record (and on the original CDs, a thin one at that). Here, it sounds like rock ‘n’ roll. While larger and perhaps more present-sounding in the stereo version, it simply sounds more alive in mono.
Make no mistake: You can’t go wrong with either one. Both versions reveal details and sounds that were either muffled or simply absent before. And never before, perhaps not even on the cleanest pressings of the vinyl, has the rhythm section sounded so alive.
Because you can actually hear his parts in rich detail, the remasters make an iron-clad case for McCartney as the most melodic, inventive bassist of his era. And Ringo’s drum sound has never, ever sounded so alive and rich and present and loud. “It’s All Too Much” (a personal favorite) sounds even more like it could have been recorded tomorrow.
Folks who grew up with them: It’s the act you’ve known all these years.
Folks who have heard only the old CDs: They’re guaranteed to raise a smile.
Folks who have never heard them: It’s wonderful to be here.
