In its continued efforts to become The Next Radiohead, The Arcade Fire spent the past week hinting at a big surprise on its own cryptic site. Friday I heard the surprise involved a music video for what looks to be the band's next single, titular track "Neon Bible." These days I'm not a huge fan of music videos (bands still make those? just kidding) or the aforementioned track. Nonetheless, I thank Josh for sending me to the site to check it out. The "Neon Bible" video may not be as cool as leaking your own album, but it's still pretty experimental, considering it's INTERACTIVE! Now you, too, can control Win as if you were Haitian beauty Regine herself, making him douse flames with his hands and shit.
Note: I'd post the video here, but you'll have to visit the site to get the interactive version. Oh, and, be patient. Part of being cryptic includes making you wait through a little creepy looking countdown.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Win = Puppet for Your Every Whim. Does Anyone Else Find This Creepy?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Live Pics: The Arcade Fire & LCD Soundsystem
9/28/07 - Starlight Theatre - Kansas City, Mo.
I hereby proclaim Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem to be the best value concert of the year -- if not the best concert, period. For a paltry $26 (plus service fees), you can dance off your pants and still make rent. Can you tell from the following pics at which point Chad finagled wristbands from the crotchety guards?
LCD Soundsystem: 
The Arcade Fire:
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Area Concerts (Updated September 24th)
Featured Concert of the Week: Arcade Fire w/ LCD Soundsystem
With so many great concerts having already coming through the area in the past two weeks (thank you Austin City Limits festival), this Friday's show totally crept up on us. Hopefully it didn't do the same to you, as word on the street tells me this show is pretty much sold out. While we here at Range Life already know the Arcade Fire can entertain an audience, the addition of LCD as the night's openers provide reason enough to take a half day at work.
September
24 - Animal Collective w/ Tickley Feather @ Gargoyle Club (St. Louis, MO)
24 - Willy Wisely w/ the Belated @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
25 - The Melvins @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
26 - The Weakerthans w/ Jeremy Fisher @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
26 - The Good Life w/ Fourth of July @ The Picador (Iowa City, IA)
27 - Two Gallants w/ Blitzen Trapper, Songs For Moms @ the Picador (Iowa City, IA)
27 - Crystal Castles w/ Nomathamatics @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
27 - Holly Golightly @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
28 - Arcade Fire w/ LCD Soundsystem @ Starlight Theater (Kansas City, MO)
29 - Actors & Actresses w/ Barn Owl @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
29 - The Only Children @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
30 - Oakley Hall w/ 1900s, Jim Button Band @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
Read the whole list here.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Who Will Be the Next Radiohead?
Radiohead!
Already it's begun. Shameless nights of listening to OK Computer, Kid A, and Amnesiac in all their unfolding chronological glory. Heck, I've even brought out Pablo Honey for a spin. The anticipation of the new Radiohead album has verily got me climbing up the walls.
Yesterday I was reading an article in a recent edition of The Chronicle Review (WAY hipper than it sounds), and I happened upon an article titled, "Where Have All the Rock Stars Gone?" After banishing demons of Paula Cole melodies from my mind, I dug in. Author David Shumway suggests that the emergence of singular cultural icons like Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, etc. becomes far more unlikely as music divides into so many easily accessible niches. This article got me thinking about Radiohead yet again, simply because they have so much crossover appeal, and because they still hold a lot of clout for both fans and the music industry in general.
Whispers amongst the indie scene have suggested that the Arcade Fire is the new Radiohead. I can attest that AF seem the likeliest contender to carry the torch -- that is, assuming Radiohead is ready to pass it. Might I mention again the impending album?
A journey over to Radiohead fan site At Ease, and you'll find incendiary commentary on the debate. Here the Thom Yorke faithfuls trade barbs such as, "The Arcade Fire are the most overrated band since Teenage Fanclub," "That's precisely what I think of the Arcade Fire. I think of a mountain-sized pile of shit and a single violin sticking up from it," "No one cares that you think they're overrated. Teenage Fanclub are far better at what they do than you'll be at whatever you're best at," and my personal fave, "Go make some more 3 year old discoveries about Coldplay." Might the Arcade Fire/Radiohead comparison be making diehard Radioheads a wee bit uneasy?
What is the formula for Radiohead status? Is it sheer talent, or something more? Perhaps some amount of commercial success -- but not too much? The constant reinvention? A tinge of the political? The "cool" quotient of its members? When I saw Arcade Fire
play Lawrence's Jackpot Saloon in '04, Win took his mike stand and smashed it through the ceiling panels. I remember thinking, "That is one cool mothafucka." Reminds me of how I felt watching Thom Yorke waylay on a tambourine.
In time we'll see whether Arcade Fire will have the discography to sustain the Radiohead analogies. I remember when I first started listening to "good" music, someone told me Portishead was "The new Radiohead, but with a chick." I love ya Beth Gibbons and company, but you haven't come close to living up to that initial breathless review. Then again, aren't there rumors about a new Portishead album? Only time will tell.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Music Musings
Hey there, Nicole here again. As I haven't posted much lately, I thought I'd offer some recent music-related ramblings.
Arcade Fire Tours w/ LCD Soundsystem
I admit I'm intrigued by the coupling. The Arcade Fire seems far more capable of following up an LCD dance-fest than say, some other bands I've seen paired with dancier acts. I'm still unsure how I feel about the Tortoise/Hot Chip matchup, and though I was sadly turned away at the Granada door, I've heard the 2003 Rapture/Shins tour was a bit of a letdown. (I'm still itching to write a column about the shows that got away...) Word has it that the LCD/Arcade tour will kick off sometime in September and conclude in mid-October. That means, even if they were to visit the piddling Midwest, they will likely arrive on Sept. 12 or 13, no doubt adding to that whole Flaming Lips/Blonde Redhead/Devendra Banhart debacle.
About That Hot Chip Show...
Admittedly I missed much of Tortoise, as I was then experiencing the beginnings of an illness the likes I haven't seen since last year's bad shroom trip. Thankfully I was able to pull myself together for Hot Chip. I'm fairly new to the world of electro-pop, dance, techno, and so on (I have the Rapture to thank for my initiation, as I'm sure many a indie fan can concur). What I can say is that if you come to a dance band show -- and you dance -- you are going to have a good time.
On a side note: Alexis Taylor, the owner of that sexy, soulful voice, looked like one of my grade school classmates with his shorn hair, oversized glasses, and wife beater (you know, one of those kids) -- I admit I was elated to see him compel so many people to dance like sex-crazed maniacs, myself included. As a one-time hard-core-dork (I too had the oversized glasses), this scene warmed my heart. On a final side note: Succumbing to food poisoning in a public bathroom with a line of drunk bitches behind you is NOT an ideal situation. 
(This picture is more dorky-cool, but you can imagine.)
What's the 'Deeler'?
More than a few friends have said of the band Memomena, "I didn't want to like them..." And yet, they do. They really, really do. At first listen, the band may seem like conventional fare, with their often poppy vocals and penchant for catchy hooks. Dare I say the album Friend or Foe is a grower?
After repeat listenings, I was surprised by the attention to detail that undoubtedly resulted from the band's use of its own computer recording system (called Digital Looping Recorder, or Deeler.) Drummer Danny Seim explains Deeler in an In Music We Trust interview: "First, we set the tempo of the click, which is played through a pair of headphones. We then take turns passing a single mic around the room. One of us will hold the mic in front of an instrument, while another one of us will lay down a short improvised riff over the click track. We usually start with the drums. Once the drums begin looping, we throw on some bass, piano, guitar, bells, sax, or whatever other sort of noisemaker happens to be in the room. Deeler keeps the process democratic, which is the only way we can operate."
Check out Memomena rockin' "The Pelican" live on Juan's Basement here. You can see them play the Bottleneck in Lawrence this Friday, 6/22, tickets $9.
