More links

Yep, it's official - I'll be seeing Morrissey on Friday, May 11 at the Orpheum in Omaha. Pretty sweet. I also managed (somehow) to score presale tickets to the Hold Steady a week later... which I'm also looking forward to. May is definitely shaping up. Now I just have to figure out how to spend April.

More 'tidbits':

• The Independent lusts after Conor Oberst - honestly, I'm kind of in love with this article. It gets a bit adoring at times (my god, the introduction reads like Fellowship of the Ring fanfiction), but I like the description of Omaha as "a place once home to the largest buffalo population in America."
• Moneywise: Slate mourns the CD - and then decides, wait, maybe it's not dead after all! For whatever good my opinion is worth, I might as well mention that I've always been a big fan of packaging, and I always will; there's nothing more satisfying than, uh, struggling with the sticky label on top. Well, that and the thrill of actually walking into a record store and finding some long-out-of-print 7" that's been haunting you for years (case in point: finding Miracle Legion's "You're the One Lee" on a 12" EP in (you guessed it) Omaha last summer). I tend to get dreadfully excited about buying CDs; sure, it's more expensive, but hey, tangibility > cheap. Or whatever.
• Spinner lists the 20 worst lyrics ever. I do tend to get a bit bent out of shape if anyone dares to insult Michael Stipe, but on the whole this is pretty funny. (Minus the ridiculous comments.)
• I hate to end on a bad note, but Stylus' list of Top Ten Songs About Trains just makes me angry. "Driver 8"? "Downtown Train"? "I Often Dream of Trains"? Seriously, how can you rank Guns'n'Roses above them?

Incidentally, I was pleased with the Bloc Party appearance last night - unfortunately, my TiVo cut off the program with half a minute left of their performance.

Next week: Reviews of A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Thrushes! For now, I leave you with (in honor of all this Omaha talk) - my favorite track from Four Winds:

Listen: Bright Eyes - Reinvent the Wheel

Buy: Bright Eyes - Four Winds

Tidbits (for Thursday)

Nothing much today, but here are some lovely links:

• ABC News speaks to the Shins. Not a lot of new info, but it's a good article. (I'm particularly fond of now being known as a member of a "quirky, dedicated legion.")
  
• Meanwhile, the Patriot-News discusses the Decemberists. This isn't the greatest, though I'm pleased to see them getting coverage nevertheless.
• My favorite link of the day: Mike Watt as summarized by Exclaim!. What a fun article. I'm a huge fan of Watt's, and it's always a pleasure to see him still jamming (despite ill-advised Good Charlotte video appearances...).
• Arcade Fire are releasing their second single from Neon Bible - "Keep the Car Running". I'm terribly excited about this; it makes a nice follow-up to "Intervention". (Note the other item on that page: SUPERCHUNK!)
• Tom Ewing of Pitchfork's "Poptimist" ponders "spoilers" in pop music. It's a good article; I can't help but sort of agree - though the truth is, I do still find myself waiting eagerly for the new issue of The Big Takeover (not to mention my own halfhearted attempts at rock criticism). I think the best example of beautiful rock writing has to be Said the Gramophone - I can't think of another blog which has as consistently forced me to download, buy, etc. - often based not just on prior knowledge of the artist or song but mostly just on the gorgeous prose accompanying each. They might fail Tom's criteria for attempting to 'sway opinions' but I rarely see a post of Dan's, Sean's, or Jordan's that resorts to name-dropping vomit. It's more like an experience, and I commend them for that.
• I keep becoming intrigued by Songbird. It's an interesting idea for a music application that I think isn't quite being used to its full potential - but seeing as it's still way in development, I'm willing to give them a chance. It's certainly a beautiful application, and I'm impressed by what I see - it's still no replacement for iTunes, however.
• Finally, Bloc Party are guests on David Letterman tonight - I'm excited! I'm a big fan of A Weekend in the City, particularly "I Still Remember"; sure, it's the new single, but it's lovely as hell. I'm hoping they'll play it tonight - in the meantime, here's the equally lovely b-side to the first single, "The Prayer".

Listen: We Were Lovers
Buy: The Prayer / A Weekend in the City

We All Have Hooks for Hands - The Pretender

I'm sick of 29-piece family bands. Sure, the Arcade Fire might be cute when they mutter "Pass the bread, s'il vous plait" around the table, but all this "gang membership" mentality (I'm From Barcelona, I'm looking at you!) tends to leave me with a toothache and sugarplum visions of the Polyphonic Spree. That is, until I met We All Have Hooks for Hands.

For this South Dakota collective making their long-player debut ("The Pretender" - not Jackson Browne) on Afternoon Records next week, the Arcade Fire comparisons would seem to be pretty accurate. They're a nine-piece group featuring a pair of brothers but no married couples, on a record where every track (nearly) could be an indie hit, full of Big Moments and horn sections and joyfully shouted choruses, balanced by the occasional wistful ballad. So what's the big deal? This could be anybody. And that, precisely, is the appeal of Hooks for Hands - their ramshackle singalong cheerfulness leaves you with the feeling that you've just made nine new best friends.

The album starts inauspiciously with an awkwardly-titled instrumental ditty (comprised of mostly keyboard) followed by a series of even-more-awkward handclaps - leading into the record's real beginning, the poppy "Jumpin Jean-Luc". Here they display for the first time the fantastic harmonies which characterize the rest of the album, backed by pounding drums and typewriteresque percussion. Their star truly begins to shine with the next track, "Oh I'd Expect". The opening guitar line is beautifully college radio (almost Peter Buck), and it's soon joined by a vocal celebrating - or depreciating? - god knows what... but who really cares? It's fun, and nihilistic, and goddamn gorgeous.

Then, of course, out pops star single "Hold On, C'mon", lead track on their first EP and a longtime favorite. It's still the thundering brilliant show it was a year ago, with a chorus echoed by every journalist ("all the little children and the babies singing...") and all too suited for their music. Finally it reaches the title line, still backed by the same tentatively-plucked guitar, raw voices yelling "hold on! BABADABABADABADA" and, after a short bridge, ends at breakneck speed. Track 5, "The Man Trying to Outfox Us All" has been namechecked on various blogs already, but it's a shame it's not being played all over the nation. Characterized by brilliant jangly guitar and sweet harmonies and a catchy line - "life's a joke with no punchline, but you're alright..." it seems the most obvious candidate for commercial appeal, but that by no means is an insult.

On "The Secret Life (Of Dolls and Doldrums)", sounding almost like an outtake from Neon Bible (except for its lack of a pipe organ) and descending slowly into an exuberant chorus, the song extolls (ironically?) the virtues of the previously-denigrated 29-piece bands (or whatever) -- "we love everyone and the party's at our place!" it's a "Here Comes a Regular"-worthy wistful look at what could be a fabulous life, drinking every night and sleeping under the sun... right? "Elvis 'Mother Fucking' Christ" first appears as a possibly-misguided Bright Eyes pastiche, but then erupts into a typical Hooks for Hands track, finishing with the line, "You don't even know what you believe in now!"

If it weren't for the sparkling guitar and the catchy chorus, "On & On" would seem like filler. Maybe it is, but it's still a great segue on a mixtape... speaking of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy might well have sung the next track, the tender ballad "Ghosts & Strangers" - lasting just under a minute, this lullaby is instantly endearing. The closer, "The Teeth of the Lion", also appeared on the first EP, and here We All Have Hooks for Hands pull out all stops -- yelling about living forever and paying the rent falling into a gloriously messy trumpet solo and "and now... the end." in a burst of feedback.

Upon first glance, We All Have Hooks for Hands might seem a novelty act, nothing more than Broken-Social-Scene-ripoffs. Fuck that, just have fun. And it has been fun. So forget the Spree and just go buy "The Pretender."

Listen: Oh I'd Expect

Buy: We All Have Hooks for Hands - The Pretender

(OK, I admit - Hooks for Hands are sort of friends, but I swear I didn't get paid to write this.)