Magnet Magazine
Black Mountain‘s third album, Wilderness Heart, is out August 31 via Jagjaguwar, and the band just kicked off a lengthy tour that will take it across its native Canada, as well as the U.S. and Europe. Watch the video for first single “Old Fangs,” download an mp3 of the song, and read our 2008 feature on the group.
Ever wonder what will happen during the last five minutes of late-night TV talk shows? Here are tonight’s notable performers:
The Late Show With David Letterman (CBS): New Pornographers
The New Pornographers will perform “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk” from newest album Together.
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC): Travie McCoy
Rerun from June 15. Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy played “Billionaire” featuring Bruno Mars from debut solo album Lazarus.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC): 3OH!3
3OH!3 is promoting new album Streets Of Gold.
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (NBC): Mumford & Sons
Rerun from May 19. Mumford & Sons performed “The Cave” from latest album Sigh No More.
For more than a decade, the Pernice Brothers have mostly made plush, romantic orchestral pop that doesn’t gild the lily once tended by the Zombies, Walker Brothers and Elvis Costello. True to frontman Joe Pernice’s working-class nature, the band’s sixth and latest album, Goodbye, Killer (Ashmont), does away with the sighing string section and goes straight for the guitars, from the mod-rock riffing of “Jacqueline Susann” to the Teenage Fanclub power-pop of “Something For You.” After a four-year spell between albums, the Pernice Brothers return with their leanest and most efficient effort to date. Pernice will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.
Pernice:
Dear Joe,
I hope you can help me out with some advice. I’m a 25 year old woman. I build websites for a living. I had a full time job up until the economy went whack, now I work freelance which is cool with me. About a month ago, I was hired to do some work for a well-known indie-music site. The job is a friggin’ dream come true. The people are pretty cool and they all have Brooklyn Lagers at 4:00 on fridays! Anyways [sic], late one friday afternoon, I’m up against this crazy deadline. I’m trying to get this uber important SXSW edition done, and this really super cute guy who is one of the site managers, let’s call him Jeb (not his real name), was standing behind me, helping me with a bunch of Fleet Foxes hyperlinks. Next thing I know, I feel “something” hard pressing against my back. At first I thought it was the frame of my Herman Miller aeron chair, but it wasn’t! When I tried to swivel, Jeb stopped me and started massaging my shoulders. He kept saying over and over, “That’s not where that goes. That’s not where that goes … ” Lets just say we sorted out those hyperlinks pdq, and had intercourse at my place!!! Jeb moved in for good (I hope!) the next week. He’s the best, and I don’t really have any complaints. Here’s where you’re advice is needed. Jeb told me after we were together for almost two weeks that he used to be gay, but that meeting me changed him, he swears it. (I guess I’m OK with that because people change, right? lol) The problem is, his old boyfriend (of three plus years! OMG) is moving to town, and Jeb wants him to crash with us until he can get squared away. Do you think I should let the ex crash?
signed,
He Who Is Not Confused Can Cast The First Stone.
Dear HWINCCCTFS,
I have studied your situation with a keen and learned eye. And my advice to you is this: By all means let the ex stay with you guys for as long as Jeb likes. Don’t be a jealous nelly. It’s unattractive and gives wrinkles and hemorrhoids. You have absolutely nothing to worry about with regards to Jeb being unfaithful to you or even desirous of his ex. The past is the past. Hell, we welcomed Libya back with open arms, and all they ever did was blow up a jumbo jet full of mostly people younger than you! I mean, really, how long does someone have to suffer as a single person before it’s kosher for him to get back up on the horse? (Don’t write in an answer to that. It was rhetorical.) Clearly you and Jeb understand and respect each other deeply. And besides, this whole “gay” thing is a bunch of hogwash. It’s a fad. Trust me. (Try sleeping with a few chicks, and you’ll see what I mean.) I hope my words to you are helpful. Good luck to you both. In the mean time, I suggest you listen to Julius Caesar by Smog.
And if you have any free promo shit—CDs, shirts, books—laying around the office, I’d be into having them.
Joe
Video after the jump.
New York-based Big Tree cranked up its vegetable-oil-fueled tour van at the beginning of the month to venture on its longest tour thus far and to celebrate its self-released Home(here) EP. It’s made up of three songs recorded live in a California studio, with minimal overdubs done in NYC later. Lead track “The Concurrence Of All Things” is remarkably captivating with vibrant harmonies and infectious, poetic lyrics. Download it below.
“The Concurrence Of All Things” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/TheConcurrenceOfAllThings.mp3
When is a cover song better than the original? Only you can decide. This week David Bazan takes on Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me.” MAGNET’s Ryan Burleson pulls the pin. Take cover!
Over the course of their colorful and influential filmmaking careers, Ethan and Joel Coen have arguably left no greater mark on the medium than when The Big Lebowski made Jeff Bridges’ The Dude the most unremarkable character nearly everyone would want to call a friend. Sure, the Coens’ other films have earned them a combined 23 Oscar nominations (since 1991!), but rarely have Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou? or No Country For Old Men been invoked in pop culture with the fondness that’s regularly dispensed on His Dudeness’ stoned, accidental vigilantism. Rollicking underneath the opening credits of The Big Lebowski is Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me,” which originally appeared on Mr. Zimmerman’s 1970 album New Morning. The song serves as a sort of sign of themes to come, as its feel-good folk would reappear upon The Dude’s realization that his rug—you know, the one that really tied the room together—had been stolen. The Coen brothers obviously meant for the song to serve as a centerpiece for the film, and this becomes evermore clear when you consider how Dylan’s lyrics easily parallel the earnest escapism of The Dude.
Though “The Man in Me” has also been covered by the Clash and Say Anything, David Bazan’s take strikes us as the most worthy contender to compete with the original. Bazan, perhaps better known to some as the man responsible for Pedro The Lion, turned in distinctive covers of Radiohead’s “Let Down,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and a host of Christmas songs (check out his annual holiday seven-inch series) before tackling what’s now known as the Lebowski theme song to many. Stripping away the electric keys, female vocals and swagger of Dylan’s trademark delivery, Bazan honored the original’s romanticism while sobering it up slightly, giving it more of a classic, heart-on-his-sleeve feel without taking the sentimentality too far.
The choice is now yours.
The Cover:
The Original: