Month: April 2011

120 Reasons To Live: Sonic Youth

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date April 26, 2011
1 Comment on 120 Reasons To Live: Sonic Youth

Nothing did more to further the cause of Alternative Nation-building than 120 Minutes, MTV’s Sunday-night video showcase of non-mainstream acts. For nearly two decades, the program spanned musical eras from ’80s college rock to ’00s indie, with grunge, Britpop, punk, industrial, electronica and more in between. MAGNET raids the vaults to resurrect our 120 favorite and unjustly forgotten videos from the show’s classic era.

#54: Sonic Youth “Teen Age Riot”

Journalism professors everywhere will be disheartened to know that each hard-hitting edition of 120 Reasons To Live begins with a rigorous “fact” check at Wikipedia. That’s where you’ll find out that Sonic Youth’s first sorta big-time single is a song about J Mascis being president in alternate universe. Really? Nobody took that interview soundbite and interpreted it as another instance of Thurston Moore’s infinite jest and constant propping of his peers? 1988’s Daydream Nation is incredibly evergreen, and “Teen Age Riot” was its gateway (though not its only triumph; among the 12-inch’s b-sides were “Candle” and “Silver Rocket”). The video itself is too rough for real TV enjoyment, too art-installation choppy to sell the band to a wide audience. Sonic Youth’s longevity took care of that.

GUEST EDITOR

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ Ebbot Lundberg Can’t Control Himself: “Chappaqua” (A Film)

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date April 26, 2011

We assume most MAGNET readers are already under the magical, musical spell of the Soundtrack Of Our Lives, but if not, 2011 is the perfect time to change that. The Gothenburg, Sweden, band just released Golden Greats, No. 1 (Little W/The Orchard), a 19-track compilation of songs from throughout the group’s career. TSOOL formed in 1995 after the demise of Union Carbide Productions, a great, punk-leaning band featuring vocalist Ebbot Lundberg and guitarist Ian Persson. Since, TSOOL has released five studio albums and a handful of EPs and non-album singles, earning a Grammy nomination for 2002’s excellent Behind The Music. Lundberg will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with him.

Lundberg: Chappaqua is a 1966 cult film written, directed by and starring Conrad Rooks. It is based on Rooks’ beatnik experiences starting as a Marlon Brando clone in the ’50s and ending up in drug and alcohol addiction. I saw this film in 1988 on my first (accidental) acid trip. It includes cameo appearances by a host of famous names of the ’60s: author William S. Burroughs, guru Swami Satchidananda, beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Moondog, Ravi Shankar, Ornette Coleman and the Fugs. Seeing this film was a revelation for me because it captured my whole persona at the time. I wrote “Here Comes God” shortly after, a song that ended up on the second Union Carbide Productions album, Financially Dissatisfied, Philosophically Trying. I’m still stunned by the composition of colour and sound of this movie. It’s a masterpiece in its simplicity and captures an era and a state of mind that I can relate to. Maybe because I was born 1966, obviously the coolest year in recorded history.

Video after the jump.

VIDEOS

Film At 11: Paleo

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date April 25, 2011

On June 21, Paleo is following up 2010’s A View Of The Sky with Fruit Of The Spirit (Partisan). The 11-track album marks the first time that Davenport, Iowa’s David Strackany collaborated with other musicians for a Paleo record. And collaborate he did. More than a dozen friends from Illinois, Minnesota and Kansas showed up for a frantic, three-day session that resulted in Fruit Of The Spirit. But we’d expect nothing but quick work from Strackany, who in 2006 wrote a song a day for 365 days in a row. We are proud to premiere the Jonathan Burns-directed video for “Holly Would” today on magnetmagazine.com. Watch it below, and catch Paleo on tour right now in North America.

TIVO PARTY TONIGHT

TiVo Party Tonight: Lupe Fiasco, Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas, Alter Bridge, Darius Rucker, Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Drive-By Truckers

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date April 25, 2011

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): Lupe Fiasco
The rapper/producer/CEO is supporting new album Lasers.

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (NBC): Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas
Alison Krauss & Union Station and Jerry Douglas are performing songs from brand new LP Paper Airplane.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC): Alter Bridge
The Florida rock band founded by former members of Creed (sans Scott Stapp) are plugging latest album AB III.

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (NBC): Darius Rucker
The Hootie And The Blowfish frontman is promoting sophomore solo album Charleston, SC 1966.

Last Call With Carson Daly (NBC): Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Rerun from April 6. The husband-and-wife duo, composed of a third-generation Steinbeck and a third-generation Guthrie, promoted latest album Bright Examples with a performance of “Target On Your Heart.”

Conan (TBS): Drive-By Truckers
Rerun from March 1. DBTs supported new album Go-Go Boots with a performance of “Everybody Needs Love.”

GUEST EDITOR

The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ Ebbot Lundberg Can’t Control Himself: A Half Special (A Food)

Post author By MAGNET Staff
Post date April 25, 2011
1 Comment on The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ Ebbot Lundberg Can’t Control Himself: A Half Special (A Food)

Lundberg: A Half Special (“En Halv Special” in Swedish) was the first Swedish “junk food,” invented by two football players, Kaffe G Kisskorv and Luder Allan Bengtsson, in Gothenburg in 1942. It is a hot dog in large bread with mashed potatoes on top. Usually there is west-coast salad (shrimps, mushrooms and mayonnaise) on the mashed potatoes along with ketchup and mustard. You can also add Boston pickles if you want that little extra push over the cliff. This is the most popular hangover food in Sweden, and it’s pure magic! Recommended with the milk-chocolate flavoured drink Pucko if you want to go the “Gothenburg style” all the way. “Pucko” means “idiot” in Swedish by the way.

Video after the jump.