Record I produced for A Fine Frenzy nominated for dare-I-say prestigious Shortlist Music Prize
Current mood: Minorly self-congratulatory
Category: Minorly self-congratulatory Life
http://www.shortlistofmusic.com/
Arcade Fire, Justice, Feist, LCD Soundsystem, Burial, Spoon and M.I.A. Among the Fifty-Four Nominees on the Long List
December 21, 2007, Los Angeles: The Shortlist Organization announced today the Long List of nominees for the seventh annual Shortlist Music Prize, a peer-selected award that recognizes the most creative and adventurous albums of the year. The 54 nominees were selected by a panel of five Listmakers: recording artists Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) and Ronnie Vannucci (the Killers), journalist Rev. Moose (CMJ), radio DJ Chris Douridas (KCRW) and the hosts of Hunnypot Internet Radio.
Nomination to the Long List is the first step towards the Shortlist Music Prize. Any album released in the US from January through November, 2007 was eligible for nomination, so long as it had not been certified gold for domestic sales of 500,000 units. Announcements of the ten Finalists and the Shortlist Music Prize winner will be made in early 2007.
Nominees range from female solo artists Feist, M.I.A. and Keren Ann to electronic artists Justice, Burial and LCD Soundsystem. Eighteen of this year's nominated albums were created by artists who have been previously nominated for the Shortlist Prize, including Bjork, PJ Harvey, Wilco, Kings of Leon, Spoon and Iron and Wine.
In all, artists from nine countries were nominated, including Peter Bjorn and John and the Hives from Sweden, Digitalism from German, Feist, Stars and Arcade Fire from Canada, and Brazilian DJ Gui Burrato. The 54 albums on the Long List were released by 48 different record labels. In chronological order, the six previous Shortlist winners are Sigur Ros, N*E*R*D, Damien Rice, TV on the Radio, Sufjan Stevens and Cat Power. --- Long List of Nominations for Seventh Annual Shortlist Music Prize:
A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea Against Me! - New Wave Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell Biffy Clyro - Puzzle Bjork - Volta Blonde Redhead - 23 BrakesBrakesBrakes - The Beatific Visions Burial - Untrue Calvin Harris - I Created Disco Dead Heart Bloom - Chelsea Diaries Digitalism - Idealism Dollyrots - Because I'm Awesome Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild Soundtrack Feist - The Reminder Fionn Regan - The End of History Future of the Left - Curses Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta Grinderman - Grinderman Gui Boratto - Chromaphobia Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog Jesca Hoop - Kismet Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter Juliette and the Licks - Four on the Floor Justice - Cross Keren Ann - Keren Ann Kings of Leon - Because of the Times Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver Le Loup - The Throne of the Third Heaven Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends M.I.A. - Kala Maps - We can Create o'Death - Head Home Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Parts and Labor - Mapmaker Peter Bjorn and John - Writers Block PJ Harvey - White Chalk Puscifer - V is for Vagina Robert Francis - One by One Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions Scout Niblett - This Fool Can Die Now Serj Tankian - Elect the Dead Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War Swizz Beatz - One Man Band Man The Bird and The Bee - The Bird and The Bee The Hives - Black and White Album The Thrills - Teenager Underworld - Oblivion with Bells Wheat - Everyday I Said a Prayer Wilco - Sky Blue Sky Working for a Nuclear Free City - Businessmen and Ghosts
Nick Hall anti-bullying song "Sticks and Stones" ’pon de charts!
Current mood: Charitable
Category: Charitable Life
I produced this song "Sticks and Stones" by super-talented Nick Hall which has been chosen as the official song of anti-bullying week and also as the official single of Bullying.co.uk, the largest charity in the UK dealing with this important issue. It's already in the top 10 of a couple of UK charts and it's a lovely song and a jolly worthy cause so please feel free to show your support by going to the link(s) below and shelling out 79p or whatever the hell they want for it... (and indeed by reposting all this with reckless abandon) Love, LB
Here it is at HMV (which only seems to work with Internet Explorer), where it's number 6 in the charts(!):
Wow, tonight I was lucky enough to be able to see the lovely Michael TT conduct Beethoven's 9th at the Bowl. That Beethoven, quite a geezer... Deaf as a post, they say. But shit that first movement, just throwing it down there like "Fuck you!". And then the second movement such a pulsating rollercoaster ride, like he's banging at the inside of his own eardrums trying to break them open. And then the lyricism of the third movement, such a pricktease, really, with those tiny evocations of the big theme to come, so sparing and woven in so deep. He knows he's got a fuckin' hit and he's gonna make you wait for it.... And then, of course, the big finale - There aren't many things that confront you so forcibly with the fathomless potential of human creativity...
I gave MTT a copy of the Fine Frenzy album afterwards. Fuck knows what he'll make of that... His sometime protege Mike Valereo arranged the strings on "Almost Lover", so that might interest him at least. I'm so fucking lucky, really - I've known and been around guys like him, Bernstein, Solti my whole life. And now finally I can appreciate the power of the music they know how to unlock. (well, not Bernstein and Solti these days anyway... To mis-plagiarise the great Python: they're deconstructing conductors...)
Tonight, anyway, I was able to get away for a couple of sublime hours to a good space, away from some of the less positive things that are happening in my world; things that are preventing me getting well and being the person I want to be... I hope to return to that place on as permanent a basis as possible soon... My kids are asleep and they're beautiful. Like little violin notes...
A Fine Frenzy's only on the bleeding Johnny Carson show tomorrow night!!
Current mood: Heeeerrrrree's Something or other
Category: Heeeerrrrree's Something or other Dreams and the Supernatural
I believe they call that telecast The Tonight Show with Jay Leno these days... But bloody hell, come on, The TONIGHT SHOW!!! That would be pretty much good enough, wouldn't it?!? I mean if nothing else at all happened?? The Tonight Show...?
And you may ask yourself - "Well, how did I get here?"
I'm going to go along and be part of the scene, swap very small jacket fashion tips with Posh Spice, rub Jay's chin for luck and whatnot. But if you like me, and hell, even if you don't, I hope you'll crack open a bottle of Pro Plus with me and stay up until about 12.20 tomorrow night (Friday 13th, but that's confusing cos it'll be Saturday by that time...) and watch Alison, Stephen and Daxx do their lovely little thing.
that A Fine Frenzy is VH1's number 1 You Oughta Know artist... Wait, that isn't even really a wordplay, is it.... But golly, who'd a thunk it... Heady times indeed. Love, LB
Lovely polaroids taken by zooper-talented Miele Z Adler from our pre-school fundraiser
Current mood: Rheumy...
The wonderful Chris & Thomas, Priscilla Ahn and Alison Sudol (+ Stephen LeBlanc) who all pitched in like superheroes and charmed the night sky with their gift of music, helping to keep the perfect little Oak Glen nursery school afloat. They all know how grateful I am...
Some of these early ones are like private shows but pretty much everything from June onwards is with Rufus Wainwright. Should be amazing! LB
May 18 2007 - Lexington, Kentucky May 19 2007 - Louisville, Kentucky May 21 2007 - Minneapolis, Minnesota May 22 2007 - Minneapolis, Minnesota Jun 4 2007 Berbati's Pan-Portland, Oregon Jun 5 2007 Triple Door-Seattle, Washington Jun 7 2007 Popscene-San Francisco, California Jun 8 2007 TBD-Los Angeles, California Jun 15 2007 Northstar Bar-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jun 20 2007 Black Car-D.C., Washington DC Jun 21 2007 Hiro Ballroom-New York, New York Jun 25 2007 Mercury Ballroom-New York, New York July 29th - Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre July 31st - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom Aug 2nd - Santa Rosa, CA @ Wells Fargo CPA Aug 3rd - San Fran, CA @ Nob Hill Aug 4th - Saratoga, CA @ Mountain Winery Aug 6th - Santa Fe, NM @ Paolo Amp Aug 7th - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Aug 9th - Kansas City, MO @ Voodoo Lounge Aug 10th - Dallas, TX @ Nokia Aug 11th - Austin, TX @ Stubbs Aug 13th - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle Aug 14th - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Aug 15th - Charlottesville, VA @ Pavilion Aug 17th - Philadelphia, PA @ Mann CPA Aug 19th - New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage Aug 21st - Boston, MA @ Avalon Aug 23rd - Columbus, OH @ Promo West Pav Aug 24th - Ann Arbor, MI @ Michigan Theatre Aug 25th - Chicago, IL @ Ravinia Aug 27th - Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater Aug 29th - London, Ontario @ Centennial Hall
AFF in Gen Art Pulse and Alison Sudol interview
Current mood: Sort of Aldeburgh-on-Sea-ish
Prettiest Girl in Indie Rock Thursday, March 22, 2007 A bar called Jazz seemed the perfect place to meet the sweet and beautiful Alison Sudol from A Fine Frenzy. Unfortunately, a cozy, candle-lit, velvet-chaired jazz club was not what we found in Austin—but Ms. Sudol helped us make the best of it. We hid away upstairs, on a wobbly pew, and chatted about what it's been like to be Los Angeles' new sweetheart.
But Alison is no LA newbie. Early on this California girl discovered a love for all things classic, which you can hear in her music. Delving into the literary worlds of C.S. Lewis and Charles Dickens, music from Aretha and Ella, TV shows from the '50s and Technicolor movies, Alison began to cull her style and craft. She taught herself to play the piano just a few years back, and put her own melancholy narratives to the sound. Fusing hypnotic arrangements, classic melodies, and atmospheric songs, A Fine Frenzy was born. One Cell In The Sea, her debut, is slated to be released on Virgin Records this summer. Watch our interview with the her here.
-Carrie Schupper, Gen Art Music and Art Program Manager
