Phantasmaphile

Anaïs Mitchell's Hadestown

I feel so fortunate to have discovered Anaïs Mitchell's incredible album, Hadestown.  It's a folk opera interpretation of the Orpheus myth with a distinctive Dust Bowl Americana vibe.  The "cast" is incredible, with Ms. Mitchell as Eurydice, Greg Brown as Hades, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon as Orpheus, Ani DiFranco as Persephone, the Haden Triplets as the Three Fates, and the Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller as Hermes.  Round it all off with incredible music that spans the range from blues to ragtime to old world folk, and you've got a truly epic tour de force.  The stunning woodcut album art by Peter Nevins is the ocular cherry on top.  I'd give anything to see this performed live - and with Nevins doing the sets, as an added bonus.  BAM, are you listening?  In the meantime, whether you're myth addict or a music maven, pick yourself up a copy - you'll be so happy you did.

Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 on Blu-ray!

I have been waiting for this news for years - YEARS I tell you!  Fantasia & Fantasia 2000 are finally being released on Blu-ray, on November 30th!  It's a 4-disc set, chock full of treats, including the miraculous Dali/Disney collaboration, Destino - one of the most beautiful and strange animated shorts ever made.  Here's the full list of contents:

This 4-disc collection includes the movies and extras on two Blu-Ray discs, along with two DVDs with the movies and limited extras. Contents for each disc are as follows:

Disc One: Fantasia Blu-Ray
* DisneyView
* Disney Family Museum
* The Schultheis Notebook - Newly discovered document reveals movie secrets
* Interactive Art Gallery
* Audio Commentaries

Disc Two: Fantasia 2000 Blu-Ray

* Destino - 2003 animated short debuting on Blu-Ray
* Dali and Disney - A date with Destino documentary
* Musicana - Walt's inpiration for a sequel
* Disney's Virtual Vault - BD-Live
* Audio Commentaries

Disc Three: Fantasia DVD
* Audio Commentary
* Disney Family Museum

Disc Four: Fantasia 2000 DVD
* Musicana - Walt's inpiration for a sequel

Plus, if you pre-order it from Amazon now, it's 30% off.  I already bought mine.  Squeeeeeeeee!

New Rasputina album!

Cellorock deities Rasputina are back!  New album Sister Kinderhook is out on June 15th, and online samples lead me to believe this is going to be yet another glorious, heady dose of quasi-historic-fabulism spiked with alternatively shredding and sparkling strings.  Can.  Not.  Wait.

New Beach House Album

I cannot, will not, stop talking about how amazing the new Beach House album, Teen Dream, is.  Beach House has become hands down my favorite new band of the last couple years, thanks to their lush, shimmering sound and Victoria Legrand's husky, aching vocals.  Their previous album, Devotion, has become one of my top 10 most personally important albums of all time, and their first self-titled album is lovely as well, albeit in a far more lo-fi way. 

Listening to a new album from a beloved band is always a tenuous experience.  It's a mix of giddy anticipation and self-protective anxiety.  There is fear that one will be left cold, that the magic won't be there the way it had been previously.  But 4 seconds after hitting play, I knew that Teen Dream was every bit as special as I hoped it would be.  

Yes, the album feels a bit more produced than the first two, as tends to happen the bigger a band gets.  But in Beach House's case, the higher production value is an asset.  The album swells with romance and cavernous pining, and at times is even a bit more upbeat than one might expect.  I would never use the word "pop," to describe it (the signature croon of the organ and tambourine punctuations keep things cast in delicious shadow), but I will say there are extremely melodic, catchy elements to it that keep it accessible, while still having the reverby emotional depth one has come to expect and adore.  

You know the feeling of being at the school dance, sitting on the sidelines longing so deeply for that certain someone?  Well Teen Dream is the sound of dancing with that person, of clutching them with your heart and and drowning in a wall of dark sonorous sparkle.  Melodramatic, perhaps - but in the best way possible.

Rasputina show!

Cello rockers Rasputina are playing a rare and wonderful "fan request recital" TONIGHT, Sunday, September 13th, 8pm, at the new Knitting Factory space in Williamsburg, and you should be there:

There will be a very special Rasputina recital on September 13, 2009 during the opening week of the new Knitting Factory club at 361 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn. This will be the ONLY Rasputina recital from now until Spring 2010.
For this special event we have decided to have an all-request recital...Melora may also deign to play some new songs from the upcoming Rasputina album Sister Kinderhook.

It looks like the deadline to email them requests has passed, but for what it's worth, I hope they play:  "Rusty the Skatemaker," "Things I'm Gonna Do," "Watch TV," "State Fair," "Mama Was an Opium Smoker," "Green Finch/Johanna," and/or "We Stay Behind" - to name but a few of my favorites.

OMG New Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions album!

On sale September 29th, but you can pre-order it now.  And they'll be touring soon, too.  I could not be more excited!

Musicka Mystica Maxima

I bought my ticket to Musicka Mystica Maxima, and could not be more excited.  What is Musicka Mystica Maxima you ask?  Why I'll tell you!  It is a 2 night music festival taking place on September 21st and 22nd here in NYC at Santos Party House, which will feature music and ceremonies of the magical-with-a-k variety.  Or, as per their site:  "Two nights of musick made by practicing magicians or practicing musicians whose work celebrates the magical lifestyle, as well a public performance of ceremonial magic ritual."

Here is the line-up:

Day One:
GENESIS BREYER P-ORRIDGE with THEE MAJESTY
AMBER ASYLUM
ARRINGTON DE DIONYSO
LARKIN GRIMM
NAUTICAL ALMANAC

Day Two:
MONICA RICHARDS (of Faith & The Muse)
4TH SIGN OF THE APOCALYPSE
DANIEL HIGGS
JOHN ZORN & BILL LASWELL

Each night starts at 7pm.  Tickets are $15 per night, or $27 for both nights.  Here are some helpful links for you.  Order Night One tickets here.  Order Night Two tickets here.  Order 2-Night Pass tickets here.  And do let me know if you're going so we can rendez-vous.

Rasputina Super-limited Edition EP

Rasputina's mastermind, Melora Creager, just released a beautiful limited edition 3-song EP called the Willow Tree Triptych.  Each track is a cellofied folk song from a different country - America, England, and Ireland, respectively - and all titled "The Willow Tree."  The songs are beyond lovely, and Melora's voice has never sounded better.  But I would consider this minature album to be as much a collectible work of art as anything else.  Each CD is individually packaged with a one-of-a-kind, autographed collage done by Melora and her daughter Hollis.  As such it is a keepsake to be treasured and enjoyed for centuries to come!  Do order yourself one, as only 100 have been made, and they are going fast.

New Tori Album

A new Tori Amos album is always cause for celebration.  Mark your calendars for May 19th, when Abnormally Attracted to Sin will be released.  There will also be a deluxe edition that has videos - called "visualettes" - for each and every track.  YUM.

Dreamy Music Pt 7

It's been a while since I've done a Dreamy Music roundup, but there's been so much great stuff swirling in my ears lately, I just have to share:

Marissa Nadler - Little Hells:  Though her previous albums have been of the haunting folk variety, I actually think I like this most recent, more produced one best.  It still has her signature "spectral reverberations" (as the Times calls it), but her sweetly howling voice is all the more striking when it has a lush wall of sound behind it.  This album is a bit sad and creepy, in that lovely "listen to this at midnight" kind of way I find irresistible.

Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light:  This one's been out for a while, but a new Antony album is always cause for excitement.  He is like a crooning cabaret ghost.  This album isn't really a departure from his last one, but that's OK by me, because it is all so pretty and sincere and strange.

Neko Case - Middle Cyclone:  There are three songs on this album that cut me to ribbons: the title track, "Vengeance is Sleeping," and "I'm An Animal."  I would have been happy with just one!  The album in its entirety is wondrous, with complicated, tightly woven lyrics about nature and love, and lots of magical realism.  Perfect for a soaring drive on a starry night.

Also, can't wait for the following three albums to be released soon:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz on March 31st

PJ Harvey & John Parrish - A Woman, A Man, Walked By on March 31st

Bat for Lashes - Two Suns on April 7th

YAY!

New Brightblack Morning Light album!

Brightblack Morning Light's new album, Motion to Rejoin, came out in the states yesterday, and that is cause for much celebration.  It's not a huge departure from their previous work, and that is A-OK by me.  They make gorgeously languid, soulful desert music, filled with lots of droning organs and incantatory vocal harmonics.  This is music fit for a bonfire or better yet, a vision quest.  Break out the smudge stick, hang up your dream catcher, enter the sweat lodge, and let it take you over.

Dreamy Music Pt 6

There are two new albums and one oldie-but-goody which I have been playing on repeat of late:

My Brightest Diamond - A Thousand Shark's Teeth:  Moody, romantic, and darkly ethereal, this is album to listen to with the lights out.

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes:  These guys remind me of a new incarnation of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, with their soaring harmonics and emotions.  They've got loads of indie cred thanks to a stellar review from Pitchfork, but don't let that dissuade you.  It's accessible, magical, mountain music, fit for a long drive somewhere green.

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass:  Summer is the ultimate time to listen to this solo masterpiece by my favorite Beatle.  Soulful, mystical, optimistic, and just a little bit slinky in all the right places. 

Dreamy Music Pt 5

Lots of splendid new music has just come out, and I am swooning:

Clinic - Do It!:  A new Clinic album is always cause for rejoicing, and this one is amongst their very best.  Spooky-sexy, retro-fresh, and masterfully woven with their signature driving beat.

Breeders - Mountain Battles:  Eclectic, unapologetically uneven, and always too cool for school, the Breeders are back with a vengeance.

Portishead - Third:  Many of us never thought we'd see this day, but the new Portishead album is every bit as haunting and cinematic as one could hope for.  (The album releases next Tuesday, but you can hear the whole thing at Last.fm now).

Papercuts - Can't Go Back:  I saw these guys open for the magnificent Beach House, and was totally blown away by their surging sound and desperate crooning.  They sound like a depressive-yet-glittering band from the early 60s.  Which I mean as a very high compliment. 

Phantasmaphile Soundtrack

I've been playing around with Muxtape, a site that lets you make mixes and share them online.  The service has a ways to go in terms of features and complexity (it would be great to have more than 12 tracks, and to be able to make more than one mix per username, for example), but it's a pretty elegant little system, and I'm excited to watch it develop. 

Here's a link to my Phantasmaphile mix:  http://phantasmaphile.muxtape.com/  I put some of my favorite, most magical music on there.  Enjoy!

Beach House

Hooray!  Beach House's new album, Devotion, is coming out on Tuesday the 26th.  It sounds even more lush and opiate than their eponymous first effort.  This is music to listen to with eyes closed and candles sputtering.

Mediaeval Baebes

I wasn't raised with Christmas, so it's always been a holiday that sort of floated around me in a red and green haze.  But thanks to this guy, I've had cause to celebrate it for the last three years, and I have to say, there are some parts of it that are just lovely.  I've realized that for me, the key is finding my own little elements and rituals that resonate on a personal level, rather than force-feeding the mass-marketed version.  On that note, I have discovered an album of music that conjures up some real winter magic.  Mistletoe and Wine by the Mediaeval Baebes is a collection of traditional songs sung in various languages by a collective of beautiful, gothy women.  This is an album to listen to in a room filled with cloves and glittering candles.  (Though I have a hunch I'll be playing it year round as it sounds secular enough, and the songs are just so pretty.)  HAPPY HOLIDAYS, PHANTASMAPHILES!  Postings will be occasional at best until after the new year.  XO

"We Won't Break"

This video for "We Won't Break" by Zoot Woman is one of the coolest I've seen in a long time.  Boschian figures spring to life and rock out to the sounds of electropop.  Right on.

(Thank you, Johanna!)

Rasputina benefit show!

The always cello-riffic Rasputina will be playing this Sunday at Union Pool in Brooklyn.  The show is a benefit for the badass Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, an incredibly cool and important organization that empowers young females by teaching them how rock out.  The multi-act show starts at 6pm.

Goldfrapp

OK, I know I should just wait until the album drops to post about this, but I am just too excited.  Goldfrapp's new album, Seventh Tree, will be out in February.  Just take a look at the most phantasmaphilic description:

“A sensual counterpoint to the glitterball glamour of Supernature, Seventh Tree is gilded in the butterfly colours of an English surrealism shared from Lear to Lennon. It shimmers and shines with the warmth of a hazy summer, an electric whirlpool over which Alison’s glistening voice soars.”

Sounds delicious.

Via

American Routes show

 

Be sure to tune in this week to my favorite radio show, American Routes.  The theme is "Saints & Spirits," and features songs throughout history about voodoo and the afterlife, as well as some fabulous interviews:

October 24 - October 30, 2007
Saints & Spirits

Explore the spiritual realm of New Orleans and South Louisiana through words and music on this weekend of All Souls' and All Saints'. Our very own, Ninth-ward, R & B buddha, Fats Domino, drops by and unveils his personal spirituality. Visit the tomb of Voodoo queen Marie Laveau with author, anthropologist and believer Martha Ward. Plus, Creole artist, musician and traiteur Dennis Paul Williams discusses the mystical power of the zydeco and his own healing practices. And Meter man Charles Neville runs the old-school, uptown Voodoo down.

The airing schedule is here.

Rasputina

Check out this most delightfully dark and frilly Rasputina video for "1816 The Year Without a Summer."  It was created by the one and only Dame Darcy.  Afterwards, go buy tickets to their Halloween show in Williamsburg.

PJ Harvey

PJ Harvey's new album, White Chalk, came out yesterday, and it is filled with spooky loveliness.  The songs are piano-based hymns about loss and memory, embellished with such moody instruments as a "broken harp," "zither," and "wine glass."  Harvey croons in a ghostly falsetto, sounding a bit like a dead Victorian child communicating through a Ouija board.  In other words, perfect music for a long October night. 

múm video!

Utterly delightful video for múm's "They Made Frogs Smoke Until They Exploded."  It was apparently done by Ingibjörg Birgisdóttir.

(Thank you, Johanna!)

Bat for Lashes

So excited - I'm seeing Bat for Lashes play tonight at the Knitting Factory.  (I've written about them before.  Do buy the album if you haven't already, it is gorrrrrgeous.)  Also, check out this great interview with Natasha Khan.  Here's an excerpt:

"I do love fairytales, but actually not so much the Grimms ones as the older more barbaric and ancient pagan ones! I love a book called "women who run with the wolves" as it contains Jungian philosophies and interpretations of all the old fairytales before they became too standardized and clean. I was brought up in a strict religion and so the act of storytelling is deeply embedded in me - I think thats why I was instantly attracted to deep southern/gothic American lyrics and music - and then fell in love with the biblical imagery of blues, Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, etc."

She is my total soul sister.

(Thanks, Johanna!)

New Rasputina Album!

Oh my goodness, how did I miss this?  Rasputina's new album, Oh Perilous World, came out on June 26th.  It sounds a bit harder than some of their previous albums, which is just great by me.  Cellos tear it up!