Uncanny

GUARDIAN UK "Harpist Joanna Newsom's second album - pronounced 'Ees' - is extraordinary, an instant (pre)modern classic. Named after a mythical, flooded Breton city, it follows her cult hit, 2004's The Milk-Eyed Mender. A glance at the support personnel involved is enough to make you spill your mead. Brian Wilson's lieutenant Van Dyke Parks did the stark string arrangements over a period of eight months."

INSIDE BAY AREA

UPCOMING

Please check out of previous posts on SCRITTI POLITTI, who released on of the best albums released so far in 2006.

PITCHFORK

DIGG

VOA NEWS Mike Love said: “We see it every night in concert when we're performing. People sing along. It's amazing. Children, grandparents, I mean, you name it, every generation sings along to the Beach Boys' stuff."

“Surfing is huge all over the place. You find that whether it's sailboarding, or windsurfing, or surfing itself, it's all over the world,” he says.

“I grew up with a grand piano, an organ, and a harp in my living room. And Audrey taught piano and Murray was an aspiring songwriter. So music was always a part of our lives growing up. It was just natural for us.”

The Beach Boys also were influenced by the musicians of the 1950s. “That influenced me in songs like "Fun Fun Fun" and "Surfin' USA" and, you know, quite a few songs. So, Chuck Berry was a big influence for me, conceptually and lyrically. The doo-wop groups, though, were a fascination.”

“Whether we're at a very beautiful opera house or symphony hall, or theater, or in an arena, we just try to do the best we can on every song. But we've been doing this for 45 years, so some of the songs we've got down pretty darn good.”

PITCHFORK "So tracks are getting longer, you may be asking: what does it matter? In fact, it matters quite a bit: just as writing a symphony isn't simply a matter of stringing together various preludes, the current trend towards stretching out is affecting contemporary techno's very form, allowing artists to immerse themselves in slowly modulating sound design and imperceptibly morphing counterpoints. Undoubtedly, the tactic reaches back to classical minimalism."

Launch Radio Networks has issued the following report from Howie Edelson:

BRIAN WILSON SCALING THINGS BACK ON NEW STUDIO ALBUM

Brian Wilson is back in the studio and going full steam ahead for a new solo album, due out next year. In an exclusive to LAUNCH, Wilson revealed that in addition to the track he co-wrote with Burt Bacharach called "What Love Can Do," he's completed about a half dozen tracks, featuring most of the instruments and vocals performed by himself and touring band member Scott Bennett. Wilson added that on several songs horns have been overdubbed.

LAUNCH asked Wilson if he's heading into the studio every day: ["No. Not every day. Every two, three days. About four, four hours per session. I'm writing on a synthesizer. It's like a kick, it makes me inspired to write a melody."] SOUNDCUE (:10 OC: . . . write a melody)

The stripped down approach has been used by Wilson many times in the past, most notably on the Beach Boys' Wild Honey and The Beach Boys Love You albums, released in 1967 and 1977, respectively.

Wilson's mid-'90s work with the Paley Brothers' Andy Paley was the last time he utilized the "two-man-band" approach.

Among the songs that Wilson said will be included on the still-untitled album are "Oxygen To The Brain," "I'm Goin' Home," "A Message Man," "Wonderin' What You're Up To Now," a new untitled ballad sung partially in Spanish with both music and lyrics by Wilson, the Bacharach co-written "What Love Can Do," and a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary."

Brian Wilson will be performing a special 40th anniversary performance of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album on November 1st in Los Angeles at UCLA's Royce Hall. It's his only remaining scheduled show this year.

MOVIE CAPITAL

CLAYTON COUNTS

TIMES LEADER

CITIZEN'S VOICE “We love what we do. It’s still fun. It’s still fresh. We change the song order every night. I still have my young spirit,” said Bruce Johnston.

PITCHFORK "Perhaps more than any other label, Perlon is responsible for the current shape of minimal house and techno. Since the label's inception in 1997, with two records from Markus Nikolai and Dimbiman, respectively, Perlon has explored every nook and cranny of understated, reductionist dance music, from Pantytec's truncated bump 'n' chug to Villalobos' spiraling psychedelia; from Akufen's skipping microhouse to Luciano's early fusions of punchy Latin rhythms and IDM-inspired keyboards." -- Philip Sherburne

Check our our previous post on PERLON.