Welcome back to our guest post series, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, where we invite artists we freak over to takeover. The deal is, they can write whatever they like, only 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. This week, featuring the musings of Pablo Cubrale, the brains behind Contramano, easily one of our favorite new bands (or at least, new to us). Think Argentine Clash with a whole lot of cello. Weird? Perhaps. But also woooooooooonderful. Like the below.
I mean seriously, how brilliant is this? Buy every record Contramano has ever made.
LETTERS FROM THE ROAD: Pablo Cubrale/Contramano
Dear Lou and Laurie,
Did you ever get my e-mail about the BBQ at home?
Man it was a real Argentine asado! And you were the only ones that didn’t make it. I guess it’s because you don’t read e-mails? Or maybe just my e-mails.
I mean, I understand if you don’t like computers, Lou, but come on, Laurie, I know that you’re pretty good with the knobs…
I really wanted you to come and talk about your song we are playing. That’s right, Small Town. I couldn’t figure out the piano part so I replaced it with the drums. I know, you might think that’s weird but it really works. Trust me. Now the song sounds more like Argentine Punk 
. Can’t wait to show you.
On a side note, I wanted to tell you that I changed a few words. For example when you say “Pittsburgh” because Warhol was from there, I say “Cordoba,” because, well, you know… that’s where I’m from. Also, when you say “Capote my hero,” he wasn’t really my hero, in fact I just learned about him when I saw the movie a few years ago. So, what I did was to change it to Lou and Laurie
You know, when I was in Argentina I used to listen to the song and with the dictionary and try to figure out what you were saying. I couldn’t find the meaning of Capote. A plant, an animal? I was confused. And also because I used to see Home of the Brave all the time (I recorded it on my VCR) and you, Laurie, would talk about the differences between being a 0 and a 1, and I thought the two songs were very connected somehow…. Anyway. I hope you guys like it.
Oh, one more thing. I also did the song in Spanish… But dude, it really sounds cool! I have both versions so you can tell me which one you like best.
Oh man, I miss you both
Even though you didn’t make the BBQ, I hope you can come to the show. It’ll be really great, I promise. I even put some footage of you at the end of Small Town when you say: “you hate it, and you know you have to leave” because… my voice, you know, it’s a bit higher than yours, and I can’t reach those looooow notes. Jaja.
Ok. Take care and call me!
Abrazos,
Pablo
8/2/10 | Comments (0)Tags: Contramano, Laurie Anderson, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Lou Reed, Pablo Cubrale —
You guessed it, another edition of LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, our guest post series where we invite musicians we are FREAKING nuts about to take over and write whatever they like. 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. Introducing my new sonic crush, Leo Blais, Buy everything he’s ever made… seriously. FYI, we featured him on THE DAILY DOSE not too long ago
Dear vocal cords,
I wanted to write you and say how disappointed I am with you and how you let me down during my performance of ‘O Holy Night’ during the Christmas Mass when I was 12. I practiced my ass off the whole month leading up to it and you failed me! Not to mention, you teased me with your beautiful sounds of song and then, unlike most kids on Christmas, you took back your gift and left me with no vocal cords at all.
I was alone. I was confused. Shaken. We tried everything to coax you back. I even made your favorite, but even tea and lemon juice couldn’t stop this train wreck of a rendition. My little brother had the 1st verse and nailed it like a champ. You, on the other hand, hit the high register like Don Flamenco taunting Little Mac in Mike Tyson’s punch out.
Lets just say, you were not up to snuff.
I liken you to a deadbeat vocal cord. You promise to be there and then you never show up. I don’t know why you decided to take the day off, which led to 4 years of not trusting you whatsoever. You let me down so badly that day. I was no longer recognized as the kid who delivers newspapers in the neighborhood. I was that kid who ruined ‘O Holy Night!’ That kid who didn’t know when to quit. That kid who probably should have let his brother sing for him.
They didn’t know that you had changed on me. How could they know? There were moments when I thought about giving you the opportunity to explain the situation to people. I wanted you to tell them. However, you’d probably just let me down again and not even show up.
You did come back to me though. But I’ll never forgive you for that day. Never. At least this note gives me some form of satisfaction. There’s a healing in doing this. Besides, whenever I try to tell people you never cooperate. You always bail on me in protest again, which exactly why I can’t trust you to tell the story. I just wouldn’t be able to get a word out.
Vocally yours,
Leo Blais
http://www.leoblais.com/
Tags: Christmas, Leo Blais, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD —
Here we go with another edition of LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, our guest-post series where we invite musicians we shamelessly adore to take over and write whatever they like. 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. This week’s LETTERS FROM THE ROAD guest author is a new friend, the kind that reeks of contagious inspiration, the multitalented Rob Giles. Take it away Rob…
I don’t think of my life as a career. I do stuff. I respond to stuff. That’s not a career — that’s a life!
— Steve Jobs
Dear Steve,
I am so excited about the iPad. I am probably going to even shell out the money to get one before we go on our summer tour. You had me at the Netflix app. I have been reading reviews voraciously, as if a lost Beatles album was just unearthed. Words like “interactive,” “immersive,” “intimate” can’t help but intrigue me. “Will it be the new model for media?!” “I’m not even sure what its used for, but I want to use it for everything!” And apparently iBooks is to Wii what Kindle is to the Atari 2600.
I didn’t read anything about it, but I am guessing there is also an iTunes app? You know, for music?…
It got me wondering, Mr. Jobs, do you remember listening to records? Did you spend any Saturday mornings or Friday nights studying the liner notes of your favorite albums again and again? The artwork!? The glorious mysteries and journeys that album art could catapult you through? (I learned Spanish one summer in Mexico by trying to describe Metallica and Iron Maiden albums to my “Mexican brother” Saul.) Did you ever get images seared into your mind by reading and rereading the pages of recording info and who played what? I can still see clearly that Nikki Sixx, in his musical genius, played not only the bass, but the 8-string bass, the 12-string bass, AND the bass pedals on “Shout At The Devil”!! I am still wondering if the legendary Russ Kunkel looks like what I think he looks like.
Imagine what stuff I could claim to have played on the new Rescues album (out this summer on Universal Republic — Free Single of the Week please, Steve?).
It got me thinking; maybe we should cut a deal:
1. We artists will start to create a LOT more content that is perfect and exclusive for the iPad, and you once again get the credit for creating interest in albums again. I know, I know, you have the “iTunes plus” option with more pictures of John Mayer than anyone could possibly want. I don’t mean creating interest by allowing for a decent bandwidth choice or allowing more content per album. I mean you spending some of your power, ingenuity and money to start even more trends with ingenious designs — you could personally lobby congress to get serious in creating and mandating strict laws about downloading free intellectual property.
2. You could lobby to repeal Clinton’s 1996 Telecom Act, and let radio (celestial or otherwise/app) try to thrive again.
3. Somehow get your gifted design team to make it cool again to buy albums by creating the new music format. Remind us that behind these songs is a band or artist who has dedicated their life (or, if you are Ke$ha, your summer vacation) trying to create something wonderful, honest, timeless, badass, true, fun, beautiful… Something you can spend an evening with. Get us all interested again in the way only you can.
4. You could start a campaign saying, basically, what we all know: stealing music is totally lame.
Deal? Cool. I will go ahead and buy an iPad, then. And I will start dreaming up ways to make Apple the only place worth buying and having an intimate, interactive, immersive experience with my albums again.
And thank you. Thank you. For never giving up. For everything.
On the edge of my seat,
Rob Giles
www.therescues.com
Tags: iPad, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Rob Giles, Steve Jobs, the rescues —
Serving up another edition of LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, our guest post series where we invite musicians we are utterly nuts about to take over and write whatever they like. 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. This week’s LETTERS FROM THE ROAD guest author is a friend and brilliant singer-songwriter who we adore, Jim Boggia:
Dear Taylor Swift,
We need to talk.
I want you to know up front that I really tried to find someone else to write to – someone else who could ease my pain, someone else who might not make me feel so bitter. But I am bitter, Taylor – bitter about things you’re probably too young to understand and that you probably, to be fair, are not so much responsible for as you are representative of.
You know where this is going. Yes, it’s the Grammy thing. That performance. You can’t sing. You took home four Grammys . . . . and you can’t sing. There’s a moment in the first chorus of ‘Rhiannon’ where you can see Stevie Nicks is visibly cringing at how flat you are singing. Let me make sure you understand this, because you’re young and this might be lost on you. This is not Stevie WONDER we’re talking about cringing at your performance, but Stevie NICKS, a woman who owes her career to sleeping with a genius guitar freak/audio architect. Because you see, that’s how it was done in the old days and we didn’t necessarily approve of it, but it got us laid, so ok – let the girl who likes to pretend she’s a witch sing a couple of songs. But even she still had to hit the notes.
How can I make you understand?
A long time ago, we had a group called the Beatles. You might have heard of them as they are now a video game. Anyway, we loved them so much that we even liked to hear their drummer, Ringo, sing one song an album, even though he couldn’t really quite hit the notes. But, the thing is Taylor, he was the DRUMMER. And we really loved the Beatles. And everything else they did was so groundbreakingly amazing. And it was only one song an album.
When you don’t hit the notes it’s different, and not in a good way. I know, I know, on your records, it sounds like you CAN hit the notes. But see, we’re sophisticated now and we know it’s auto-tune and that’s not your fault either but I still have to tell you that it’s no fun living in a world where it’s easier to make someone who looks like you do sound good than it is to make someone who sings like I do look good.
Which brings up another point. You know that song of yours? The one where she’s the cheerleader and you’re the unpopular outsider? Well, I’m having a hard time buying into that because – not to dwell on this but, um . . . . LOOK AT YOU. You can feel free to read this next sentence in the voice of Grandpa Simpson, but: In my day, girls who looked liked you WERE the cheerleaders and then, as now, girls who looked like you wound up getting the guy you talk about in that song. And music . . . Music . . . MUSIC . . . well, that was OUR territory – the folks who really were unpopular. You should check out a tune called ‘At Seventeen’ by Janis Ian. Then you should check out Janis Ian. I mean do a Google Images search. See? SHE was in the bleachers wearing a t-shirt, Taylor, not you. Can’t you just be happy being the cheerleader? Do the popular kids have to take over music, too?
But why am I blaming you? The popular kids took over our game a while ago. There was a bit of a back and forth tussle for a while, but there was a moment – it might have been when Kurt put the bullet through his head – that it was over, the cool kids won and popular music (not POP music, but music which is massively popular) became about being popular and not about making music. And it’s not just you – those guys in Franz Ferdinand can’t sing, either. And on and on. And on and on.
So, no – you are not to blame for this world that you find yourself in – a world that has been this way pretty much since you were born. But you were just given four Grammys. There was a time when you kinda had to be able to bring it, really have your craft down and then, if you caught a break or two, maybe you’d win a Grammy. The process is reversed now. You’ve been awarded your Grammys already. I hope you step up, work hard to really become a musician (and, most specifically, a singer – please learn how to sing) and earn them somehow retroactively.
To end on a positive note – I’m not going to tell you that Beyonce made one of the greatest videos of all time.
Musically Yours,
Jim
Tags: Beyoncé, Jim Boggia, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, Stevie Nicks, Taylor Swift, the beatles —
Serving up another edition of LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, our guest post series where we invite musicians we are utterly nuts about to take over and write whatever they like. 2 rules: it has to be in the form of a letter, it has to have something to do with music. This week’s LETTERS FROM THE ROAD guest author is one of our favorite singer songwriters, Tim Easton:
Dear Young Songwriter Who Wrote Me on MySpace or Facebook and asked for advice:
I have so much to tell you but I should probably distill it down to the basics. This is what I would tell any young artist or student who stands in front of me wondering what to do in this massive and confusing world of art and commerce.
Basically, I can explain it in three chunks:
1. Read and listen to everything that came before now. Films too.
2. Leave home. Travel.
3. Bring something new to the tradition of your craft.
I would have to advise you to read and listen to anything you can get your hands and ears on.
Poetry: you should read it every day. Short stories, novels, all the classics. Get to it.
With music, you are going to have to step out of your comfort zone and visit the sounds and songs of those that came before the songwriters you are listening to now. Go back to the beginnings of your favorite genre. All of the greats studied the greats before them. If you are an American musician, you are doing yourself a dishonor by not listening to and studying the first American musicians who gave us jazz and the blues and the folk music that teaches you the chords and stories you need to know. There is a foundation there that is absolutely necessary if you wish you be a part of the constantly evolving family of musicians and artists, rather than the disposable, flavor of the month variety.
In North America, our “classical” music is jazz. Through serious suffering and eventual liberation came the blues. Finally, we were very fortunate to be the birthplace of rock and roll (disco, hip hop, etc.) and although we’ve had to have its message of ass shaking freedom re-explained to us time and time again by different generations from both sides of the pond, you won’t find any of the long term successful people in these musical genres that didn’t go back and study the greats that came before them.
You want to learn to write good songs? Then learn how to play the great songs of history. You like The Beatles? Learn Motown, Buddy Holly, and Cole Porter. Learn McCartney’s bass lines. You like M. Ward? Go listen to Roy Orbison or Louis Armstrong, Hoagy Carmichael, or Elmore James.
If you listened to every Kinks album and then every Sonic Youth album in a row you will have accomplished a few days of well spent research.
Woody Guthrie, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson, Doc Watson, Blind Willie McTell…they all have stories to tell, more down and dirty than any Stones tune. Learning songs by them will enable you to tell your own stories.
Go to the library and get all this education for free. You can sign up for a card and cruise your library’s collection on your computer, ordering books, films, and CDs to be picked up at your local branch. World music, classical music, avant-garde or modern sonic explorations, Mongolian throat singing: it’s all there waiting for you. While you are at it learn the names of some constellations, trees, and plants.
To me, it’s painfully obvious when a band or writer hasn’t bothered to listen to any albums that came before, say, Nirvana. Rock and roll and popular music/culture in general is more or less a young man/woman’s game-as far as music business goes-but as a lifestyle it can be permanent if you wish. Great art, or the individual expression of those trailblazers that came before can truly charge your creative batteries and help you grow as a person to embrace doing things just a little different from the status quo. You can find temporary happiness with what is current or you can go back in time and stand on the shoulders of the giants of storytelling, and therefore continue on in the tradition of learning and then creating something new out of your own experiences.
This leads me to my second point which is that you simply have to hit the road. I don’t care if you live in NYC or Nashville or LA (which is where you will most likely end up if you actually want to do something about a “career” in entertainment), if you are a young man/woman then you need to see another world besides the one you are accustomed to. Sitting around a coffee shop and talking about all the different things you want to do isn’t going to accomplish anything. If all North Americans could visit other nations, then we would have a more enriched culture and a better understanding of the world, and therefore be an even better country ourselves.
Go to Europe. Take your guitar. Hitch hike. Play on the streets. Meet some other travelers. Share a bottle of wine beside a famous river. Get laid. Fall in love. Get your heart broken. You don’t have to live life the way you have been taught you should, unless you would like to end up working in a cubicle.
Returning to your home town art scene isn’t a crime either. Enliven or participate in your community’s art and music scene by providing couches for those traveling musicians and artists who are on their way through. Throw house concerts. Form a musicians co-op and record company for you and your friend’s bands. Start a ‘zine, or participate in one that is already on the move.
Lastly, and this will most likely happen through experience, but you must bring something new to your craft. If it is songwriting, then add your own life experience to it. Whatever made you the unique individual you are today, put it inside your art.
There are some things I would like to point out that might assist you in achieving some of these goals, and though I didn’t say it before, you should indeed make some goals, and wake up every day and do something towards achieving them. Think it, believe it, do it.
— Tim
P.S. Did I mention that you should practice your instrument every day? Or write in your journal…or write down some of your dreams…or carry a pen and small pad with you at all times? I guess that is just too obvious.
P.S.S.How much time every day do you think Connor Oberst or Jack White or Jeff Tweedy or Chan Marshall or any songwriter/musician/artist you admire spends fucking around on MySpace or Facebook?
Exactly. Now start making plans to hit the road.
2/1/10 | Comments (5)Tags: CUT THROUGH THE NOISE, KATE BRADLEY, LETTERS FROM THE ROAD, OUTLANDOS MUSIC, Tim Easton —
