Excellent Online

Band Of Horses
Doug Fir Lounge
Portland OR
July 3, 2006

By Brian Sikora

I am not sure when exactly I became "unhip". I used to think of myself as fairly "with it". In fact, the people that know me consider me a walking music encyclopedia. Along with that title comes the knowledge of the up and coming bands before anyone else does. So when did that ship sail, because apparently it has. This was apparent by not having a clue that Band of Horses was the band of the moment. I knew who they were. I had enjoyed their album, but I usually enjoy those types of bands. Give me a band that sounds like My Morning Jacket, Grandaddy, the Shins, etc and I am all over it. So why did I miss their tremendous ascension?

We KNEW it was too good to be true. Yesterday we reported on an unconfirmed posting to the Elephant 6 Forums by Jeff Mangum, him of NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL potentially alluding to new recordings and a possible new NMH record.

No dice.

PITCHFORK spoke with Apples in Stereo frontman and Elephant 6 kingpin Robert Schneider, who confirms that the mystery post in the forums was NOT Mangum, but an elaborate hoax. Schneider posted the following on the E6Townhall forums today:

"dear friends--

i had not commented on this thread because i wanted to hear back from jeff mangum directly about it-- i sent jeff an email quoting the initial post on this thread yesterday, and he just replied:

'hello robert-i am sorry to inform you that this is not my post. could you please inform the good people on the e6 list that this is not my writing? thank you robert. much love-j'

this came directly to my email from jeff's email account-- the post attributed to him is 100% FALSO, sorry to bear the disappointing news-- it was a very beautifully written fake post!

you are all beautiful and brilliant kids, it would do the whole world a great deal of good if you took all this great energy and excitementyou have been passing around here, rolled it up with your anger and disappointment into a big wonderful pissed-off ball, and recorded a bunch of kickass songs!!! please go right now and make something special, do something great, retaliate against the mediocrity that engulfs us!!

don't just do it for me, or jeff, or elephant 6 (although it would please us all immensely) do it because the world needs it!!

love,
robert schneider"

Ergo, for all we know, the eccentric genius is STILL missing in action, or at clown college, or a born-again Christian, or hosting weird radio shows in small towns, or whatever rumour you'd like to believe.

All this proves, Jeff, is that people would REALLY like to hear more from you at some point. Whaddaya say?

Okay, people, it's time to start scanning the skies for 4 mean-lookin' dudes on horses -- it's apocalypse time.

Two bands come to mind when you complete this sentence: "You'll know it's the end of the world when __________ puts out a new record."

One is, of course, My Bloody Valentine. But it's okay, Kevin Shields, we've enjoyed the decade wait. Let's try for two, eh?

However, the OTHER group we thought we'd never hear from again might be ready to make noise again. Last night, a long-winded post was made to the Elephant 6 Forums. Attributed simply to "Jeff," the post spoke of new music and possibly even a tour.

Could this possibly really truly be Jeff Mangum of NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL? After wowing the entire free world with the stellar album, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea," Mangum basically disappeared. While his friends were surely still in touch, the internet was rife with rumours like the one that said the eccentric musician had joined a traveling circus.

Ah, fame.

It can turn the best of men into whimpering, whiny, drug-addled tabloid fodder in no time. It takes a certain breed of person to suffer fame and survive with their wits intact... even more so if your fame happens overnight. Some people can hack it; others get out while the gettin's good.

Which brings us to Andy Nicholson, who has quit ARCTIC MONKEYS at the zenith of their debut record success. The bass player had actually been MIA for a bit, absent from the band's recent US tour due to what was announced at the time as "fatigue."

Today the band announced via their website that Andy's departure is permanent:

"We are sad to tell everyone that Andy is no longer with the band. Nick OâEUR(TM)Malley, who stood in for Andy while he was absent from the recent tour of North America, shall carry on playing bass for the remaining shows this summer. We have been mates with Andy for a long time and have been through some amazing things together that no one can take away. We all wish Andy the very best. -Alex, Jamie and Matt."

It's the end of an era, today. Heck, it's the end of about 5 eras, as today the BBC has cancelled "Top of the Pops."

The infamously cheezy UK chart music showcase show, which debuted some 42 years ago, will be no more later this summer.

In its seemingly infinite run, TOTP has seen everyone from the Beatles to Nirvana grace its stage, and was frequently mocked for encouraging featured artists to lip sync and mime to backing tapes. While the show eventually allowed artists to perform live, it was still a pretty corny affair -- and some bands used their TOTP appearances to mock the format.

Who could forget Nirvana's first TOTP appearance, with Cobain singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" about 2 registers lower than the recorded version? How about the KLF bringing out assortments of druids, spaceships, and Tammy Wynette? Or the slew of various alt/punk bands who would trash the set and themselves before being perfunctorily dismissed?

Or just recently, when The Magic Numbers were set to perform... until, that is, a presenter cracked a fat joke at their expense, which sent the band storming out of the studio.

As cheezy as it is, we're sad to see TOTP go. It's more than a show, it's a cultural icon. Here's hoping it never gets lost to the sands of time. DVD retrospective, anyone?

In the latest Matador newsletter they break the details of the new Yo La Tengo album. It's due September 12th and will be called, 'I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass'. Read on for the full details...

I'm too tired to write a real review and it's already hard enough to talk about a DJ set because when you boil it down, it's just a dude playing records. Granted, this "dude" is the legendary Phil Hartnoll from Orbital and the records were all stored in a PowerBook, but it's still just a DJ set. So instead of actually writing anything, I just posted an IM conversation that I had with fellow Excellent Online contributor, Brian. Enjoy.

Robert Smith and HIS LOVE FOR THE CAPSLOCK KEY WHEN HE POSTS ON THE CURE'S OFFICIAL SITE has released the tracklist for the next set of Cure remastered CDs due in August. In addition to the Cure's studio albums, this next round of remasters will include The Glove's "Blue Sunshine," his psychedelic collaboration with Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Each set features the original album remastered on the first CD, with a second CD of rarities, demos, outtakes and live tracks.

Gomez
San Diego, House of Blues
Sunday, May 20, 2006

Gomez is one of those "must-see" bands for me. No matter how many times they play or how good/bad their most recent album is, I need to see them every time. Despite being a fan, their last two records were kinda weak. There were some highlights, but overall they were just missing something. Thankfully their latest record, "How We Operate" is fantastic so I don't mind if they focus on new material.

Keane's website and MySpace page have an announcement about a short US tour next month.

Hello!

Some exciting news for those of you who live in the US of A - Keane have (or 'has' as you folks would say) confirmed some American dates! They're next month! And you can buy the very best tickets through our exclusive presale! Tomorrow!

We'll be selling the presale tickets through Keane's online shop, Rag And Bone, for all shows except San Francisco, where the venue have arranged their own presale. For seated gigs, the presale will enable you to buy the best available seats. For standing shows, Rag And Bone will be attempting to arrange wristbands that allow you early entry into the venue so that you can get the best possible view.

The info is as follows...

June 20 - San Francisco, Great American Music Hall. Presale from 10am on May 16 from www.virtuous.com. Full onsale from 10am on May 21 from www.tickets.com

June 21 - Los Angeles, Henry Fonda Theatre. Presale from 10am on May 16 through www.rag-and-bone-com. Full onsale from 10am on May 20 from www.ticketweb.com

June 23 - New York, Bowery Ballroom. Presale from 1pm on May 16 from www.rag-and-bone-com. Full onsale from 10am on May 19 from www.ticketweb.com

June 24 - Boston, Axis. Presale from 1pm on May 16 from www.rag-and-bone-com. Full onsale from 10am on May 19 from www.ticketmaster.com

June 27 - Chicago, Metro. Presale from 12noon on May 16 from www.rag-and-bone-com. Full onsale from 12noon on May 20 from www.ticketmaster.com

NB: All times listed are the ones local to the venue.

Presale tickets are, naturally, limited - so you'd be well-advised to be sitting in front of your computer at the corresponding time tomorrow. Good luck!

Keane HQ