The only lasting business strategy is to act like a normal fucking person," Albini argued. "Treat everybody else like a regular person because, fuck it, they're regular people.
Until today, I hadn't gotten around to listening to The Walkmen. When I saw this article the band's name sounded familiar, tho. I soon realized that my friend Mark had copied their discography for me a few months ago. The albums sat patiently on my computer waiting for me to load 'em up on my walkPhone.
The other band Mark recommended (that I still haven't gotten around to listening to... yet) is DeVotchKa.
It's uncanny to me that I discover The Walkmen are coming to NX35 next month on the same day as I prepare to travel back from NYC to Denton. Last time I made this trip I met a PYT at the airport who recommended a band called DeVotchKa.
While I was writing this, another PYT mentioned that Spoon's new album is "SO good." The Walkmen are appearing with Spoon on March 17 for a SXSW showcase for NPR.
January 25, 2010 - This is one deep, dark, beautiful record. Midlake has been working on The Courage of Others for a few years now, even scrapping it all entirely at one point. The band stopped touring in 2007, in part, to make this album — and now, for the first time in almost three years, it's finally ready to take to the stage to present its new work.
It's hard to imagine that Midlake's earliest music, back in 1999, sounded more like Herbie Hancock, and that the band's first love was jazz. At times, you can hear this Denton, Texas, group's love of '70s rock, particularly of the Fleetwood Mac variety. But what I hear in Midlake goes back to 1969 and a song from the first King Crimson record called "Epitaph." Without a doubt, this isn't a throwback band, or a band with nostalgia on its mind. The music of Midlake has set a tone heard on records from Bon Iver, Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes, among others.
Midlake is a band with a singular vision. You can hear that loud and clear on this gentle masterwork, available here in its entirety for the week leading up to its release on Feb. 2.
Please leave your thoughts on The Courage of Others in the comments section below.
Coming soon to NX35 in Denton TX
Albini is well known as one of the best and most accomplished audio engineers and producers of the past twenty years. He has recorded albums from some of the most popular and influential bands of our generation, including Nirvana's final studio album In Utero.
