Two years after releasing their first full-length album (Birds & Butterflies) on Columbus Discount, Columbus’ Proper Nouns have returned with A Million Hurtful Things, their first release on upstart local label All Hail Records. Though the boys at CDR recorded most of the album and the relationship between the label/studio and the band appears to be intact, the shift in headquarters seems to make sense stylistically. The Nouns’ precise pop doesn’t mesh very well with the rougher textures of bands like Necropolis and El Jesus De Magico (however unfair the pigeonholing may be), and as they are a bit unique in the Columbus “scene,” the association with a more varied label like All Hail (Paper Airplane, Electric Grandmother, etc.) likely ensures a less biased perception of their tunes.
After the two-year break, A Million Hurtful Things builds well on the foundation laid on their previous release. The band’s lineup has changed, with Justin Riley (Terribly Empty Pockets, Super Desserts, etc.) replacing the departed Dave Gibson on Wurlitzer, other keyboards, and background vocals. Though the keyboards have always been an integral part of the Nouns’ sound, Riley seems to be more assertive in his contributions, especially on the Animals-esque “Conditions Are Worse” and the jaunty “The Lesser Stars.” Lead singer/guitarist and primary songwriter Matt Ogborn has concocted another batch of roughly delicate pop songs. His wit and enunciation are as sharp as ever, lending humor to “Long-Time Correspondent” and the “sneering” “My First Death Ray.” The rhythm section of Travis Kokas (bass, background vocals) and Phil Francis (drums) continues to provide a steady backbone for the band, and Francis’ rumbling fills add excitement.
Though the sound presented here is very similar to that of their previous effort, the main difference (and in my opinion, improvement) is that the songs on A Million Hurtful Things are much more drawn out and relaxed, with a perceptible swagger that was often lacking in their previous material. These longer tunes seem to allow the band to get more comfortable with the task at hand, to pleasing effect. The addition of handclaps is nice too.
The Proper Nouns will celebrate the release of A Million Hurtful Things with a show at Cafe Bourbon Street on Friday, May 2. Joining in the festivities will be RTFO Bandwagon and Heavy Mole.
I just finished reading Dean Wareham’s memoir, Black Postcards. Highly recommended. Dean gives an honest look at his life, from childhood to Galaxie 500 and then onward to Luna. Dean certainly didn’t hold back on any punches. It paints a career that when it was high, it was okay, and when it was low, it could only go lower.
There’s drugs, there’s cheating, there’s sold out shows and shows that bomb. Throughout it all, Wareham doesn’t make being in a rock and roll band seem glamorous. With each minor success there ’s little time to enjoy it as it seems like everything is about to fall apart at any given moment.
I’ve posted an MP3 of each of Dean’s projects. If I were you, I’d gobble down every record he’s even looked at.
Blueprint is giving away his new EP, Blueprint vs. Funkadelic, for free on this and a selected few sites. The cd is a limited run of 500. It can be purchased on Weightless.net and a couple stores around the country. I chopped it up with Print a couple nights ago as he prepared for his Wednesday release party at Cafe Bourbon Street in Columbus. We talked P-Funk, Aliens, the future of Weightless, and the Sean Bell Verdict.
I used to hate on the West Coast for using so much Funkadelic in the Early 90’s. Its kinda died down now. What made you gravitate towards devoting a whole project to it?
I felt it was kind of played as well, but what I think the difference is that a lot of what they sampled was actually Parliament, and not Funkadelic. Granted, they’re both groups that George Clinton started and lead, but the Funkadelic catalog wasn’t pillaged as much as the Parliament catalog because Parliament was more successful than Funkadelic.
Until recently I personally didn’t really know the difference because people always referred to them as P-Funk as if they were the same, but as I started to listen to Funkadelic’s catalog i realized it’s a lot different than Parliament’s catalog, and it also sounds different. Truthfully, I didn’t even put much thought into the creation of it. One day I was listening to an album of theirs and I heard all types of good breaks that hadn’t been used. That by itself changed my opinion about Funkadelic and made me really see how different the two groups were.
Whats the difference between Blueprint vs. Funkadelic and a Mash-up?
Well i think the standard “mash-up” is basically about taking vocals or lyrics that aren’t really new, and are fairly popular mixed with instrumentals that are already sort of popular and bringing the two worlds together. The stuff I’ve done with the Greenhouse vs Radiohead and now with the Blueprint vs Funkadelic project is more from a fan and producer’s perspective. I sit around listening to these records and I do them as a fan first. I just start making beats out of everything that i think is usable then i start putting rhymes to it. Sometimes the rhymes are songs that I’ve had lying around for a while, and other times they’re things i write to the beats. Sometimes there may be something that I start on a record like this and eventually flesh out and take a little bit further on another project I’m working on. It’s something that only takes me about a week or so to do because I try to really be in the moment with it, but sometimes the looseness of it is what really helps it comes together. I don’t want it to sound like i really thought it out. I want it to sound really fun and as lo-fi as possible. The only thing that prevented this project from coming out sooner was that I couldn’t find any audio interviews of the members of the bad talking for a while, but after I found that it really helped bring it together.
Who Flipped P-Funk The Best?
I’d say the D.O.C “Diggy Diggy Doc.
Your last solo album, 1988 sold like 15,000 copies. What did you decide to do a run of cd’s limited to 500 and give it away as a free download?
Truthfully it’s kind of an experiment. When I first started doing records i had this tendency to hold back for a special situation or time before I put things out, but I dont think that’s really necessary anymore because the model for getting music to people has changed so much.
Personally, I’m not into holding things back anymore. I love doing music too much. As an artist or label, you can determine the scope of a release much easier now than you could before and that’s kind of what I’m doing this for. It’s primarily for people who last heard me on 1988 and have been waiting on something new from me. Right now, I look at it as just one release of many that will start seeing the daylight. I want to see how people respond to this and hopefully people download it and share it with their friends if they like it. (more…)
April 28, 2008 – 10:39 pm | Written by Chip Midnight
Earwig’s still working it and HOLY CRAP is this remix of the fan favorite “Used Kids” nothing short of amazing. We love Earwig here at Donewaiting. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it a million more times (if I say it 100 times a day, it’ll only take me 27 or so years) Earwig’s got a hearty meat-and-potatoes midwest indie rock sound so to hear this techno/danceclub take on the song … damn, I NEVER would have seen that one coming. But here it is, the DJ Peter Carli (of XM radio) remix:
April 27, 2008 – 11:41 pm | Written by Wes Flexner
I’ts funny how quickly 50 and Cam’ron were able to make songs and videos about each other but when 3 cops get off for shooting a man 50 times, no one in NYC even has 8 bars for a mixtape about the cops that belong either dead or in jail.
My immediate response [to the verdict] was that, ‘I hope that muthafuckas are tearing the shit out New York City similar to Los Angeles [in 1992],’” said Quest.”And [when I said that] my friend laughed at me like, ‘C’mon now, you know better than that.’ I was like, ‘That’s the saddest shit I heard.
Journalist Kevin Powell blogged:
I am sick to my stomach and I really do not know what to say right this second. My cell and office phones have been blowing up all day, and people have been emailing me nonstop, to let me know that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc Cooper, the three New York City police officers accused of shooting 50 times and murdering Sean Bell, were found not guilty on all acounts: Oliver, who fired 31 times and reloaded once, and Isnora, who fired 11 times, had been charged with manslaughter, felony assault and reckless endangerment. They faced up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Cooper, who fired four times, faced up to a year in jail if convicted of reckless endangerment. (continued
April 26, 2008 – 3:15 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
Vancougar are releasing a full length album on the prolific Canadian label Mint Records later this summer. But! Before that comes out, you can get your hands on a limited edition (500 copies) clear and green splattered 7″. Featuring the songs “Obvious” and “Distance,” it’s the sort of retro-garage pop that makes even the worst days seem a little better.
You can listen to both of the songs on the ladies’ MySpace page. I definitely regret not seeing them at SXSW this year. Ah well, lessons learned the hard way I guess. Order it here.
April 24, 2008 – 12:39 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
One of the best things about Pitchfork.tv is the great quality of the full screen view. Click on the box to the left of the volume for hot full screen action of this video of Colin Meloy performing live.
Check out the way my Thursday night is shaping up: brand new episodes of The Office (8pm), Survivor (9pm) and LOST (10pm) to start off and then a quick 15-minute car ride down to the Ravari Room just in time to catch headliners LIONS take the stage. Does it get any better? (Sorry Devil Moto, I suspect that you’ll be melting faces just as Hurley drops a classic one-liner).
Maybe you’ve heard my woe-is-me-I-missed-SXSW tale, maybe not. One of the biggest regrets I had about missing the festival was missing out on the multiple opportunities I would have had to see LIONS, hometown favorites in Austin.
I’ve said this to people before and have done LIONS a total disservice but I think of their sound as the type Kid Rock would have if he grew up on Sabbath and Blue Cheer (ie early stoner rock) rather than Skynryd (it’s the vocals … Matt D doesn’t do the whole rap-rock thing but there is something in his voice that reminds me of Rock’s when Rock is waving his metal freak flag). Rick Allen of The Other Paper said they sound like Soundgarden pre-Ben Sheppard era.
Cruise_Elroy from the DW message board says the band’s live performance blows away the record stuff which I think is pretty mindblowing itself (check out No Generation, one of those “wish I would have heard this in 2007 so I could have put it on my Best of list” CDs, for recorded evidence). And Cruise also made a Columbus connection to LIONS - lead singer Matt Drenik’s brother Jason is a founding member of Columbus’s Hairy Patt Band.
In the past year LIONS have toured with the Toadies and Blue Cheer and following this short stint of headlining dates will do a few weeks with Local H (damn, Cleveland is the closest show).
April 22, 2008 – 7:05 am | Written by Robert Duffy
Lots of activity going on for our pals Sinkane. First off, Pitchfork posted an MP3 of the band’s new album, out early next month. Ahmed posted a tour diary of his experience as the Caribou drummer. Finally, on the Wexner Center blog you can download an mp3 of Sinkane’s show earlier this month.
I sat out to write a review of the new Atmosphere album, When Life Gives You Lemons. Paint That Shit Gold. It comes out today. I play the roll of official indie rap guy to a certain segment of Central Ohio, I suppose. So I feel like I should say something.
However, upon listening to this record I once again came to two reoccuring conclusions.
1. The last Atmosphere album that I was the audience for was LucyFord.
Take the above video of “Shoulda Known”. There are parts of it there for me. I respect the electro-ish beat. The grainy filming has a Terry Richardsonish vibe. Slug sounds like he is dissing cocaine on this too. I ride for that. At least dood isn’t rhyming about windmills, how bad the radio sucks, or saving rap. But still something about the video and song screams Suicide Girls to me. So it loses me.
Thats the best way I can describe why I can’t really bump or hate the new Atmosphere album. I guess I need more Tom Waits (who beat boxes on the album), and less Warped Tour to be into it. But the difference between old indie rock doods, and Emo Pop-punk fans is prolly 100,000 records. And since the last Atmos record pushed 120k, though I don’t like Suicide Girls, you prolly do. (more…)
We’ve got two pairs of tix to give out to the handsome and beautiful readers of donewaiting.com. To enter, send a blank e-mail to wintix@donewaiting.com with the subject “RA RA RIOT THE LITTLE ONES”. Winners will randomly be chosen on April 28.
April 19, 2008 – 6:56 am | Written by Robert Duffy
As mentioned the other day, I’ll be DJing @ Magnolia Thunderpussy in Columbus OH today as part of Record Store Day. Lots of great free stuff, great DJs, fun fun fun.
Martin Weedsteeler-10-11:30
Blueprint-11:30-12:15
Ashley Brooks 12:15-1:00
Affectionate Aleks -1-1:30
J-Rawls-1:30-2:15
Robert Duffy-2:15-300
Danielle Kline-3:00-4:00
DJ True Skills-4:00-500 pm
Matt Whitehurst 5pm-545pm
Will Brainbow-5:45-6:30pm
Matt Bailey-630-700pm
Matt Miner-700-730pm
Envelope-730-800Pm
Johnny Cashola+Wes Flexner-8:00-9:00pm
Me using Jawn Slandervice as a DJ name is not out of the question.
April 18, 2008 – 7:55 pm | Written by Robert Duffy
The Mars Volta were in town tonight to play a make-up show from when it was postponed back in January. A commenter posted that they postponed again today, 5 minutes before the doors were to open. OOOOOOOF!
From Newport’s website:
This show has been postponed (again) due to illness with the band. We sincerely apologize. Refunds are available at point of purchase. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for this show.
