Author Archives: Tankboy

We at donewaiting are so far ahead of the curve it hurts. The below appeared on the site here over a month ago, but it sort of got buried in the redesign. Anyway, in light of Pitchfork’s review that appeared today I reckon this might be worth a look.

Okay, I was listening to Lily Allen’s debut and thinking to myself, “Man-o-man, Tankboy, if this isn’t great summer music I don’t know what is.” Then I thought about it some more. Stereogum turned me on to a couple of her demos a while ago, and the bloggerrati commenced the full-on freak-out. She was touted as a female Mike Skinner or something. Now that I’ve digested the whole album, though, I would say that she is actually more like Len with her reggae-lite beats and mockney accent.

This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the disc…but then again I also like Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, and any other number of female popsters. It’s amusing to me that crit-types are all agog over an artist who is really no different than most of the stuff they slam on a pretty consistent basis.

This is the problem with “everyone” being a critic. Pronouncements are made without further review and things get totally out of hand. (Ref: tapes ‘n tapes for further evidence of the backlash that invariably ensues. Ref also: CYHSY, although this is not as strong since my own personal backlash with this group occurred before the tidal wave of acclaim came their way and ruined The National’s tour.) Having an opinion is not the same as having a critical viewpoint. It just isn’t.

So from a critical viewpoint I have to say Lily Allen’s album is primarily a fluff-filled affair that gets by on sheer cheek and wit. If anything, that wit is the only thing that really keeps her from being a full-on novelty though it doesn’t save her from the unavoidable quick trip to the cut-out bin a few months down the line.

My own personal opinion though? It’s a fuck-load of fun to listen to and will surely see much play in my car stereo with all four windows rolled way down.

Here are the new and improved dates…just about every one is being made up. Original tix will be honored.

August 2006
15th Boston @ Bank of America Pavilion

September 2006
6th Atlanta @ Tabernacle
8th New York@ Roseland
9th Philadelphia @ Electric Factory
10th Washington DC @ 930 Club
12th Montreal @ Metropolis
13th Toronto @ Kool Haus
14th Detroit @ Clutch Cargoes
16th Chicago @ Riviera
17th Minneapolis @ First Avenue
21st Vancouver @ PNE Forum
23rd Portland @ Roseland
24th San Francisco @ Warfield
26th Los Angeles @ Wiltern
27th Los Angeles @ Wiltern
28th San Diego @ House of Blues

Mike Patton is taking his Peeping Tom project on the road! I dig the album but have to admit it’s not really holding up all that well upon repeated spins. However after seeing them on the televisionmaset the other night I think one can safgely assume the live show will kick it where it quits it.

Jul. 14, 2006 Dour, Belgium at the Dour Festival
Jul. 15, 2006 Suffolk, England at the Latitude Festival
Jul. 17, 2006 London, England at the Astoria
Jul. 20, 2006 Costa Mesa, CA at the Orange County Fair – Pacific Ampitheater
Jul. 23, 2006 Los Angeles, CA at the Avalon
Jul. 24, 2006 Los Angeles, CA at the Avalon
Jul. 27, 2006 Chicago, IL but no venue yet!
Jul. 28, 2006 Twin Lakes, WI at the Hedgpeth Festival

I really hope they’re playing at Double Door or somewhere smaller in Chicago…

The Dresden Dolls are hitting the road again, sort of. From the release:

A program consisting of short films selected from submissions by the Dolls feverishly creative fan base will be peppered with thought provoking vaudeville antics in cities across America. Amanda Palmer herself will cap off the night in typical piano-destroying fashion, singing songs culled from popular and not-so-popular film soundtracks (expect John Hughes, Pink Floyd AND Disney Classics.

essay on addiction

Deep Throat? Oklahoma? She’s still working on it).

If you haven’t heard their last album you’re an idiot.
“Nuff said.

Sunday June 25, Boston (MA), Brattle Theatre
Wednesday June 28th, New York (NY), The Brooklyn Lyceum
Thursday July 6th, Columbus (OH), Studio 35
Friday July 7th, Chicago (IL), Subterranean
Sunday July 9th, Minneapolis (MN), Varsity Theater
Sunday July 16th, Montreal (QU), TBA
Saturday July 15th, Toronto (ON), Bloor Cinema
Thursday July 20th, St. Louis (MO), Hi-Pointe Theatre
Saturday July 22nd, Denver (CO), Oriental Theatre
Friday July 28th, Seattle (WA), Capitol Hill Arts Center
Sunday, July 30th, San Francisco (CA), Bridge Theatre
Wednesday, August 2nd, Los Angeles (CA), CineSpace

Seriously, mindblowing stuff indeed.

I know the Chicago show will kill, especially in a room as cozy as SubT.
Thanks to More Cowbell for filling in the deets for us.

The best thing about Greg Kot’s SXSW wrap-up in today’s Chicago Tribune was not his dis of The Arctic Monkeys. It was this little tidbit about the launch of Britney Spears’ musical career:

“She had a bad complexion and small breasts when she came into my office and warbled a song,” said one former record company executive, Michael Caplan, of Britney Spears. “I couldn’t wait to get her out of my office.”

The exec who eventually signed Spears, Jive Records’ Jeff Fenster, said he based the decision not on a song in particular, but on a picture of the then-teenage Spears. She was sitting on a picnic blanket, wearing cutoffs and cuddling a puppy, Fenster said. “She looked like the sweet, All-American girl that you just wanted to defile and do bad things to, and that appealed to me.” (full story)

Niiiiiiiiiiiiice…

Why a movie critic from the Chicago Tribune is reporting on this is beyond me but…

At one point I look down, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd is sitting and chatting. Soon he stands up, and I ask him about his plans to tour a concert version of Floyd’s classic “Dark Side of the Moon” album in Europe with Floyd drummer Nick Mason in his band.

He’s still looking for someone to sing David Gilmour’s parts. I suggest David Gilmour, but, alas, last summer’s triumphant Live 8 Pink Floyd reunion didn’t stick, and Waters says Gilmour has been dumping on him in interviews again, saying Live 8 would’ve sounded just as good without Waters. (full story…warning though, it’s basically a bunch of name dropping by a “gee-whiz I can’t believe I’m surrounded by all these neat-o people” sort of reporter)

Well, maybe in another 25 years or so, eh?

However peep the new Coxon video thusly:

Real Player

And listen to a nifty interview with Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy here. It pops up about halfway through the program. Good stuff!

Here is my favorite line from Pitchfork’s review of the new Morningwood disc:

The reality is, cutting a decent record takes more than a kooky stageshow and an insatiable urge to embarrass yourself. It also takes more than handclaps, call-and-response vocals, and dumb cheerleader cadences.
(full review)

Wait, doesn’t that totally describe that Clap Your Hands Say Blah record they were all creaming about?

Personally I dig the new Morningwood disc, but then again I have nothing against music being fun.

My Top 20 or so albums of 2005 are now available for your viewing pleasure.

Rivers Cuomo continues to swear off half-Japanese girls.