Neko Case

Which I guess means that, like a great actress, she makes the words come alive.

My sentiments exactly. I doubt she'll ever top that. And "Deep Red Bells" is one of the best songs ever.

It's twooooo wwwweeekkkksss

richardgin@*that gmailplace*.com

not exactly a state secret; they tend to boast about that. and still it tops anything on her own records -- though, to be fair, it's such a different sound and vibe that it's like comparing buzzards and roosters, as dan rather might say.

I'm very excited about the Neko Case and the Sadies live album
Neko Case live album on Anti
Why hasn't the Neko Cse live album leaked yet?

http://assets1.pitchforkmedia.com/images/original/147882.middlecyclone.jpg

nice

Someone should still talk about how great BLACKLISTED is. It's incredible! The first track"Deep Red Bells" alone!
― the bellefox, Friday, November 5, 2004 6:55 PM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Okay, here's where I tell my Neko Case story. I saw the Newpies at the Knitting Factory in L.A. A.C. told some long story about how he'd run into some very minor celeb on the street and how cool it was. Neko says, witheringly, "Carl's crazy for celebrities." A.C. says, "Yeah, I'm gay for fame. Except, I'm not really gay." Someone in the audience yells back, "Too bad!" A.C. turns 10,000 shades of red and Neko says, "Hey wait, I thought I was the vixen in this band."

death proof homage?

Cougar?

The Newpies?

anticipating

new pornographers, no?

That is awful.

i liked fox confessor for about two months and never listened to it again. i'm neither anticipating nor not anticipating the new one. i am in a state of neko stasis. somebody tell me if it's good.

also someone tell me when kelly hogan stops singing backup for neko and makes another record, fer chrissakes. (i like because it feel good better than any neko album.)

Cougar?

No kidding. It should be a Mercury Cyclone on there and not a Cougar. I hate this record already...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/1971_Mercury_Cyclone.jpg

I saw here 5 times on Furnace Room Lullaby tour. She can do no wrong. One of the greatest voices of my generation by far.

Has anybody heard her duet that just came out with Crooked Fingers, aka Eric Bachmann from Archers of Loaf? It's called Your Control and is worth your time, to put it mildly. If you think you might like it, you will.

And of course, her cover of Bowling Green is one of the best cover versions of any song, ever.

Awful album cover. I'll pass, thanks.

Fantastic cover, might be worth the price alone!

Maybe once the American dollar loses every bit of its value.

I'm glad to see her embrace her crossover appeal this much further. Neko + muscle car + sword = good camp/great voice.

Hope the cover gets on a t-shirt.

I've always heard the Cougar described as a "Mustang for girls," so not that muscley. I like the cover, though. It's got an appealing awkwardness and doesn't look like anything else (cue to cover-connection me with look-alikes).

Jesse, sometimes I think of you as the Fox Confessor.

"...Other current sources of inspiration for Neko include welding (a new passion) and working on her classic car. “It’s a 67 Mercury Cougar. I named it ‘Angie Dickinson’ — it’s just so Police Woman!”"

http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=105&csid2=4&fid1=4864

Where's Justine?

Jesse, sometimes I think of you as the Fox Confessor.

for penance, i make everybody see southland tales.

should i go see the Sadies tonight?

yes

That album cover is hilarious. I hope the new record lives up to the promise of Fox Confessor. And no more damn songs in 6/8!

Awful album cover. I'll pass, thanks.

― ilxor, Thursday, December 4, 2008 12:27 AM (2 days ago)
Because the album cover is an infallible indicator of the music contained therein, right? Or you're just going to be embarrassed bringing it up to the counter in your cool record store. "I'm ... um ... buying it for a friend."

they canceled because of a "last minute recording session" o_O

with Neil Young!

They're coming back to mpls next week though, and I think only charging $5.

the Sadies, that is? recording with Neil Young? That could be interesting.

"...Other current sources of inspiration for Neko include welding (a new passion) and working on her classic car.

I'm jealous.

Because the album cover is an infallible indicator of the music contained therein, right? Or you're just going to be embarrassed bringing it up to the counter in your cool record store. "I'm ... um ... buying it for a friend."

I'm not a fan of Neko Case, and I don't like the cover. Two separate points, not related. Happy?

This record will probably be very good. It's about time! She is tremendous.

Yes, sure 'Deep Red Bells' is fabulous also.

they canceled because of a "last minute recording session" o_O

― some know what you dude last summer (Jordan), Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:36 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

with Neil Young!

― when I wake up I see my self bearfooted (clotpoll), Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:39 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

wait, WHAT?!

ok the sadies. i gotta say neko collaborating with neil young would very probably brake my heart.

"I'm not a fan of Neko Case, and I don't like the cover. Two separate points, not related. Happy?"

The first is probably a sign you are on the wrong thread.

I still wanted to check out the album cover.

is there a story about the sadies w/neil online somewhere???

For me, the first 3 songs on Fox Confessor are about a million times better than the rest of the album, which doesn't really do much for me. If she could make an album full of songs that are as good as those 3, I might be interested.

Am I the only person on here who finds her enthusiasm and constant referencing of bygone times somewhat offputting and disturbing? It rubs me the wrong way in a similar manner to people who adopt the Rockabilly lifestyle: I suspect sinister motives behind the cool exterior.

First three songs are the high point, but The Needle Has Landed and Maybe Sparrow are good too.

I read about it in Vita.mn, but I can't find it on their site.

xpost to Matt

i don't know neko except for fox confessor, but anyway i think there are a ton of great songs on that....the first three are great, but like "teenage feeling"...the title track....that john the baptist one or whatever, all great IMO

xpost thx clot

the Sadies, that is? recording with Neil Young? That could be interesting.

"i don't know neko except for fox confessor..."

Jeez people. Try buying one of her albums that's NOT available at Starbucks. She's been around for quite a while.

i <3 neko but fox confessor didn't do it for me.

who are the sadies, should i see them in mpls

i like neko but i don't have any of her records, just scattered tracks. the country band i play in covers 'deep red bells', that is a great tune.

"i don't know neko except for fox confessor..."

Jeez people. Try buying one of her albums that's NOT available at Starbucks. She's been around for quite a while.

― Nate Carson, Monday, December 8, 2008 9:33 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

whatever.

i don't even drink coffee i only drink pop.

Haha, no offense to you personally! Just saying.

Too many mentions on this thread of her majorly distributed works when she has a slew of great songs that predate it.

i don't know about "a slew" -- i think all her albums are uneven. haven't listened to them in a while, but off the top of my head i'd probably rank them:

furnace room > fox confessor > virginian > blacklisted.

(if the tigers live album counts, i'd probably put that second or third.) i know a lot of people love blacklisted, and i do love "deep red bells," but that album's always seemed like kind of a slog to me. the rest of them i like pretty well, but i could lose 3 or 4 songs off each without missing them.

tipsy otmhra

It's a pretty short slog, but I agree Furnace Room is the best.

I'm a Furnace Room guy too. Though if you took all the New Pornographers songs where she sings lead... you could make a pretty fantastic album.

Plus Corn Sisters et al. The lady is prolific. How many does it take to be an official "slew" anyway?

We call them the Newpies on this thread.

Haha, will do from here on out.

What, we save a syllable around here and just call them the Newps.

I'm still curious about the thing they did with Andre Williams, which I never got around to hearing. If you like fart jokes, it's ... ok.

The Sadies are a great backing band or club band but their records are kind of meh. "What's Left Behind" off New Seasons is an amazing single.

By "around here" I mean in my actual geographic location.

re: the Sadies. Yes, you should see them. In Mpls or anywhere. Buy them drinks, wish them luck, etc. Find out about this Neil Young thing, let us know. Random Sadies vids below. Their shows can go on for a very long time. Definitely worth while if you like psych country garage surf.

"Though if you took all the New Pornographers songs where she sings lead... you could make a pretty fantastic album."

which ones are those? i can only come up with
Mass Romantic
Jackie
Letter From An Occupant
To Wild Homes
The Bones Of An Idol
There Are The Fables

Jackie is Dan Bejar singing....?

All For Swinging You Around is one of her best New Pornographer songs.

You have to add her cover of Bowling Green to that list, a duet with Carl Newman from her first record. That's fairly epic.

Have any of you turkeys heard Your Control yet, her duet on the new Crooked Fingers record?

It took a recent reappraisal of Fox Confessor to get me to admit that it's a terrible album--bloated, pretentious, boring as hell. Neko has a great voice but does it no favors with oblique, formless story songs that don't actually tell stories.

So, sadly, I'm not excited for this one.

"Jackie is Dan Bejar singing....?"

i meant jackie, dressed in cobras but that's a duet i suppose. i can't find a list on the net that lists who sings which newpy song. anyone help make a neko-lead-vocal playlist?

I could help later - but off the top of my head you left off the outstanding title track from Challengers.

Left out:
Challengers
Go Places
All for Swinging You Around
Streets of Fire (not technically the lead)

Neko has a great voice but does it no favors with oblique, formless story songs that don't actually tell stories.

I think that "Star Witness" is her single best bit of storytelling, though.

That makes 9-10 Newp/Newpies songs that she sings lead on. Seems like an album's worth to me.

"Hold On, Hold On" is pretty oblique, but utterly sublime, IMO.

add Your Daddy Don't Know to newpies comp

I prefer the "When I Was a Baby" cover myself!

agree to disagree. I prefer Neko when she throttles out wrt the newpies.

The Neko Pornographers

1. Mass Romantic
2. The Laws Have Changed
3. Letter From an Occupant
4. Challengers
5. The Bones of an Idol
6. The Jessica Numbers
7. All for Swinging You Around
8. These Are the Fables
9. Star Bodies
10. Miss Teen Wordpower
11. Go Places

www.myspace.com/nekocase

NEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

2009 is gonna be good.

I'm SUPER EXCITED about this.

hmm. single is ... ok.

http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Cyclone-Neko-Case/dp/B001MWGZDG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1231969499&sr=8-1

SHE SPEAKS; LIVES ON FARM; WEARS ADULT SWIM HOODIE

Nice feature/interview piece on her in the new Oxford American magazine music issue

I kinda like the single, but was a little disappointed in the OA piece. I guess I wanted a little more point to it other than describing his play date with Neko. Which makes me wonder, does she get tired of everybody crushing on her?

OA link?

i like the new song because i feel it is a good song and i enjoy the way they play and sing the musical parts.

Hey, this "new single" on her myspace page isn't Neko Case, but a clever impostor. Hint: you can tell by WHERE'S ALL THE REVERB?

Me like, actually.

I meant to say a month ago, thanks to korn for recommending "Your Control", it's a really fantastic duet. I'm guessing with another vocalist it would have merely been an average Springsteen-style tune, but it really worked for me.

I had breakfast with Ms Case yesterday in New York. I can exclusively reveal that she opts for egg white frittatas to start her day.

I meant to say a month ago, thanks to korn for recommending "Your Control",

Finally, some recognition. I'll tell you, sometimes it's really hard being so ahead of the curve. Lonely.

Regardless, that song should really be a hit. And Bowling Green, from her first album, should have been a Hey Ya level smash.

I had breakfast with Ms Case yesterday in New York. I can exclusively reveal that she opts for egg white frittatas to start her day. Well, there goes that celebrity infatuation, then.

Because she opted for egg white frittatas or because she had breakfast with Stevie T?

People Got a Lot of Nerve is pretty sweet.

I could never abide a singin', travellin' woman who noshed on an egg-white frittata.

All I know is she is airbrushed into oblivion on that new album cover. Girl need to act her age.

She cooked my Thanksgiving dinner once.

She and I roadtripped to TJ in the summer of 2001.

she fixed my transmission with a roll of gaffers tape and a can of tuna

Lyrically, her obliqueness is both a virtue and a limitation. (I can identify.)

Anyone know what part of Ukraine her parents come from?

Nope. But in the Oxford American music issue article by Jack Pendarvis it says she speaks Russian. Alas, that article is not online at the Oxford American website (you'll have to buy it or read it a bookstore or something).

But Paste has a recent interesting interview with her and a list of 17 things she loves--http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/01/neko-case-drives-us-batty.html

This new record is sounding awesome ! What an opening track !!

I was wondering what this final 31-minute track could be ... I see ... crickets chirping.

But yes, 'This Tornado Loves You' -- goodness, this whirling propeller of a number is just about as thrilling as any Neko case track ever! and that's saying something.

Leak or review copy?

I didn't even realize it wasn't out yet
http://www.anti.com/catalog/view/122/Middle_Cyclone

On a first listen, the whole thing sounds to me roughly as good as the last 2-3 LPs, which is, again, saying something.

Uh so -- leak? Review copy?

Someone gave me the tracks.

'People Got A Lotta Nerve' is stunning too, surely the best use she's ever made of 12-string.

includes covers of Sparks and Harry Nillson - is it a Neko Case or a New Porno's record?!

Really thought this was out already and I'd missed it. Very surprised to find that for once in my life I'm actually listening to something that's not out yet.

Stevie T who had brunch with her (upthread) doesn't think much of it, so maybe no one should expect too much after all.

pinefox - in the nicest way, I hate you :). Glad that it's sounding up to scratch, though!

Carson, if it makes you feel better, I plugged in my iPod to get this LP off my computer, and the iPod has promptly died and doesn't want to be woken up again. That's what you get for messing with Neko before her day of release.

Ouch! She's stern!

Anyone read the profile in the NYT magazine?

No, can you show us?

Neko has forgiven the iPod - a friend in NYC told me how to wake it up again and now, with luck, it has the new songs on it.

No, can you show us?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15neko-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine
I love that pic of the rescued pianos.

Very interesting article. I hope Neko doesn't become one of those musicians who I respect but never listen to though--eh, maybe I will like that 32 minute looped song...

“It was at a friend’s wedding,” he says. “It was the first time I heard her in full-on Neko mode. She sang that old song ‘So Young.’ That was the first time I realized how really great she was.” Odd song for a wedding, if he’s talking about the Ronettes’ “So Young” — “So young, can’t marry no one.” Newman says: “No one is listening to the words at a wedding, anyway. They’re all just dancing — and hammered.”

Jesus...

Album is floating around in the ether now. I like it! Not as atmospheric as her last few, more upbeat in general. 30 minute "song" is just ambient noise and cicadas/crickets.

She's playing on Monday at a weird venue in Shepherd's Bush that's like 5 minutes from my house, but I just found out today (and it's sold out). This might be a weird question, but I'm still relatively new in this country - are there usually scalpers (Brits call them 'touts', right?) outside this kind of thing?

wtf I didn't know she was playing in London already !!

If it's SH Empire there will be touts. Or is it Bush Hall or something? if it is then I don't think I've ever seen touts there. I'm sorry to miss this.

SB Empire, I mean

u pppl who have it already r wizzardz

Oh jesus the piano orchestra on Don't Forget Me

not really wizards but maybe people who can use google: http://bolachasgratis.baywords.com/?p=4801

it took me a while to google the right thing lol

T-Bone Burnett and T-Bone Burnett's wife are morons.

It's Bush Hall.

the Ronettes’ “So Young”

Are you envious? Do you get envious?

http://www.insound.com/images_promo/Neko_250.jpg

Of the car? Yes.

pinefox, you've finally made up for your post here

sounds pretty good on first listen. the opener and title track grabbed me the most, and the rest was pleasant too

I love Neko Case, but honestly, what the hell is up with Marais la Nuit?

How were the UK shows, folks (If any of you got tickets)?

I love Neko Case, but honestly, what the hell is up with Marais la Nuit?
That was my wife's favorite track!

I heard that she will play tonight. I envy those who get that close to her.

This is quite good on first listen.

^^ I agree, and I also feel that it's a grower. 'people got a lot of nerve' & 'middle cyclone' are my two favorite tracks after a few listens.

I'll second "People Got a Lot of Nerve" and add "Vengeance is Sleeping."

> a weird venue in Shepherd's Bush that's like 5 minutes from my house

hey, 5 minutes from mine too. i live down the road with KFC at the end.

That was my wife's favorite track!

I don't understand what this means!

It's probably my producer's favourite track too. Maybe he'll tell me where they inserted its 31 minutes into the set tonight.

just got back from the bush hall gig after scoring a last-minute ticket. it was great. one of the most amazingly respectful audiences i've ever seen too - not a single person spoke during the support act's (mostly very quiet) songs.

played half to two-thirds of the new record, which i've found a bit underwhelming but some songs really started to work for me live - a lovely, tender middle cyclone, and i am an animal really hit hard. old favourites maybe sparrow, deep red bells, i wish i was the moon, knock loud, margaret vs pauline, hold on x2, that teenage feeling, tigers have spoken. i know nothing about pedal steel, but i think her pedal steel player was amazing.

she cracked up just before singing i wish i was the moon because the soundman whispered into her monitor: "tits". she looked like she was having fun.

i love wilco's eraly stuff.
why cant i love neko case?
mysteries of life.
this record sounds more middle of the road and less country.
don't know yet what will be the effects of that facts on me.

I'm surprised, Zeno. Sounds like this would be perfect for you. (you're a big TNP fan, right?)

I love that album cover.

Again we call them the Newpies on this thread.

except for neko case ,theres nothing in common between the 2 acts.
one thing's for sure - great voice
xpost

Yeah, that's fair.

"Newpies"? Haha; I like it.

(btw,Daniel,long time no see ?!)

Yeah, it's been awhile. I never thought anyone would notice my absence. So thank you; that made me smile.

Welcome back, Daniel!

"I never thought anyone would notice my absence"
well, we do have more or less the same music taste.

Thanks, Alfred!

I only heard this once, but I can tell I'm not going to like it as much as Fox Confessor. I like the strangeness of that record. This one's not weird enough.

i have regretz: saw her play in Aspen, CO, like four years ago in a venue w/like 30+ ppl and i was too weeded out to go and say 'hi' even tho she was apparently up for chilling w/ppl

ok,so i do like this record.
Case+MOR-Country=good for me.

i can't get "the pharoahs" out of my head. there are a couple parts of it (specifically the notes right before "you said i was yr blue blue baby") that remind me of "wish i was the moon" though...? really like this a lot, there is a lot of AIR SUPPLY PRESENTS TO YOU THE TIME LIFE SOFT ROCK COLLECTION to it but in an awesome "sister golden hair" kind of way versus the meh "i'm not so sure if i'm into hearing this chicago song right now" way. the nilsson cover and the sparks cover are both great too (especially the latter half of "don't turn your back on mother earth"!); i'd pay good money for an album of her covering weird non-standards like that.

but i think i'm leaning towards "the pharoahs" as my fave on the album right now!

"The Pharoahs" is an amazing song. I think it also reminds me the most of Fox Confessor. So much good stuff here, tho.

it's too new to say this definitively but i think, on initial impact, that i like this better than fox confessor, despite liking "the pharoahs" the best right now. considering my love for neko this is like "i prefer to eat a lobster to eating a crab" basically though.

also i'm not sure if there's been enough love for "prison girls" here -- the chorus is great (this is the blacklisted song obviously). this is a really consistent album though, it's hard to actually single out a song to praise.

quit frontin' on air supply

I think there's something devastating about the way she sings "This tornado loves you, what will make you believe me," in the final moments of the first track.

But here's the weird thing for me when listening to Case. I don't have the same experience of songs as these distinct tracks that I do with other artists. The songs often seem to blend together as one unified long track. And while I can probably sing along to every track ("I'm a man, man, man, maneater, but still you're surprise when I eat her...") I can't necessarily recall them as distinct tracks when I'm not listening. I had this similar problem? issue? experience? while listening to Fox Confessor too. So it's harder for me to talk about particular tracks that I love, and easier to just point out moments - or just say the whole thing is bloody great.

mookie come to clover club tomorrow after work -- i'll tell you my air supply karaoke story.

mordy i agree with you a lot actually. tigers have spoken is really distinct to me but fox confessor isn't -- there are tracks i'll point out for myself like if i'm in the subway just making a mix and pull up "hold on hold on" or "in california" as favorites i'll just listen to, but if i put on one of her album it's kind of a seamless whole to me too.

incomplete thought up there: tigers have spoken is mostly distinct to me because, while it was a seamless live show, it has obvious flows and ebbs and distinct changes in tone and character that are necessary in a live show (imo), that makes things seem easier to associate as a separate "thing", for me. for example, "favorite" is really a flowing, natural ending in its proper place on canadian amp but in the middle of tigers her performance is a fucking revelation (the live version of "favorite" on tigers is my favorite neko track so it's my example)

i'd pay good money for an album of her covering weird non-standards like that

i've fantasized about a neko covers album for a long time.

actually what i want is a double album of her and kelly hogan doing covers, separately and together. the song selection would be awesome.

"never turn your back on mother earth" is the lowlight here I think - the one place her car veers into a ditch, at least before it sinks into the marshes at the end.

That's a cover, right?

so I gather.

I like 'vengeance is sleeping' a lot better: playing now, those frantic arpeggios.

and 'middle cyclone' itself! a gentle choir.

This is great, but Kelly Hogan should really make a new solo record as well.

I'm enjoying this, but something about the way in which the echoey production interacts with her more abstruse lyrics repels me ever so slightly.

Maybe it will turn out to be the next Field Day, Alfred.

haha. I'm not part of the Field Day claque!

i've fantasized about a neko covers album for a long time.

Canadian Amp is mostly covers, isn't it?

Bush Hall show was wonderful. I am more than slightly in love with Kelly Hogan. They had good, sly banter going on.

NC: "This is a song about being in love when you're a tomboy."
KH: "Would it kill you to wear a skirt?"

Canadian Amp is mostly covers, isn't it?

6 out of 8 tracks, and it's good, but it's not the neko covers album of my dreams.

She doing an in-store at Amoeba in Hollywood March 6th.

Neko in-store

Or March 5, even. (and "She's")

From NYT:

Her own songs melt down structures. Instead of fixed verses or choruses there are two-chord patterns that run as long as Ms. Case wants, or as short; they might add or subtract a beat, suddenly switch chords or support an entirely new tune in mid-song. Subliminally that rhapsodic approach keeps the songs off balance and suspenseful, ready for every possibility of disaster or exaltation. JON PARELES

I only quote it because I wonder if Pareles is hearing what I'm hearing - this might explain why I have trouble distinguishing one song definitively from another song on this album (like discussed above).

And the album is selling for $7.99 starting Tuesday at Best Buy.

O_<

I've now listened to the album, acc. to my iTunes counter, 20 complete times. Still not tired of it. (Mind you, I've already deleted Marais La Nuit.)

she was on leno last night but i only caught the last 20 seconds of it >:[

I was a little meh on the album the first time through but it has really grown on me after just a couple more spins.

i like the little bows she gives to russell brand and gordon ramsey at the end

Hey, that's Kelly Hogan and Nora O'Connor singing backup there.

love, love, love this whole album - i'm with the scheft on 'the pharaohs' being my favourite by a fraction. she's playing san francisco june 6 so i think i may go.

Yeah, I love this album. I've always been a "yeah, great voice, totally see why people love her" listener, never fully falling for her myself, but this one won me over in a big way.

Debuted at #3 in this week's Billboard.

whoa!

wow, no kidding? I guess she's bigger than I thought! but I'll chime in with another rave -- this album is great. "Prison Girls" might be the one that stands out the most for me at the moment ...

44,000 copies sold. Impressive! "Prison Girls," "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth," and "Magpie to the Morning" are the standouts for me. When she comes in with that line on "Magpie" - "fuckin' birds sing / in the middle of the night" - that just kills me.

She was so good on Sound Opinions. Not just the performance, because I figured that would be good, but she was totally funny and fun and smart and stuff. Total bro.

omg the first few lines of the pharaohs fairly sent shivers down my spine. can't believe how i love neko more and more with every album. that voice... and the dark lyrics. SO GOOD.

RFI: If Neko Case Was Singing The Telephone Book, Would You Buy It?

well i have basically every other recording she's ever appeared on including a bunch of bloodshot records comps, sadies albums (which i like for themselves anyway), band of blacky ranchette etc etc. so if that's an indication, yep i probably would.

http://www.spinner.com/2009/03/30/neko-case-brings-a-cyclone-to-the-interface-tk2/

i love the song "middle cyclone" so fucking much

^btw these are a few live perfs from the new record + an interview

Live on NPR tomorrow niiiiiiiiiiight

loooooooolz:

http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Rock-n-Roll/neko_case.htm

"The band name, New Pornographers, speaks for itself. Rock-n-roll music is a religion of sexual immorality. Neko Case, a member of the New Pornographers, is a sexual degenerate herself..."

Really? Now I REALLY love her.

LOL - quoting from "Hold On, Hold On"
Now it's the devil I love (Notice, Neko Case sings, "Now it's the devil I love")
Ya know, just in case you missed it.

Glad someone's finally exposing pornography for the feminist propaganda tool that it is

She was so good on Conan tonight. Also, bizarrely, her guitarist looked like Slavoj Zizek.

I really like this album!

Yes, I saw her live a week ago. Absolutely wonderful, as always.

Aside from her New Pornographer contributions, what are Neko's best guest appearances? I nominate Crooked Fingers "Your Control".

She had a fantastic duet with Carl Newman (of the NP, so maybe this is a ringer) on one of her early solo albums. They covered an old country song, I think. Vocal harmonies on the chorus like a slower version of Sing Me Spanish Techno, but every bit as joyous and energizing.

xpost that contribution is pretty fantastic

I am seeing her play tonight! Oh yeah. :)

Oh, wow. In Australia?

Yup...http://www.thehifi.com.au/events/neko-case-7603/

If I had a spare $50 I'd be going on Friday night too!

So lucky. I hope she plays in NY sometime soon.

Was very bummed that she wasn't with The New Pornographers when they played Langerado in 06.

Aside from her New Pornographer contributions, what are Neko's best guest appearances? I nominate Crooked Fingers "Your Control".

― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, August 25, 2009 9:34 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

She did a track w/ John Doe that was pretty sweet

Would you happen to remember said track?

Mope-a-Long Rides Again from the blacky ranchette l.p "still looking good to me" is worth tracking down also Getting it Made, her duet with richard buckner from the same album.

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Hasnt-Happened-Yet-John/dp/B0007KXVX6

Hwy 5

Weighing (such as it is) in on Middle Cyclone: I wish she'd co-write a whole album with someone who can write a melody, like say Mike O'Neill. I like her lyrics and her structures, but her melodies are Morrissey-esque, and that's meant (fan though I am of both of them) as a knock. It's all leaps between intervals and obsessively returning to the root note, and it's driving me knutz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCz3ainjlLo

o_-

yeah i admit i was dumbly entertained by it. mc chris' voice will always amuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8-1EPeYn3A

gasoline on the lusty fire that every male Neko Case fan seems to have.

free show in SF on July 3

http://www.sterngrove.org/july-3-2011.html

also someone tell me when kelly hogan stops singing backup for neko and makes another record, fer chrissakes

Kelly just released "I Like To Keep Myself In Pain". Just listening now, sounds damn good so far.

And I just made an excellent 25 song comp of Neko's compilation tracks and guest vocal appearances.

the title track on the new Hogan is a stunner.

it definitely has some moments. i like "whenever you're out of my sight" and "dusty groove," the latter of which sounded so familiar i was sure it was a cover (but isn't, i guess - but maybe i'll figure out why it sounds so familiar to me)

I like Neko Case and all, but not enough to follow her recording journal or whatever on NPR. Whenever NPR covers a band and I actually listen to that coverage, I invariably find myself losing interest or getting mad at the tone of their stories.

My daughter loves to sing "People Got A Lotta Nerve" in ROCK BAND. But even she can't hit that high part.

Oh, there's also a tiny desk concert set with Kelly Hogan and band (yes, I hate NPR's coverage, but I'll listen to their concerts. Am hypocrite.) Don't have the URL handy but I bet Google does.

That song is in Rock Band? niiiiice

maybe a kinda loretta lynn sound on the song's chorus?? xxxp

Yeah, it's there. I actually heard it on ROCK BAND before MIDDLE CYCLONE came out. Weird world.

the title track on the new Hogan is a stunner.

Written by my man Robyn Hitchcock, no less!

And I just made an excellent 25 song comp of Neko's compilation tracks...

What's on it?

Her HUNGER GAMES contribution is quite good. Sounds like a MIDDLE CYCLONE outtake/bside.

Yeah, after hearing that I was inspired to hunt down as much as I could find (not counting the New Pornogaphers, I made a separate comp of those tracks):

Maow - How Does That Grab You Darlin'?
Maow - Mean Mean Man
The Sadies - Cowhand
My '63 (with The Sadies)
Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis
The Corn Sisters - Long Black Veil (live)
The Corn Sisters - Howling At Midnight (live)
The Corn Sisters - She's Leaving Town (live)
Rolling Stone
Jon Rauhouse - The World Is Waiting For A Sunrise
The Band Of Blacky Ranchette - Getting It Made
Jon Rauhouse - River Of No Return
If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might As Well Go To The Bottom)
Buckets Of Rain
The Sadies - Home (live)
The Sadies - Hold On, Hold On (live)
The Sadies - Evangeline (live)
The Sadies - Jason Flemming (live)
Jon Rauhouse - East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
Behind The House (demo)
Yon Ferrets Return (with Carl Newman)
Crooked Fingers - Your Control
Sarah Harmer - Silverado
She's Not There (with Nick Cave)
Nothing To Remember

Good choices and quite a few I haven't heard. Do love a bit of Maow. Some excellent double entendres. The Band of Blacky Ranchette song is one of my favourite Neko guest spots - and one of Howe Gelb's finest songs and arrangements. Richard Buckner is a great foil for Neko, even though the parts were recorded separately, and the bandoleon solo is a masterstroke. She's great as a backing vocalist on Giant Sand's Provisions too.

Oh right, Silverado is great.

*cough*uploadit*cough*

i found most of them on spotify (tho not necessarily the 'live' versions) if we wanna keep it legal:
http://open.spotify.com/user/mordys/playlist/0jvy3shEyBzDm0cyTPMKlP

I was just focusing on her leading performances though I did come across a number of great backing vocal jobs. And I agree, that duet with Buckner is crazy good. And so is that Crooked Fingers song!

ILXmail me for a link.

it's cool, i can live with streaming... thanks mordy

i'm usually into springsteen-type stuff but yeah i love that crooked fingers song... can't wait to hear more

She does a pretty good duet with John Doe from X called Hwy 5.

Her Canadian Amp EP of all covers is pretty great.

usually should = not usually

canadian amp? i'll hunt it down

Yes, it's great. "In California" esp.

She does a pretty good duet with John Doe from X called Hwy 5.

I felt that her role was more of a backup singer on that one. Frankly the song came across like an X outtake where Neko was an Exene stand-in.

http://soundcloud.com/fantasylabelgroup/thats-who-i-am-neko-case/s-27i6M

i was hoping this meant there was a new album coming out but it's just her contribution to a upcoming comp/sdtrk idk

that's a nice song

Huh. I'd thought she had a new album coming out this year given her twitter output. I'd prefer not to be wrong about that.

Yeah I thought npr was supposed to be doing a behind-the-scenes thing with her new album, but there was only 1 article and I think it was almost a year ago.

I like this new track, though. It's dead solid mean, but sounds sun-shiny.

http://www.countryliving.com/homes/house-tours/neko-case-vermont-farmhouse#slide-1

looks nice

i follow her on twitter and also got the impression she'd been doing a lot of recording in recent month.

neko is so great...don't think she's made a bad album yet.

The new song, "Man," is not what I expected (lyrics aside, which seem to be written with the Neko Case fridge magnet kit)! Rockin.

link?

Neko Case ‏@NekoCase 3 Jun
Just received a text from an unknown number that says "Oops. That was for my wife."
I feel like a WHORE!

It was up somewhere then gone, alas. I heard it on the radio.

Sounds like ... Wilco doing weird psych rock with Neko? It made me wonder who was playing guitar.

lol at that tweet

more neko always a cause for celebration

That Mellencamp musical sure rounded up a whole bunch of talent for such a terrible idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HL8XQX3vg

bah

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HL8XQX3vg

That is absolutely not the new song I heard.

damn

Very exciting!

i love her.

can't believe she got malick to do an album promo!
[new song snippet sounds lovely]

is there a ton of talk in this thread about how she's an incredible lyricist? i feel like it's never pointed out

I may have said this a couple years ago, but the songs she road tested are all pretty excellent. City Swan in particular.

I'm a Man is out on spotify. Love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNa-9qGkfI&feature=player_embedded

That's the one I heard.

hell yeah

At moments it reminds me of the Breeders.

Good song. Bummed she's only playing festivals in the US this summer.

cool that she's doing nico's "afraid" on the new one...beautiful song.

you could've probably convinced me that "man" was a new pornos song rather than neko. very good, though!

I'm so into this song.

I've listened twice today and want to listen again through headphones now.

cool that she's doing nico's "afraid" on the new one...beautiful song.

It is, and her covers are always great. Wish she'd do a whole cover album, actually.

"Canadian Amp" is a fine little EP of 7 covers and one original, worth finding!

The Man is good, sounds indeed like The Pornos, though the bridge is kinda weak

actually it sounds like a track out of Electric Version

not bouncy enough

This sort of flew under the radar in late May, I only just found out about it, and I had to post it at MSN today. It's too irresistible.

Neko Case covering Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast":

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/blog--neko-case-covers-the-number-of-the-beast

I'm not feeling "Man" at all. She reminds me of Alison Moyet: singing and signifying through crap production.

xp omg i am gonna listen to that first thing when i get home

The crowd shouting along is also a large part of the appeal.

Listen to Neko Case's song "Man" off her new album "The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You" out 9/3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unNa-9qGkfI

I guess I posted that above -- I wasn't sure if we had an album title + release date yet.

first i've heard of it

love this song so much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhnFl3Y2FVI&feature=player_embedded

Like me some Neko Case but Alfred otm about that one tune.

love the new one too

listen now!
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/18/210215544/first-listen-neko-case-the-worse-things-get-the-harder-i-fight#playlist

do we have to?

listening now.

it's ok. not overwhelming. not underwhelming.
pretty much as one might except from a Neko Case record to be.

I find it to be quite superb.

Only one listen in, of course, but so far I'm liking the bonus tracks (a cover of Robyn Hitchcock's "Madonna of the Wasps," an almost bluegrass-y take on Middle Cyclone's "Magpie to the Morning") on the "deluxe" edition better than the album proper!

"city swan" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Man's probably my song of the year so far, not that my opinions on music are reflective of a stable or reasonable mindset.

I like the vibe of this a lot, but I wish Neko offered more memorable melodies in her delivery. Sort of like Morrissey, she seems stuck in this one mode, which is by no means a bad mode, but one listen in and that's what it seems it's missing, strong vocal melodies (she obviously has strong vocals covered, of course). Maybe it'll start hooking me soon. And if this reads negative, it's not really meant to be. I'd already recommend this to anyone. Just an observation.

it's a little bit more uneven in its attack than fox confessor or middle cyclone; after every high energy moment there's a huge scaling back and it makes the record feel a little aimless, lacking build. regardless i love a lot of the songs on here, "ragtime" might be my favorite of her closers yet

So far, bonus tracks aside, I really like the "I'm From Nowhere" to "Calling Cards" sequence.

is that m ward singing on the hitchcock cover? kinda wish it was just neko... good choice of song though!

I like the vibe of this a lot, but I wish Neko offered more memorable melodies in her delivery

^^^^
this

"Nearly Midnight, Honolulu" kind of reminds me of the Mountain Goats, and not just because of the Darnielle-esque title.

wow the robyn hitchcock cover took me by surprise

but yeah agree it's not as immediate as most neko albums

Who is the male singing with Neko on "Madonna of the Wasps?" The cover is really good.

that is m. ward

Neko was a panelist on this week's wait wait don't tell me.

For those interested, Starbucks has an exclusive version with three bonus tracks.

Just picked it up this afternoon.

And they are...?

13. Madonna of the Wasps
14. Magpie to the Morning
15. Yon Ferrets Return

Ah, those on the regular "Special Edition" too. Does the Starbucks one come bound like a book as well?

Apparently those tracks are also on the iTunes deluxe edition as well. I guess they are exclusive on CD for Starbucks?

Those tracks are on Spotify too.

...and Rdio.

the bonus tracks are worth the extra couple of bucks

that cover in particular is great, though i really like the live Magpie too

Ah, those on the regular "Special Edition" too. Does the Starbucks one come bound like a book as well?
― A Made Man In The Mellow Mafia (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, September 20, 2013 10:12 PM (Yesterday)

Nope. Rushed to Starbucks for the "exclusive", only to see the booklet version at Easy Street the next day for $4 more. Sad face.

I may be in the minority but most of these tunes aren't memorable, which was not the case at all with the last one.

I like the new album, though not as much as Middle Cyclone, which in my eyes stands as her best.

I think the Starbucks one is normally priced... Only $12.95.
Aren't deluxe editions usually more?

You can get the deluxe direct from her website for $13. I myself went to my local indie shop and got hosed. OTOH they threw in a poster.

nice robyn hitchcock cover

Not keen on M Ward's contributions, though.

Join Neko on Halloween at 2pm EST for a live performance at NPR Music's Tiny Desk. Although she hasn't revealed what her costume will be, Neko has promised a reveal worthy of the occasion!

don't think the new one is her best work, but wow "Calling Cards" is something else.

thought of u when I realized she covers Nico's "Afraid" on this one

yeah that is good too! i don't know, it's a good record (that I'm really just getting around to) but maybe a little bit business as usual?

I agree it's probably not her best work but the highs are phenomenal.

agreed

http://nekocase.com/neko-marks-the-anniversary-of-dont-peggy-olsen-me-with-a-long-form-essay-on-women-in/

can't believe i read that whole thing
but it was cool to see a lot of callbacks to her lyrics

Sorry, I thought it started off promising but I didn't have enough time to make it all the way through. Was there a monster at the end?

get the fuuuuck away from me, why don't you eeever shut up

I like the Case/Lang/Viers stuff I've heard so far. "Atomic Number" is great.

Agreed. I'm excited for this!

get the fuuuuck away from me, why don't you eeever shut up

I have to laugh at that song. It's supposed to be this brutal condemnation of a parent who is verbally abusive to their kid. Yet every parent I know talks like that.

Every parent you know tells their kid(s) to get the fuck away from them and asks them why they don't ever shut up?

note: I'm not taking what you said literally, though it sounds like it. better way to ask my question is: "Really??"

that lyric is both hilarious and tragic

k d lang was marvelous at EMP last night, and 'Atomic Number' got played.

case/lang/veirs album now streaming on NPR

Omg

listened to this 5 times today i like it a lot

i wasn't really into the singles but it holds together much better as an album length. lots of really wonderful stuff going on + the 3 of them are excellent. they vary styles but i think neko's voice (literally + stylistically) comes through the strongest here.

I can't wait to spend more time with it. It's beautiful, but I do find myself looking forward to the Case-fronted ones most of all.

xp ha, yes exactly.

Sounds great

need to listen to this more, was not as wowed as you folks on my first listen

Likewise I'm afraid, though "Atomic Number" remains lovely.

It's minor but imo v pleasant and listenable

http://www.npr.org/event/music/482505160/first-listen-live-watch-neko-case-k-d-lang-and-laura-veirs-perform-their-new-alb

i like this too.

they're playing this festival at the camden bb&t pavilion in late july on the same day as songhoy blues + femi kuti. i'm in margate that week but thinking about coming back to the city to see the show... those are 3 acts i'd love to see.

Whoa

Album cover & track listing for new Neko Case album, due June 1!!! Cannot wait! pic.twitter.com/YbQsslFfpX

— Chris (@ctrauty) March 5, 2018

this turned up in the replies - hadn't heard it before and it rules

No kidding!! And you just reminded me of my favorite Wits episode where It closed with Neko singing Maiden! https://t.co/zfdZZrly35

— Chris (@ctrauty) March 5, 2018

Those screams!

I was *just* wondering what she was up to. Very excited, I haven't seen her live in a while, gotta catch her this time around!

She's going almost 20 years and there's no duds in her catalog, and almost every guest appearance is worthy as well.

Not really into most Springsteen-style bands but this is one of my favorite appearances with her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcAty0w-ruM

Deep red bells is so good

new song is on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESUXxAbZVZ4

beginning is very tom waitsy

Weird song. Probably sounds better in context.

agreed, sounds like one of her spacey mid-album tracks

yeah like the title track to "fox confessor brings the flood"

I like this, almost a Rubber Soul-remembered-as-a-dream vibe about it. seems weird that her label would release it as a single/teaser (unless the rest of the album is really low key), but I already know I'll rip it for my phone when I get home.

I like it too, it has that Tin Pan Alley/cabaret thing that can go wrong, but this works (and I love it when Tom Waits does it too). Nice sneaky switch to 4/4 going into that bridge.

Just prior to hearing this, I was listening to a promo by a Birthday Party-like band, and was lamenting that the whole noir thing is so played out. Then this lands and disproves my point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnCRbKyn1KY&index=2&list=PLtj2p8-HFwiy9o4ciHaat18jl-wv5K54F

I mean..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1qzgDlDlNg&index=1&list=PLtj2p8-HFwiy9o4ciHaat18jl-wv5K54F

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1qzgDlDlNg

I'm gonna randomly mention that I've been obsessed for years w/her song "I Missed the Point." I have to sit, transfixed, whenever it's playing... the melody, music & lyrics are all astonishing. If I were the type to pick out "songs to be played at my funeral," that one would top the list -- it's that kind of song, so personal/powerful.

Love seeing Kelly Hogan in that "Bad Luck" clip.

Haven't seen her live in awhile, but it looks like her only upcoming gig near me is opening for Ray LaMontagne at a big outdoor shell with lawn location. Not really a fan of his.

not a lot of space for the song to breathe, makes me feel like I've airplane ears

still not lovin' overcompression

Neko Case is opening for Ray LaMontagne!? Not the other way around? What a world...

^^Reminds me of this time I was watching The Tonight Show when they had Jakob Dylan on and I realized Kelly & Neko were his backing singers AND NOBODY SAID ANYTHING.

Re-listened to Furnace Room Lullaby for the first time in ages. I'd forgotten how great that disc is & just how spectacular her vocals are.

Not sure about any of these new songs tbh - I should be excited for a slow burning seven-minute duet with Mark Lanegan but it's not clicking for me yet

I love her every note but feel the same way about the new one

surprised people don't like this, I do, reminds me of carol keogh actually

New album is more of a grower than an immediate love affair like previously.

One of my favorite singers/solo artists I really never listen to. Always great, weirdly not compelling.

How’s the new one ?

Didn’t read xpost my bad

One of my favorite singers/solo artists I really never listen to. Always great, weirdly not compelling.

I gave the new one a listen - it def seems like it would take some time to reveal itself. (The duet w/ Lanegan has definitely grown on me.) A part of me still misses the unadorned beauty of stuff like "Wish I Was the Moon" and "South Tacoma Way" but she's obviously doing exactly what she wants to do.

I don't reach for Neko's music very often, but I do think she has her own way of writing that is different from anyone else, and thus awesome. I feel like she lives in a different world than the rest of us.

have been listening to middle cyclone a lot this past week
like it a lot more now than i did at the time

I don't reach for Neko's music very often, but I do think she has her own way of writing that is different from anyone else, and thus awesome. I feel like she lives in a different world than the rest of us.

― alpine static, Friday, June 1, 2018 1:53 PM (twenty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, exactly -- I also hear a lot of Kristin Hersh on here, especially on "Gumball Blue" (the melody is kinda like "Cottonmouth," "stain the edges of the nebula gumball blue" is 100% something she would write)

xp middle cyclone is my favorite

She's doing a short tour w/Dan Bejar opening late this year.

That sounds amazing

Your blues rules

first time thru Gumball Blue I thought, well, she should've given this one to the New Pornos ... then learned it's a Newman co-write.

and with that said, it's pretty amazing how much Newman's style infiltrates that song, considering Neko's distinctive (writing) voice.

She's doing a short tour w/Dan Bejar opening late this year.

note that she has 63 dates currently booked in the six months before the leg with Destroyer

I love Middle Cyclone and I listen to it all the time. I pull out Furnace Room and Blacklisted pretty often too.

I really liked the last one but there were just a couple songs I had a hard time listening to (notably the "Nearly Midnight, Honolulu"), which keeps me from putting on the album regularly.

In any case I regard her as one of my very favorite artists. I haven't yet listened to the new one though the singles have been hit and miss for me.

"halls of sarah" is excellent

i think i like this one better than the last one, feels more balanced

somewhat ot but fox confessor increasingly seems like one of the best albums ever made to me

Yeah, probably her best, still feels mysterious and new every time I hear it. The Sadies did a fantastic job backing her up.

fox confessor is absolutely extraordinary

I'm still fan of Middle Cyclone too. This one's good, but her albums take a while, mostly.

"behind the reservoir of collarbones / forms two private lakes" she's also one of the best lyricists going rn

She is a crazy talented writer for sure. "Margaret Vs Pauline" sketches out a whole world in under three minutes.

god yeah, 'one left her sweater sitting on the train / the other lost three fingers at the cannery' is just such a perfectly telling juxtaposition

"star witness" is my favorite lyric of hers, it is just incredibly vivid from line to line. the second verse alone ("trees break the sidewalk and the sidewalk skins my knees / there's glass in my thermos and blood on my jeans / nickels and dimes of the fourth of july / roll off in a crooked line / to the chain-link lots where the red tails dive" breathtaking)

just remembering the way her voice dips when she sings 'dive' there gives me goosebumps, honestly

pro tip: fox confessor is also a great album to fall asleep to

we've never done a fox confessor or albums poll, just sayin'

Heard some of this in someone else's house last night! Sounded even better following that Kanye krap.

'red wine is fast/at the lip of your glass/and I'm going to ruin, everything...' A minute and a half of utter perfection.

this album is extremely good, I rank it highly in her discography. prefer it to the last couple (which i also really love admittedly.) the Crooked Fingers cover/duet is really astonishing.

It's taking longer to sink in than expected; every time I listen to her I have to accustom myself to long verse lines settling into or occasionally fighting the melody, not to mention her sudden key changes. "Gunball Blue" and "Winnie" and "Pitch or Honey" are the standouts. Had no idea she was singing "mercurochrome and merthiolate stains, oh" on "My Uncle's Navy."

she seems to sing about love a lot more on this album than in the past

every time I listen to her I have to accustom myself to long verse lines settling into or occasionally fighting the melody, not to mention her sudden key changes.

^This is very well put...

I am enjoying this more than her last few, on first listen... but she's prob. not the kind of artist to form impressions based on "first listen, at desk while working" (if that's fair to any artist!).

(I dug the Case/Lang/Veirs album, but it felt like Laura Veirs led the charge on that one.)

she definitely did, once it got going. whenever they needed songs, they went to her considerable well. (Veirs writes dozens and dozens of songs per album.)

Yeah, I dipped into her catalog after that album – it’s so extensive!

when ppl say “better than her last few” are you including middle cyclone? because that is her best album

yep

Personally, yes -- it never clicked w/me. But I'm open to the idea that I should revisit it!

it clicked w/me but i just prefer the new one. it's very hard to choose favorite, though. or to really place the albums in much of an order.

i think her most underrated one these days might be The Tigers Have Spoken, that's a killer.

Blacklisted->Tigers->Fox Confessor is one of those astonishing trios of albums, I just value them so highly. I try not to get "locked into" a certain era of an artist's work, and I have given her subsequent albums a fair shake... but for whatever reason, those three have remained the untouchable totem for me.

Lukewarm take blacklisted ->tigers->fox->cyclone is as good as Led Zeppelin 1-4

You can go Funrace room instead of tigers if you want to separate live/studio but

middle cyclone has her best lyrics imo, that’s what puts it over the top for me

haven’t spent much time with the new one but the wordiness Alfred points out is really bugging me, she’s less focused on concision it seems and that was one of her greatest strengths, three or four albums in a row of perfect miniatures. also Bad Luck sounds like lol Cults

idk what made Middle Cyclone attractive to me on first listen is that she got down to business in the first three songs: her immediate hooks, that huge voice, the perfect instrumental accompaniment.

i got issues with middle cyclone's pacing. otherwise fantastic

I'm halfway through a "Middle Cyclone" re-listen... I feel like a bum insisting on a negative assessment, but these songs do not hold a candle (IMO) to those on the preceding albums(!!) (To each their own, tho!!)

"The Pharaohs" is a really nice song, in a classic Neko mode (almost sounds like pastiche of earlier songs).

“i’m an animal” is easily my favorite song of hers

"This Tornado Loves You"!

Love the Nilsson cover too.

"The Pharaohs" is too spacey for me.

Ends w/half-hour of crickets! Forgot about that...

The Nilsson cover ("Don't Forget Me") is great, I agree

“Red Tide” is real nice, and I love the opening of “Fever.”

The last album is good but kind of hurts to listen to in places, there’s something so desolate about most of the songs. “Ragtime” is a great closer though.

Forgot Magpie to the Morning

"He laughed under his breath because you thought that you could outrun SOOOORRROOOOOWWWW"

I do wish more of her recent uptempo songs featured the Sadies.

Yeah, I like a lot of the songs on the new one but some of the instrumentals have that anono-studio-band vibe she managed to avoid for a long time

My only problem with Fox Confessor is that it makes me feel let down listening to her other records. They just don't have that same magic for me.

She's on Conan tonight.

Thx for the tip!

> lol Cults
> anono-studio-band vibe

Just getting started with this record but the shifting production styles in bothersome, and makes a song like Bad Luck a total drag. The wordiness keeps drawing me deeper though, and I'm blown away by much of the writing. She mentions extinction a few times, yet finds a away to grapple with big themes though small specific images. It's really effective and making this more intriguing for me than the last two. The record seems political in a non-literal way.

yeah, I don't hear the "wordiness" but I suspect it's the kind of thing I'd like anyway

I feel like I did Alfred a disservice, he wrote a perceptive and subtle post which I abbreviated as “wordiness,” which is a terrible word.

Listened to this a bunch yesterday and it’s still not opening up for me, I miss her oblique lyrical approach, the unexpected imagery. I’ll keep listening for her voice if nothing else which is still incredible but I don’t see this one becoming a favorite.

There are lots of unexpected conceits in this album, I think.

Not sure why I held off on giving this a focused listen. It am doing so now - I think it’s great. I wasn’t crazy about “Bad Luck” or “Curse of the I-5 Corridor” in advance of the album, but they are both beginning to win me over. The duet toward the end is the only track that’s not connecting for me. Perhaps that will change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRSMEcxelkA

She and Conan looked like brother & sister standing next to each other, lol

I think “Bad Luck” (at least in that performance) seemed to go on a bit too long, given its “pop” simplicity and the degree of repetition in its songwriting – though the bridge really stood out for me.

Just finished first play of Hell-On. Of the tracks that weren't trailed in advance, "Dirty Diamond", "Winnie" and "Pitch or Honey" were the stand-outs for me. I'll probably go back to the LP at year-end but not before.

I met her today! At record store signing thing, but still.

Cool! (She retweeted me once, which I thought was awesome enuff... LOL)

Pitch or Honey might be my fav.

Mmmm, OK (NSFW)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=66&v=t3lvpnuo57M

lmao at Lanegan's faces

o_O

lollin'

i'm at work – what's NSFW about this?!

Lots of cartoon genitalia, very silly

ok i have to see this.

it's really something!