HENRY FLYNT YOUTUBED BY FORMER CASTANETS MEMBER
September 23rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Former Castanets member, musicologist, and all around friend to the label Benjamin Piekut recently shot a series of videos with the criminally under-recognized Henry Flynt. We here at Asthmatic Kitty are always interested in turning our friends and visitors onto new things, so we wanted to call your attention to these videos.
In Ben’s own words:
"Equal parts oral history and polemic, the video might be of interest to anyone working on the 1960s and 1970s, music and politics, the avant-garde, or the sectarian Left. In each of the short scenes, Flynt stands in front of an important building or location and recalls one or more visits to the site and why it has been important in his own life."
THE TIDE OF INTEROCEANS IS IN
September 23rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
When we heard the initial recordings for Interoceans, we knew that we had to work with I Heart Lung. Today we are proud to release their album. Writing for PopMatters, John Bohannon said that this second release from I Heart Lung is "an album that is uncompromising in its vision and audacity—an achievement much greater than money-induced success."
You can buy Interoceans for $10 (+S&H) by clicking here, or read and listen here.
YO GABBA GABBA SEASON 2 STARTED TODAY!
September 22nd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
The premiere of season two of Yo Gabba Gabba starts today on NickJr, wherein we learn Grobby’s age, that Preston is a great dancer, birthdays are special days, how to decorate a special cake, and even beat a birthday beat! Who knows what future episodes will reveal?!
And if you watch carefully over the next season, you may even hear a familiar voice that is "growing" in popularity! This amazing show comes highly recommended by several Asthmatic Kitty kids. Watch it! Click here for NickJr’s schedule.
CASTANETS AND MBD CROSS THE OCEAN
September 18th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Both Castanets and My Brightest Diamond will wake up today and find themselves across the sea. Instead of waking up in their own beds, they will awake in Europe. Like little Risk ® soldiers, they will spread throughout the continent, leaving behind good music in their wake.
Castanets’ journey starts on Friday in Sevilla, Spain, and then will pass through the Netherlands, including ZXZW in Tillburg (see Pitchfork article here) then through Germany.
MBD will begin her set of European dates tonight in Manchester, UK, gypsy through Belgium, Germany, Holland, France, and then close it out in Spain. (Not in Europe? That’s ok; you can watch her fantastical new music video here.)
VOTE FOR MBD ON BBC2
September 13th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Each week Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Marconie, hosts of one BBC2’s radio shows select four songs and then let listeners vote by email. They then play that song every day for the following week.
This week they’ve chosen "From the Top of the World" by My Brightest Diamond as one of their new "Pick n’ Mix" selections. Yay! We of course agree that "From the Top of the World" is a good choice. You can listen to the song yourself on the show’s webapage, here, or watch the new music video (crafted with help from many wonderful people, including Tim Fite and puppeteer Lake Simons) by clicking more.
If you like the song as much as we do, we’d really appreciate a vote! You can do that by emailing the name of the song ("From the Top of the World") to [email protected]. Deadline is at noon on Monday London time (6AM EST).
From the Top of the World from My Brightest Diamond on Vimeo.
FAREWELL PAPER THIN WALLS
September 11th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Oh why do the good things in life always blink out as quickly as they arrived? That is a 55% false statement, making it 45% true. And one of those things to have bit the byte dust is Paper Thin Walls. It is unfortunate to see more and more quality music publications pass into memory of the way back machine.
But Paper Thin Walls, we thank you and salute you. We thank you for your coverage of our artists, such as your listening parties for Sex Death Cassette and Castanets’ In The Vines, your publishing of Cryptacize’s frightening tour experience, and Chris Schlarb’s insane documentation of the LA Underground rock scene. We thank you for letting Castanets take over for a day as editor And of course, finally we thank you for your completely off the mark review of Future Rapper
We wish you well in all your future endeavors.
SUFJAN TO CURATE MUSIC FOR BAM TAKEOVER
September 8th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
No word on a dunk tank or jumping castle, but the Brooklyn Academy of Music sure knows how to throw a party. And they have asked Sufjan Stevens to curate the music component for an evening that will also include DJs, video art, and horseplay. The event, entitled TAKEOVER, takes place Saturday September 27th, 2008 […]
Read the Rest...A GOOD DAY FOR A GRAMPALL TOUR
September 6th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Tonight, Grampall Jookabox begins his first tour since joining us here at Asthmatic Kitty. Appropriately, he heaves off his hometown, the corn-laden, landlocked docks of Indianapolis, at Spin Nightclub alongside Mudkids and Twilight Sentinels.
If you can’t make it to Indianapolis tonight (a shame since it’s the most interstate-connected city in the U.S. save L.A.!), you can listen to and download Rill Bruh, a free EP we released in conjunction with Joyful Noise Recordings, in a variety of locations (here, Last.FM, Virb, or Jamendo).
SUFJAN AWARDED THE BRENDAN GILL PRIZE
September 5th, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Sufjan is receiving The Brendan Gill Prize issued by the Municipal Arts Society for “The BQE”, which premiered at BAM last November.
The prize was created by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1986 and is awarded annually. Ms. Kennedy Onassis said of the prize, it will acknowledge a “creator of a building, book, essay, poem, lyric, song, composition, play, painting, sculpture, choreography, landscape or any work of art which best captures the energy, vigor, and verve of our incomparable city.”
Past winners include Christo and Jeanne Claude for The Gates, Ang Lee for the Wedding Banquet, Joseph Mitchell for Up in the Old Hotel, architect Yoshio Taniguchi for the new Museum of Modern Art and many more. Sufjan is the first musician to receive the prize.
Congratulations Sufjan!
CRYPTACIZE TOURS WITH THE TRYING HARTZ OF DANIELSON
September 3rd, 2008 , by Asthmatic Kitty
Danielson is part of our family. That’s why we celebrate with them in their release of Trying Hartz, a retrospective collection of not-so-distant classics, live numbers, and oddities. When Danielson invited Cryptacize to join them on tour in support of this 2-disc set, our hearty trio of course said yes. Cryptacize will join Danielson for an extensive US tour starting on Halloween, at the Knitting Factory in NYC, and looping out to California and back. Rumor has it that certain Cryptacize members will also be assuming supporting roles as musical family members of Danielson. Be sure to check out the tour dates section here.