Hey gang. Guess what I just read on our favorite website, Insound.com? Apparently, when you pre-order our new record, The Monitor, you will also receive a free copy of the "Four Score and Seven" seven inch! Hey, wait a second - Four Score and Seven Inches? That's funny. It appears to me that this offer only relates to purchasing the vinyl edition of the full-length. Did I mention that it is a double LP? Damn, that's badass, right? Anyway, learn more here. How many times do I have to tell you this???
Anyway, remember that band from the 90's the Smoking Popes? I do. They were awesome. I recently obtained a used cassette copy of their 1995 album Born to Quit and it holds up nicely. Peep the video for their great song, "I Need You Around," which has some totally awesome fish-eye lens shot. I swear, if we ever get to make another music video, it is going to have so much fish-eye, it is going to be insane.
Why do I bring this up? Well, it is all because of that band Surfer Blood everyone is talking about. Amidst all this talking, why has no one mentioned that this Surfer Blood guy's voice sounds just like the guy from the Smoking Popes? Am I crazy? Just listen.
I am not crazy. This dude is taking a lot of his cues from the Smoking Popes, and you know what, that's great! Speaking of Surfer Blood, can President Obama or somesuch authority figure go on the record declaring this song "Swim" to be the best Weezer song since "Wasted and Ready" by Ben Kweller? It is decidedly so. Anyway, speaking of Smoking Popes, you know who else is taking a lot of their cues from them? GIRLS!
Doesn't that band sound like Smoking Popes too? And also, what is it with them and boobs? This video is like an awkward hipster version of the video for "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak. They're pretty good all the same though, and I am especially fond of their drummer Garett, but maybe he isn't in the band anymore or something? Who knows. Point is: Smoking Popes - biggest unsung heroes of 2010 indie rock.
You know who else? Luna! Why don't any of these chillwave/glo-fi/hypnagogic pop bands give lip service to Luna? I would embed a bunch more YouTube videos to prove my point, but we've had enough of those by this point, right? Hey, all you chillwavers - give credit where it's due. Luna is the one.
Speaking of chillwave or whatever that thing is, I was reading a review of that great new album by our homies Real Estate earlier today, and man, was it harsh! And poor innocent Titus Andronicus got caught in the crossfire! Observe.
"Stereogum made some stink about how Titus Andronicus were in this band’s top friends on MySpace. I read this review (which was gleaming, for some reason) while listening to Real Estate and began to think about the relationship between New York (and her bands) and the national press. If there were one city that this dirty hipster would think would have the balls and the brains to boo a band like Titus Andronicus off stage, I though New York would be it. For one reason or another, TA continues to play in front of big crowds at Bowery Ballroom. Maybe we’re more polite than everyone thinks. Way more polite. TA seem to be at the forefront, or at least towards it, of a new wave of extremely unprofessional, unpolished, careless bands. Real Estate may the next in line to take the stage at Bowery and not only sing out of key, but bore the crowd half to death."
Whoa, that smarts! Here was the death blow at the end of the review.
"Real Estate’s latest release is a raggedly-constructed cobweb of reverb that leaves this dirty hipster crying, “NO MORE!” Grizzly Bear (though I personally prefer Department of Eagles) and Fleet Foxes deserve our attention. Real Estate, and the unbearable, Titus Andronicus, do not."
Uncle, Uncle! Read the complete character assassination here. This guy got it about half right - we suck, it is true, but Real Estate is great! Come on, man. Get yr facts straight!
Okay, I guess that's all for now.
Yr friend,
Patrick
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Pre-order info, Total Dis Part II
Hey guys. If yr interested, you can now pre-order our new record thanks to the good people at Insound.com. Do that here, or don't, whatever!
Speaking of Insound, here is a blast from the past - Kip Berman of TPOBPAH fame, back when he was still a lowly civilian with a flair for comedy, explaining how Insound works.
In other news, did you guys know that this was our first seven inch?
It came out way, way back in March, 2007 on Shake Appeal Records, a Chicago-based label run by jolly Uncle Joe Dixon. Our friend Brittany Botz did the art, and what a great job she did. You know who else must have thought so? Frog Eyes! Look at this record cover of this record they put out in MAY of 2007.
You snooze, you lose, Frog Eyes! Okay, that's all for now.
Yr friend,
Patrick
Speaking of Insound, here is a blast from the past - Kip Berman of TPOBPAH fame, back when he was still a lowly civilian with a flair for comedy, explaining how Insound works.
In other news, did you guys know that this was our first seven inch?
It came out way, way back in March, 2007 on Shake Appeal Records, a Chicago-based label run by jolly Uncle Joe Dixon. Our friend Brittany Botz did the art, and what a great job she did. You know who else must have thought so? Frog Eyes! Look at this record cover of this record they put out in MAY of 2007.
You snooze, you lose, Frog Eyes! Okay, that's all for now.
Yr friend,
Patrick
Friday, January 8, 2010
Total dis!
On a lighter note, remember when we made this video?
Yeah, that shit was tight, I know. Well, just now, I was looking up information about the band Danananananananananaykroyd online, because they pretty much rock, and I saw this video.
Total rip-off of our video, right? Those posers! Well, I thought so too, but then further research showed that their video actually went up on YouTube two months to the day BEFORE our video! Oh geez, it was us that ripped them off! Sorry, Danananananananananaykroyd. We didn't do it on purpose!
Yr friend,
Patrick
Yeah, that shit was tight, I know. Well, just now, I was looking up information about the band Danananananananananaykroyd online, because they pretty much rock, and I saw this video.
Total rip-off of our video, right? Those posers! Well, I thought so too, but then further research showed that their video actually went up on YouTube two months to the day BEFORE our video! Oh geez, it was us that ripped them off! Sorry, Danananananananananaykroyd. We didn't do it on purpose!
Yr friend,
Patrick
Fuck you, Jersey
And I'm not talking about the Situation.
New Jersey Senate Defeats Gay Marriage Bill
Hope is big, but they're always going to win.
Visit Garden State Equality for more info.
Yr friend,
Patrick
New Jersey Senate Defeats Gay Marriage Bill
Hope is big, but they're always going to win.
Visit Garden State Equality for more info.
Yr friend,
Patrick
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Points of interest for 2010
Hello friends. First of all, let me thank everyone who came out to our New Year's Eve show with the So So Glos at the Mercury Lounge - it was a lot of fun! Whee! I want to send a special message to one person in particular though. It was some sort of burly-ish gentleman in the front row who wore a big winter coat and scarf. We were playing "Where Eagles Dare" by the Misfits because that song rocks, and during the last verse, I saw this guy singing along, and so I decided to stick the microphone in his face to sing with him, because that is the thing to do when you are playing a song like "Where Eagles Dare." Imagine my delight to hear that this guy had a great voice! Really, I have put microphones in people's faces many times before during that part of that song, and I can honestly say, this guy was the best singer of them all. My thought processes were a bit of a blur at this point, being New Year's Eve and all, so I made a pretty lame attempt at mounting this guy's shoulders so that I could ride him around during the last chorus. I don't know - at the time, it seemed like the thing to do. It didn't really work out, and my girlfriend chided me later for sticking my crotch in this guy's face. Hey, guy - if you disliked that event as much as my girlfriend thought you probably did, I am really sorry! I was acting crazy because I was so excited about yr great voice. You did a good job. I was trying to do a good job too - if I didn't, many apologies. If you ever see me on the street, tell me who you are, and I will let you stick yr crotch in my face for a minute or so, and we'll be even Stephens.
In other news, it has been brought to my attention the recent publication of what may be the first piece of Titus Andronicus (the band) "fan fiction," if you can call it that.
The End of the 00s: The Ballad of That Guy From Titus Andronicus (As Told To Matthew Perpetua)
It is kind of funny, I guess, but it still makes me unhappy. It seems the joke is that we are greedy capitalists who are in it for money and fame. I suppose I brought it on myself by writing that blog about the Vice Halloween party when I confided that I was concerned about my finances and admitted that it was hard making a living playing indie rock music. That was wrong of me, I guess. Our new position for 2010 is that we don't ever, ever think about money, and that we have the luxury of making artistic pursuits our only priority. That's right, folks - we no longer require food or clothing or shelter. After all, we have sold, like, seven thousand records. Obviously we want for nothing! We're big stars!!
Anyway, at least this joker had the decency to take credit for his work. I mean, he could have easily just posted an anonymous comment in some internet dungeon about how we would like to see us castrated. Very admirable, how accountable this Matthew Perpetua is.
In other news, we watched the movie "Wisconsin Death Trip" on Netflix last night, and it was kind of cool, so here is a little video of us playing in Wisconsin way back in February 2009.
Okay, I guess that is all for now! Best wishes for the new year.
Yr friend,
Patrick
In other news, it has been brought to my attention the recent publication of what may be the first piece of Titus Andronicus (the band) "fan fiction," if you can call it that.
The End of the 00s: The Ballad of That Guy From Titus Andronicus (As Told To Matthew Perpetua)
It is kind of funny, I guess, but it still makes me unhappy. It seems the joke is that we are greedy capitalists who are in it for money and fame. I suppose I brought it on myself by writing that blog about the Vice Halloween party when I confided that I was concerned about my finances and admitted that it was hard making a living playing indie rock music. That was wrong of me, I guess. Our new position for 2010 is that we don't ever, ever think about money, and that we have the luxury of making artistic pursuits our only priority. That's right, folks - we no longer require food or clothing or shelter. After all, we have sold, like, seven thousand records. Obviously we want for nothing! We're big stars!!
Anyway, at least this joker had the decency to take credit for his work. I mean, he could have easily just posted an anonymous comment in some internet dungeon about how we would like to see us castrated. Very admirable, how accountable this Matthew Perpetua is.
In other news, we watched the movie "Wisconsin Death Trip" on Netflix last night, and it was kind of cool, so here is a little video of us playing in Wisconsin way back in February 2009.
Okay, I guess that is all for now! Best wishes for the new year.
Yr friend,
Patrick
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Our new record
To our constituents,
This is just to say that on March 9th of 2010, Extra Large Recordings will be releasing our second full-length album, which we have been referring to as The Monitor.
Here is the album cover, just one element of the gorgeous artwork associated with this record by leading typographist, author, and Double Dagger vocalist Nolen Strals.
[Yr probably going to want to click on it, since I don't know how to make it small enough to fit on the screen. Oops!]
The image which is our record cover is a photograph taken in 1862 of the crew of the USS Monitor, which was an ironclad battleship employed by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Learn more about this amazing ship and its Confederate counterpart, the CSS Virginia (nee Merrimac), here.
Believe it or not, the lettering of the album's title on that there cover is actually taken from a letter written by none other than out 16th president, Abraham Lincoln! Wow! Cool, right?
The reason we have opted to release this record on March 9th is simply this - March 9th, 1862, was the day on which the Monitor and the Virginia did battle off the coast of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and laid waste to how we thought about naval warfare (though not to each other). Releasing this record is our way of celebrating the 148th anniversary of this historic event.
The various component sounds which make up this album were recorded during the month of August at Marcata Recording in scenic New Paltz, NY. We also took some fields trips to Boston and Baltimore, and some "field recordings" of sorts were done around Jersey and NYC, but it was primarily a New Paltz affair. Here is a picture of the barn that we lived in for that month.
All these summertime shenanigans occurred under the watchful eye of producer and engineer Kevin McMahon (who oversaw our first album, as well as Pussy Cats by the Walkmen, Son of the Tiger by the Big Sleep, and Promises Promises by Die! Die! Die! among others). The usual suspects from the world of Titus Andronicus were all in attendance, as well as an all-star cast of luminous friends (members of Ponytail, Wye Oak, Hallelujah the Hills, Spider Bags, Vivian Girls, Hold Steady, etc.) and a generous assortment of colorful New Paltz locals. The aforementioned Kevin McMahon also did the mixing during September and October, and Greg Calbi did the mastering (so chosen because he is the only person alive who can claim involvement in both The Chemistry of Common Life by Fucked Up and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell by Meat Loaf) in early November.
So what does all this sound like? It has long passages of ambient drones, blazing saxophone, pianos homages to "A Charlie Brown Christmas," complete marching drumlines,Thunder Tube solos, fourteen-minute Billy Bragg knock-offs, backwards liturgical pieces, bombastic country duets, garbage cans hit with tambourines, choirs of angels with bromantic faces, probably too many spoken word interludes lifted from cassette tapes, and, of course, the hissy-fit punk songs, miserable, self-obsessed naval-gazing and off-key warbling we have come to expect from Titus Andronicus. With any luck, people won't talk about this record in the context of the media-concocted "lo-fi" movement, since we went crazy (and broke) trying to perfect the sound of "hi-fi punk."
The tracklisting is as follows, even though my roommate pointed out to me earlier that the perfunctory inclusion of track listings in announcements like these is kind of silly - "Here are the names of the songs you can listen to in a few months!" Either way, that seems to be the custom.
1. A More Perfect Union
2. Titus Andronicus Forever
3. No Future Part Three: Escape from No Future
4. Richard II or Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
5. A Pot In Which To Piss
6. Four Score and Seven
7. Theme from "Cheers"
8. To Old Friends and New
9. ...And Ever
10. The Battle of Hampton Roads
That sixth song, "Four Score and Seven," is streaming even as we speak on our MySpace. Elsewhere on the internet you may find two mp3s bearing this same name, one containing the first half of the song and the other containing the second. That is so because we have a seven inch coming out on February 9th, 2010 (that being Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday, and 201 being the area code of Glen Rock, NJ, where we are from), which will divide the song in this fashion, sort of in the tradition of "Little Johnny Jewel" by Television or "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles. The good people at Extra Large Recordings felt this was also a good way to present our current vision to you kids. Fair enough! You might find those mp3s on some other website, maybe one that reports on indie rock or something, but the version which will appear on our album can be heard on our MySpace. Hopefully, it will give you a pretty good idea of what we're going for.
So, as you may have guessed,The Monitor is more or less a "concept album" – that is to say, it uses the American Civil War of 1861-1865 as an extended metaphor for the concerns addressed in a somewhat linear narrative. In said narrative, our hero leaves his humble birthplace of New Jersey - the oppressive and stifling qualities of which were discussed ad nauseam about one album ago – for the greener pastures of Boston, Massachusetts. His thesis – "the enemy is everywhere" – is put to the ultimate test as he pontificates on the topics of regional identity, emotional anesthetization, and the heavy yoke of trying to live decently in indecent times. All the while, he is forced to wonder whether said American Civil War was truly won or lost, or even completed. Will he find the supportive environment and like-minded compatriots he dreams of? Or will he be forced to leave his newly adopted home in ideological disgrace? What does it mean to be an American in 2009 anyway? Who are our so-called "friends" and how actually friendly are they? Is it necessary, or even a good idea, for an indie rock album to ask these sorts of questions? The Dark Knight, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Taming of the Shrew also fit in there somewhere.
Well, all this is still quite a few months away, so perhaps I am saying too much. We will talk more soon about the tour to support this album, the user's guide, the making-of documentary, and all the other wild, potentially ill-advised mischief we are looking to get into. For now, please enjoy our new song. Tally ho!
Yr friend,
Patrick
This is just to say that on March 9th of 2010, Extra Large Recordings will be releasing our second full-length album, which we have been referring to as The Monitor.
Here is the album cover, just one element of the gorgeous artwork associated with this record by leading typographist, author, and Double Dagger vocalist Nolen Strals.
[Yr probably going to want to click on it, since I don't know how to make it small enough to fit on the screen. Oops!]
The image which is our record cover is a photograph taken in 1862 of the crew of the USS Monitor, which was an ironclad battleship employed by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Learn more about this amazing ship and its Confederate counterpart, the CSS Virginia (nee Merrimac), here.
Believe it or not, the lettering of the album's title on that there cover is actually taken from a letter written by none other than out 16th president, Abraham Lincoln! Wow! Cool, right?
The reason we have opted to release this record on March 9th is simply this - March 9th, 1862, was the day on which the Monitor and the Virginia did battle off the coast of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and laid waste to how we thought about naval warfare (though not to each other). Releasing this record is our way of celebrating the 148th anniversary of this historic event.
The various component sounds which make up this album were recorded during the month of August at Marcata Recording in scenic New Paltz, NY. We also took some fields trips to Boston and Baltimore, and some "field recordings" of sorts were done around Jersey and NYC, but it was primarily a New Paltz affair. Here is a picture of the barn that we lived in for that month.
All these summertime shenanigans occurred under the watchful eye of producer and engineer Kevin McMahon (who oversaw our first album, as well as Pussy Cats by the Walkmen, Son of the Tiger by the Big Sleep, and Promises Promises by Die! Die! Die! among others). The usual suspects from the world of Titus Andronicus were all in attendance, as well as an all-star cast of luminous friends (members of Ponytail, Wye Oak, Hallelujah the Hills, Spider Bags, Vivian Girls, Hold Steady, etc.) and a generous assortment of colorful New Paltz locals. The aforementioned Kevin McMahon also did the mixing during September and October, and Greg Calbi did the mastering (so chosen because he is the only person alive who can claim involvement in both The Chemistry of Common Life by Fucked Up and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell by Meat Loaf) in early November.
So what does all this sound like? It has long passages of ambient drones, blazing saxophone, pianos homages to "A Charlie Brown Christmas," complete marching drumlines,Thunder Tube solos, fourteen-minute Billy Bragg knock-offs, backwards liturgical pieces, bombastic country duets, garbage cans hit with tambourines, choirs of angels with bromantic faces, probably too many spoken word interludes lifted from cassette tapes, and, of course, the hissy-fit punk songs, miserable, self-obsessed naval-gazing and off-key warbling we have come to expect from Titus Andronicus. With any luck, people won't talk about this record in the context of the media-concocted "lo-fi" movement, since we went crazy (and broke) trying to perfect the sound of "hi-fi punk."
The tracklisting is as follows, even though my roommate pointed out to me earlier that the perfunctory inclusion of track listings in announcements like these is kind of silly - "Here are the names of the songs you can listen to in a few months!" Either way, that seems to be the custom.
1. A More Perfect Union
2. Titus Andronicus Forever
3. No Future Part Three: Escape from No Future
4. Richard II or Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
5. A Pot In Which To Piss
6. Four Score and Seven
7. Theme from "Cheers"
8. To Old Friends and New
9. ...And Ever
10. The Battle of Hampton Roads
That sixth song, "Four Score and Seven," is streaming even as we speak on our MySpace. Elsewhere on the internet you may find two mp3s bearing this same name, one containing the first half of the song and the other containing the second. That is so because we have a seven inch coming out on February 9th, 2010 (that being Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday, and 201 being the area code of Glen Rock, NJ, where we are from), which will divide the song in this fashion, sort of in the tradition of "Little Johnny Jewel" by Television or "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles. The good people at Extra Large Recordings felt this was also a good way to present our current vision to you kids. Fair enough! You might find those mp3s on some other website, maybe one that reports on indie rock or something, but the version which will appear on our album can be heard on our MySpace. Hopefully, it will give you a pretty good idea of what we're going for.
So, as you may have guessed,The Monitor is more or less a "concept album" – that is to say, it uses the American Civil War of 1861-1865 as an extended metaphor for the concerns addressed in a somewhat linear narrative. In said narrative, our hero leaves his humble birthplace of New Jersey - the oppressive and stifling qualities of which were discussed ad nauseam about one album ago – for the greener pastures of Boston, Massachusetts. His thesis – "the enemy is everywhere" – is put to the ultimate test as he pontificates on the topics of regional identity, emotional anesthetization, and the heavy yoke of trying to live decently in indecent times. All the while, he is forced to wonder whether said American Civil War was truly won or lost, or even completed. Will he find the supportive environment and like-minded compatriots he dreams of? Or will he be forced to leave his newly adopted home in ideological disgrace? What does it mean to be an American in 2009 anyway? Who are our so-called "friends" and how actually friendly are they? Is it necessary, or even a good idea, for an indie rock album to ask these sorts of questions? The Dark Knight, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Taming of the Shrew also fit in there somewhere.
Well, all this is still quite a few months away, so perhaps I am saying too much. We will talk more soon about the tour to support this album, the user's guide, the making-of documentary, and all the other wild, potentially ill-advised mischief we are looking to get into. For now, please enjoy our new song. Tally ho!
Yr friend,
Patrick
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