Did you hear the one about the English folk-pop group and the hip-hop artist that met in a bar?

No punchline here. Just a great night of music at Spaceland Monday night.

Tags: Belle And Sebastian, cinematic experience, Eminem, Girlfriend In A Coma, hip hop artist, Kenan Bell, LA Weekly Detour Festival, live review, Los Angeles, Morrissey, Music Zeitgeist, musiczeitgeist.com, NME, Noah And The Whale, Pigeon John, Spaceland, The Deadly Syndrome, The Night Has Opened My Eyes, The Smiths, Vampire Weekend

Check out this exclusive podcast interview with elusive MusicZeitgeist.com writer Truffle Jones during his exhaustive Week of Shows.

They cover such an exhaustive range of topics and bands from how indies should design their merch to why My Bloody Valentine still sounds more modern than ever, the hottest new indie bands you’ve never read or heard about anywhere (yet), mr. Gnome, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, Dandy Warhols, the downtown LA Weekly Detour festival featuring Mars Volta, the new Kings of Leon album and what it will take for MGMT to be truly ready for the big time.  There’s too much to list – you’ll just have to hear this one hour action packed special for yourself.

You can also hear it/subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Tags: Beck, Courtney Love, Dandy Warhols, Greek Theater, indie music, iTunes, Kings of Leon, LA Weekly Detour Festival, Los Angeles, Margot & The Nuclear So And So's, mars volta, MGMT, mr. Gnome, My Bloody Valentine tour, Pixies, PJ Harvey, podcast, Primus, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Rattle and Hum, Rush, Sigur Ros, Tool, Truffle Jones, U2, Week of Shows

With David Vandervelde, Judgement Day
October 7, 2008  8:00 PM
Week of Shows, Episode Ten! 

Indianapolis octet Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s will make history tomorrow when Epic Records issues not one, but two albums of new material from the band.  What makes the situation noteworthy is that the first, Animal!, is the album the band wanted to put out, which Epic rejected.  The second, Not Animal, contains the songs Epic wanted to release instead.  Whether or not this compromise will be helpful or harmful to the band remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: more industry eyes than just those at Epic will be paying attention to the results.

 

 

As part of our show preview, we were hoping to ask the band about this unusual strategy, and also if there was any significance to their playing Los Angeles on the day of their dual release, as opposed to Indianapolis or their apparently adopted hometown of Chicago.  Though Margot was game to chat when we contacted them directly, their fancy, major-label publicist had not returned our inquires to schedule said interview as of press time.

In any event, both albums streamed for a day on the band’s MySpace page last week, and though some songs grace both records, the content of Animal! appears to lean more toward a post-modern Fleetwood Mac, whereas Not Animal sounds more like a direct descendent of Margot’s (non-Epic Records) debut, The Dust Of Retreat.  However, in neither case did the songs particularly represent the noisy, electric guitar-driven fare band leader Richard Edwards had alluded to in previous interviews (though we’ve learned to digest Edwards’ statements with our salt shaker at the ready).

Margot, a perpetual touring machine, puts on a live show that wavers between the heartbreaking and boisterous, combining a standard rock ensemble with strings, horns, keyboards, percussion and other atmospheric elements, all firmly anchored by Edwards’ rock-solid songwriting.  As they’ve played better rooms to bigger, more enthusiastic crowds each time they’ve come through town, we suggest catching them now, which will no doubt qualify some day as “back when.”

Editor’s note: Truffle Jones concludes his Week Of Shows feature tonight, and looks forward to attending his eleventh consecutive show tomorrow night without having to write a review.

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Tags: Animal!, David Vandervelde, Epic Records, Fleetwood Mac, Indianapolis, Judgement Day, Los Angeles, margot, Margot & The Nuclear So And So's, Not Animal, octet, Richard Edwards, The Dust of Retreat, The Troubadour, Truffle Jones, Week of Shows