Post edited by request.

Here’s a good friend of mine, Luke Rathborne, playing the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy track, “Raining In Darling” off 2005’s I See A Darkness.

1. Luke Rathborne – Raining In Darling (Tape Delay, 2009)

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2. Bonnie Prince Billy – Raining In Darling (I See A Darkness, 2005)

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Enjoy.

I’ve always though that there were stages to love: the constant state of feeling inevitably modified by the passing of time and the position of finality said passing leaves one in. This song by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy illustrates that perfectly, and even more perfect is the frame in which it’s truthfulness operates: the calling of return to a love which is as circumstantial as it is permanent.

I’ll leave the rest for your ear, but I challenge you to disagree with this theory and not be swayed by the song’s wisdom and it’s awareness of such a damning situation.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – I Called You Back (The Letting Go, 2006)

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and a suitable follow-up:

Sparklehorse – More Yellow Birds (It’s A Wonderful Life, 2001)

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Hope.

Let The Right One In is a fantastic Swedish vampire movie that hasn’t had much attention. Unfortunately, it is being remade for American audiences, by the director of Cloverfield – yikes. Anyhow, the trailer for the film does it no justice, so here is an excerpt. Enjoy.

Reviews: New York Times, Roger Ebert, & Los Angeles Times.

IMDB

Bill Callhan broke from his moniker, smog, in 2007. This break represented a few things, but most significantly it marked his togetherness with singer Joanna Newsom and the changes he’d experienced in the presence of love. Unfortunately, post Woke on a Whaleheart, the two separated, (Newsom leaving Bill for Andy Sanberg – yes, SNL).

Anyhow, Mr. Callahan has a new album coming out soon that I am highly anticipating, and with any luck it will return to Callahan’s more familiar dark roots, Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle is set to be released in April via Drag City.

If you’re unfamiliar with his work, below is a good introduction & you can go from there. Enjoy.

1. Smog – Palimpsest (A River Aint Too Much To Love, 2005)

“winter weather is not my soul / but the biding for spring”

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2. Bill Callahan – Diamond Dancer (Woke On A Whaleheart, 2007)

“she was dancing so hard / she danced herself into a diamond / dancing all by herself / and not minding”

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3. Smog – Cold Blooded Old Times (Knock, Knock, 1999)

“the type of memory / that turns your bones to glass”

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4. Smog – Dress Sexy At My Funeral (Dongs of Sevotion, 2000)

“dress sexy at my funeral, my good wife / for the first time in your life”

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5. Smog – Ex-Con (Red Apple Falls, 1999)

“jean jacket and tie, such a lie”

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6. Smog – Drinking At The Dam (A River Aint Too Much To Love, 2005)

“skin mags in the bramble / for the first part of my life / i thought women had orange skin”

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7. Smog – Rock Bottom Riser (A River Aint Too Much To Love, 2005)

“with the grace of a corpse / in a riptide / i let go”

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For more information on Bill Callahan, visit his website and his myspace.

photo by Alexis Stember

For those of us who missed out on tickets to the two night, sold out event (and didn’t have the cash to shell out on eBay) a bootleg will have to suffice. Luckily it was recorded with great care and really captures the experience. Big thanks to nyctaper for the hard work, it’s really appretiated.

You can stream them or download the songs for yourself by visiting nyctaper’s website.

Recorded and Produced by
nyctaper
2009-01-20

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:36:15]
01 In The Flowers [MP3]
02 Leaf House [MP3]
03 Blue Sky [MP3]
04 Guys Eyes [MP3]
05 Summertime Clothes [MP3]
06 Daily Routine [MP3]
07 Lion in a Coma [MP3]
08 Lablakely Dress [MP3]
09 Fireworks [MP3]
10 My Girls [MP3]
11 Brother Sport [MP3]
12 [encore break] [MP3]
13 Banshee Beat [MP3]
14 Slippi [MP3]

Information: [TXT FILE]
Verification: [MD5 FILE]

Recorded and Produced
by nyctaper
2009-01-22

Setlist:
[Total Time 1:28:44]
01 Also Frightened [MP3]
02 My Girls [MP3]
03 Blue Sky [MP3]
04 Slippi [MP3]
05 Leaf House [MP3]
06 Summertime Clothes [MP3]
07 Guys Eyes [MP3]
08 Lablakley Dress [MP3]
09 Fireworks [MP3]
10 Lion in a Coma [MP3]
11 Brother Sport [MP3]
12 [encore break] [MP3]
13 Winters Love [MP3]
14 Comfy in Nautica [MP3]

Information: [TXT FILE]
Verification: [MD5 FILE]

I’ve long been a fan of Bill Callahan’s (smog), particularly 2005’s A River Aint Too Much To Love & 97’s Red Apple Falls. I was a bit fearful when he broke away from his moniker in 2007, but thankfully his ‘07 record, Woke on a Whaleheart proved itself resilient.

That all being said, “The Breeze/My Baby Cries” is a perfect song for Callahan to cover. Callahan’s main appeal is his ability to, at once, be bold, accepting of defeat, understanding of destiny, all while hopefully persevering.

I also like this song because it’s fairly circular in it’s story. Callahan uses this technique in his own songwriting & if I had to guess it would be one of the aspects of Bloom’s original that appealed to him.

Credit where credit is due: Below is Bloom & Conners’ original version as heard from their 1982 Sing The Children Over.

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Kath Bloom & Loren Conners – The Breeze/My Baby Cries (Sing The Children Over, 1982)

And since we are on the topic of covers, did you know that Cat Power’s first covers record includes one of Smog’s songs? Track #9, Red Apple Falls, is off Callahan’s 1997 LP bearing the same name. Sorry, it’s actually just called ‘Red Apples’. Hear it below.

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Cat Power – Red Apple Falls (The Covers Record, 2000)

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Smog – Red Apples Falls (Red Apple Falls, 1997)

That’s all for now, folks.

1. Nas – It Ain’t Hard To Tell (Illmatic, 1994)

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2. Fever Ray – Triangle Walks  (Fever Ray, 2009)

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3. Luke Rathborne – When I Need You (Live On Indie 103.1, 2008)

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4. Orange Juice – Rip It Up (Rip It Up, 1979)

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5. Animal Collective – My Girls (Post Merriweather Pavillion, 2009)

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All songs Copyright 2009 of their respectful authors.

Below is an excerpt from Teddy Roosevelt’s journal. This particular entry was written on the day his wife died of Bright’s Disease at the age of 22.

via Molly Lambert

via FFFFOUND

Johan Willner is a Swedish born & based photographer who has been showing around the EU for about 7 years now. Below are some of my personal favorites.

Untitled, 1996-00/04

Untitled, 1996-00/04

Untitled, 1996-00/04

Images copyright © 2009 Johan Willner