CD Review: The District Attorneys — Orders From

The District Attorneys
Orders Form
Self-Released

By Eileen Tilson

It is highly unlikely that someone who sat for the bar exam would be considered a laid-back individual. Thus it is ironic that when a band from Athens dubbing themselves The District Attorneys, they have the ability to transport you to the hazy days of summer where all you need is some PBR, good friends, and the road. These non-lawyers have accomplished just that. On their latest EP Orders From, The District Attorneys have created a seven-song EP that would easily make them an appropriate opener for The Rolling Stones circa 1963. … Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: Wavves, Badly Drawn Boy, Terry Gilliam, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, BigChampagne

- Nathan Williams is bringing his Wavves, which means madness, back to Atlanta following the release of his second Fat Possum Record, King of the Beach, out August 3. Wavves will be hitting Drunken Unicorn September 30, and tickets go on sale at noon today. You can check out the whole of the new record over on Fat Possum’s website.

- The lovely Badly Drawn Boy has released a demo of the track “In Safe Hands,” a song from his upcoming record It’s What I’m Thinking, Pt 1, coming out in October in England. Check it out on Stereogum.

- For those sporty-minded ones reading the blog, you might be interested to know Athens is hosting its first half-marathon on October 23 and 24. There will also be a pasta dinner and reception available. Proceeds all go to benefit AthFest, Inc. More information and registration at athensgahalf.com.

- Incredible filmmaker and Monty Python lad Terry Gilliam is going to direct Arcade Fire‘s webcast of their Madison Square Gardens show. Oh the giddy excitement! Paste has the story.

- Kanye West debuted some of his new stuff at a – very – low-key event at the Facebook headquarters. We’re talking chill here – he’s standing on what looks like the table in the conference room, with no backing track, no mic, no people, just the man and his words. Slightly bizarre but we like getting surprises like his from Kanye. And he’s looking sharp. Check out the  videos over on Pitchfork.

- And speaking of Facebook, popularity, music and the like, half-locally-owned-company BigChampagne (an Atlanta/Beverly Hills based company) has been stirring the music industry press over the past week or so with the release of their Ultimate Chart, which basically does what it says on the tin: using all the data from “Song and Album Sales, Radio Airplay, Online Audio and Video Plays, and Fans/Friends/Followers.” The top 10 right now ranges from Lady Gaga to B.O.B. to Eminem, so we’d say it’s pretty darn accurate!

Bits and Bobs: The Felice Brothers, The Love Language, The Drums, Downtown Restaurant Week

- After the departure and consequential heart surgery of drummer/singer Simone Felice, The Felice Brothers are back and are off on tour. They’ll be coming to Atlanta for a show at The EARL on November 6.

- In other coming-to-The-EARL news, the lovely Love Language are coming on September 3!

- Perfect summer (evidenced in the video below) indie pop band The Drums are finally coming to Atlanta for a show at The Loft with Surfer Blood. Tickets go on sale July 30.

- Downtown Restaurant Week started yesterday, and actually runs for two weeks until August 8. There are a ton of great $25 and $35 prix fixe menus to choose from, but we personally will be going for Spoon, The Social, BLT and Thrive.

Bits and Bobs: Deerhunter, Movie Music Geeks, Kele, Tron

- Deerhunter is gearing up to release their new album Halcyon Digest in September, and they’re already throwing some treats out to their fans. For the street-teamers who printed out the flyers and posted them everywhere, Pitchfork reports that Deerhunter has bestowed the tracklisting, cover art, and now a free download. Visit the album website for more details.

- In other Deerhunter news, Ohmpark is reporting that there is a concert documentary in the works, directed by filmmaker John Albrecht. Check out the trailer below.

deerhunter live – film trailer from John Albrecht on Vimeo.

- In honor of all music geeks, Spinner has a great top-20 list of the greatest movie music geeks.

- Bloc Party’s Kele is looking quite the (very emotional) fittie in his new video for the amazing “Everything You Wanted,” from his solo record The Boxer. It’s like out generation’s “Nothing Compares To You,” with the teary Sinead O’Connor. Check it out on Stereogum.

- We are really starting to wish we were at ComicCon. They just premiered the new trailer for Tron: Legacy, which may or may not look just a wee bit confusing. For folks not massively familiar with the movie, like me, go over to Gawker to check out the trailer and see the break down. The only thing missing from the trailer: the Daft Punk soundtrack. Didn’t sound like any of the robotic duo’s recognizable tunes were there.

AMG Weekend Picks: Noot D’Noot, Cowboy Junkies, The B-52s, Soulphonics and More!

It’s been a scorcher of a week, and now we’re in the final sprint for the weekend! There’s a great selection of gigs coming up in the next few days, from local rock to returning legends. And of course there is the matter of a certain little on sale for Guided By Voices on Saturday morning (get your tickets HERE). … Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: Sweet Apple, Edwyn Collins, Bobby Bare, Widespread Panic, Black Lips

- Sweet Apple, the band led by Dinosaur Jr.’s guitar hero J Mascis, will be opening for Guided By Voices‘ reunion show at Buckhead Theatre on October 23. Tickets go on sale July 24 at 10 a.m.

- Pitchfork has a streaming track up from Edwyn Collins new record, due out September 13. Losing Sleep will feature tracks co-written with the likes of Johnny Marr, Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, The Cribs’ Ryan Jarman, The Drums and the Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart. You can also download the track here.

- Bobby Bare Jr. will be followed around the country on his next tour by indie filmmakers, who will be making a documentary of the rocker. You can check out our city’s own part of the future film when Bobby stops by for a show at The EARL on September 21.

- Widespread Panic are playing a special charity show for Tunes for Tots, which supports arts and music education for kids, at Center Stage on September 23. Tickets go on sale for the $125 general admission tickets on July 30 here. But if you are a mega-fan who really wants to support the cause and get up close and personal with your idols, then you might want to splurge for the $500 VIP tickets, which gets you into the private VIP cocktail party with the band before the show (which includes open premium bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres from renowned Empire State South chef Hugh Acheson), early admittance to Center Stage, private cash bar during the show, signed poster and VIP parking. VIP tickets go on sale July 30 at Ticket Alternative.

- Hometown troublemakers The Black Lips will be opening for Devo at their Chastain show on July 28. We would definitely pay to see how this show goes down.

Bits and Bobs: Mercury Prize, Andy Hummel, Mark Ronson, Pitchfork Music Festival, Bryan Ferry

- This morning the Mercury Prize nominees were announced in London. Consequence of Sound has the full list, which includes our faves Dizzee Rascal and Paul Weller (and The XX, who I care a little less about). NME has all the records for you to listen to. The winner will be announced on September 7.

- Andy Hummel, the original bassist for Big Star, has passed away at age 59. Spinner has the story.

- Rolling Stone premiered the new video for Bryan Ferry‘s new song “You Can Dance,” from his solo album Olympia, due out October 26. We’d like to be excited about it, since he’s back working with Roxy Music members Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Brian Eno, but it’s all a bit disappointing – the music is pretty uninspiring, and (though we know having sexy ladies everywhere is Ferry’s “thing”) the video is fairly dull too.

- Apparently a little music festival took place in Chicago this past weekend, by some indie blog called Pitchfork. Pretty much everyone and their mother has pics up, so we’ll default to Pitchfork themselves.

- Mark Ronson has released the album art for his upcoming release Record Collection, due out October 5. Since he’s been working a ton with Duran Duran lately, it’s not too surprising that it’s pretty influenced by some of the ’80s band’s own album art. He’s also got a video out for the fab tune “Bang Bang Bang” – it’s all up on Arjan Writes now.

Bits and Bobs: Jim Stacey, Dandy Warhols, The Avett Brothers, Howl, Crop Mob

- Are we the only ones who didn’t know that Jim Stacy – Star Bar owner, Starlight Drive-In manager, corndog maker, all round Atlanta hero – had a TV show on PBA-30 highlighting our town’s fab hidden food spots? Well, after last night, now we do. “Get Delicious” airs again Thursday, July 22.

- “Cool As Kim Deal” rockers The Dandy Warhols released a compilation of their Capitol Years today everywhere in the world, except America, where it comes out August 24. The band will be touring this fall and hit Atlanta’s Center Stage on November 11. Tickets go on sale July 23 HERE.

- The Avett Brothers premiered a stunning animated video, made with one gradually-altered painting, over on NPR last week, reports Paste. “Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise” is from the band’s latest record I and Love and You, but the band is already readying a new live record, which will come with a concert DVD too.

- The trailer for Howl, the Allen Ginsberg biopic staring James Franco as Ginsberg, is over on the A.V. Club, and it looks pretty incredible.

- We like the sound of these Crop Mob folks: “A group of young, landless, and wannabe farmers who come together to build and empower communities by working side by side … [with] a group of experienced farmers and gardeners willing to share their knowledge with their peers and the next generation of agrarians.” Basically they visit green spaces that need a bit of work (past “Mobs” have included Sheik Burritos and Green Leaf Farms) and just go to it. They also like to recommend places that they love, like Miller Union – a recommendation we agree with wholeheartedly. Learn more (and maybe join in) here or follow Crop Mob on twitter @CropMobATL.

Bits and Bobs: Judi Chicago, Avett Brothers, Facebook, Weapons of Audio, Cookie Cakes

- Travis Thatcher of Judi Chicago is having what looks like a pretty kick-ass yard sale on Saturday. Look, he has a fancy flyer and everything.

- The model whose picture appears on the cover of Vampire Weekend‘s Contra is suing the band’s label XL Recordings and photographer Tod Brody (who sold the picture) for $2 million, saying that her signature was forged. Brooklyn Vegan has done a bit of investigative journalism for those who want the details. … Continue Reading

Bits and Bobs: B.O.B., James, Ed Harcourt, Joaquin Phoenix, Live Aid, Guided By Voices, Arcade Fire

- One of England’s best bands, James, will be joining one of England’s best troubadours, Ed Harcourt, for a fall jaunt around the U.S. They will be stopping in Atlanta on September 22 for a show at Variety Playhouse. Tickets go on sale July 16 HERE. Check out the video of a recent performance of James’ classic “Laid,” which shows the band definitely still rocks.

- The BBC is making a film about the relationship between Boomtown Rats’ Bob Geldof and promoter Harvey Goldsmith, the duo who created the legendary benefit concert event Live Aid. According to Spinner, … Continue Reading