Weekend Web Review

Poetic Obsession

Yesterday, “Sound of the City,” a blog affiliated with magazine The Village Voice had an interesting articleabout the recent rise in times John Berryman has been name dropped in indie rock. To me, it seems like every few years one writer will get acknowledged a lot by indie music, and then fade away, only to have a different poet be “in” shortly thereafter. The two big moments for Berryman have been getting the nod from The Hold Steady in “Stuck Between Stations” and from Okkervil River in “John Allyn Smith Sails.” This is strikingly similar to the Charles Bukowski love that was prevalent a few years ago – Modest Mouse had the song “Bukowski” on Good News for People Who Love Bad News, punk band Hot Water Music took their name from a book of Bukowski stories, and screamo band Thursday named their album War All the Time after a book of the author’s poems.

Who will be the next author celebrated posthumously by indie rock? I’m hoping for Christopher Marlowe, though I think Ted Hughes would have a better shot. Just as long as it isn’t Poe.

More Covers

Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” as covered by Calexico. I never thought this song could sound as upbeat as this.
Calexico – “Love Will Tear Us Apart [Joy Division]”

Recently, Wilco & Fleet Foxes teamed up to record a version of the Bob Dylan classic “I Shall Be Released” in concert. Then, they put it up on the web for people to take, but with one catch – you have to pledge to vote in November. So, I’m not going to link the song here. Instead, I’ll put up the link so you can go pledge to vote, and then get the song from Tweedy and Co.
Go to this Wilco World page for the song.

There is also a recording of Fall Out Boy doing the new Kanye track “Love Lockdown” floating around the Internet, but it is so bad I won’t burden out website with it.

Besides that, EVERYONE MAKE SURE TO GO VOTE ON THE VINYL SHOWCASE ARTISTS!!!  www.unc.edu/~youngc/vinylrecords

Rock out,
– Matt