The Week that Was

Friday: Have you found a way to donate to the Haitian relief effort yet? I surely hope so. In addition to all of the great organizations that Ryan mentioned in last week’s article, consider putting $10 toward Partners in Health, an organization that has worked in Haiti for over 20 years fighting disease and poverty through community-based care.  Don’t focus on how you can’t put out a benefit album or create your own telethon and therefore think you can’t do anything to help. Every dollar counts.

Saturday: YESSSSS. I’m sure that every person reading this column has done so since its inception, and therefore knows that I’m actually quite lame and often the last person to jump any kind of bandwagon. Just wait. In a month, I’ll be all, “OMG, Avatar is the best!” But for right now, I have to focus on how Vivian Girls is my new favorite band. Yeah, they were the cool new thing a looong time ago. But still, they’ve got a new single out on February 16 (“My Love Will Follow Me”) and a 2 ½ month tour of Europe and North America. Excitement!

Sunday: Pardon my ineloquence, but the Golden Globes blew so hard. What was up with Meryl Streep’s kind of sad, drunk, speech? Why do I know more about Ricky Gervais’ penis than I ever wanted to know? And, finally, to quote from Roger “The Man” Ebert’s Twitter: “All hail Avatar, yes, but the year’s best picture? Give me a f—king break.” Seriously, if the Oscars disappoint me this much, that’s all I’m going to write about in that edition of The Week That Was. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.

Monday: Take a moment to read this editorial from Arcade Fire member Régine Chassagne. She does a far better job of detailing the fantastic work that Partners in Health does, and it’s a beautiful, heart-wrenching piece.

Damn. Camera Obscura is gettin’ busy. Tour-wise, that is. They’re currently in Australia right now, en route to Japan in a few days, hanging out in Portugal and Indonesia for a time, and finally landing in America in April. It’s like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, except with a precious indie band instead of a red trench coat-wearing lady detective. 

Who thought Cincinnati would be the place to be for great music? Sorry, Ohio readers. But seriously, the MusicNOW Festival (scheduled for March 30-April 1), has got some pretty great names attached to it—St. Vincent, Joanna Newsom, and a solo show by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Mini-road trip? Methinks the answer is yes.

Tuesday: David Byrne. Fatboy Slim. Santigold. YES. Even though I didn’t write about it (GASP!), I’m sure you guys have managed to hear about the box set coming out from Bryne and Slim (appropriate name shortening?) on February 23. It’s a concept album about the former First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, and everyone from My Brightest Diamond and Sharon Jones to Cyndi Lauper and Santigold make an appearance. Stream the Santigold song here.

Wednesday: Oh, goodness. Is it too soon to cue the “sellout!” backlash? Vampire Weekend’s  Contra is the #1 album this week, according to the Billboard Top 200.They beat Susan Boyle! Lady GaGa! The unbeatable Black Eyed Peas! Heidi Montag! To be fair, even I could probably beat Heidi’s sales of 658 albums, but that’s neither here nor there now, is it?

Remember when Kevin Barnes was all “we’re not selling out by lending our song to Outback Steakhouse. Indie musicians need to eat too.”? Speaking of sellouts,  here’s a new song from Barnes! Watch it now!

Thursday: Holy mustaches! Franz Nicolay has left The Hold Steady. Though, according to his website, it sounds like it was done fairly amicably. He says that he told the band he would be leaving in September, played a final show with them around Thanksgiving, and “dotted the T’s and crossed the I’s this week. Five years seemed like a nice round number.” So, next time you see The Hold Steady, look for a new face behind that keyboard. We’ll miss your mug, Franz.

In much happier news, The New Pornographers have decided to release their fifth album on May 4, entitled Together. As the name might suggest, we’ve got A.C. Newman on board, along with Neko Case, Dan Bejar, John Collins, Kurt Dahle, Kathryn Calder, Todd Fancey, and Blaine Thurier. Also known as everyone who matters. Also, look for guest appearances from Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Zach Condon of Beirut, and the horn portion of the Dap-Kings. Go ahead and file this news under “eagerly anticipating.”