Let’s Have Fun With Shonen Knife: A Video Interview

By Matt Keeley

I have been listening to Shonen Knife for literally half my life. I’m 30 now, so do the math! That being said, I’ve only been able to see them live twice: once on the Gokigen Tour in 2005, and recently for the new album Free Time. There’ve been line-up changes since the first time, but the sound is the same and just as good as it always was.

I was so thrilled to interview Shonen Knife before their show at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle—the first stop on the new US tour. I got to talk to all of them and ask Naoko Yamano about her songwriting, finding records in Japan when she was growing up, Japanese vs. English, writing about animals and food, and more, including the band’s recent experience playing in China. She even tells a scary story, seeing as it is the Halloween issue and all!
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Stan Ridgway, Neon Mirage

By Matt Keeley

I’ve been a fan of Stan Ridgway for a while—I even like The Way I Feel Today, his Standards album, and I’m one of those people who typically feels that if your name’s not “Harry Nilsson,” you shouldn’t be a pop singer who makes a Standards record. Of course, it helped that Ridgway experimented with the arrangements and song choices (he turned me on to “The Coffee Song,” one you’ve undoubtedly heard but probably can’t think of immediately), rather than just plopping down in front of an orchestra and phoning one in.
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Sparks: No. 1 Songs In Heaven

By Matt Keeley

Sparks are awesome.

This is a given.

And, finally, Sparks have joined the rank of awesome things that have books about them. Two books, actually: Talent Is An Asset has already been reviewed in Popshifter, so now we bring you the other unauthorized Sparks bio, Dave Thompson’s Sparks: No. 1 Songs In Heaven.
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GOLD: Before Woodstock, Beyond Reality DVD

By Matt Keeley

GOLD: Before Woodstock, Beyond Reality is a 40-year-old lost film starring a comedy hero, Del Close. Like another film by a comedy hero, Savages (a Merchant-Ivory film written by Michael O’Donoghue), it’s a noble failure.
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I Haz A Flavor: Context

By Matt Keeley

Not too long ago, I read an essay about context in journalism from Terry Heaton’s PoMo Blog. It’s very much in the same vein as the Popshifter Manifesto and the Anti-Snark Manifesto that launched The Believer.

There’s something to be said for this, particularly when there seems to be so much criticism in criticism. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it often seems less like helpful guidance and more like hobby-horsing.
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What Are YOU Doing On Record Store Day 2010?

April 17, 2010 marks the third year of Record Store Day (they grow up so fast). According to the event’s website, it was founded as:

“. . . a celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores in the USA, and hundreds of similar stores internationally. . . [t]his the one day that all of the independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music.”
—Record Store Day.com/About Us

The first official Record Store Day was held at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008, christened by none other than Metallica. It is now celebrated on the third Saturday of every April. This year it will be held on Saturday, April 17.

This year, Sonic Boom in Toronto, ON will be hosting various in-store performances by Sloan, Adam Green, The Meligrove Band, Metz, Buck 65, and Valery Gore, beginning at 3:00 p.m. Admission is free, but they encourage everyone to bring non-perishable food donations for the Daily Bread Food Bank, which is running low on inventory at this time.

Here are some shout-outs to favorite record stores from Popshifter readers and writers. Next time you’re in that town, be sure to check them out!
—Less Lee Moore

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DEVO Song Study: Press The Red Button If You Feel We Must Repeat

By Matt Keeley

DEVO’s been proven right about everything, and now they’ve joined with Mother LA to focus group the future.

DEVO has long been one of my favorite bands. In fact, my original art collective, TODCRA, was almost killed in the womb when the co-founder and I discovered that DEVO’d been basically saying everything we were saying, but in a much better way and for longer. (But given the Devolutionary Oath, we kept on keeping’ on.) And, luckily, DEVO have also kept on keeping’ on, whereas TODCRA eventually sacrificed itself so Kittysneezes may live.

Finally, after initial studies about color and whether or not people would hold the new song, “Fresh” with their feet, we’ve come to the meat of it: the Song Study!
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TITLE?? Q&A With Hiro Hayashi Of POLYSICS

By Matt Keeley

As I mentioned a few weeks ago on the Popshifter Blog, POLYSICS are the best band in the universe.

Their DEVO-inspired, frenetic sound not only made them huge in their native Japan, but also a cult band with ever-increasing presence around the world. After their sold-out concert in Bukodan, which was their last show with Kayo, keyboardist and co-vocalist, their guitarist Hiro Hayashi agreed to do an email interview with Popshifter about his musical influences and the future of POLYSICS.
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Shouting Birds Into Existence: Yoko Ono/The Plastic Ono Band

By Matt Keeley

Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Brooklyn NY
February 15, 2010

Every music geek has a list of bands that they’re certain they’ll never see live, but would just about kill to get the chance. For me, that includes Kraftwerk (seen once), DEVO (seen three times), and The Residents (seen twice). And Yoko Ono (now seen). And not one person killed or even maimed.
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What a Fun Trick: A Great Noisemaker!

By Matt Keeley

Photo © Adam Cantor

The Apples in stereo are such a great band: shiny retropop that just makes you happy, even when the lyrics are depressing. It also seems that they’re nice folks.

At a show once, my best friend and I got to talk with Apples member Robert Schneider, and not only was he one of the happiest folks out there, he gave us a hug, one that HE initiated. That is really awesome.
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