SecretCast

1. Kraftwerk, “Aerodynamik (Kling Klang Mix)”
2. MIDIval Punditz, “Insite”
3. Ministry, “Jesus Built My Hot Rod”
4. Rammstein, “Mein Teil (The Return to New York Buffet Mix”

Pixies fans, and those interested in learning more about the Pixies take note: there are two recently published books on the market that should be put on your summer reading list…

Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies by Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz

I’m currently in the middle of reading this excellent interview-based book by Josh Frank, who’s original intention was to conduct interviews about the Pixies in hopes of constructing a musical based on Charles “Black Francis” Thompson, the Pixies’ lead singer. The project then moved, on the suggestion of Frank’s mother, towards a book culled from the numerous interviews Frank did with the members of the Pixies, various recording industry staff (4AD, producers, mixers, recording studio heads, etc.), family, and fellow musicians (especially the very-important-to-the-Pixies-story Throwing Muses). Fool the World becomes a documentary about the Pixies in the literal sense, and what really makes FTW shine are these included third-party observations which bring both the scene (or lack thereof) and band to life. This removes a sense of myopia which most band interviews and their interviewees fall prey to.

Order Fool the World

The Pixies’ Doolittle by Ben Sisario

Another great little tome from the 33 1/3 series, The Pixies’ Doolittle is an in-depth examination of arguably the best album of the Pixies’ catalogue. We’re given a brief history of the band, from its formation to the recording of the “Purple Tape” (which morphed into Come On Pilgrim) and Surfer Rosa, but the creation of Doolittle is the crux of the book. Sisario does an excellent job of breaking down the mysterious lyrics of the album tracks, and provides an in-depth look into the influence of surrealism and the Old Testament on Thompson’s lyrics. We learn how each track was composed, and how the overall album came about in the studio with interviews from all the key players save Kim Deal, who did not partake in this literary project (sadly). Sisario’s take on the Pixies is fresh and invigorating, and TPD will go down in Pixies history as a book that got it right.

Order The Pixies’ Doolittle

(Via Brad Sucks.)

Saw this bit o’ news on Sepia Mutiny… our fav Sri Lankan shanty pop rapper, M.I.A., has been denied a U.S. work visa to work on her album here with producer Timbaland.

Less surprising is that her MySpace blog reveals that she’s freaking illiterate:

THEY TRY SHUT MY DOOR!

Roger roger do you here me over!!!!
the U.S immigration wont let me in!!!!!
i was mennu work with timber startin this week, but now im doin a Akon “im locked out they wont let me in” im locked out! they wont let me in! Now Im strictly making my album outside the borders!!!! so il see you all one day, for now ill keep reportin from the sidelines
to my people who walk wiv me in the America, dont forget we got the internet! Spread the word! or come get me!!!!!! ill be in my bird flu lab in china! liming and drinkin tiger beer with my pet turtel. I love everyone for the support, now i need it more. ill stay up spread out else where.

Elm just showed me Fabchannel, a free online concert streaming service.

1. They Might Be Giants, “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)”
2. The Smiths, “Well I Wonder”
3. Love and Rockets, “Born of Confusion”
5. Violent Femmes, “Gone Daddy Gone”