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NewMusic ® Report IRON & WINE CMJCCMJMJ OUR ENDLESS Issue No. 856 • March 15, 2004 • www.cmj.com ESSENTIAL NUMBERED DAYS CMJ CMFATJ MIKE WANTS YOU PUNKS TO VOTE LOUD ROCK What?! No Crazy Town? Ozzfest 2004 Lineup JAZZ Sony Legacy Dukes It Out RETAIL Spent Our MAP Checks Already RADIO 200: HOLDS NO. 1 • TAKE MOST ADDED ALSO REVIEWED: Bonnie “Prince” Billy, STEREOLAB GET UP KIDS CocoRosie, Sufjan Stevens, Jem + MORE! NewMusic CMJCMJ Report ® 3/15/2004 Editorial Director Scott Frampton Issue No. 856 • Vol. 79 • No. 5 EDITORIAL CEditorMJ COVER STORY Kevin Boyce Retail Editor 6 FAT MIKE Gerry Hart Associate Editors In times of political crisis, music has CNicoleM KeiperJ always provided a platform for opinions— Tom Mallon and the Bush administration has had a near Loud Rock Editor unprecedented share of crisis, polarizing Amy Sciarretto Jazz Editor both the country and the world. And label Tad Hendrickson impresario/musician Fat Mike has some RPM Editor opinions to share: “I’ve been traveling the Justin Kleinfeld world for 15 years now and I have never Managing Retail Editor Christopher R. Weingarten seen such American hatred before. Ninety Retail Marketing Director percent of Americans never leave the coun- Vanessa Bolger try. I know how much we’re hated and am Retail Assistant Editor trying to express that viewpoint.” Kory Grow Contributing Writer Brad Filicky Web Producer/Contributing Ed. DEPARTMENTS Steve Ciabattoni Interns 4 Reviews 18 Loud Rock Traci Reed Reviews of new records from Iron & Wine, Soil returns with Redefine; Ozzfest 2004 line- Kristin Schall Bonnie “Prince” Billy, the Butchies, up announced, and it’s the most metal edition CocoRosie, Jem, Simon Joyner, Angela of the tour in years. CUSTOMER SERVICE McCluskey and Sufjan Stevens. Fulfillment/Business Services Manager 21 RPM Brett McNamara 8 Radio 200 Reviews of new records from DJ Hyper and Customer Service Coordinator Stereolab holds No. 1 on the Radio 200. L.S.G.; Poker Flat celebrates five years. Greg Winter 12 Core Radio 75 22 CMJ Retail ART …and takes No. 1 at Core for good measure. Hart examines Dr. iPod; ADA looks good to Art Director Darcy Doyle Polyvinyl; Norah makes herself at Home in the 14 RAM Chart No. 1 spot of the Retail 100; TV On The Radio, Murs, Onelinedrawing and Zeke all get PUBLISHING 15 Specialty Charts Points; wake us up before you Go Boy in CEO & Publisher Seven weeks later, Air hangs on to No. 1 on Counter Culture; Newsworthy is RICH, bey- Robert K. Haber Triple A. Chief Operating Officer otch! Jay B. Ziskrout Vice President & General Manager 16 Hip-Hop 30 Radio 200 Adds Mike Boyle Dizzee Rascal stays on top for the fourth week The Get Up Kids Guilt their way to No. 1 Director Of Sales in a row. Jon Rayvid Most Added. Circulation & Product Manager Sean Caesar 20 Jazz Reviews of El-P’s Blue Series album and Jason Lindner’s new live effort as well as CIRCULATION record news of new collections and three Distribution & Fulfillment Ellington reissues. [email protected] 917.606.1908 CMJ New Music Report (ISSN 0890 0795) is published weekly, except for one week in January, by The CMJ Network, Inc. with offices at 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Subscription rates are $345.00 for 48 issues; $575.00 for 96 issues. Sorry, no refunds. Subscription offices: 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001. Tel 917.606.1908. CMJ NETWORK, INC. Outside U.S. and Canada 917.606.1908. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. CMJ Robert K. Haber New Music Report is copyright ©2004 by The CMJ Network, Inc. all rights reserved; nothing may be reproduced with- Joanne Abbot Green out written consent of publisher. Unless indicated otherwise, all letters sent to CMJ are eligible for publication and copyright purposes, and are subject to CMJ’s right to edit and comment editorially. Unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork are welcome; please enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope to facilitate return. Postmaster: send address changes to CMJ New Music Report, 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001 3 CMJ MARCH 15, 2004 REVIEWS BONNIE IRON & WINE “PRINCE” Our Endless Numbered Days BILLY (Sub Pop) Sings Greatest Palace Music Like a Larry McMurty novel, (Drag City) Samuel Beam’s lyrics illustrate big Author Wright Morris once said ambitions, innocence lost and of Ernest Hemingway, “The style changing times; like the film of Hemingway grew out of the adaptation of McMurty’s The Last depth and nuance of his disen- Picture Show, Beam’s music (as the chantment.” The same could easi- pseudonymous Iron & Wine) ly be said of Will Oldham, a.k.a. breathes voice into his words. His Bonnie “Prince” Billy (in addition second full-length, Our Endless Numbered Days, combines small- to Palace Music, Palace Brothers etc.). Sings Greatest Palace Music town naïveté with metropolitan production, no doubt influenced finds Oldham reinterpreting his Palace recordings with full instru- by his day job as a film instructor at the Miami International mental accompaniment, featuring Nashville mainstays like Hargus University Of Art And Design. Endless flows mellifluously with Robbins and Bruce Watkins as well as violinist Andrew Bird. sparkling, fingerpicked acoustic guitars and thick vocals. “On Your Whereas Oldham once sang with a frail, mournful yelp, his now- Wings” depicts gold and guns meeting bones, the stark imagery solid voice is confident, as though years of inexplicable yearning refined by a muted string melody contrasted by slithery slide gui- have made him wiser. For instance, “Agnes, Queen Of Sorrow,” now tars. “Free Until They Cut Me Down” is a bluesy recollection of lush with slide guitar and fiddle solos, has had a generous tempo being put up to hang, his voice a pale, whispery tenor building up facelift and Oldham’s voice gently matches duettess Marty Slayton’s to a crest. Beam’s stark alt-folk (lacking the usual slack-key twangs twangy soprano. His frailty on “You Will Miss Me When I Burn” of alt-country) is given a still smolders, as what was once an intimate acoustic ode now treatment like the best R.I.Y.L.: Lou Barlow, Townes Van Zandt, sonorously resonates through one’s soul. Having fermented for over films—bursting with Will Oldham a decade, Oldham’s disen- sharp imagery, class and Contact: Susan Busch chantment has finally R.I.Y.L.: Smog, Virgil Shaw, Palace Songs a resilient soundtrack Phone: 206.441.8441 been refigured into a bril- Contact: Lisa Turallo Email: [email protected] Phone: 312.455.1015 which steps out beyond liant new eloquence. ESSENTIAL Release and Add Date: March 23; Email: [email protected] the story. March 16 — Kory Grow Release and Add Date: March 23; — Kory Grow March 26 COCOROSIE BUTCHIES La Maison De Mon Rêve Make Yr Life (Yep Roc) (Touch And Go) Although two of the three From Syd Barrett to Daniel Butchies (Kaia Wilson and Johnson to Devandra Banhart, Melissa York) spent time in the world of trippy, bewitch- one of queercore’s angriest ingly fumbling, oddball/artball acts, Team Dresch, their outsider rock has traditionally current band’s new album, been reserved for, well, out- Make Yr Life, is quite the siders. What hath naïvecore poppy affair. The record is wrought, since now it’s open easily the most polished and territory for CocoRosie: two “professionally” recorded piece of the Butchies catalog, sexy Parisian-transplant sisters who sing like Cat Power and but that doesn’t mean it’s staid or lifeless: If anything, look like Fannypack? The deliciously addictive CocoRosie shiv- the clear production allows for the full impact of the er about with the same quirky, unchained, untraceable acousti- songs to be heard. The band’s take on the Outfield’s cal whimsy as Banhart, but add chaos to their folk loopiness in “Your Love” proves that there’s life yet in that punk- the form of errant noise: See ’N Say rooster crows, creaky can- band-covers-’80s-radio-hit ouvre—they certainly shame opener squonk, loose change clonking in a cup, beatboxing, toy the Ataris’ attempt at it. “She’s So Lovely” is a pure-and- racecars, godknowswhat. Their lyrics turn from cutesy to simple catchy love song, transcending gender or sexual lunatic in a split-second (opening line of track three, “Jesus orientation. Make Yr Life’s sound is just a tad more loves me/ But not my wife/ Not my nigger friends/ Or their mature than previous Butchies albums, but quite a lot nigger lives”) and they’re all sung in a theatrical coo like Bettie more focused. If this is what punk rock sounds like Boop digging on Mirah. Their harmonies collide and shatter, when it grows up a little, more of those bands should they pop their P’s all over the mic, they usually sound like trade in their training wheels. some mix of fucking- — Brad Filicky R.I.Y.L.: Devandra Banhart, Nina Nastasia, R.I.Y.L.: Team Dresch, Kaia Wilson, Le around and simply Xiu Xiu Tigre deranged… in other Contact: Sara Tolbert Contact: Joe Swank words, irrésistible! — Phone: 773.388.8888 x202 Phone: 877.733.3931, Ext. 223 Christopher R. Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Weingarten Release and Add Date: March 9, March 15 Release And Add Date: April 6, March 30 4 CMJ MARCH 15, 2004 JEM SIMON Finally Woken (ATO) JOYNER Jem is an emerging diamond in Lost With The Lights On the rough. Since the mid-’90s, (Jagjaguwar) this Wales native has been hid- Simon Joyner’s ninth album, ing out behind the scenes in Lost With The Lights On, is a the music business, promoting melancholy catalog of life’s festivals, working as a DJ agent lowest lows and darkest and earning herself a writing moments.