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NewMusic ® Report DESCENDENTS CMJCCMJMJ COOL TO BE YOU Issue No. 857 • March 22, 2004 • www.cmj.com ESSENTIAL ONELINEDRAWING CMVolunteersJ The Truth CMJ LOUD ROCK Obituary Back From The Dead RPM All Hail Tali: The Princess Of Dn’b RETAIL Norah Jones’s Diary: "I’m Rich!" RADIO 200: TAKE OVER NO. 1 • MOST ADDED ALSO REVIEWED: Eagles Of Death Metal, THE WALKMEN VON BONDIES Elf Power, Finley Quaye, Madvillain + MORE! 1 VIOLET NINE 2 THE GOOD BROTHERS 3 TRINIDAD FIASCO 4 RAINY DAY CRUSH 5 KITTY KAT DIRT NAP 6 CYNERGY 67 7 FIFTH YEAR CRUSH 8 LIGHTWEIGHT HOLIDAY 9 MY HOTEL YEAR 10 ROUGHSTARS 11 THE KITE EATING TREE 12 TEN FOOT POLE Questions regarding the program contact: [email protected] *Royalties good through 2004 NewMusic CMJCMJ Report ® 3/22/2004 Editorial Director Scott Frampton Issue No. 857 • Vol. 79 • No. 6 EDITORIAL CEditorMJ COVER STORY Kevin Boyce Retail Editor Gerry Hart Associate Editors CNicoleM KeiperJ 6 ONELINEDRAWING Tom Mallon San Francisco’s Jonah Matranga, a.k.a. Loud Rock Editor solo emo titan Onelinedrawing, opens up Amy Sciarretto Jazz Editor about corporate commodification, the Tad Hendrickson nature of honesty in his music and how it RPM Editor all ties in with the zeitgeist. Confused? Justin Kleinfeld Good. Onelinedrawing’s latest, The Managing Retail Editor Christopher R. Weingarten Volunteers, is all about confusion and the Retail Marketing Director choices we make. Vanessa Bolger Retail Assistant Editor 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 Descendents, Soulfly issues a new Prophecy and Obituary Kristin Schall Decahedron, Eagles Of Death Metal, Elf returns from the grave in Loud Rock News. Power, Finley Quaye, Lansing-Dreiden, CUSTOMER SERVICE Madvillain and Seachange. 20 RPM Fulfillment/Business Services Manager Meet MC Tali, and RPM reviews Sven Vath’s Brett McNamara 8 Radio 200 The Sound Of The Fourth Season. Customer Service Coordinator The Walkmen’s Bows And Arrows shoots to Greg Winter No. 1. 21 CMJ Retail Hart sets the record straight on the Mouse; ART Norah Jones tops the Retail 100 yet again Art Director 12 Core Radio 75 Darcy Doyle Stereolab holds onto No. 1 at Core. and, quite frankly, we're running out of catchy things to say about it; Eyedea & Abilities, Iron 14 RAM Chart And Wine, Jem and Particle get Points; Kory PUBLISHING excavates the Rocks In Your Head in Counter CEO & Publisher 15 Specialty Charts Culture; Whiney goes Avril Foolish in Robert K. Haber Norah Jones dethrones Air at Triple A. Chief Operating Officer Newsworthy. Jay B. Ziskrout Vice President & General Manager 16 Hip-Hop 30 Radio 200 Adds Mike Boyle Dizzee Rascal stays on top for the fifth week The Von Bondies get their asses kicked all the Director Of Sales in a row. Jon Rayvid way to No. 1 Most Added. Circulation & Product Manager Sean Caesar 17 Jazz Reviews of Monty Alexander’s reggae/jazz col- laboration with the Ernest Ranglin and rising CIRCULATION star Mimi Fox’s latest, as well as tons of news Distribution & Fulfillment on William Parker. [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. 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Postmaster: send address changes to CMJ New Music Report, 151 W. 25th St., 12th Fl.; New York, NY 10001 3 CMJ MARCH 22, 2004 REVIEWS EAGLES OF DESCENDENTS DEATH METAL Cool To Be You Peace Love Death Metal (Fat Wreck Chords) (AntAcidAudio- Since pop-punk songs about girls Rekords/Rekords) and not fitting in are dizzyingly Channeling the sprit of Gene popular at the moment, the time “The Beast” Simmons, full- sure is ripe for a new Descendents time Queen Josh Homme has album. After more than seven finally made it clear which years of dormancy, the California Stone Age he’s been referring band has delivered Cool To Be to… arena rock! Assuming the You, a collection of, ah yes, catchy nom-du-rock of J Devil Huge, pop-punk songs about girls and not fitting in, and stuff. The Homme handles guitar, drum and vocal duties for Eagles Of Descendents have been producing trad melodic punk of enviable Death Metal’s debut LP, Peace Love Death Metal, accompanied quality with their current line-up since 1979, and Cool is no by members of Eleven, Millionaire and Distiller Brody Dalle on exception—punk at its finest, fast and catchy with gooey singa- various cuts. “So Easy” stands out as a rawker any KISS Army long melodies and lyrics that head straight to the heart of any soldier could dig, Homme’s falsetto harmonies fitting right in 15-year-old with isolation issues. The title track and “Mass with rousing, chugging guitars and shit-kicking drums that Nerder” dissect the intricacies of being cool and uncool, and smack of something off Destroyer. A fitting cover of Stealers thusly are candy for the pubescent, but there’s something for the Wheel’s “Stuck In The Middle With You” shows Homme’s taut older crowd in tracks like “’Merican,” which focuses on conflict- guitar rocking harder than the first QOTSA disc, and “Already ing feelings about being an American in these heady days. Cool Died” is the closest you’ll get to his more recent work, the gui- could be a perfect introduction for kids just discovering punk, tars sliding up and down under patented trippy Homme lyrics but will appeal just as like “I feel like you’ve completely to veterans R.I.Y.L.: Bad Religion, Screeching Weasel, already died.” Perhaps R.I.Y.L.: KISS, Desert Sessions, Stealers of the genre, or anyone All the desert heat has fried Wheel Contact: Jason Hall who’s ever felt heartbro- Homme’s brain, but it Contact: Rai Sandow Phone: 415.284.1790, Ext. 105 Phone: 212.228.4868 ken, left out or discon- seems to have only made ESSENTIAL Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] tent. — Kristin Schall Release and Add Date: March 23 him rock harder. Release and Add Date: March 23; — Kory Grow March 16 ELF POWER DECAHEDRON Walking With The Beggar Boys Disconnection_Imminent (Orange Twin) (Lovitt) You’d be hard-pressed to find Anyone who openly wept at a review of Athens, Georgia’s the 1999 breakup of D.C. Elf Power that doesn’t men- punk band Frodus will shed tion an association with the tears of joy over Decahedron, Elephant 6 collective and its a reunion of drummer Jason lo-fi-minded aesthetic. Which Hamacher and singer/gui- makes it worth noting that tarist Shelby Cinca, with the Walking With The Beggar Boys, addition of Roadside the band’s seventh LP (count- Monument bassist Johnathon Ford (who recently took over ing the 2002 covers album Nothing’s Going To Happen), has the bass slot vacated by Fugazi’s Joe Lally). The band’s quite a lot of fidelity to speak of. Recorded at home in Athens debut LP, Disconnection_Imminent, sounds wholly connect- with producer Andy Baker, the record is clean and direct in ed already as each song transitions into the next, creating a production, songwriting and lyrics—a much straighter pop smooth flow that skips from experimental tracks to almost record than one might expect. The change could be due to a radio-ready ones and back again. Genres collide through- line-up shift, with the Olivia Tremor Control’s Eric Harris out the record, crossbreeding and standing aside one joining on guitar and former Gland Craig McQuiston on another. “Lt. Col” and “Not These Homes” have fantastic bass. But there is still some scruff: Singer Andrew Rieger’s guitar and basslines, while “Module 1” and “Dislocation” laid-back voice and the off-kilter backing vocals of his band- express a more industrial, beat-driven feel. But focus mates and guests retain the Elf personality. Rieger’s songwrit- should also be put on the band’s message, with Cinca’s ing goes from trad indie-pop to electronics-laced indie-pop politically aware lyrics showing off his abilities as a writer, and fuzzed-out indie-pop with equal success. It’s quite a vocalist and communicator. More than anything, change, but the band Decahedron reassures R.I.Y.L.: Big Star, Apples In Stereo, R.I.Y.L.: Division Of Laura Lee, “Fat-free” is all the better for the us that D.C. punk is Dressy Bessy Skinny Puppy, Godspeed You! Black added Power. — still willing to take on Contact: Scott Meis Emperor goes punk Renee Falk D.C. politics. Phone: 401.245.0777 Contact: Brian Lowit — Vicki Siolos Email: [email protected] Phone: 703.824.0510 Release and Add Date: April 6; March 23 Email: [email protected] Release and Add Date: April 19; March 23 4 CMJ MARCH 22, 2004 FINLEY QUAYE MADVILLAIN Much More Than Much Love Madvillainy (Stones Throw) (Epic) Two of the most sweated figures Finley Quaye may be Tricky’s in underground hip-hop— uncle, but the music he makes effortlessly cadenced marble- comes from a very different mouth fantastic damager MF place than Tricky’s dark, apoca- Doom and blunted blue noter lyptic vision.