Heave Media

Friday: Man, Sufjan Stevens is getting cynical. I thought that the man who brought us sweeping gems such as “Chicago” and heart-wrenching tracks like “To Be Alone With You” would never warrant such a comparatively negative adjective as “cynical.” But, so it goes. You may have heard that recently, Sufjan has lost his faith in music. Specifically, in the album and the song. As he told Paste, the whole 50 states project (50 albums inspired by each of the 50 states) was “such a joke.” He goes onto explain that he felt like he was becoming a “cliché of himself.” Damn. Is Suf old enough to be having a mid-life crisis? I swear, if he starts toting around a hot bitch instead of a banjo, I’m gonna be so pissed at that walking cliché. 

Saturday: You know what I wish I had a lot of? Money. Because if I had loads of cash, I could afford to go to All Tomorrow’s Parties in December. I like festivals, but I LOVE this one, thanks to the news that Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be playing their best album ever (Fever to Tell) in its entirety.  

While I’m not as big of a Pavement fan, it’s still fun to watch them take over the world one cultural event at a time. They’ll be headlining the Sasquatch! Festival in Washington over this Memorial Day weekend.  

Sunday: This is just terrible—Jerry Fuchs, drummer for !!!, Juan Maclean, and several other bands died on Saturday after he fell down an elevator shaft while attending a benefit party in Williamsburg. Fuchs was 34 years old, and will be missed dearly by bandmates and fans alike. 

Monday: What won’t those kooky kids of Fiery Furnaces do! Honestly, every musical pony trick they pull is better than their last. Take Me Round Again is a cover album of I’m Going Away. BUT WAIT. The people that cover the Fiery Furnaces album are the Fiery Furnaces. It’s like an indie Twilight Zone. The album features 12 songs, with six recorded by Matt Friedberger in Michigan and six by Eleanor Friedberger in New York. I’m sure that location information will play a crucial role in The Fiery Furnaces version of Trivial Pursuit, due out this Christmas.  

Tuesday: I’m not sure why, but I absolutely loved the cover of Distortion, the last Magnetic Fields album. Its neon simplicity was impossibly alluring. While their latest album Realism isn’t quite as colorful, they did stick with a similar restroom model for their cover art. What’s better about this album though are the song titles—“We Are Having a Hootenanny”? So grammatically correct, yet raucous! “The Dada Polka”? An art historian/dance enthusiast’s dream! Check it out on January 26. 

Wednesday: Ever since fellow HEAVE-er (that just sounds awful) Andrew Macnider told me to watch the video for St. Vincent’s “Marrow,” it’s pretty much the only video I want to watch. While she may not recreate her video on her North American tour, it’s still pretty exciting that loads of cities will be able to hear her perfect voice throughout the month of February.  

Remember when The Hold Steady didn’t exist? That was a sad, awful time. However, America did have Lifter Puller, though no one really knew about them. Tad Kubler and Craig Finn composed half of the Minneapolis band, and if you’re dying to hear what they sounded like, get ready: the entire catalog will be released digitally on December 1. If you prefer reading to listening, keep an eye out for Lifter Puller vs. the End Of, which is a Lifter-Puller-themed book that Craig Finn put together with the help of author Jessica Hooper—also set for a December release.  

Thursday: It’s Reuters headline time, bitch. Damn, I’m nostalgic for the time when bloated, drunk Britney Spears first penned that phrase. 

1. “Harrelson vs. Harrelson at weekend box office”: Given what counts as “entertainment” these days—like the “Shit My Dad Says” Twitter feed getting the sitcom treatment—I wouldn’t be surprised if some studio exec looks at this headline and thinks “Harrelson vs. Harrelson? I’m gonna produce the SHIT outta that idea.” And without a doubt, I would go see that shit.
2. “Disaster flick 2012 is preposterously fun”: Because to me, nothing says “let the good times roll” more than a movie about our impending doom as a planet.
3. “Animated films could impact Oscars”: But let’s be honest. They probably won’t.