W♥M

Merge at 25

Merge 25k Road Race Read More Merge Records Future Bible Heroes is currently on tour in support of Partygoing, out now on our favorite Merge Records. Check out their song, "Living, Loving, Partygoing" .…

MERGE RECORDS
mergerecords.com

We like Merge Records. The North Carolina independent record label is celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2014, by re-issuing classic albums from their back catalog every month in 2014. Some of these re-issues are long out of print and they'll usually throw in bonus material with the new releases. (Although they confessed Merge employees just want to own them on vinyl).

Lambchop: Nixon (reissue)

Their first re-issue will be Lambchop's Nixon. Nixon will contain the original album, plus a bonus disc of White Sessions 1998: How I Met Cat Power (a remastered live solo session singer Kurt Wagner recorded at Radio France in 1998). Vinyl fan will want to grab the 180-gram vinyl, which comes with the CD of bonus material.

Also, according to Merge 25, there will be a unique road race that stretches 25km (15.5 miles), holding on Saturday, March 22, 2014, at Chapel Hill, NC. This is a point-to-point race of its kind, benefiting the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and Habitat for Humanity of Durham and Orange County while also marking Merge Records' 25 years. If you live in the area, or are willing to travel, please register now at SportOften.com.

Below are just some of the artists signed to Merge Records:

Photo credit: Facebook Read More Mary Timony Around 1999, Helium broke up. I'll have to admit, I didn't follow Helium's singer, Mary Timony's solo work, but I did manage to catch her on the last tour for Ex Hex at the 7th Street Entry .…

EX HEX
exhexband.com

As I have previously written, I first discovered Mary Timony's band Helium on MTV's 120 Minutes for "XXX". I loved it, the singing, the subject matter, the dark sexual lyrics...

Mary Timony at 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis (05/25/05)

I eventually did catch Mary Timony when she played solo in at 7th Street Entry on May 25th, 2005. It's been a very long time, but if I recall, she did come back to Minneapolis at the Varsity Theater in 2007, but that's the last time I heard she was touring (I could be wrong, of course).

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to report that Mary Timony is back, with Betsy Wright and Laura Harris, in their new band is called Ex Hex. Timony fans will note that the band's name is actually taken from one of Timony's album of the same name.

Ex Hex, from Washington DC, is currently signed to Merge Records. Look for their debut album (and a tour around that SXSW Festival in March) in 2014.

Photo by Natasha Tylea Read More Wye Oak If you like Wye Oak as much as we do, you may want to head over to The Pour House Music Hall on Friday, September 7th from noon to 5pm at the Brooklyn Vegan & Figure Eight Management showcase. .…

WYE OAK
wyeoakmusic.com

Wye Oak will be returning in 2014 with a brand new yet-untitled album from Merge Records, the follow-up to their 2011's Civilian.

Singer Jenn Wasner talked to Spin Magazine about the new album, saying "There's not a lick of guitar on this whole record. It basically inverts what we were responsible for. Andy [Stack] was playing droney bass lines on keyboard. Now he's responsible for the more upper register stuff that guitar would normally handle, while I'm playing bass lines on a bass guitar. The idea was really appealing to me because we had sort of hit a wall, just with the complete and total excess of touring that we had done, the use and overuse of that format. It tainted the guitar for me and I was finding it really, really hard to get anything out of it from a writing perspective. I wasn't excited about it — too much baggage. It just felt tired to me."

As a warm-up, Jenn & Andy will be doing a co-headlining tour with Future Islands, on their way to Austin, Texas, for SXSW 2014.

Mar 03 Charlottesville, VA — The Southern
Mar 04 Asheville, NC — Orange Peel
Mar 05 Saxapahaw, NC — Haw River Ballroom
Mar 07 Chattanooga, TN — JJ's Bohemia
Mar 08 Oxford, MS — Proud Larry's
Mar 09 Baton Rouge, LA — Spanish Moon

*all shows with Future Islands

Read More Hospitality Brooklyn's Hospitality came to the 400 Bar in Minneapolis, last night, in support of their debut self-titled album. .…

HOSPITALITY
hospitalitylives.com

I saw Hospitality at the now-defunct 400 Bar last year, and I noted that they played "almost every song from their [debut] album". They're back on tour, but this time they'll have additional songs from their new album Trouble, that they can add to their setlist. Unlike their fun/happier debut album, Trouble is said to have a darker sound overall. The new album is coming out January 28th on Merge Records.

Hospitality will be out on tour:

Jan 31 New York, NY — Ecstatic Music Festival
Feb 01 Washington, DC — Rock & Roll Hotel
Feb 04 Chicago, IL — Schubas
Feb 05 Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry
Feb 08 Seattle, WA — Barboza
Feb 09 Portland, OR — Doug Fir Lounge
Feb 11 San Francisco, CA — Rickshaw Stop
Feb 13 Los Angeles, CA — The Echo
Feb 14 San Diego, CA — Soda Bar
Feb 15 Phoenix, AZ — Pub Rock w/ Augustines
Feb 17 Austin, TX — Red 7
Feb 18 Dallas, TX — City Tavern
Feb 21 Atlanta, GA — 529
Feb 22 Carrboro, NC — Cat's Cradle (Back Room)
Feb 23 Charlottesville, VA — The Southern
Mar 01 New York, NY — Music Hall of Williamsburg

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com

W♥M151: Riot Grrrl

W♥M151 (44 mins)

Vu and Emily cover early Riot Grrrl bands. This is by no means some definitive guide to Riot Grrrls, but we covered the basics: Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and some later Sleater-Kinney and Pussy Riot action. For even further riot love, check out our previous articles.

PUSSY RIOT: Feminist punk band that received a three year jail sentence for performing a protest song.

PUSSY RIOT! A Punk Prayer for Freedom is a new e-book, collecting letters from prison, closing courtroom statements by the defense attorneys, and poems in addition to the infamous punk prayer and new translations of the powerful courtroom statements. Also included are tributes from Yoko Ono, Johanna Fateman, Karen Finley, Justin Vivian Bond, Eileen Myles, and JD Samson.

All proceeds from the sale of PUSSY RIOT! A Punk Prayer for Freedom will support the Pussy Riot legal defense team. PUSSY RIOT! A Punk Prayer for Freedom (90 pg) is available now for $2.99. More details at freepussyriot.org.

BRATMOBILE: Jen Smith from Bratmobile inspired the name "riot grrrl". The short-lived band reformed in the 2000 with Ladies, Women and Girls and I finally got to see the band live! When they first started in 1993, I was a little too young to attend their shows.

Although Bratmobile never said they broke up, everyone just assumed so. In fact, they wrote, "We never had a certain incident where anyone said "I quit" or whatever, so it's been vague and drawn out. Sorry if that's been confusing to people."

BIKINI KILL: I misspoke on the show saying that Kill Rock Star was releasing the 20th anniversary single - it is being released by Bikini Kill Records. This is a brand new label that was formed in 2012. Their first release is the re-release of their self-titled 12" EP, available on November 20th, 2012.

The vinyl reissue will include a new fanzine in the form of a 34" x 21" poster. Interviews with Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Molly Neuman (Bratmobile), and liner notes by Layla Gibbon (Skinned Teen, MRR). Plus excerpts from the band's zines (Bikini Kill #1 and #2, Jigsaw #4), and photos from bandmembers' personal archives.

Expect more Bikini Kill music to come out in the near future, including previously unreleased music on vinyl and CD (and of course digital downloads). Check out www.bikinikill.com.

LE TIGRE: Kathleen Hanna went from Bikini Kill's punk sound to a more dance/eletroclash/art rock band with Le Tigre. Definitely one of Hanna's finer moments.

They signed to Island Records, released one album, and then sort of disappeared. Officially the band is still together, as reported by Emily who said they recorded with Christina Aguilera.

A DVD called Who Took the Bomp?, directed by Kerthy Fix, was released last year. I reported it, saying that it was a tour documentary from the 2004-2005 era, and the DVD was being released by Oscilloscope Laboratories.

SLEATER-KINNEY: A band out of the ashes of Riot Grrrl band Excuse 17 (Carrie Brownstein) and Heavens to Betsy (Corin Tucker). Currently Brownstein is in Portlandia television show, Janet Weis drumming with Pavement/Stephen Malkmus, and Corin Tucker is in Corin Tucker Band.

GIRLS TO THE FRONT: Billed as "The true story of the Riot Grrrl revolution" this 2010 book, written by Sara Marcus, tells the story of the rise and eventual fall of riot grrrl and riot grrrl fanzines and conventions. This book is published Harper Perennial, more details at girlstothefront.com.

WOMEN MAKE NOISE: The email I got said this is a new book from Supernova Books, but I checked amazon.com and they are listing it as Aurora Metro Press - to be published December 11, 2012.

Billed as "girl bands from Motown to the Modern" goes beyond riot grrrl, but it certainly covers their share of grrrl bands in their "girl gang bands" section.

The whole thing was edited by Julia Downes.

Full disclosure: I did not read the book. Any opinions I expressed in the show is a first impression. I did flipped through it, most the bands are more obscured from the 50s and 60s and early girl punk bands like The Slits.

BONUS: Chia Pet, the Sassy band. Those Darlins dirty girls from Tennessee. Plus, Hospitality just played 400 Bar.

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on podomatic.com

vu () ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ podcast.weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic ♥ +W♥M

Hospitality at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (10/01/12)

Tour Dates 10/02/12 Grinnell, IA Grinnell College 10/03/12 Omaha, NE Slowdown 10/05/12 Denver, CO Hi-Dive 10/06/12 Salt Lake City, UT Kilby Court 10/07/12 Boise, ID Red Room 10/09/12 Seattle, WA Barboza 10/10/12 Vancouver, BC Media Club 10/11/12 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge 10/13/12 Santa Cruz, CA Crepe Place 10/14/12 San Francisco, CA Treasure Is 10/16/12 Los Angeles, CA Echo 10/17/12 Phoenix, AZ Crescent Ballroom 10/19/12 San Antonio, TX Korova 10/20/12 Austin, TX Red 7 10/21/12 Dallas, TX Bryan St Tavern 10/23/12 Nashville, TN High Watt 10/24/12 Atlanta, GA 529 10/25/12 Athens, GA Caledonia Lounge 10/26/12 Greenville, SC Radio Room 10/27/12 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 10/28/12 Richmond, VA Strange Matter 10/29/12 Baltimore, MD Golden West Cafe 11/02/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom Read More TEEN I previously mentioned TEEN before. They're three sisters (plus one close friend), and their debut album, In Limbo, just came out...

Brooklyn's Hospitality came to the 400 Bar in Minneapolis, last night, in support of their debut self-titled album.

TEEN

I was mostly there to catch TEEN at their first time in Minneapolis. As you know, the band is made up of three sisters, Teeny, Katherine, and Lizzie (plus their friend, Jane.)

TEEN had a brief set, consisting mostly from their debut album, In Limbo, including "Come Back", "Better", "Huh", "In Limbo", "Electric", and the closer song, "Why, Why, Why." There were a couple of songs I didn't recognize called "Paradise" and "Cannibal", these songs aren't from In Limbo.

As for Hospitality, they are a very upbeat pop band. They're supposed to be a trio, but they had an extra rhythm guitarist on tour with them.

As you can see from the setlist, almost every song from their album was played: "The Birthday", "The Right Profession", "Friends Of Friends", "Betty Wang", "Sleepover", "Julie", "Liberal Arts", "All Day Today" and "Eighth Avenue". Rounding out the rest of their set were various b-sides, including an upcoming 7" called "The Dift" with the flipside "Monkey."

I know the photo shows a lot of songs, but in about 12 minutes, they had gotten to "Betty Wang" (my favorite song from them) - so basically all their songs are three minutes or less!

Hospitality is currently on tour in support of their self-titled album, available now from Merge Records.

PS, off topic note, but did you noticed how they wrote "The Joseph Bell" on the setlist? That's the band that opened up the show; I guess they wanted to remember the band's name to thank them.

Hospitality at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (10/01/12)

vu () ♥ facebook.com/hospitalitylives ♥ teentheband.com