Elvis Costello And Brian Eno - "My Dark Life"

One of the most unexpected collaborations of the 1990's was likewise hidden away in the most unexpected of places: "My Dark Life", a singular collaboration between Elvis Costello and Brian Eno, was featured on a record called Songs In The Key Of X - a soundtrack to the X-Files TV show. It's a shame that the track is in such a tucked away spot, because it's easily one of Costello's strongest tunes from the last decade.

Given that Eno and Costello have both worked in just about every genre, it may seem presumptuous to call their collaboration unexpected. Still, there's something about the two that seems disparate. Costello is a blood sweat and tears songwriter, who more often than not can bang a song out on the guitar as easily as he can record it in a studio. By contrast, Eno is something of a studio rat, seldom performing live and often working in production and "treatment" roles. However, regardless of their reputations, there's no question that by working together, the pair managed to get the best of both their talents.

"My Dark Life" is driven by what one might consider "typical" Eno treatments: there are small droning beats, lilting atmospheric synths, and a general feeling of unease. However, Costello jumps on board almost immediately, and his reverb laden guitar immediately takes the tune out of Eno's usual territory. As the song progresses, Costello crafts a bullet proof melody over a chord progression that gets more and more uniques with each minute. An exceedingly minor verse juxtaposed with a unquestionably major chorus creates a general feeling of imbalance that Costello navigates artfully well with his vocals.

With all of these facets, the track manages to occupy a unique space of being accessible, yet experimental and complex at the same time. The fact that it is the only collaboration between the two is a real shame: had their union yielded an entire record, we can only guess that it might have yielded a completely different leg of songwriting for the duo. Instead both have returned closer to their roots: Costello to garagey, cagey songwriting, and Eno to collaborating with long time friends like U2 and David Byrne.

Still, there are hints that Costello knows the song was a bit of a special moment for him: He's included it in his live sets, in particular his shows with Steve Nieve. Even in that stripped down environment, the song is an eerie and lovely piece of melancholy melody. Though it's been more than ten years, it's enough to keep us hoping that perhaps there might be a chance that this fantastic tune won't have to spend its days alone.

mp3: Brian Eno & Elvis Costello - My Dark Life
mp3: Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve - My Dark Life (Live At The Fillmore)

Dirty Projectors To Play Tibet House Benefit?

Dirty Projectors at The Independent, from the HAD Archive

While we don't have official confirmation yet, we do have a rumor from a fairly reliable source that this year's it-kids of art rock, Dirty Projectors, will be playing this year's Tibet House concert at Carnegie Hall.

The concert, which has been occurring yearly since 1989, is usually host to a wide range of musical talents, and can sometimes even result in collaborations amongst them. In our opinion, it's the sort of environment that's perfect for the band's unique cross-genre sound. Not to mention the fact that it'll be in one of the city's finest venues.

We don't have an on-sale date yet, but when it occurs it will be through the Carnegie Hall box office. Consider yourself warned.

mp3: Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move

Nouvelle Vague Coming To The US For Winter Tour

You may recall that we mentioned cover-loving Euros Nouvelle Vague had a new record in the can a while back. Well, the band is now in full swing promoting the simply-named 3, and as such they've planned a US tour for the new year. The dates span January and February, and traverse a good deal of the US, including a stop at the Regency Grand in San Francisco, and Webster Hall in New York. While we've never seen the band live before, we've always heard good things. This is set to be a month of bossa nova tinged cover awesomeness!

Nouvelle Vague Winter 2010 US Dates
Friday, Jan. 22, Philadelphia, PA, World Café
Saturday, Jan. 23, New York, NY, Webster Hall
Sunday, Jan. 24, Boston, MA, Somerset
Tuesday, Jan. 25, Montreal, PQ, Metropolis
Wednesday, Jan. 27, Toronto, ONT, Opera House
Thursday, Jan. 28, Detroit, MI, Crofoot Ballroom
Friday, Jan. 29, Chicago, IL, Logan Square
Monday, Feb. 1, Denver, CO, Bluebird
Tuesday, Feb. 2, Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge
Thursday, Feb. 4, Seattle, WA, King Cat
Friday, Feb. 5, Vancouver, BC, Venue
Sunday, Feb. 7, San Francisco, CA, Regency
Monday, Feb. 8, Sant Cruz, CA, Rio Theater
Tuesday, Feb. 9, Los Angeles, CA, Henry Fonda
Friday, Feb. 12, Dallas, TX, Granada
Saturday, Feb. 13, Austin, TX, Mohawk
Sunday, Feb. 14, New Orleans, LA, Republic
Tuesday, Feb. 16, Miami, FL, Revolution
Wednesday, Feb. 17, Orlando, FL, Firestone
Thursday, Feb. 18, Atlanta, GA, Loft
Saturday, Feb. 20, Washington DC, 9:30 Club

mp3: Nouvelle Vague - Master & Servant

Graham Coxon Acoustic Tunes And Interview - Video

Despite the fact that it dates back to his SXSW performance and album release of earlier this year, this video segment of Graham Coxon is no less interesting for being a few months old. In the clip, Coxon discusses the music industry, his inspirations, and the motivation behind his most recent record, The Spinning Top. What's more, he manages to get in a few performances, and we see some sick acoustic fingerpicking style that is a bit out of the norm for the typically electric axe wielding guitarist. Check it out now!

mp3: Graham Coxon - In The Morning

Frightened Rabbit Return To Daytrotter

Frightened Rabbit at Bottom of The Hill, from the HAD Archive

You may recall that we previously touched upon a killer Daytrotter session that HAD faves Frightened Rabbit delivered last year. Well, now we have some great news: during their recent US jaunt, the band managed to get in a second Daytrotter session for your enjoyment. Ooh la la.

While the session (sadly) doesn't contain any new material, it does feature a solid take on three tracks from The Midnight Organ Fight, and one from The Greys. The band is in top form, and the tunes are just as solid as we've ever heard them. Yes, we're waiting on the new record, but in the meantime this live stuff will tide us over just fine. Check it out for yourself.

mp3: Frightened Rabbit - The Twist (live on daytrotter)

Blur Documentary On The Way

While we have to admit we're a bit bummed that the Blur reunion doesn't appear to be yielding a new record or any visits to North America, we're glad to have at least a bit of good news. The band announced this week that they'll be releasing a documentary entitled No Distance Left To Run. The film will traverse the band's entire career, culminating in this past summer's reunion shows. It's not exactly a live show, but hey - it seems like it's the closest we're gonna get on this side of the Atlantic, so we'll make do. Check out the trailer above.

Previously: Blur, Bugman, And What It Means To Be A Band

mp3: Blur - Bugman

Pixies Played Jimmy Fallon - Video

After a rather underwhelming performance of "Here Comes Your Man" on Conan, we were starting to lose a little enthusiasm for the Pixies' recent Doolittle retrospective tour. Thankfully, last week the band redeemed themselves on Jimmy Fallon with a killer version of "Debaser". Check it out above.

mp3: Pixies - Debaser

The XX Played The Independent - Pictures, Review

Last week, HAD managed to catch up with The XX at San Francisco's Independent, and we're glad we did. The band, who have been receiving an inordinate amount of internet hype over the last couple of months, managed to live up to expectations. Not only did they deliver on the awesomeness of their debut record, but they also managed to create a live vibe that was unquestionably well suited to their mellowed out sound.

The band will be headed eastward this week (including New York on Saturday), before heading back to Europe until spring. Catch them while you can!

The XX Winter 2009 US Dates
Dec 1 Bottom Lounge Chicago, Illinois
Dec 2 Phoenix Theater Toronto, Ontario
Dec 3 Le National Montreal, Quebec
Dec 4 Paradise Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 5 Webster Hall New York

mp3: The XX - VCR

Photos By Ujjwal Sarin, more at the HAD Archive

The Awesomeness Of A Vintage Movie Mashup

Some kind soul has taken this killer pre-quake San Francisco Market Street movie footage, and mashed it up with "La Femme D'Argent" from Air's record Moon Safari. Suffice it to say, it's a pretty awesome viewing experience - take seven minutes of your day and have a gander!

mp3: Air - La Femme D'Argent

Spoon Firm Up Transference Details, Release First Single

UPDATE: The band has 4 US dates in December, see below!

By now you've probably heard all about this, but just in case you were as turkey-coma'ed as we were: last week Spoon firmed up the release details of their upcoming record Transference. The disc is unquestionably our most anticipated release of 2010, so we were more than a little bit excited to hear we won't be waiting long for the new material.

The record will drop on January 19th from Merge, but even more timely is today's release of the record's first single "Written In Reverse". The track is a digital single as of today, with a 7" release to follow in January. To anyone who's been checking out the band in the past year or so, the song should be pretty familiar, as it's been a constant in the live environ. For those of you who haven't, well let's just say this: if you haven't heard Britt Daniel let loose over a pounding piano line, this is certainly your chance.

The band has also announced their first 2010 tour dates, all of which are in Europe, with promise of US dates upcoming. Yes, we are very, very excited. Bring it!

Spoon Winter 2009-2010:
December 3 Kansas City, MO - Midland Theatre
December 4 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
December 11 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
December 12 La Jolla, CA - RIMAC Arena
December 31 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
February 14 Glasgow @ King Tut's
February 15 Manchester @ Academy 3
February 16 London @ Electric Ballroom
February 18 Amsterdam @ Paradiso
February 19 Cologne @ Luxor February 20 Berlin @ Frannz Club

mp3: Spoon - Written In Reverse