Photos by Turkishomework

Each week we send Turkishomework out to capture a sliver of our city’s blurred-vision nightlife. Presenting the final part of her Twilight Zone take on CMJ, a set that makes our Clusterfuck party look kinda creepy. She also got a nice laidback shot of Amazing Baby singer Will Roan, one of many local artists who hopped onstage for Spanish Broads’ bizarre improv set.

Photos by Turkishomework

Each week we send Turkishomework out to capture a sliver of our city’s blurred-vision nightlife. Presenting the second part of her Twilight Zone take on CMJ…

Photos by Turkishomework

Each week we send Turkishomework out to capture a sliver of our city’s blurred-vision nightlife. Presenting the first part of her Twilight Zone take on CMJ…

Dark Meat

Look, we know you’re busy this week, but in the spirit of not saying we told you so on Sunday, here are set times for our two CMJ-related showcases, one of which now features at least one member of MGMT…

self-titled presents OSCILLATIONS @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, Friday, October 23:
Doors – 6
Delorean – 6:30
Holly Miranda – 7:15
Cymbals Eat Guitars – 8
Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson – 9

Tickets
More Info

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self-titled presents CLUSTERFUCK @ Glasslands, Saturday, October 24:
Doors – 8
Pink Noise – 9
The Depreciation Guild – 10
The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! – 11
Freshkills – 12
The Megaphonic Thrift – 1
Dark Meat – 2
Spanish Broads (f/members of MGMT, Amazing Baby, Das Racist, Boy Crisis, Apache Beat…) – 3

Tickets (e-mail events@self-titledmag.com)
More Info

[Words and Lead Photos by Andrew Parks; Additional Photos by Aaron Richter]

The Artist and Their Latest Release: Duchess Says, split 7-inch w/ Red Mass (Alien8 Recordings)

Their Set in a Few Sentences: Remember when Karen O used to bait rock critics with regurgitated beer and a wicked banshee wail? Duchess Says singer Annie-Claude Deschênes takes that fuck-all attitude to its next logical extreme by running at us, not with us. And since her backing band reminds self-titled of the dearly-missed nutcases in Les Georges Leningrad, the music itself is worth making an ass of yourself to (i.e. screaming and slam-dancing like it’s 19-99).

And a Letter Grade: A

Words by Andrew Parks

The Artist and Their Latest Release: Free Energy, Free Energy 7-inch (DFA)

Their Set in a Few Sentences: The point of seeing a Free Energy show is not to tap into some inner truth about yourself. It’s to have a good time—plain and simple. And these absolute dudes let the good times roll, as it were. Or as frontman Paul Sprangers said on Tuesday night, “Am I right, or am I right?”

And a Letter Grade: B+

Words and Photos by Andrew Parks

The Artist and Their Latest Release: Broadcast, Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (Warp)

The Set in a Few Sentences: We’re not sure when Broadcast was last in town, but we do know they rarely breach these shores. And since no one knew what to expect on Tuesday night, the longtime couple/collaborators (James Cargill and Trish Keenan) trampled our collective subconscious with two distinct sets: an atonal A/V piece of spectral samples, serrated synths and woozy Op Art visuals—a powerful argument for their recent Wire cover story—and a Lewis Carroll-like look at such familiar cuts as “Black Cat” and “Corporeal.” Some people left before ‘the real set’ started, thinking Broadcast were shunning their back catalog and delivering one pointed fuck you to us all. If you stuck around, though, you would have witnessed a brilliant fusion of avant-pop music, from delicious drone tones to occultish oscillators to strictly analog stabs at filtered noise and electronic music.

Or as one fan said on the way out,  “My hands were shaking. I thought I was going to have an orgasm.”

And a Letter Grade: A

The following people have played our annual Glasslands party in the past couple years: MGMT, Yeasayer, Jay Reatard, Amazing Baby, Holy Fuck, Blaqstarr, and a bunch of others. All before they ‘blew up’. Or at the very least, before they started playing places like Bowery Ballroom. We’re not bragging; we’re just stating facts, followed by a list of seven bands we’re certain will be blowing up the ‘blogosphere’ in the coming months.

(Please note: We decided to bypass Ticketweb this year to save you money on fees. If you want guaranteed entry—and these spots are limited, mind you—please E-mail events@self-titledmag.com ASAP and we’ll try and get you sorted through a simple $10 PayPal purchase. So DIY of us, we know!)

The Artist: Dark Meat

Their Latest Release: Truce Opium (Emergency Umbrella)

What’s Been Said About Their Last LP, Universal Indians: “As a singer, [Jim McHugh] sounds emboldened by the crowd behind him, as if drunk on their company. Universal Indians would be interesting only for the logistics of the undertaking—I imagine shows where the distinctions between performer and audience is blurred completely—but the group’s communal excitement make Universal Indians a fascinating feat, surprisingly accessible and rewarding.” — Pitchfork

“On the surface is a rag-tag, psyched-out rock volcano. Two drummers, costumes, droning freakouts—Dark Meat even cover the songs of legendary free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (the liner notes dedicate Indians to his “Holy Ghost”). Their long-haired, rambling aesthetic echoes Brightblack Morning Light, while their penchant for robes and face paint could inspire connections to psychedelic brethren Polyphonic Spree. Further still, their improvised storms of squealing feedback allows them to comfortably share a bill with Akron/Family or Ariel Pink. However, trying to wrap up Dark Meat in a convenient, trendy moniker is a ham-fisted operation at best.” — Pop Matters

“Universal Indians isn’t a punk record, thirsty for the blood of its forebears. It isn’t a ‘deep fried,’ horn-infused hybrid of stadium rock and R&B. It isn’t a mad, loud, dirty smokestack with a misty eye for Halo of Flies. It’s not a long-form channeling of Crazy Horse’s trucker mysticism. And it’s not an experimental record. It does share ground with all of the aforementioned conceits. But it’s a rock record, straight up. And it’s a great one.” — Dusted

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[Photo by Eric Rex]

The Artist: Spanish Broads

Their Latest Release: They don’t have one, although you can find lots of acclaimed records from its rotating lineup, including Ratatat’s favorite rapper, Gordon Voidwell, Invisible Circle, and members of Apache Beat, Amazing Baby, Boy Crisis, Das Racist and a band or two we can’t name just yet. Let’s just say you won’t see these people performing on one stage again for a while.

What’s Been Said: “Imagine 20 kids being introduced to instruments for the first time. They’re brought into a classroom, at a ‘touch museum’ or in pre-school, and they’re all handed various noise-making devices. One gets a triangle, another a tambourine. Some get to beat drums, while others rub a stick back and forth on a grooved piece of wood. They all start making noise at the same time. Now just replace the triangles and grooved wood things with drum machines and microphones. Throw in very loud, amplified volume, and you’ve sort of got Sunday night’s show.” — Brooklyn Vegan

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The Artist: The Megaphonic Thrift

Their Latest Release: A Thousand Years of Deconstruction EP (Spoon Train Audio)

What’s Been Said: “The Megaphonic Thrift formed out of several other bands in Bergan, and long before their 7″ Acid Blues was being pressed, they were invited to bring their mix of acid fuzzed noise and undeniable melodies all over Norway. They were the last band I saw at by:Larm and I stood near the front with a huge smile, the wash of music making me feel like my face was being blown back. It was definitely the loudest and one of the most exciting things I’d seen.” — RCRD LBL

“The name is a Guided by Voices reference, but the Thrift jam like early Geffen-era Sonic Youth, which means lots of low vocals, punchy drums, and headlong tempos. On ‘Neues’ especially, they set up a perfectly tuneful song, then carefully unravel it strand by melodic strand—all in about four minutes. The result is a surge of scribbly, dissonant guitars, propelled by a percussive bass line and drumbeat that punishes the hi-hat and cymbals.” — Pitchfork

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The Artist: Freshkills

Their Most Recent Release: Freshkills (self-released; new record being readied for 2010 release by Jim Sclavunos of the Bad Seeds)

What’s Been Said: “Taking its name from the vast old landfill in Staten Island, Freshkills, appropriately enough, injects a degree of trash rock into its post-punk hybrid. The band’s painstakingly constructed hooks put them at the top of the heap of late-eighties revivalists.” — The New Yorker

“I love this band because they remind me of the way I thought of New York before I lived here. It’s hard-hitting and infectious, but the frantic desperation is always palpable. It’s dark in that way.” — Vice

“Cool and crass, detached and desperate, dissonant and darkly sarcastic, the quintet specializes in a sound alternately slashing, hypnotic, urgent and controlled. They deliver both live and on vinyl (yes, vinyl), all without the benefit of anything resembling a guitar solo or a vocal harmony. They also have one of the best drummers in the business.” — The Deli

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The Artist: The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt!

Their Most Recent Release: We’re Humans: Be Awesome! (Luaka Bop)

What’s Been Said: “Working with five pals, [frontman Neil Fridd] composes electro-indie-disco beats and supplies the props, costumes, and entourage of party starters (many dressed as cats) who mix with the crowd and loosen tight screws. It’s nearly impossible to stand on the sidelines of a Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt! show. Well, it is possible, but you’d be missing the very reason people come: to be part of the sweaty disco pileup.” — New York

“Where other acts spend long hours rehearsing, this group is more apt to invest time baking cakes to pass out to clubgoers in need of a snack. And while other budding music stars might explore ways to polish their image, the members of Terror Pigeon busy themselves sewing mountains of matted stuffed animals onto the secondhand jumpsuit Mr. Fridd sometimes wears while singing. Shows are usually last-minute arrangements, with only the most devoted fans able to follow Terror Pigeon’s next move.” — The New York Times

“It’s impossible not to get wrapped up in the commotion – the costumes, the lights, the screaming – you could walk into on of their shows completely sober and moments later feel like you’re tripping balls. It’s craziness in the best sense of the word.” — Quiet Color

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The Artist: The Depreciation Guild

Their Most Recent Release: In Her Gentle Jaws (Kanine)

What’s Been Said: “If video game music’s ever to have a Loveless, the Guild’s taking a serious stab at it, regardless of how many mushroom power-up jokes you got for them.” — Pitchfork

“With influences including Cocteau Twins, XTC, Slowdive & Phil Spector, it’s no wonder that my unwavering love for The Depreciation Guild has only grown stronger and stronger over the course of the last two years (since the release of their fabulous debut album: In Her Gentle Jaws). Their shoegaze meets prog meets dream-pop sound is truly stunning to witness in a live setting (a brilliant light show doesn’t hurt either!).” — The Music Slut

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The Artist: Pink Noise

Their Most Recent Release: What Will happen If Someone Finds Out? (new Dave Sitek-produced LP, due out in early 2010)

What’s Been Said: “On stage Sulami has the voice and presence of a post-Goth Valkyrie…Several weeks ago in a club called Rothko, Pink Noise moved resoundingly beyond a Siouxsie label into controlled territory whose fringes are patrolled by Sonic Youth.” — The Gazette

“Standing on the shoulders of bands like the Pixies and fellow NYC ground breakers Sonic Youth, Pink Noise don’t rely on any infectious pop hooks or catchy dance beats. Instead their latest LP, All Is Nu, produces a tremulous vibe, a feeling, a notion simultaneously disarming and eerie. Their sound moves nimbly from amorphous, ambient buzz to more traditionally structured rock with a flick of the wrist.” — The Deli Magazine

Download audio file (MOVING%20IN%20AMMIX%2015%20082109.mp3)

“Moving In”

It’s been a good nine months since we last held an OSCILLATIONS party at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Which is unfortunate considering our School of Seven Bells show was a resounding success, making us want to throw such a thing on a monthly basis.

That didn’t quite happen, but we’re over it. You see, all that time’s been spent building the best possible bill for self-titled’s first official CMJ showcase; one that’s related to TV on the Radio, Grizzly Bear, Kanye West and Pitchfork’s Best New Music section. (An unofficial all-nighter—much like last year’s deliciously messy Jay Reatard show—will be revealed in the coming days.) And here it is, with $10 advance tickets available now on LPR’s site…

The Artist: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson

His Latest Release: Summer of Fear (Saddle Creek)

What’s Been Said: “As dramatic and erratic as Robinson is, his songs never flirt with histrionics, nor do they hide his shameless, troubling relationships with sex and drugs and alcohol. His album is a mess of riffs and poetry you can get drunk on, in the bar or your bedroom.” — FADER

“The gripping, gorgeous Summer of Fear trades fractured gray folk for multihued and ambitiously arranged Americana. To hear the swooping strings on ‘Summer of Fear pt. 1′ or the stately horns parading across the 11-minute ‘Losing 4 Winners’ is to witness catharsis crafted with both passion and smarts.” — SPIN

“Much like Conor Oberst, Robinson may be surrounded by friends and their democratic noises, but his burdens are all his own. The bands and artists already mentioned help provide some of Robinson’s sonic signposts as well. The art-soul bleat of TVOTR is there, though MBAR steers more towards Dylan/Band loose-ended ramble than Bowie-styled museum pieces, putting him more in line with Oberst, Phosphorescent, and even the Arcade Fire.” — Pitchfork

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The Artist: Cymbals Eat Guitars

Their Latest Release: Why There Are Mountains (Sister’s Den)

What’s Been Said: “Plenty of bands want to take you higher and even more are looking to get you down, but it’s increasingly rare to find a record that sounds good with a AAA guidebook and a few hours to get to god knows where, as long as it’s somewhere else…here, the journey is the end not the means; fortunately, that gives Why There Are Mountains astounding replay value.” — Pitchfork (Best New Music)

“The sources for [frontman Joseph D'Agostino's] inspiration can be obvious—Pavement, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr.—but so are his ambition and passion…Seeing the band live drove home the full effect of guileless catharsis: Mr. D’Agostino wears himself out for you. (Like a clutch hitter between swings, he ritually composed himself after every song, wiping down his guitar neck, adjusting his capo, taking a deep breath.)” — The New York Times

“The launching point of ‘Wind Phoenix’ sounds like a moment that ad execs would kill to have in a commercial. Sure it takes a bit of a Malkmus noodling turn after that, but the initial explosion is pure joy.” — You Ain’t No Picasso

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The Artist: Holly Miranda

Her Latest Release: Sleep On Fire EP (self-released; debut LP due out through XL in early 2010)

What’s Been Said: “Whether she’s performing a cappella or surrounded by a full, warm fuzz of music—as on her Dave Sitek–produced forthcoming debut—Miranda is a rare talent. And no, we’re not the first to hear it—she’s already been hyped by Kanye (always Kanye!), The New York Times and Vanity Fair.” — Time Out NY

“While Miranda has experienced success with her other band, Brooklyn outfit the Jealous Girlfriends, this harnesses a different energy. You can hear the influence of New Order as much as you can TV On the Radio, Patti Smith, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs…consider this fair warning: she’s the real deal.” — Vanity Fair

“There’s a comforting directness to [the small Brooklyn club, Zebulon]: the better the audience reception, the quieter the room gets. But sometimes the room isn’t enough, as was clear on Thursday night, when Holly Miranda’s half-hour set seemed to swallow the place whole.” — The New York Times

“A friend of the Tripwire sent us the new Holly Miranda record a couple weeks ago and we’ve been obsessed with the song ‘Slow Burn Treason’ ever since. Despite the fact she just finished the recording and has yet to announce any release plans (we were told by her management it is coming out ‘later this year’), we’re going to go on the record saying this is the best record David Sitek has produced since Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.” — Tripwire

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The Artist: Delorean

Their Most Recent Release: Ayrton Senna EP (Fool House)

What’s Been Said: “If The Horrors think they’ve got the drop on the reinvention thing, they might want to have a chat with these lads. From the Basque region of Spain, they started out as emo rockers before morphing into euphoric trance-pop meerkats. Snapped up by hypercool French bloggers Fluo Kids for their Fool House label. This highlight from their Ayrton Senna EP is like mainlining glitter.” — NME (see also: this profile)

“They can be as airy and suave as Air France or Phoenix, but their unremitting beats are also plenty huge enough to convert fans of Cut Copy or MGMT…On the Ayrton Senna EP, the group’s burgeoning dance-pop savvy comes into bloom with three unstoppable summer bangers.” — Pitchfork (Best New Music)

“Aryton Senna is broad, dumb fun, but it’s also immaculate and deeply considered. In short, Aryton Senna is delightful. And that’s not a statement I often make without qualification or exception.” — Cokemachineglow

Photos by Andrew Parks

All right, we gotta be honest here: Brooklyn, you nearly brought self-titled to tears on Saturday. While the weather outside looked like monsoon season as Glasslands opened its doors, you guys packed the place within a few hours. As a thank you, we encourage anyone who had a hell of a time with us to e-mail events@self-titledmag.com about who you’d like to see at s/t’s next party, as we plan on booking more cheap, intimate, no-bullshit shows in the coming months. More details to come soon. For now, the evidence …

Crystal Antlers

Amazing Baby

Women

And the crowd goes wild …