A Head Full of Wishes

Damon and Naomi and Alasdair in London

Damon and Naomi's show this Sunday at London's Rough Trade East will be as a trio after Damon trimmed the top of his finger off while cutting an apple. The show will go ahead with Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele doing the bits that Damon's finger prevents him from doing.

How will Damon pull off this Django Reinhardt-like trick? We're all wondering. But coming to the rescue, fretwise, will be Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele -- he has graciously agreed to fill in for any missing fingers. Maybe the nasty accident will turn into something to celebrate?

The show will also provide the opportunity to buy a limited CDR of Damon & Naomi covering Irving Berlin's White Christmas which they recorded for the film Lovely, Still. Each CDR will come in a hand-drawn sleeve.

The show is free and starts at 7pm - collect wristbands from the shop one hour before showtime.

Tags: alasdair maclean, Damon & Naomi, london, rough trade, show, the clientele

Posted in Damon & Naomi, News | 1 Comment »

Preview Dean & Britta’s Cure cover

American Laundromat Records are streaming all the tracks from their upcoming tribute album to The Cure "Just Like Heaven". Dean and Britta cover Friday I'm in Love and the album also features contributions from The Wedding Present, Tanya Donnelly and Elk City.

To hear the whole album you can head over to the American Laundromat's web page and launch their radio player or you can go straight to the player using this link.

The album will be released to shops early next year but the label is taking pre-orders now at their online shop, which will be posted out before xmas.

Tags: covers, Dean & Britta, stream, The Cure

Posted in Dean & Britta, News | No Comments »

Britta mixes Cheval Sombre

Britta Phillips has provided a mix of a track by New York based act Cheval Sombre that will be released on their upcoming CD and 7" single on Irish indie Trensmat Records.

Britta Philips, once of Luna and currently of Dean & Britta, provides a remix of 'Troubled Mind' which creates a bleary cloudy atmosphere which is brilliantly broken and carries along with a languid bluesy swagger. Absolutely, perfectly gorgeous.

The limited edition release is available to pre-order on the Trensmat website where you can also listen to short samples of a couple of tracks including Britta's mix.

Tags: britta phillips, cheval sombre, trensmat records

Posted in After Luna, News | No Comments »

More details of Damon & Naomi’s London in-store

Rough Trade's website has details of Damon & Naomi's in-store appearance on the 13th October including this little tease...

Rough Trade are proud to announce an intimate in-store with ex Galaxie 500 members Damon & Naomi who are putting together an exclusive recording for this special event ,

As soon as I have any idea what this might be I'll pass it on.

The performance is at 7pm and FREE but you will need to pick up a wristband one hour prior to the gig.

Tags: Damon & Naomi, london, rough trade

Posted in Damon & Naomi, News | 1 Comment »

Mp3: Lost tracks #1 - Luna - Sucking Ice Cubes

Baking. Blistering. Boiling...
originally uploaded by megankills

I came across a podcast named after and featuring this "lost" luna track. Sucking Ice Cubes had its only official release as a bonus track on the Japanese release of Bewithced and in my opinion deserved a wider audience than that. Not a throwaway, a demo or an instrumental, Sucking Ice Cubes starts with guitar feedback (probably squalls of feedback because feedback always comes in squalls) not the expected start to a Luna song and carries on like it might have been a live gem if it had been given a chance - I can close my eyes and imagine this developing into the sort of stage classic that Black Postcards and 23 Minutes got to be...I can't imagine Dean & Britta doing it though...maybe it rocks too much?

Mp3: Luna - Sucking Ice Cubes (box.net)

I thought that it was probably time to start exposing some tracks that made obscure appearances and deserved to be heard by more folk. Up until now I've been reluctant to share officially released music but have made exceptions with tracks that have been hard to get hold of. If the copyright owner is bothered by my sharing of this track they should get in touch and the track will be removed.

Tags: Luna, mp3, sucking ice cubes

Posted in Luna, lost songs, mp3 | 2 Comments »

As if you needed another reason…

The excellent blog The Sound of Indie recenly posted a lovely sounding track from Dean & Britta's "Galaxie 500 show" from a few weeks back (see previous post), I was among a number of people who pleaded for an opportunity to hear the whole show. Sadly Howard Wolfson a pundit for the vile "media" outlet Fox News apparantly also contacted the blog asking for more. The Sound of Indie responded...

I appreciate your interest in the Dean and Britta show and congrats on your new blog. I am in a bit of a quandary since it seems you are associated with Fox News. I, for one take to heart the simple axiom: “You are only as good as the company you keep”, which in the case of Fox News, as a company, doesn’t get any worse. Regardless your politically leanings or good intentions, you are simply another tool for the colossal super-conducting super-colliding horseshit/noise-generating machine that is Fox News.

[...]

So concerning the Dean and Britta show: If Obama wins this election, you and all TSOI readers will get a copy of the truly sublime recording. If, however, the unconscionable happens - that those other two are elected - no one will hear that full recording and Fox News will largely be to blame.

Saddened as I am not to be getting my paws on this recording (yet) I have to admire the stand taken by The Sound of Indie and point out that there are lots of reasons to vote Obama/Biden, and lots, LOTS more NOT TO VOTE FOR McCain/Palin...but just in case you needed another one...

In the meantime The Sound of Indie has posted another track from the show to whet your appetite...

Dean & Britta - Don't Let Our Youth Go to Waste

Tags: Dean & Britta, live, mp3, vote obama

Posted in Dean & Britta, Editorial, News, Other people's blogs | 1 Comment »

Damon & Naomi in London in October

Damon & Naomi have scheduled a gig at Rough Trade East on Sunday 12th October. The show kicks off at 7pm and is free. The duo's previous attempt at a London show fell through last July, so thankfully Londoners haven't had too long a wait for a replacement.

Tags: Damon & Naomi, live show

Posted in Damon & Naomi, News | No Comments »

Bittorrent: Luna in SF on the Romantica tour

A nice sounding recording of Luna playing at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco, CA USA from 2002 is being seeded on Dimeadozen. You need to be registered with the site to grab this. Registration can ocasionally be difficult (the site is generally at its user limit) but apparantly persistence is the best advice for getting membership.

Tags: bittorrent, download, live show, Luna

Posted in Luna, News | No Comments »

MP3 of Dean & Britta covering Galaxie 500 (covering Red Krayola)

The Sound of Indie has posted an mp3 from Dean & Britta's Galaxie 500 set at the Zipper Factpry a couple of weeks back.

This show featured ten (!!!) Galaxy 500 tunes. Needless to say, the show was sublime. Imagine sitting is a small theater listening to [the] set performed perfectly [...] It was good enough to make a grown man cry. I am sure many did.

Dean & Britta - Victory Garden - The Sound of Indie

Tags: Dean & Britta, mp3, red krayola

Posted in Dean & Britta, Other people's blogs | 1 Comment »

Dean & Britta touring with Mercury Rev

Dean & Britta will be playing some dates in Canada and the US with Mercury Rev at the beginning of December:

# 05 Dec 2008 - @ Paradise, Boston MA, USA
# 06 Dec 2008 - @ Trocadero, Philadelphia PA, USA
# 07 Dec 2008 - @ Highline Ballroom, New York NY, USA
# 08 Dec 2008 - @ Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire, Montreal, Canada
# 09 Dec 2008 - @ Opera House, Toronto, Canada

via BrooklynVegan

Tags: Dean & Britta, live shows, mercury rev

Posted in Dean & Britta, News | No Comments »