The trailer for Spike Jonze’s Where The Wild Things Are



wow looks really beautiful cant wait to see it.
(the more wolf eared of you might have noticed the music in the trailer is different versions of "Wake Up" by Arcade Fire.

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What do you get when you cross Arcade Fire with Beirut, through in a few dashes of respected NCY indie bands, and round things off nicely with a pinch of LCD Soundsystem?

The answer is Team B, the new project spearheaded by Arcade Fire's Kelly Pratt. The band have just released their debut album (available here), written and recorded whilst on tour with Arcade Fire & Beirut in 2007/2008.

It's always interesting to see how supergroups like this go, as I've found that the results are never exactly what you'd expect (unless you're talking about Audioslave, in fairness).

Mp3 & more after the jump...


So with a lineup that looks like this: Kelly Pratt (Beirut, Arcade Fire); Tracy Pratt (Beirut); Ryan Smith (Twin Thousands, Stars Like Fleas); Jon Natchez (Beirut, Stars Like Fleas); Jason Poranski (Beirut, FreeTime); Mike Fadem (Jealous Girlfriends) & occasionally Perrin Cloutier (Beirut) and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire).... one would be forgiven for wondering aloud 'Exactly what the hell is this gonna sound like'?

Well, think vaguely-dangerous elevator music with catchy choruses, and strangely aggressive guitars (in a good, Weezer-y way).

Yes, I know, that makes no sense. Just check out the mp3 below and put yourself out of your misery. There's two more tracks on their myspace to further confuse you with. All good stuff though, and influences from member's other projects can be heard creeping in. It'll be interesting to hear what the whole album sounds like.

Team B - On My Mind

Cheers to B for the headsup!

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Arcade Fire clear things up about their involvement with "the box" soundtrack
Win Butler wrote this on the bands website

Hi everyone. Hope you are having a great spring... just to let you all know that (internet-based fact checking aside) Arcade Fire is NOT doing the soundtrack to any film. We are all off for the summer, writing songs, reading books, and keeping our plants alive. Regine, Owen Pallet [sic] and I may do an instrumental piece or two for Richard Kelly's new movie...we met at a show this year and hit it off, but we are not planning on doing any major work for a while, and this would not constitute a soundtrack or a release.

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'The Box' is the new film from Donnie Darko director Richard Kelly, and already it's shaping up to fare better then the probably-a-bit-too-weird-to-work 'Southland Tales'.

Starring Cameron Diaz and James 'Cyclops' Marsden, the film is based on an idea by Richard Matheson, the excellent writer behind 'I Am Legend'. Don't be put off by the dodgy Will Smith version, Matheson has a habit of penning great high-concept psychological thrillers, many of them (including 'The Box') having appeared first as episodes of the original Twilight Zone.

As the film heads to the editing room, it's just been announced that Arcade Fire have headed to the studio to work on composing it's score. This should be interesting...

As yet there's no release date set for the flick.

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Nominees for the 2007 the Shortlist Prize (kinda like a US version of the Mercury Prize) have been announced today. They are:

* Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
* Burial - Untrue
* Feist - The Reminder
* Justice - †
* LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
* M.I.A. - Kala
* Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
* Robert Pollard - Standard Gargoyle Decisions
* Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War
* Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
* Working For A Nuclear Free City - Businessmen & Ghosts

No Beirut? Damn shame. My money's on Feist, but will have to check out Robert Pollard, Working For A Nuclear Free City & the new Stars. The winner is announced at some undetermined point in February.

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They really lived up to their live reputation, with most of the band going absolutely nuts onstage. During one song two percussionists beat the shit out of everything they could find, including the floor, the lighting rig and each other.

Venue-wise, the place is basically the Point. Big (very) and crowded (also very). The sound was crappy unless you were close to the stage. Having not arrived there hours before the band took the stage, we were voiced with a choice of good views from the back, but crappy sound, or crappy views behind a pillar at the front but good sound. We chose the latter, which was fine. We had a great view of the keyboardist. My only other venue complaint was the fact that I went to get my round in just before 10, and the bar was closed! What the hell is that about? So, apologies to Gillers, I still owe him a pint.

My personal highlight was (oddly) a song I'm not a huge fan of- 'My Body Is A Cage'. It was the first song played on the giant church organ, and circular screens gave the audience a view from a camera attached to Win Butler's microphone. The blatant offbeat weirdness of the song made me think about exactly what Arcade Fire have achieved. They are an 'odd' band, the kind of band that would be traditionally confined to the alternative or indie scene, but they are selling out every show they play, no matter what size. They seem to be universally admired & appreciated...... and rightly so. Fair play.

I look forward to their third album, and hopefully seeing them live again.

Oh, Gillers did take some photos, I'll post them when I can.

Here's the band performing on Jonathan Ross, finishing up with some evidence that no matter how smart or indie you may be, everyone still wants to be a smelly rock n roll star:

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I wonder how the show last night went?

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Apparently Arcade Fire played a bunch of songs with Bruce Springsteen last night, including 'Born To Run'.

If anyone can find me a video of this, I shall owe them a shiny penny.

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Seeing as there are quite a few gems coming up I figured I'll knock together a 'High Fidelity-esque' Top 10. Then I realised I forgot one, so it became a top 11. Deal with it.

11. Radio Soulwax- Ambassador, 26th Oct.

At this stage everyone should know what Radio Soulwax is: 2Many DJs, mash ups, dancing and general merriment. For some odd reason despite the fact that 2many DJs seems to play here every 20 mins or so, I've still never seen em. Hopefully this time round. It's one of several gigs on this list that'd be perfectly matched with a crazy night out on the tiles.


10 Messiah J & The Expert- Crawdaddy, 21st Nov.

Messiah J is an anomaly. An Irish MC rapping about (amongst other things) Irish stuff, and not being a complete disaster. Far from it in fact- MJ&tE's recent album 'Now This I Have To Hear' is sample-iciously good. I saw the guys perform in Whelans in support of it's launch and they put on a great show. Something different from the Irish scene, and definitely something worthwhile. Here's the video for the 1st single from the album, 'Something Outta Nothing'. Enjoy.



9. Hot Hot Heat- The Village, 11th Nov.

There was a period of time for me when going out was just not as crazy unless preceded by listening to HHH's 'Make Up the Break Down' in full. It's exciting jumpy rocky guitar pop at it's very best. Checking these guys out in the Village is gonna be sweet, and I'd imagine, a rare opportunity for me to get my mosh on. Here's 'No, Not Now'.



8. Les Savy Fav- Crawdaddy, 27th Oct.

This is a Ste Foy tip, which makes it reliable. These guys are insane, and quite good too, which helps. They're promoting their third album 'Let's Stay Friends' which I haven't yet heard, but am very much looking forward to. Here's them being odd at the McCarren Park Pool Fundraiser (imagine this kind of carry-on in Crawdaddy...):



7. CSS- Olympia, 10th Dec.

One would think with the pure unbridled greatness of Cansei De Ser Sexy's debut album AND the fact that this December show will be their 3rd in Dublin this year that everyone in their right mind will surely have seen them live at this stage. One would be wrong. Mercifully, the Brazilian funk-rockers are gracing us with one last show in 2007 so these early non-believers can wipe the egg off their faces. Another entry that falls under the 'Party' category, if you're going make sure you check out the after-show shindig, which rocked last time.


6. Vic Chesnutt Band- Button Factory, 1st Dec.

Vic Chesnutt is a paraplegic alt-country musician whose backing band includes members of Fugazi, Godspeed You Black Emperor and The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. Wow. How is it going to sound? I don't know. Quite good, I'll bet. Imagine this kinda thing:



crossed with this kinda thing:



5. The Good Life- Crawdaddy, 2nd Dec.

The Good Life is a Saddle-Creek band (one point) and a side project of Cursive's Tim Kasher (ten points). I love it when Saddle Creek bands come to town, as they're responsible for some of the best performances I've seen on Dublin stages. Also, Kasher is a bit of a genius; and although The Good Life's material is less (pause) 'intense' than Cursive's, it's no less kickass. I will be there with bells on. Here's a taster:



4. Dan Deacon- TBC, 29th, 30th Nov, 1st Dec.

Pure madness from Eletro-Punk DJ with stellar live reputation. Previous holder of the 'damn I wish I'd been to that gig' award. See here for my more detailed recent post on this series of shows.



3. Fujiya & Miyagi- Button Factory, 16th Dec.

'Transparent Things' is easily one of the albums of the year. It ticks so many boxes on the 'what's required to make a great record' form that one might reasonably start to question how exactly they managed it. But who cares, the bottom line is that it's blissful. Their show at Electric Picnic was fantabulous, so it's not unreasonable to expect the same again. It's also stinkin cheap. Do it!



2. Justice- Big Top, Phoenix Park, 1st Dec.

Justice are this decade's Daft Punk. At least that's what it says on the promo stickers for the album.....and it's not far off. Apart from the fact that it's a fairly lazy comparison (dj's, french, two of em) it's kinda on the ball. The production values are equally amazing, the beats phenomenal, and the poppy glee is there in spades. If the big top turns out to be even a half decent venue then this is THE dance gig of the year.



1. Arcade Fire- Big Top, Phoenix Park, 24th Oct.

Big surprise at number one. Arcade Fire initially made a name for themselves by being a mindblowing live act, and thanks to Ireland's exemplary network of touting scumbags it's thusfar been damn near impossible to get to any of their shows. The Big Top gigs and their increased capacity have finally turned fantasy into reality, and for the first time I can say that I will be there. Nobody needs to be told of how amazing this band is. It's so undisputed over all levels of society that it has become a scientific & mathematical fact (Arcade Fire=Great). I'm more than a tad excited. Here's them with David Bowie, who clearly has good taste:



PS...just as a heads up- there is one particular show that as of yet is still in the 'rumor' department, but if confirmed will jump straight up the list to number one with the greatest of ease. Anyone paying attention will know what I'm talking about. Fingers crossed. I'll keep you informed...

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So the Arcade Fire website countdown finished to reveal a mildly eccentric video of Win Butler performing 'Neon Bible' while his hands do odd magic-y things. Presumably it's going to be the next single from the album. So no LCD Soundsystem remixes. Darn.

To starve off the disappointment, here's a video of their AMAZING performance at Paris' Olympia for the Blogotheque Take Away Shows:

#41 - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible & Wake Up
Uploaded by lablogotheque

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This image has appeared on the official Arcade Fire website, linking to this website, which warns folk to be online on October 6th.

What's gonna happen? All sorts of rumors are flying around. Personally I'm siding with the LCD Soundsystem ones. The bands have been gigging together for a while, and there have been hints of collaborating on a record. I heard some time ago that LCD would cover an AF song and vice versa. The latest rumor through the mill is that LCD have remixed Neon Bible in it's entirety.

I guess either would be cool, but we'll have to wait til the 6th to find out...


*edit: As Bobby was good enough to point out over on Nialler9's blog (Niall had also mentioned, but I'm blind), the web address, beonlineb.com
is an anagram of neon bible. Which i guess supports the remix theory.

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