Joyful Noise 2012 flexi-disc series

You may remember when, back in September, Joyful Noise announced they were re-editing of Montreal's entire back catalog on tape - and it looks like you can still buy one of the few remaining copies. This time around (well, it's been announced a while back but it had totally slipped my mind), they enrolled the band for their flexi-disc series : next year, an exclusive, brand-new track will be released on flexi-disc only. You can subscribe to the whole series (12 discs from 12 different artists) for as little as $5.75 a month if you live in the US. It is kind of what Happy Happy Birthday To Me used to do with their singles series. All the information you need to decide whether you want this or not here.
Joyful Noise is also releasing Paralytic Stalks on tape on February 7th, if you are a completist or don't want the CD or vinyl from Polyvinyl.

Electronic Musician interview

For all the audio nerds and budding engineers out there (or those who are just curious), here's an in-depth feature on Paralytic Stalks from Electronic Musician. Most of it is purely technical, covering everything from the gear used to the songrwriting and production and mastering techniques, but there are also lots of hints about what to expect from the album you're all desperate to discover.
Head over to Electronic Musician for the article.
Need I say again that Paralytic Stalks is available for pre-order right now?




Photo by Patrick Heagney

Paralytic Stalks Preview

No fancy video this time around, but of Montreal posted a 4-minute preview of Paralytic Stalks earlier today, comprising of eight (very different) bits of songs. While some do sound as orchestrated as advertized, there also seems to be a rawer, rockier edge to the record.



Don't forget that while Paralytic Stalks will hit the stores on February 7th, pre-ordering from Polyvinyl right now will give you a download code you can use as early as January 30st, which is when the orders will ship.

DIY magazine "in the studio" feature

This Is Fake DIY's december issue has a two-page-long feature on of Montreal's next release - The big news here is for those of us who were concerned that the pre-order bundles weren't as palatable as they usually are : it looks like the long-awaited board game is on its way.
Click on the picture below to read the magazine and find out the details, on page 16-17.
Once again, tack så mycket André!

Tour Dates Announced

Spin was the first to write about of Montreal's upcoming shows. I will do my best to keep you posted on support bands, because right now there's no way to tell who plays where. (EDIT : sorted an hour later, many thanks for the insider tip, Mr. Nieto)



Dec. 31 -- Athens, GA -- Go Bar / List Christee DJ set

Feb. 17 -- Athens, GA -- Georgia Theatre

Mar. 07 -- Jacksonville, FL -- Freebird Live *

Mar. 08 -- Orlando, FL -- The Plaza Live *

Mar. 09 -- Mobile, AL -- Alabama Music Box *

Mar. 10 -- New Orleans, LA -- Howlin Wolf *

Mar. 11 -- Houston, TX -- Fitzgeralds *%

Mar. 12 -- Oklahoma City, OK -- ACM @ UCO Performance Lab *

Mar. 13 -- Dallas, TX -- Tree's *

Mar. 14 -- Mc Allen, TX -- Sofie's Saloon

Mar. 15 -- Austin, TX -- Emo's East (Polyvinyl Showcase)

Mar. 18 -- El Paso, TX -- Tricky Falls *#

Mar. 19 -- Tucson, AZ -- Rialto *#

Mar. 20 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Wiltern *#

Mar. 21 -- San Francisco, CA -- Slim's *#

Mar. 22 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Fillmore *#

Mar. 23 -- Portland, OR -- Crystal Ballroom *#

Mar. 24 -- Seattle, WA -- Showbox at the Market *#

Mar. 25 -- Boise, ID -- Treefort Music Festival

Mar. 27 -- Minneapolis, MN -- First Avenue * ≈

Mar. 28 -- Chicago, IL -- Metro * ≈

Mar. 29 -- Cleveland, OH -- Beachland Ballroom * ≈

Mar. 30 -- New York, NY -- Webster Hall ¥ !

Mar. 31 -- New York, NY -- Webster Hall * ≈

Apr. 01 -- Boston, MA -- The Paradise * ≈

Apr. 02 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Union Transfer * ≈

Apr. 03 -- Washington, DC -- 9:30 Club * ≈

Apr. 04 -- Carrboro, NC -- Cat's Cradle * ≈

Apr. 05 -- Asheville, NC -- Orange Peel * ≈

Apr. 06 -- Chattanooga, TN -- Track 29 * ≈

Apr. 07 -- Atlanta, GA -- Variety Playhouse * ≈

* w/ Kishi Bashi
# w/ Deerhoof
% w/ Cults
≈ w/ Loney Dear
! w/ Computer Magic
¥ w/ Hard Nips

Wasabi Fashion Kult interview

Another new interview, this time at Wasabi Fashion Kult (I am not making this up). Though it does not stray from the Rolling Stone and Therapy of Music ones, it sure helps keep the Paralytic Stalks anticipation energy up.
Tack så mycket André for the link.

The Therapy of Music interview

Check out the interview Kevin Barnes gave in anticipation of his DJ set in Miami this weekend. It confirms what was already hinted at in the Rolling Stone piece (see below) : both the sound and the visuals are about to change as Paralytic Stalks rolls in. Do not fear the future. Embrace it with loving arms.

Kevin's Top 10 of 2011

Filter Magazine asked Kevin what his favorite records of 2011 were, and here's the list (with the obvious Deerhoof and Kishi Bashi EP, Lykke Li for the Scandinavian spot, more classical music than usual - but the usual was no classical music - and the one that got me frowning and shaking my head, Destroyer's Kaputt and mind you, I'm a big Dan Bejar fan.)


London Sinfonietta, Adès: In Seven Days/Nancarrow Studies Nos. 6 & 7 (SIGNUM)
John Adams, Son of Chamber Symphony/String Quartet (NONESUCH)
Deerhoof, Deerhoof Vs. Evil (POLYVINYL)
John Maus, We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (DOMINO)
St. Vincent, Strange Mercy (4AD)
Peaking Lights, 936 (NOT NOT FUN)
Destroyer, Kaputt (MERGE)
Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes (ATLANTIC)
Kishi Bashi, Room for Dream (AEROBIC INTERNATIONAL)
Beach Boys, The Smile Sessions (CAPITOL)

Rolling Stone interview

Rolling Stone (nice to know that Matthew Perpetua is now writing for them!) has the first Paralytic Stalks-era interview up on its website!
It is pretty short but you'll learn how the record came about, and you'll also learn about Zac Cowell joining the band for the next tour - a tour that will focus less on absurdist skits and upbeat disco-y songs and more on visuals and longer, darker numbers.

EDIT : while it might still be pretty short, I just realized thanks to the Paralytic Stalks Anticipation Station that there is a second page.

Paralytic Stalks out on Feb. 7th

of Montreal has just announced that Paralytic Stalks will be released on February 7th. And this is the (rather splendid) artwork. With only nine tracks, it could be one of the shortest in the band's history unless the songs are as lengthy as previously announced.*
You can read more about the album and pre-order your copy from Polyvinyl's website.

Paralytic Stalks:

01 Gelid Ascent
02 Spiteful Intervention
03 Dour Percentage
04 We Will Commit Wolf Murder
05 Malefic Dowery
06 Ye, Renew the Plaintiff
07 Wintered Debts
08 Exorcismic Breeding Knife
09 Authentic Pyrrhic Remission

* clocking in at 58:05 (run times on the pre-order page), it actually seems to be the second longest in the band's history (Coquelicot remains the longest with 69 minutes of music - including the epic Hopeless Opus!)

First track off Paralytic Stalks

Many thanks to Elias for sharing this track that was sent to him earlier today :

Wintered Debts

Here's what he had to say about it : "I received this song in the mail today, along with other promotional material for the new album. No release date is confirmed, however, Thayer Sarrano appears in none of the photographs for the album and combined with her absence from recent shows, it appears she has left the band. I'm really sad to see her go, she was extremely talented, very fun to talk to, and above all, gorgeous!"
As for me, and after a dozen listens, I can only say that I am very impressed with the song, which starts off in some alt-folk vein before switching to something a lot more orchestral and yet raw and somewhat subdued - gone are the shiny arrangements, gone is the *gasp* funk... All in all, it's kind of taking your favorite parts from your favorite of Montreal songs (from the beginning, there are nods to The Gay Parade there, to the latest offerings, there are bits of Casualty of You), and glueing them all together to create something that's even better than you could have envisioned. Now of course it's going to make fist-pumping and singing along a lot harder... Tell us what you think about it!

EDIT : to all the real journalists who work for real blogs and music papers, the cover letter that was sent with the track does state that the song will be on Paralytic Stalks. Apparently it is track #7.

Halloween show recording

A huge thank you to Southern Shelter and Sloan Simpson for this high quality recording of last Saturday's show at the 40 Watt. Click on the pumpkins below to download the mp3s (also available in flacs if you are a registered dime-a-dozen member).



Here's the setlist without the encores... By now you probably all know that of Montreal decided to not only perform Hissing Fauna from start to finish, but to perform No Conclusion for the first time in almost 5 years, and for the 5th time in history. Pictures courtesy of special Booty Patrol Agent Michael Gonzàlez.

Joyful Recordings boxed set commercial

This is guaranteed to be the most soothing two minutes of your day. Watch Kevin (and Trophy) discover the Joyful Recordings cassette boxed set. I get some kind of late night commercial feel from it, like watching TV in your lonely hotel room when you're jetlagged and everything is blurry. Only this time there's something truly appealing about the product they're selling (though the Orange cleaner and the shogun knives are definitely more useful)

The tapes now go for $99, $10 off with the promo code "iwhipmyhairbackandforth", this week only! Now who feels like an idiot for not pre-ordering their set when they were much cheaper?

of Montreal in Berlin tomorrow, special Halloween show on October 29th.

Guten Tag, meine lieben of Montreal fans,

as you might have guessed, this is our own way of saluting of Montreal's arrival in the land of sauerkraut and beer, strong economy and political righteousness, Nibelungen and der Wille zur Macht. Yes, of Montreal is playing the Gretchen in Berlin tomorrow!
But considering no-one from Germany reads this blog (wait, what, are you German? In that case, Entschuldigung!), the big news here (thanks Dottie!) is that Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? will be played from the baby gurgles to the fade-out coda on October 29th at the 40 Watt. Now I'm pretty sure we've all heard all of Hissing Fauna live, but never in such a linear manner. Should I also mention that List Christee and Harouki Zombi will be DJing/doing their thing after the show? Well I just did! So if you don't have anything planned for Halloween, grab a ticket while they last!


Signing off with a couple of videos posted by Ketil from Casiokids (don't forget their new album - which is about a thousand times better than their previous effort - Aabenbaringen over aaskammen, is out now on Polyvinyl)

In the studio (with a Donkey jaw) from Ketil XXX on Vimeo.

(once again I'm making sure that no punctuation mark feels left out)

Pure Channel interview

Here's a nice little interview that took place right after of Montreal's energetic (but oh-so short) performance at the We Love Green Festival in Paris on September 10th. Kevin speaks about his whole career and the creative process, and once again, drops a few hints at what Paralytic Stalks will sound like.

Pitchfork interview

You've got to admit that while the good people working at P4KHQ can't rate records for shit, they sure know how to ask questions. So here's a nice (but short by P4K's standards) interview with Kevin Barnes, his career, his future, and why he doesn't like cassettes. That's probably why Joyful Noise Recordings are hiding them inside a nice pine box (hopefully from a sustainable forest, otherwise uh-uh). Oh, and the new record now has a title. Two words. I won't say more.

of Montreal cassette box set

Joyful Noise just announced this pretty spectacular deal : get all 10 albums on tape (+ instant mp3 download) for $75. Now of course, if you're reading this, you probably already own all the records, but this time you get the whole collection with original artwork and a really cool wooden box to keep your treasured tapes in. Check Joyful Noise Recordings website out for more information and order quickly - only 500 copies made!




And here are pictures from Saturday night in Paris :

and as always, check out Robert Gil's site for professional pictures of Parisian shows.

Magnet Day 2

Something to warm our old European hearts in Magnet today : Kevin wrote a short but insightful comment on Bunuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and a piece about Stendhal's Le Rouge et le Noir's main character, Julien Sorel (I'm still scratching my head over this one), while Nina professed her love for Jacques Tardi's Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (which I had never heard of). Regardless, Spain 1 - France 2. Ha.

Day 3 :
And on goes the list of inspiring artists :
“Urga” And “Burnt By The Sun” By Nikita MikhalkovNikita Mikhalkov (Nina's choice) and Sufjan Stevens (Kevin's choice - and isn't it All Delighted People?")

Day 4 :
A bit of music theory with Krzysztof Penderecki, a bit of Slovenian philosophy with Slavoj Žižek, and (that one is an obvious choice) a bit of Brazilian music with Os Mutantes. This is turning Magnet into an awesome Around The World in 5 Days.

of Montreal special feature in Magnet

It's been a while without any news (but hey, have you seen how I rearranged the blog in the meantime?), but this week might just put a smile back on our faces despite the impeding doom of Autumn. Head over to Magnet every day this week as the Barneses get the chance to edit their website this week. So far we're getting a a nice little interview with Kevin that doesn't reveal anything apart from the sound moving towards a "a slightly more 21st-century modern-classical direction," whatever that means, a little feature on Chaplin's Modern Times,and a longer piece about “My Struggle” by Karl Ove Knausgård, which makes me want to read it (it doesn't look like it's been translated into English yet, though), especially since I simply can't get enough of Scandinavia this summer.
Stay tuned for what's next! We're yet to hear from David.

Here are the upcoming tour dates for of Montreal and associates.
Let's hope new material is premiered. (have your cameras at the ready, people!)

08/27/11 - Tallahassee, FL Union Green at Florida State University
09/01/11 - Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
09/03/11 - Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
09/04/11 - Chicago, IL North Coast Music Festival
09/05/11 - Louisville, KY Headliners
09/09/11 - Milan Ippodromo del Trotto Italy
09/10/11 - Paris We Love Green Festival France
10/20/11 - Berlin Gretchen Germany

DJ List Christee dates :

09-04 - Chicago, IL - North Coast After Party @ Cobra's
09-24 - Orlando, FL - Indie Fall Fest @ Firestone
10-14 - Indianapolis, IN - Broad Ripple Musicfest Afterparty @ connor’s Pub

James Husband :

09-24 - Orlando, FL - Indie Fall Fest @ Firestone
10-14 - Athens, GA - Athens POPFEST @ 40 Watt


Kishi Bashi and Thayer Sarrano :
08-25 - Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA

Yip Deceiver :

09-22 - Ybor City, FL - Crobar
09-23 - Gainesville, FL - 1982 Bar
09-24 - Orlando, FL - Indie Fall Fest @ Firestone

There is a new side project in the works involving Nina and Orenda Fink (that you should remember from Azure Ray, Now It's Overhead, Art In Manilla, or as a solo artist) that goes under the name of Harouki Zombi. While it seems unclear what it will actually look/sound like (live music? DJing? dancing? painting? a surrealistic play of sorts?), you don't want to miss their very first performance, at the Go! Bar in Athens, Ga on August 26th.

KDHX radio session streaming right now

Good news! The band stopped in the KDHX studios for a live session as they were stopping in Saint Louis, Mo earlier this month. There has been a real shortage of alternate versions and live recordings ever since False Priest came out, so this comes as a nice surprise. The band performed Famine Affair, Coquet Coquette and Flunkt Sass vs. The Rute Plume. This is not an acoustic session but a full band recording (that's either a "ahhhhhh" or a "awwwwwww" - you get to choose).

Click on the player below to listen to all three songs, and head over to the KDHX website for a short but enthusiastic review of their St. Louis show that night - I know some of you were blown away by the performance, so it must have been a great one!

Of Montreal: Live at KDHX 7/4/11 by KDHX


Thanks Freek for the heads-up!

Third Fanfare for the Elephant Six

The Third Fanfare for the Elephant Six was released last month. It really looks like of Montreal is gaining weight within the Townhall (funny how that works), as this time the two-disc compilation features 8 of Montreal covers out of 39 songs. Highlights include The Past is a Grotesque Animal by Zakk Zielke & (my personal favorite) Lenn9o9n. Interestingly enough, this song isn't in Paste's list (see post below), when the fact that it's been covered in the Second and Third Fanfare seems to prove that it is the fans' favorite track. Don't hesitate to send us your covers of of Montreal songs if you have any you feel like sharing with the world - I'd be happy to host a compilation to celebrate the band's 15th birthday next year. Something to ponder...

As for now, you can download the compilation for free here.

The 20 best of Montreal songs, according to Paste Magazine

Now here's an interesting idea... As you may know, Paste Magazine publishes daily lists on just about every social media, and today's list focuses on our favorite band. I'm not sure about their choices, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with my own list as my favorite tracks change on a daily basis. Instead of commenting on the songs as they usually do, they decided to quote their favorite lines from the song. Head over there to see what their favorite of Montreal song is, and if you dis/agree. Feel free to come up with your own lists and share them here!

L'Age d'Or

The ubiquitous Pitchfork debuted the new of Montreal video today. They couldn't help but be Pitchforkian and state that it was NSFW, when (a) unless your job consists in reviewing records or writing about pop culture, any music video is NSFW (I mean, seriously, if your boss is okay with you checking pitchfork and wasting your time watching videos, I want your job) and (b) catching a glimpse of some woman's bosom is not that outrageous in the 21st century. Anyway, if you've been following Nina on Twitter, you already knew that a video had been shot and that she was editing it, and you probably were eager to find out which song would get the special treatment. Somehow I remember being pretty sure it'd be a third single (gosh, there is no such thing as a single in the indie world these days, is there?) from False Priest and I was rooting for Godly Intersex, but as it turns out it is L'Age d'Or from thecontrollersphere. On the up side, it sure is the catchiest, most radio-friendly song on the EP, but on the down side, it probably is the least interesting one too. The video doesn't offer much in terms of narrative, but the overall atmosphere and work on the colors really fits the song and makes it worth your time. Make up your own mind :

New Project, Old Interview

Don't you ever get the feeling you're the biggest procrastinator on the planet and that you're just wasting your life away staring at the ceiling? Do you ever feel like you're not being productive enough? That you're far from being totally on top of things? That you're a blogging failure? Well, if this strikes a chord, you'll be happy with this Jamey Huggins interview. I know you've all been waiting to hear more James Husband news but beware, this isn't about his next album, or tour, or anything even remotely up-to-date. Thrillermag.com managed to post a two year-and-a-half-old interview. Yes. We're talking September/October 2008 here. And as it this wasn't enough to totally discredit them, they call Skeletal Lamping "a tedious affair made up of short snippets of songs." Seriously. So why did they choose to finally post this? I've no idea, but it's always nice to read Jamey talk, even if it's Jamey from 2008. What is this guy up to right now, my guess is as good as yours.

But let's focus on the future (or is it the present?) : something's cooking and it's Viper Fragment. Kevin Barnes gave Norwegian blog Musikknyheter the scoop, he is working on a side-project in which he won't be the lead singer or frontman, but the songwriter only (or maybe there's more to it but google translate won't tell us). You would have expected this interview to focus mainly on Kevin's time in Norway, but there isn't one single question about it. Apparently the interviewer didn't know about it (see TBP's twitter page), which is a shame, but I'll take the news of a new project over nostalgic musings any day. -- SEE THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW THIS POST FOR THE INTERVIEWER'S INPUT, the guy who tweeted me apparently wasn't the interviewer, which proves that it's hard to make perfect sense in 140 characters. -- Though nostalgic isn't the word I'd use (hell, why am I using it, then?!), but you know what I mean. Or maybe you don't. It doesn't matter, just take a look at the interview in Norwegian, and google translate it into the language of your choice. Thanks Seventy72two, who made the English version available there. You can also read a review of of Montreal's performance in Bergen there.

Fell In Love With Europe

So the AV Club finally posted the video of of Montreal covering the White Stripes' Fell In Love With A Girl, a choice that seems about as weird as 2008's Smells Like Teen Spirit, but then we all remembered how that one went down, right? The bad news is, the video isn't playing here (not sure whether I should blame my sluggish computer or the French government and its stupid censorship of the internet), so I can't make any of my usual oh-so charming comments.* I'm still giving you the link so you can assess the quality of the recording. It was recorded, unless I am mistaken, on the day of Montreal was in Chicago and Kevin gave this interview (which doesn't have anything to do with The White Stripes, or falling in love with a girl).

-----------------

* I have been informed that the AV Club managed to mistake Clayton for Jamey. Shame on them.

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Big news #2 (but, hey! that's not news!!!) is oM's return to Europe, for two dates only : on Thursday in Barcelona, Spain and on Monday in Bergen, Norway. So be cool and welcome the band back to Europe... Now all we need is a little help from Iceland's Grimsvotn (So happy it isn't "Eyjafjallajökull" this year!) to make their stay longer... then they'd have to start busking to survive, and judging by this 2008 recording, no-one would want to miss that!

Spectrum Culture interview

A huge thank you to Townhaller Nerosneptune for this amazing interview. The interview to end all interviews - at least for a while. It is unclear whether he just posted the link or whether he actually interviewed Kevin, but whoever came up with these questions gets an A++ from The Booty Patrol. Check it out right now.

One interview and one email

Here's another really interesting interview, the first one (as far as I'm aware) that does acknowledge the fact that False Priest was of Montreal's attempt to make it B.I.G., but that it certainly fell short of everybody's expectations. So go ahead and read what Kevin has to say about this, and how it will (or won't) influence the next album. Which is pencilled in for release early next year. I love good news!

Among other things I love : funny emails from you guys. This one, from the Leader of the Claque (ouch!), is the best I've read in a while, so it deserves a spot here :

"Hello Booty Patrol,

I’m hoping you can field a couple of Montreal-related questions.

I’ve contacted you because The Booty Patrol is the nexus for all things oM. It’s one-stop shopping and required reading for self-respecting fans.

oM’s May 2 show at Montreal’s Le National (the venue was changed from Metropolis) was cancelled without explanation. On Sunday the sounds of wailing and keening reverberated through Montreal as ticketholders received email confirmation that oM's show was axed. Last month’s oM show in Halifax was also spiked, but this week the Toronto show went ahead.

Have you heard why oM’s Montreal show was cancelled? More importantly, do you know if it will be re-scheduled?

There are a few completely unsubstantiated rumours circulating about oM’s none-night stand in Montreal:

1) The band encountered an ultra-extremist faction of The Defenders of the Accent Aigu. They accused oM of Accent Neglect and demanded the band’s name be styled as “of Montréal”. When oM refused to comply, these renegade philologists threatened to lay siege to the band’s tour bus. oM had no choice but to cancel the show;

2) oM was tapped to sing the US & Canadian anthems for the Canadiens’ home games in the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately the Habs didn’t make it that far. oM was totally devastated -- they had learned the French version of “O Canada” by heart -- and in a fit of pique Georgie et al quit the province;

3) One of the oM Pigs knocked up a local lady unicorn after last year’s show. Some of her relatives did not approve of their interspecies love freakout and threatened to turn the offending Pig into prosciutto. Wary of being turned into sandwich meat, the Pig in question was reluctant to take to the stage on Monday. His fellow oM Pig buddies, worried they might be mistaken for the unicorn-impregnator, also refused to perform. The Pigs’ stage absence shook oM to the core. Amid a chorus of sighs and sobs, the bereft band spiked the Montreal show.

Personally I think the hammy threats of the Unicorn Uncles have been exaggerated. Everyone knows that unicorns are vegetarians.

Has the Booty Patrol or its Rear Admirals heard if any/all of these rumours are true? Any light you can shed would be most appreciated. Hopefully all’s well with the band and its horny menagerie, and oM will soon return to its namesake city. Thanks for your time and help. Have a glorious weekend!


Grateful hugs and kisses,"


Well, that made me laugh... I still don't know why the show was cancelled, but I certainly am eager to find out now.

interviews

Today we have two new interviews. One comes from a trusted source, the AV Club, and the other comes from a blog (not that you are not trusted or reliable, Melissa!), one features Kevin Barnes talking about his three favorite alter egos (but it's actually more complicated than that), the other features Davey and Nick (Dobbratz, not Gould) discussing touring, Yip Deceiver plans and putting an end to the never-ending black male/black mail argument. Both are definitely worth your time, so go ahead and read Nick & Davey's interview on Modern Mystery, then head over to the AV Club to learn about Kevin's favorite popular music characters.

This calls for the reappearance of this 5-year-old picture, yeah!

Interviews / news / live videos

1. Spinner interviewed David in the wake of the release of What's Weird? If you haven't already done so, you can still order the book from Polyvinyl, or just get the book from the merch stand (say hi to Dana!). The great thing when you order it is that it comes with audio files that walk you through the book, in case you get kind of lost and have no idea what you're looking at, though David's commentary could actually make matters worse, who knows? I am not sure how it works because I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive through the mail.
If you are a big fan of David's art and you're attending any of the US shows, don't forget your wallet because they are selling wonderfully crafted jewellery stands and magnets, and believe me, you don't want to miss out on those.
JUST IN : David talks to DC-based blog The New Gay : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr4CZGfkEM0&sns=em

2. You all know about it by now because it's been facebooked and polyvinyled, but for the record, here's a link to the eyeweekly interview. If you were eagerly awaiting that Blikk Fang record, you're going to be let down (but then you probably saw this coming).

3. Bummed Blikk Fang isn't happening? Need something to look forward to? What about an of Montreal / Os Mutantes collaboration? Pitchfork seems to think it is happening for real! Now of course, details are sketchy, it could just mean it's a cover we've already heard back in the days, or a reworking of that cover, or it could really be a collaboration between both bands, we won't know until we buy it. And I mean BUY IT because the money goes to a charity, and stealing from a charity is even more lame than stealing from an artist. Both will get you straight to hell, though, or so I've been told.

4. Pop renegade has a main feature / interview with Kevin up right now. I'm actually pretty sure the guy never sat down with Kevin (or even shot him an email) and they are quoting from other interviews and not citing their sources (either that or Kevin just copy/pastes answers now), but it can still jumpstart your memory, especially at the very end when the future sound of oM is discussed.

5. The good folks of the Townhall are currently uploading old bootlegs. Well, to be fair, the good folks of the Townhall are requesting old bootlegs and Freek is uploading them. The audio quality isn't always the best, but if you want to have an idea what the band sounded like in 1999, 2001 or 2004, here's your big chance. I will do my best to keep all these files safe in our super secret mediafire vault, so future generations can enjoy them in case May 21st isn't really the beginning of the end of the world.

6. The Booty Patrol is proud to present its April 2011 live playlist, featuring songs that were played during the first 5 nights of the tour, featuring thecontrollersphere songs L'Age d'Or, Holiday Call, Slave Translator & Flinkt Sass vs. The Rute Plume, one brand new song, Sails Hermaphroditic, "old" favorites like The Repudiated Immortals and Oslo In The Summertime, the two best songs from False Priest (Godly Intersex & You Do Mutilate? - which morphs into Gronlandic Edit for added pleasure), and And I've Seen A Bloody Shadow/Plastis Wafer. Another ten-track playlist will be added when I am done uploading the rest, but these were the highlights I managed to catch on tape.

New Song

"Sails Hermaphroditic" was premiered on April 27th at Toad's Place. If you were expecting a showcase of what's next for the band, you are going to be let down as it does not really seem like a step in a new direction, and probably would have felt right at home on False Priest. Enjoy!

of Montreal - Sails Hermaphroditic (new song) from I Rule The School on Vimeo.

I personnally would like to thank all the cool kids who came to say hi and shake hands last week and therefore proved that I was not keeping up this page in vain (because let me tell you that there are times when I really wonder if I'm not the only one who cares anymore). It was much appreciated. Also, the Booty Patrol is calling on all good souls who will be at the upcoming shows : if you can shoot me pictures of setlists or cool pictures or video, I would definitely appreciate it.

Tour Starts Today (for real this time)

As it turns out, the Madison, WI was more of a one-off show than the start of the tour, which may or may not be called the Tea Party tour. A way to recycle the McCain masks from the Ninjas Prove It tour, maybe? (tour dates to your left, you know the drill.)
As usual, the beginning of a tour calls for a pretty intense session of press-searching, but, goddammit, for the first time of my life I'm in New York and I have better things to look at than my netvibes page and my automated google searches. Well, ok, actually I couldn't help myself and I took a quick peek, here are the 3 articles that really popped up :

1) This came from Drug Policy Central. It's kind of funny because there is no link to the original article (I didn't find it, but I didn't really look), but it looks like a pretty recent interview with David. And apparently it promotes madness and drug use and a lot of things that is really bad to y'all. America is so STR8 EDGE. Ha. Who's going to believe that???

2) Record Online has an interview with Davey up. I'm sure it's good, I just haven't had the time to read it.

3) Here's a Q&A with Kevin, once again, lots of words, not enough time!

And this just found its way into my inbox - it looks like the official promo picture for the tour (I didn't find the copyright, so apologies to the photographer)

Tour kick-off and street teams

For those who are looking forward to seeing the band (for the first time, the hundredth time or all the times in between) in the next few weeks, here's a review of Friday night's show in Madison, WI (hometown of The Booty Patrol's founding member Quixotic Goat). Unfortunately there are no pictures, and I couldn't even find one on flickr (where do people post their pictures these days? I've no idea!), and I don't have a setlist either, but I have it on pretty good authority that it is the same line-up as the False Priest tour. Thanks Elias for the link.

New Townhaller and NYC Street Team member Edittrix contacted me earlier this week with pictures of her amazing work. Watch out for those life-sized Kevins funking up the the streets of New York!

Did any of you come up with some cool ideas like this one? I'd love to post your pictures here, so send them in!

oM vs. DCFC

OK, it's not much of an of Montreal event, but it's just too good to pass up (trust me).
On April 5th, 7p.m. EST (that's 2 a.m. GMT), a new Death Cab For Cutie video will be streaming live... and the team that is working on it in LA as we speak is comprised of Nick Gould, Eddie Whelan, and Jason Miller. If you've been following the Booty Patrol, you are somewhat familiar with Jason Miller's work (including the double live DVD that is slowly becoming the elusive unicorn of the oM world), and there is simply no excuse if you don't know who Nick Gould is. I guess I'll give you a pass for Eddie Whelan, but check his site out and learn.
I'm pretty sure there will be re-runs for those who can't make it, but tune in to You Are A Tourist to watch the video premiere, as it pretty much is the point of this live, one-take video concept.

Codes & Keys, Death Cab For Cutie's 7th album, will be released on May 31st. (and hopefully it will be better than Narrow Stairs!)

Godly Intersex (un)official video

Not only is Godly Intersex one of the best song on False Priest (and when the stars align I'd go as far as say that it is the best song), it now has its own fan video - and a really cool one made by people who actually know what they're doing or are doing a great job pretending they know what they are doing.

Many thanks to SubliminalTwin for the video and for sharing it with us.

of Montreal on World Café

Hear the interview Kevin recorded when they last were in Milwaukee on September 24, 2010 and three songs that were recorded live at the Pabst that night.

Take a look at the Pabst's slideshow below to turn this into an audiovisual experience!

thecontrollersphere

So it is indeed going to be thecontrollersphere in just one word! But it looks like much more than just an EP - 5 tracks, 23 minutes, a shirt and a book by David! All this will be yours for $60. And that includes instant mp3 download (extra points for those who can guess what I am doing right now!) - for those of you who are still unsure, they are giving away Black Lion Massacre.

Click the image below to check out all the goodies and decide what bundle is right for you - if you just want the music, that'll cost you a mere $7 :



David also shot a video to promote his book :



and he updated his website - you can take a look at the book - some of it seems to feature previous of Montreal artwork, but most of it is brand new. It all looks rather fantastic.

EDIT : The video David posted is not a one-off promotional video, it is part of an ongoing project. He will share a video on a weekly basis, so make sure you subscribe to his channel. Thanks to Dottie for clearing this up.

Black Lion Massacre is coming...

... and it wants to put your ears to the test... And make your heart race... And bring you to the very edge of sanity. Check out the video of Montreal shared with the rest of the world a few moments ago and let us know if you survived.

So now the question becomes : are these two minutes and forty-nine seconds of Metal Machine Music going to be on The Controller Sphere? Or is it just for show? Is this the studio version of the music they were playing before the fish/killing machine showed up on stage? (actually that's three questions)

No, we're not dead yet

I normally wouldn't be writing about a 3-question-long interview with Davey and pretend it's worth a post, but I feel like I need to prove that this blog is still going, despite the lack of news. Well, to be honest, there was the exciting news that the band and Polyvinyl finally realized a street team couldn't hurt, but by the time I was ready to inform you, all the positions had already been filled, and it's not like whoever is reading this page isn't checking ofmontreal.net or the band's facebook page or twitter.
Head over to Ethos magazine for the interview in question - not that you will learn anything new from it (well, maybe the release date for Yip Deceiver's LP - April 12th - I'm not sure we had a set date before).

(picture by Cathie Keck)

So I guess all we have to do now is wait for The Controller Sphere to come out. My guess is that it'll coincide with the beginning of the new tour, so it should be 6 weeks away. Still, you'd expect the track listing and the artwork and whatnot to be public by now, but I may be getting impatient in my old age.

My City, My Secret

I'm not sure when this thing aired in the US, but I found a video of My City, My Secret, featuring Dottie and Bryan (See the post below) It's like the shortest and coolest tour guide you've ever seen - and I'm sure you (with your keen eyes and of Montreal-obsessed mind) will recognize a few people there. And some of you (well, more like 5 of us, I guess) will recognize a 2-second-long snippet from Spenser Simrill's documentary, Family Nouveau. You can watch it here. So far I only have this link to a facebook video, and some of you with no facebook account may not be able to watch it, but I'm not sure CNN will be okay with me uploading it on youtube, and I'm already out of "get out of jail free" cards.

Dottie & BP on CNN

Not quite sure what this is about or whether it will be broadcast on CNN Europe (or Asia, for that matter), but let it be said that Dottie and Bryan shot a documentary on Athens, Ga called "My city, my secret". Need I say more? (answer no, because that's all I've got anyway)



(you would have thought I'd have a picture of both in the same frame, but you would have been wrong)

Florida tour wrap-up

After a snowy start that forced the band to reschedule their Mobile, Al show, the traditional Florida leg of the winter tour seemed to have gone great. (That's what you guys told me, anyway.) We could have thought they would introduce a lot of new material, what with thecontrollersphere EP coming out in a few months, and rumors that the next album is already under way, but only one new song was performed. It is tentatively titled Slave Translator. Watch the video below to hear what it sounds like... I'm not sure this is the whole song**, as people seem to remember it as a longer song, or rather a piecing together of two or three different songs, Coquelicot-style. Or Skeletal Lamping-style. It actually kind of ends like And I've Seen A Bloody Shadow, only more extreme.

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** sk8rrjon842, who apparently was the only person in Florida with enough sense to record the new song, tells us that it is the full song minus the opening 4 seconds or so. Thanks for sharing!
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They also added a new Prince cover to the collection - Sex Shooter. Be sure to visit Matt's collection of of Montreal covers over at You Ain't No Picasso, though it hasn't been updated in a year. You'll still find 88 covers the band has performed over the years, so if you haven't done so already, you might want to download all of this.

Two interviews surfaced during this tour too : The Broward Palm Beach New Times had the good idea to ask David about his involvement with the band and the meaning of False Priest. Creative Loafing interviewed Kevin. All the usual questions were asked, but there were also a few that were not the obvious ones, so it is still a pretty interesting read. There's also a tiny bit about what the future holds, and figuring out what's next is definitely what has us scratching our heads right now, right? Don't expect any clear answer there, Kevin is rather cryptic.

Spring 2011 tour dates announced!

Spin.com got the scoop (take that, P4K!?) and announced new tour dates earlier today. Of course, if you live in the US or Canada, it's great news, but if you don't, you'll be more interested in the small but information-packed interview that goes with it. In it, Kevin reveals details on a few of the songs that will be on the Controller Sphere (or thecontrollersphere, or the controllersphere - they lost me there), and gives a few hints as to what the next album will sound like, and it's going to sound good.

As the band heads out to (hopefully) sunny Florida today, tallahassee.com posted a 4-page long interview with Davey. Check it out, and don't forget to show Yip Deceiver some love as they go on tour by the end of the month (check out the dates and the details two posts down). Yip Deceiver remixed one of Sugar & Gold's new song from their upcoming Bodyaches EP (out soon on Antenna Records) and you can listen to it and download it from Antenna Records' site right now.


picture by Kmeron - facebook.com/musicfromthepit

Watch of Montreal's New Year's Eve show on youtube!

A big thank you to Mister Lettuce who taped the band's last 2010 show (and the first one of 2011 in a way) and uploaded it to youtube for the whole world to see. Enjoy!