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!