Archive for the ‘video’ Category

Dirty Projectors and Solange, in person

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

dave-longstreth-and-solange

Last Saturday night, Solange Knowles joined Dirty Projectors for a run through Stillness Is The Move at the launch party for Opening Ceremony’s new boutique at the Ace Hotel, NYC.  DPs were playing as the house band, Solange was DJ.  Who could have possibly foreseen what transpired?

Go to the Opening Ceremony site for YouTube clips, including a DPs cover of Tell Me by Groove Theory.

A photo slideshow and write-up are here.  Look out for Michael Stipe’s moustache and Walker’s Crisps described as ‘British Walker Potato Chips’.

Thanks to Mike in San Francisco for being first with this news.  The photo above is by Steve Eichner.

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Dirty Projectors on the Jimmy Fallon show

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

dirty-projectors-fallon

Dirty Projectors debuted a new song on yesterday’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon show, When The World Comes To An End.  If you’ve seen them on tour recently, you might have heard it already.  The tv clip is already on YouTube, as are performances of the song from Berlin and Amsterdam.  There’s even backstage rehearsal footage on Twitvid.

The Temecula Sunrise EP release date has gone back to 19 October, so there’s a bit longer to wait to hear those other two unreleased songs, Ascending Melody and Emblem Of The World.  If that news puts you in the mood for a sad song, well, you’re in luck.  Fader has a clip of Angel duetting with Phosphorescent, aka Matthew Houck, on his version of It’s Not Supposed To Be That Way.  The song is from the 2009 Phosphorescent album, To Willie, a collection of Willie Nelson covers, out now on Dead Oceans.

Transcribed lyrics for these three new DPs songs, but not the Willie Nelson one, are on the Useful Chamber lyrics page.

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Cloak & Dagger Radio session, 2007

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

cloak_and_dagger_logo

OK, here’s a real gem for you. You might have seen Dave’s contribution to Pitchfork’s P2K Guest List 2000s Edition wherein various musicians list their favourite albums of the decade. Dave’s is a diverse list, ranging from Radiohead to Usher to Group Doueh. But a pick that won’t come as a surprise to close DPs followers is B’Day by Beyonce.

This 2007 session contains further evidence of B’Day’s place in the Dirty Projectors canon - track one consists of two minutes of the girls warming up their voices and Suga Mama from B’Day is joyfully prominent.

As if that’s not enough, the session was recorded outdoors, in an Ann Arbor parking lot, and was followed by some funny business with a stranger playing piano in the back of a truck. Angel accompanied him on flute (did you think she only sang and played guitar, bass and keyboards?) and, this being the uh-ohs, someone captured it all on video and posted it on myspace.

It looks as if this was the penultimate session that Cloak & Dagger ever did - among the most recent content on the site is a 2007 top ten page in which Rise Above is #1 for three out of four of the staff. Let’s hope they are putting their talents to good use elsewhere.

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Dirty Projectors in session on WXPN

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

bygones_cover_feat_amber_coffman

Be sure to stop by at WXPN’s World Cafe and listen to Dirty Projectors in session and in conversation with a slightly awed-sounding host.  The Daytrotter sessions set a very high standard but the four Bitte Orca songs here maintain the hit rate, beautifully played and recorded.  The acoustic version of No Intention is a particular highlight.

Meanwhile over on YouTube there’s a ton more clips from the tour including some good ones from Williamsburg Waterfront and the full set from San Diego Casbah, a show notable for a guest appearance by Susanna Waiche, who sang on Rise Above before Angel joined the band.  The cameraman maybe needs reminding that stillness is also the move when it comes to recording gig footage but he gets a good spot down the front and we are grateful.  Nat fanciers may want to skip to the later songs for some bare chest bass playing action.

Lastly, Pitchfork has a Director’s Cut interview with Matthew Lessner, talking about the Stillness Is The Move music video and Amber appears on the cover of Bygones‘ debut album, By-.  Yes, that’s the title and that’s the cover at the top of this post.

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histoire de melody Longstreth

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Dave Longstreth in conversation at the Walker Art Center, 5 May 2009

Here’s a must-see, whether you’re just starting out with Dirty Projectors or have been super-into them since before that Vampire Weekend guy was in the band.  On 5 March 2009, as part of its ‘Making Music’ series, James Everest of the Whole Music Club from the University of Minnesota interviewed Dave Longstreth in front of an audience at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.  Over 90 minutes, Dave speaks eloquently and unaffectedly about every stage in his musical journey, from his upbringing in Connecticut, right up to the present DPs lineup and Bitte Orca.  Along the way we hear about influences such as Nirvana, Pet Sounds, Wagner and K Records, alleged similarities between The Beatles and Black Flag, musical clips from Dave’s school bands and, courtesy of Amber and Angel, the best demonstration of hocket-style singing this side of Rabbit by Chas & Dave.  There are YouTube and audio clips, too.

Follow the link on this Walker Art Center page to watch the interview or download this lo-res (96kbps) mp3.

See also, from the Walker Art show the next day, 6 March 2009:

Review and excellent photos from Culture Bully

YouTube clips of Temecula Sunrise (acoustic), Depression (acoustic) and Cannibal Resource

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