Blog: The CowboyTrance Orchestra

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It's just a hiatus, and it too shall end...

"This maudlin career has come to an end/I don't want to be sad again…" sings Tracyanne Campbell on the title track of Camera Obscura's new album. And while I wish no particular harm on anyone, particularly the singer of one of my favorite bands, I selfishly hope she doesn't get her wish. Her apparent melancholy has resulted in some of the most alternately aching and catchy indie pop songs of this decade, and the new disc is another plentiful helping. Somewhere in a sleepy netherworld where the Everly Brothers provide soundtracks to unwritten David Lynch movies is where you'll find [...]

... or so says this article . It must be true, because that's my luck. The whole satellite radio thing is get dangerously less interesting by the day, just like it's terrestrial predecessor.

...over at my Examiner.com page . This week watch clips from Datarock, Camera Obscura, & The Ropes. Today's graphic by: http://ilikesurreal.deviantart .com/

A great dialogue-starter from Wired Magazine , if, like me, you're interested in such things.

They're back! This weekend America's unwashed masses will reconvene in Hampton, Virginia to welcome back their gurus of groove: Phish. Of course, there are a lot fewer tickets than there are neo-hippies who want to see their triumphant return. The band has apparently taken notice of this, and circulated this benevolent email this morning: "In celebration of Phish's first shows in over four years, we're thrilled to be able to offer fans free, high-quality downloads of the band's sold-out March 6th, 7th and 8th concerts at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia at [...]

I didn't expect I'd be part of the vast media machine talking about the new U2 album, but alas, I'm too enamored with it to let it slide. They're kind of like a Favre-ish veteran quarterback; they probably aren't going to the Super Bowl, and their arm-strength isn't what it used to be, but they'll probably win most of their games and do it with an occasional thrill. This and other horrible analogies in my official review over at Examiner.com .

Lusicious New Yorker (via Libya) Nadia Ali made our heads spin as half of iiO back in the early part of this decade, and after a painfully long wait she returns. I tell you all about it over at my Examiner page , where you can also get a free download. The video is below. Hubba hubba.

Aww yeah. It's Valentine's Day. And as overused as it may sometimes seem, there are few tracks more money than Marvin's ode to the hibbity-dibbity when it comes to dimming those lights. Track is free today only over at Amazon. Click the link below, big daddy:

My Maudlin Career , the latest release from Scottish popsters Camera Obscura, will be available on these shores on April 20. I'm certainly excited for it, but less so than I might be for others who labor in the studio for years on end for one simple reason: their last long-player (2006's excellent Let's Get Out of This Country ) is still in heavy rotation on my iPod and in my car. Not only does it boast one of the most brilliant indie singles ever (the wholly addictive "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"), but [...]

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I'm always up for new artistic endeavors, and I'm blown away by both the effort and the originality of Artween . If you enjoy art half as much as you enjoy music, you've got to get over there and browse around. (Graphic by nektaria giannoulakou , found on Artween.) ARTWEEN is a social network who invites all actors of the art world to exchange, discover, admire & express themselves around their common passion ART ARTWEEN will introduce you to an artistic cyber travel, visiting [...]

If you want to see my contribution to the heap of press the new Lily Allen disc is getting, you can click on over to my Examiner page . Sample tracks are, of course, abound if you do a quick search on elbo.ws .

"Minimal" indeed have been the blog posts of late around here, and for the few faithful that continually return I apologize. In my defense, I have been laboring away on something quite cool (I think, anyway), and didn't want to return until it was ready. Still, it pains me to click over to my site and see it withering on the vine. So here we go. Happy 2009, and I'll let you know when that other thing finally happens. (Today's graphic by the mighty Pard Morrison , click to enlarge.) [...]

• Josh Wink Essential Mix, 1/24/09 » Essential_Mix_-_2009-01-24_-_Josh_Wink--....mp3

"Your gift... The internet is full of surprises these days. I was contacted by a s mysterious, shadowy group of subversive who SOMEHOW managed to film a substantial amount (over 400 GB!) of raw, unedited HD footage from three separate complete shows of our Lights in the Sky tour. Security must have been lacking at these shows because the quality of the footage is excellent. If any of you could find a LINK to that footage [...]

(thanks Veshi!)

Didn't mean to disappear into the new year without a warning (hope yours is off to a blazing start), but alas, I have been tinkering away at something I think we'll both enjoy when I finally stop tinkering with it...which I hope is soon..., at any rate, to mark my place, here's a bit of our dear friend Carl Cox . Nothing like the big man to motivate me through my resolutions.

"A couple of months ago, Shepard was approached by Penguin Books (UK) to do his take on the cover art for the literary classics, "1984" and "Animal Farm." Being that both books were inspirational and personal favorites of Shepard, this was a no brainer. For the release, Penguin Books did a promotion selling the books with a cover art print set. These prints were only available in the UK...UNTIL NOW! The print set is available in a very limited quantity. The set will be released on 12/31 between noon and 3pm. They are offset [...]

I'm haven't entirely figured out this site yet, and it's creator doesn't really seem to mind. In fact, it seems to be encouraged. It is, however, jammed full of some interesting and thought-provoking imagery. The creator, Dr. Chris Mullen, says: "This site records a range of material dedicated to the study of the Visual Narrative. The original site, intended for part-time students and other interested parties was closed down by the University of Brighton when I taught there and I was subsequently denied access to the original images most of which, however, were in my own collection. [...]