Anti-Folk, Meet Post-Rock
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
The two acts had talked casually about working together in the past, Greynolds says, but their schedules and priorities never quite meshed. The collaboration was originally planned as a four-song session last October at Soma Studios (owned by Tortoise drummer John McEntire), but everyone was pleased enough with the results to meet for two more sessions–one in December and another in March.
Oldham initially presented a list of tunes for Tortoise to choose from, but the two sides soon began trading suggestions. The final track list includes “Thunder Road” along with takes on well-known songs by Elton John (“Daniel”), Richard Thompson (“The Calvary Cross”), Devo (“That’s Pep!”), and the Minutemen (“It’s Expected I’m Gone”). Covers of Milton Nascimento’s “Cravo e canela,” Melanie’s “Some Say (I Got Devil),” Don Williams’s “Pancho,” Lungfish’s “Love Is Love,” and Quixotic’s “On My Own” fill out the disc.
Slint’s recent three-night stand in Chicago didn’t just close the group’s monthlong reunion tour: according to David Viecelli of the Billions booking agency, the gigs were their “last shows ever” and the band has no plans to work on new material. But the Chicago concerts, along with three others in San Francisco, were recorded, and the west-coast shows were filmed as well.
Local roots chanteuse Kelly Hogan has been busy of late: in addition to finishing work on a live record with her jazz quartet, the Wooden Leg, she’s guested on upcoming albums by Chris Mills and Sonny Smith and composed new material for the sound track to Lipstick & Dynamite, Piss & Vinegar, a documentary about female wrestlers. She’s also finished recording an album with Love Hall Tryst, a group featuring herself, John Wesley Harding, and Nora O’Connor.
Hot Dogs and Yellow Pills
