Luluc’s previously announced west coast and southeastern U.S. trek in support of album Passerby kicks-off tomorrow night, Thursday, September 17th in Seattle, WA at The Sunset and ends October 2nd in New Orleans, LA at Republic. (see dates below) Additionally, the band will act as main support for Jose Gonzalez (September 28th-October 2nd).
Passerby is currently available from Sub Pop and of course from your friendly neighborhood record store.
The album has earned Luluc international praise from the likes ofNPR Music’s “First Listen” & “All Songs Considered,” No Depression, Bust, RollingStone.com, MOJO, Magnet, Stereogum, Exclaim, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH, Tone, All Music Guide, My Old Kentucky Blog, Mess + Noise, Double J, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio (AU), and more. At radio,Passerby peaked at #8 on the CMJ Top 200 Chart.
What “They” have to say about Luluc:
“Passerby provides a tremendous introduction to a band whose deliberate impeccability never feels staid or fussy. It helps that The National’s Aaron Dessner, who knows a little something about impeccability, leaves his fingerprints all over these songs: He produced Passerby with Randell and Hassett, and he provides a good bit of the rich but spare backing instrumentation throughout. Dessner and Luluc both know how and when to let a song breathe.” [First Listen] -NPR Music
“Passerby is gorgeous and refined through and through, and likely to sound as timeless as all that great stuff Joe Boyd himself produced back in the late ‘60s.” [Review] - Rolling Stone.com
“Luluc has indie credentials to spare, but all that really matters is that this music is impossibly delicate and deeply beautiful.” [Review, 8/10] - MAGNET
“Strikes all the right chords: spectral melodies, buttery harmonies, and a blissful melancholia that hints at Nick Drake and Simon and Garfunkel without going to far into either territory. Zoe Randell and Steve Hassett might have created the year’s most addictive record to dates; from the predawn flutter of Opener “Small Window” to the shimmering heat of “Early Night” and “Star,” every track onPasserby begs to played again and again, preferably in the dusky sunlight of late summer.” [5/5 Review] - BUST
“[It] captures the band’s homespun charm in its main melody which sits over spindly strings that move like ripples in still water.” [“Without a Face”] - Stereogum
Tour Dates Sep. 17 - Seattle - Sunset Tavern Sep. 20 - Portland - Mississippi Studios Sep. 22 - San Francisco - Brick & Mortar Music Hall Sep. 23 - LA - The Echo Sep. 26 - San Diego - UCSD Loft Sep. 28 - Hollywood, FL - ArtsPark Amphitheater* Sep. 29 - Tampa, FL - State Theatre * Sep. 30 - Orlando, FL - The Social * Oct. 01 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse * Oct. 02- New Orleans LA - Republic * *w/ Jose Gonzalez
No Fly List: Notes From the Airport Store (September 2015)
People Are Still Asking Us Who We Are and Why Are We Here
“A Sub Pop store? At the airport?”
This is a common refrain we hear, as the store wraps up its second summer at Sea-Tac Airport. For the percentage of travelers who are familiar with Sub Pop, the idea of having a store (and placing said-store in the airport) is usually met with astonishment and/or incredulousness.
I’d say this happens for two reasons. The first being that for people of a certain age and/or mindset, Sub Pop is associated with a very specific slacker/grunge/anti-establishment sentiment, and the blatant money-grab of a store in an airport is the final cause célèbre that the label has *shudder* sold-out.
If there was a specific blueprint laid out 27 years ago, that planned the existence of a store in an airport, I haven’t found it yet. But there is retail precedence for the label, and in my mind, the audacious idea of having a store in the airport is very much in keeping with Sub Pop’s motto of ‘spanning the globe for profit,’ along with a history of garish displays of ego, such as planting our flag on the goddamn Space Needle.
(I’d also say that this mock derision is the least-likely response to seeing the store in-person, behind curiosity, excitement, and blissful ignorance.)
The second reason is that a lot of people treat the airport as a non-place. (If you need time to brush up on the anthropology of super-modernity and non-places, I’ll be here waiting.) Essentially, no one visits the airport willingly; it exists solely to funnel people to their final destination, where they really want to go; airports do not need to reflect history or culture because people only come to the airport in order to leave.
After being open for 16 months, I’m able to say that we’re slowly changing people’s expectations of what an airport store can do. While we receive our fair share of surprised travelers every day, we also meet people who actively seek out the store. Every day I hear a different story. Yesterday, there was a woman flying from Buenos Aires to Montreal, who specifically chose Seattle as her layover in order to see the store. Last week, a couple told us that they plan on getting married (!!!) in-front of the store one day, before running off (or in this case, flying away) to Mexico. I even see familiar faces and repeat visitors, which at the start of this job, I would not have expected. People from all different corners of the Earth converge on the store, and sometimes, a little piece of Sub Pop goes home with them. If that’s not ‘World Domination,’ I don’t know what is.
So, as a busy summer draws to a close, I want to say thank you to everyone who visited us, including the avid fans, the suspicious onlookers, and the curious people who had no idea what Sub Pop was until they wandered into the store. We look forward to your next visit, where we will probably try to convince you to buy more things (but in a totally non-pushy way).
Attention, vinyl nerds! Sub Pop will reissue Sharpen Your Teeth,
the underground classic and lone offering from Ugly Casanova, on 2xLP worldwide
October 30th. The long, out-of-print vinyl edition will come with the original
13 track album and 4 bonus songs: “Babies Clean Conscience,” “Diggin Holes,”
“Roads to Go to Roads to Go to…“ (which were available as limited edition
singles around the album’s release); AND (because you also need this gem in yer life) the unreleased “They Devised A Plan to
Fuck Forever,” recorded during the Sharpen Your Teeth sessions.
Sharpen Your Teeth is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart. The 2xLP will be available both on black and as a limited
“Loser” edition yellow / white with yellow vinyl (while supplies last). In light of this, may we suggest preorder as the prudent path?
About Ugly Casanova:
Ugly Casanova is Isaac Brock, of Modest Mouse.
Or, possibly, it is a mysterious savant named Edgar Graham, who imposed himself
on Modest Mouse at the Denver show of the band’s 1998 tour, introduced himself
as Ugly Casanova, and, through a haze of unnerving instability, shared some
rough songs with the band. His songs, though delivered hesitantly…
shamefully, even… displayed unmistakable talent. By the end of Modest Mouse’s
tour, Casanova, with much reluctance, was persuaded to record some of these
songs and hand them over to record labels for issue as singles or parts of
compilations. Predictably, immediately after he had done so, he disappeared.
Other than a sheaf of ramblings delivered to
Modest Mouse’s singer Isaac Brock in the summer of 1999 that then inspired that
band’s The Moon and Antarctica nothing had been heard from Casanova in
years and those that still thought of him grew fewer. Then in November of 2001,
a faded and water-damaged bundle was discovered among a stack of
old packages during one of those general decontamination purges that so often
follows a mail scare. Addressed simply to “Sub Pop, Seattle, WA,” there was
little evidence of its origin. Inside, swathed in tape, Silly Putty and pelts
of three identifiable rodents was a greeting from the long-lost Graham.
Numerous tapes and a list of requests that alternated between raving demands
for destruction of said tapes and meek pleas for recognition of their contents
were extracted from the mess of the package. Fortunately Sub Pop recognized
that the tapes held promise, and released them in 2002 as Sharpen Your Teeth.
Until such time as Graham/Casanova resurfaces to
take credit for his work and add a bit more to whatever understanding of him
still exists, Sharpen Your Teeth will have to suffice. Produced by Brian
Deck and Isaac Brock at Glacial Pace Studios (Oregon), Ugly Casanova’s songs
are here performed by Misters Brock and Deck, as well as John Orth (Holopaw),
Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat), Pall Jenkins (The Black Heart Procession),
and a handful of like-minded collaborators.
Ugly Casanova - Sharpen Your Teeth
Vinyl track listing:
1. Barnacles 2. Spilled Milk Factory 3. Parasites 4. Hotcha Girls 5. (no song) 6. Diamonds On the Face of Evil 7. Cat Faces 8. Ice On the Sheets 9. Bee Sting 10. Pacifico 11. Smoke Like Ribbons 12. Things I Don’t Remember 13. So Long to the Holidays 14. Babies Clean Conscience* 15. Diggin Holes* 16. They Devised a Plan to Fuck Forever* 17. Roads to Go to Roads to Go to…*
The Beach House worldwide tour in support of Depression Cherrybegins tonight, Thursday, September 17th in Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall and their 2015 dates end with a sold-out 3-night stand December 17-19 in San Francisco at The Fillmore. (see dates below)
Experience the soothing sounds of Depression Cherry right now via the album stream, and if this is your initial foray into the magic of Beach House, might we also suggest ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Beach House’ playlist on Spotify, Rdio or YouTube?
Depression Cherry is available now on CD / LP*/ DL from Sub Pop (North America), Bella Union (Europe) and Mistletone (Australia / New Zealand), and virtually through your favorite electronic channels including (but certainly not limited to) iTunes and Amazon.
*Sorry (and thankful) to report that the special, limited, clear vinyl Loser Edition LP version of Depression Cherry is now sold-out at megamart.subpop.com. Copies of this collectible version of the album may still be available at your local independent record stores, or from the band directly at shows.
Tour Dates
Sep. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall ** Sep. 18 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s ** Sep. 19 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ** Sep. 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre ** Sep. 22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue [Sold Out] ** Sep. 23 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ** Sep. 25 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown ** Sep. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall ** Sep. 27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant ** Sep. 28 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall ** Sep. 29 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom ** Oct. 01 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Oct. 02 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre Oct. 03 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn ** Oct. 04 - Nashville, TN - The Ryman Auditorium ** Oct. 06 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ** Oct. 07 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel ** Oct. 08 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom [Sold Out] ** Oct. 24 - Belfast, UK - Mandela Hall Oct. 25 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street Oct. 26 - Glasgow, UK - ABC Oct. 27 - Manchester, UK - The Ritz Oct. 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival Oct. 30 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire Nov. 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Nov. 03 - Brussels, BE - Autumn Falls @ AB Nov. 04 - Koln, DE - Gloria Nov. 05 - Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier Nov. 07 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves Nov. 10 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Tradgarn Nov. 12 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Medis Nov. 13 - Copenhagen DK - Vega Nov. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel K1 Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s Nov. 17 - Munich, DE - Freiheiz Nov. 18 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks Nov. 20 - Barcelona, ES - Apolo Nov. 22 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera Nov. 23 - Lisbon, PT - Armazén Nov. 24 - Porto, PT - Teatro sa da Bandeira Dec. 07 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory [Sold Out] Dec. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] ** w/ Jessica Pratt
It’s been a whirlwind release week since Beach House’s Depression Cherry went out into the world, and since then the album has already earned the group its second consecutive top 10 album, coming in at #8 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Additional chart placements include: #1 / Vinyl; #1 / Current Alternative Album Core Stores; #1 / Record Label Independent Current Albums; #2 / Current Alternative Albums; and #5 / Top Current Albums. Meanwhile, in the UK, the album also entered at #17 on the Top 200 Albums chart.
At radio this week, Depression Cherry is currently #2 on the CMJ Top 200 chart. The album is also currently #1 on the FMQB Alternative Specialty (2 weeks) and #12 on NonComm charts.
Depression Cherry is also receiving international acclaim from the likes of Entertainment Weekly, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Time, Nylon, Pitchfork, GQ, The AV Club, Grantland, Exclaim!, The New Yorker, Stereogum, LA Times, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, SPIN, Clash, Uncut and more.
Beach House’s worldwide tour in support of Depression Cherry resumes September 17th in Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall and their 2015 dates end with a sold-out 3-night stand December 17-19 in San Francisco at The Fillmore. (see dates below)
LP* and CD versions of Depression Cherry are packaged in a sumptuous red velvet sleeve, and are available from megamart.subpop.com, iTunes and Amazon (North America), Bella Union (Europe) and Mistletone (Australia / New Zealand).
* The special, limited, clear vinyl Loser Edition LP version of Depression Cherry is now sold-out on megamart.subpop.com. Copies of this collectible version of the album may still be available at independent record stores or from the band directly at shows. Additionally, there is a new T-shirt design, available individually or as part of a bundle with purchase of the new record. Depression Cherry is also
What are ‘The People’ saying about Beach House’s Depression Cherry? Actually, a veritable plethora of good things:
“Reliable, virtually misstep-proof conjurers of a distinct and desirable mood….Beach House works with a simple set of ingredients — a few vintage keyboards, programmed drums, an electric guitar and the drowsily alluring voice of Victoria Legrand — to evoke a specific tone that rarely varies. And yet Depression Cherry, the Baltimore duo’s fifth album in the last decade, still feels vibrant and versatile. There’s sticking to a formula that works, and then there’s teasing out its subtleties in surprising, consistently rewarding ways.” [First Listen] - NPR Music
“It’s another impeccably measured step forward. Their albums might be an ideal soundtrack for daydreaming, but Scally and Legrand seem remarkably clear-headed about their work.” [Best New Music] - Pitchfork
“Weeping spirals of guitar, the futility of life looped in eerie, wordless harmonies, organs, and ‘shooting star slide guitars’ blasting like lightning bolts, beckoned and sent away by Legrand’s androgynous, languid voice. Maybe Legrand writes the lyrics, but Scally senses them, he translates them into softly cooing organ lines, demanding siren bursts of guitar, the loss lingering everywhere in soft white noise. All that sorcery is here, again, in full force.” - Stereogum
“For its fifth album, Depression Cherry, the pair decided to de-emphasize percussion, and the pillowy, haunting result is ideal for the encroaching autumn days.” - TIME
“The band’s understanding of their own head-in-the-clouds aesthetic and knowing where to sew in (or cut out) the stitches to keep their sound in a constant, albeit low-key, flux results in much more of a mesmerizing experience than would changing directions entirely.” [A -] AV Club
“Anyone who doesn’t fall for Depression Cherry’s hypnotic splendour probably just isn’t a Beach House fan, or didn’t live with the album long enough. But those who do will recognize this album as the sweeping, grand gesture they’ve been working up to giving us for the last nine years.” [9/10] - EXCLAIM!
“Beach House’s music isn’t as severe as Beckett, but it does share a similar purity, an ambition to strip art down to the privacy and insularity of a snow globe. Their most obvious ancestors are shy-minded indie bands from the 1980s and ’90s who buried themselves in sound: Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine. But there’s also something Andrew Lloyd Webber about their twinkle and swirl, the naive theatricality of dress-up and pretend. Their deepest root is in old doo-wop ballads, sweet and angelic but steaming underneath, the heat of two teenagers separated by a ruler at a bygone prom. If some bands capture the freedom and joy of youth, Beach House captures its erotic incoherence — the sense of having no clear idea how you feel but feeling it so deeply you might pass out.” - Grantland
“Instead of relying mainly on guitars, their songs are built on a foundation of shimmering, droning electric organ. And, where many dream-pop vocalists are angelic, Legrand’s voice is deep, forceful, and oracular.” - The New Yorker
“Guitarist Alex Scally’s extravagant melodies bloom slowly over grooves that pulse like waves; singer Victoria Legrand’s vocals echo Fleetwood Mac’s lush folk rock, Cocteau Twins’ surreal dreams and Nico’s spooky drama. The Baltimore duo’s fifth album sticks to that signature sound, and go figure: A formula that might seem limiting feels instead like it can contain entire worlds.” - Rolling Stone
“On their latest, they go grandiose with weighty tunes that explore love and melancholy. Singer Victoria Legrand has a refreshingly unshowy croon that’s one of the most seductive in pop, and her gorgeous synth drones and guitarist Alex Scally’s effects-laden riffs are exquisite.” [ A-] - Entertainment Weekly
Tour Dates
Sep. 17 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall ** Sep. 18 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart’s ** Sep. 19 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Theatre ** Sep. 21 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre ** Sep. 22 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue [Sold Out] ** Sep. 23 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue ** Sep. 25 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown ** Sep. 26 - Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall ** Sep. 27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant ** Sep. 28 - Memphis, TN - Minglewood Hall ** Sep. 29 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom ** Oct. 01 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Oct. 02 - New Orleans, LA - Civic Theatre Oct. 03 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn ** Oct. 04 - Nashville, TN - The Ryman Auditorium ** Oct. 06 - Atlanta, GA - Buckhead Theatre ** Oct. 07 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel ** Oct. 08 - Saxapahaw, NC - Haw River Ballroom [Sold Out] ** Oct. 24 - Belfast, UK - Mandela Hall Oct. 25 - Dublin, IE - Vicar Street Oct. 26 - Glasgow, UK - ABC Oct. 27 - Manchester, UK - The Ritz Oct. 29 - Paris, FR - Pitchfork Music Festival Oct. 30 - London, UK - Shepherds Bush Empire Nov. 02 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Nov. 03 - Brussels, BE - Autumn Falls @ AB Nov. 04 - Koln, DE - Gloria Nov. 05 - Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier Nov. 07 - Reykjavik, IS - Iceland Airwaves Nov. 10 - Oslo, NO - Sentrum Scene Nov. 11 - Gothenburg, SE - Tradgarn Nov. 12 - Stockholm, SE - Debaser Medis Nov. 13 - Copenhagen DK - Vega Nov. 14 - Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel K1 Nov. 16 - Berlin, DE - Huxley’s Nov. 17 - Munich, DE - Freiheiz Nov. 18 - Lausanne, CH - Les Docks Nov. 20 - Barcelona, ES - Apolo Nov. 22 - Madrid, ES - La Riviera Nov. 23 - Lisbon, PT - Armazén Nov. 24 - Porto, PT - Teatro sa da Bandeira Dec. 07 - Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory [Sold Out] Dec. 09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - The Fonda Theatre [Sold Out] Dec. 17 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 18 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out] Dec. 19 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore [Sold Out]
Eugene Mirman’s I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) is a 9-volume, 7-LP comedy album that will be available October 30th (on vinyl / digital / chair / robe) worldwide from Sub Pop. The video trailer for this epic collection is available now via the good folks at Mashable (see premiere Sept. 10th).
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) is the culmination of a long-time dream of Eugene’s. It includes a vast array of sounds that can be described as varyingly poignant, erotic, practical, romantic, mind-altering, educational, and humorous. Need to learn Russian? Eugene provides. Meditation sounds? Eugene provides. The sound of a grown man crying? Eugene provides. Oh, also, this release contains a full set of live standup recorded at Columbia City Theater in Seattle, WA June 6, 7, & 8, 2014.
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) includes:
LP1 - Live In Seattle At The Columbia City Theater Good-humored noticings from America’s “Master of the Noticing!”
LP 2A - A Guided Meditation For The Thoughtful Body A calming meditation to cheer and sooth the cluttered mind, the injured heart and the anxious body
LP 2B - Fuckscape An erotic soundscape for lovebirds and adventurous friends
LP 3 - Eugene’s Comprehensive Sound Effects Library Tremendous, mouth-made sound effects for amateur and professional foley artists alike
LP 4 - Digital Drugs A binaural acoustic pharmacy for the carefree or ill
LP 5 - Over 45 Minutes of Crying A full-hearted 45-minute cry-a-thon
LP 6A - Introduction To Spoken Russian The language of Pushkin as taught by someone who left Russia at the age of 4
LP 6B - Ringtones & Outgoing Voicemail Messages For Your Personal Use Turn every phone call you miss or receive into a thousand-million smiles
LP7 - 195 Orgasms Sorry.
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) will be available digitally, or as a lavish, 7-LP box set from Sub Pop Mega Mart. Additionally, limited-edition embroidered robes and an armchair - all with embedded audio players - will be available to purchase from megamart.subpop.com (while supplies last).
Eugene Mirman will soon embark on the I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) Tour, which spans October 30th - November 19th. Support will come in the form(s) of Derrick Brown and Josie Long (select dates - see below).
About Eugene Mirman’s I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome): Feel yourself going inward. You’re a piece of hot chocolate, sinking through the marshmallow of yourself. Cutting through everything, into a warm hugzone.
Let Eugene Mirman’s new album I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome)center you with “A Guided Meditation for the Thoughtful Body,” teach you conversational Russian, and soundtrack your next intimate getaway with “Fuckscape.” Or just listen to him crying for 45 minutes.
The monumental 9-volume/7-LP set, due October 30th on Sub Pop Records, is much more than a comedy album, and much less than the 100 CD-album that Mirman originally conceived for the project 10 years ago. In addition to Mirman’s brilliant stand-up performance at Seattle’s Columbia City Theater in June 2014, the collection includes more than 500 tracks featuring: a guided meditation for various body parts; an erotic new age “Fuckscape” for sexing to; a comprehensive sound effects library, voiced by Mirman, including everything from “rain” to “zoo with nothing to lose”; an aural pharmacy of “digital drugs” from marijuana to apple cider vinegar; over 45 real minutes of real crying; an introduction to possibly useful Russian phrases; ringtones and outgoing voicemail messages for your personal use; and 195 consecutive orgasms. It is, as comedian Daniel Kitson writes in the set’s liner notes, “a parade of excellence punctuated with benevolent explosions of the purist, uncut, nonsense.”
“I’ve wanted to make this album for a long time,” says Mirman, best known for his roles on Bob’s Burgers, Flight of the Conchords,Delocated, and for the annual Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival in Brooklyn, NY. He brainstormed dozens of ideas for discs, including some that sounded funnier than they turned out to be in execution (“you quickly run out of secrets to whisper to your dick,” for example). “Since so much of what I wanted to do seemed sort of simple, I bought a moderately good podcasting microphone and actually recorded myself crying for 45 minutes on a sun porch in Cape Cod. A lot of people ask me if the crying is looped, which it is not. I cried for 45 minutes.”
Mirman quickly realized, however, that he needed professional help, and enlisted musicians and longtime friends Christian Cundari and Matthew Savage to record and engineer the album in their Boston studio. “What began as an inquiry, turned into a long, amazing collaboration,” says Mirman. “For the next few years, I’d take the train up to Boston and we’d record, drink, eat authentic Chinese food, record more and edit.”
Conceiving and editing hundreds of sound effects, ringtones, and orgasms was hard work, but also a lot of fun, and highly improvised.
“‘Fuckscape’ came from the fact that there’s a 24-hour soundscape in the elevator at the hotel that I would often stay at when I’d go to Boston to work on this, and I made some joke like ‘I’m going to make a soundscape for fucking,’” says Mirman. “A lot of it was just trying to make friends in the other room who were listening to me record this thing laugh. It’s definitely pretty funny to say that an album features 195 orgasms. I don’t know that I want people to listen to them, and there’s people I definitely want to not be aware that I’ve done this, but I do think it’s funny.”
I’m Sorry (You’re Welcome) will be available on vinyl, digitally and in various atypical physical formats including a run of collectible chairs and robes that play the album.
“One of the things that I’d originally told [Sub Pop A&R head] Tony Kiewel was that I wanted it to come out in all sorts of formats, and by that I meant a chair, a robe, and other objects,” says Mirman. “Basically, in today’s music industry, it makes sense to have it be a chair but not a CD.”
The first LP, the stand-up album itself, features Mirman’s signature sharp, absurd commentary including “The Time I Was Mugged In Mexico With Michael Stipe” and “Not Happy About A Parking Ticket I Got In Portsmouth, NH,” destined to become a classic for repeated listening.
As for what to do with the rest of it, the possibilities are infinite. “If you make a mix you should throw in 10 orgasms or sound effects, and I think you’d be surprised how fun that would be,” says Mirman. “I think it’ll be a spice that people add throughout their lives.”
To quote one of many discarded titles for the album, please enjoy this dumb, weird thing.
Tour Dates Oct. 30 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House * Nov. 06 - Austin, TX - Fun Fun Fun Fest Nov. 11 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo * ^ Nov. 12 - Seattle, WA - The Neptune * ^ Nov. 13 - Portland, OR - Newmark Theatre *^ Nov. 19 - Boston, MA - The Paradise * ^ * w/ Derrick Brown ^ w/ Josie Long
