Dear Friends,
I found myself in need of a little money so Courtney Taylor-Taylor, rock star/philanthropist, suggested I take some of Capitol's and write something vague yet informative about The Warhols' new record. I said I don't know - what's it pay?
Portland, Oregon : Cool 70's movie sex Up-all-night drugs intellectual. Counter-culture icons, The Dandy Warhols make music that reflects and enhances the urban bohemia that is their lives. In the process, they've become ambassadors of lifestyle, giving us amazing music and a glimpse into an authentic rock-and-roll "Real World."
To catch you up: thirteen tales from urban bohemia is The Dandy Warhols third studio record, their second for Capitol (ref. Dandys Rule Okay, ÉThe Dandy Warhols Come Down). They became known in part through the marginal Top 40 hit, "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth." The video, directed by celebrity photographer David LaChapelle, won awards both here and overseas. Nevertheless, the bulk of their record sales have come from stoner-psychedelic word of mouth-except in the U.K. where they charted three major hits and sold out the same venues as Hootie and the Blowfish.
At its inception the band decided that every song should be extremely "somethinged." That translates into albums that are a melange of classic rockers, painfully beautiful love songs, country stomps, celebratory pop, middle eastern rhythms, layered guitars, wall-of-sound synthesizers, gorgeous vocal harmonies and clever, insightful songwriting. What that translates into is goddammed good records that you need not be afraid to play over and over and over.
"Music, as well as art of any form, serves a multitude of purpose. The highest of these are most likely enlightenment, transcendence, shit like that. But really, I think our band is satisfied just knowing that we have the skills and the tools to give the occasional comfort to the aching, strength to the tired, etcÉNot to be a big fucking energy drain on anybody by being melodramatic. Sometimes you just want the rock. With all the super hi-tech production going on, we felt like we needed to make the last classic rock album, a record that would be (sonically) shaped somewhere in between All Things Must Pass and Workingman's Dead."
The songs on thirteen tales literally intersect each other, creating a seamless trip through musical landscapes that brings you up and takes you down, that appreciates every depression and joy, every pressure and every release. The Warhols make music the music they need because, as Courtney loves to say: "It's not havin' what you want, its wantin' what you have."
Theirs is a scene both familiar and surreal. It's kind of a world within a world where everyone is interesting, good-looking & poor. It's the strange happy place where rock star lifestyle meets art fag/white trash/rock-and roll family values. This is everyday life for The Dandy Warhols and they have a really good time making music that puts you on the bus.
And, the drinks are on me.
Coleman Laffoon,
Man About Town
Hollywood
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