![]() ![]() ![]() In its sources and allusions, the concert took for granted the broad-spectrum musical erudition of current composers: hip-hop, medieval motets, Broadway, Impressionism, dubstep. Julia Holter and the Spektral Quartet shared the Ecstatic Music Festival concert on Wednesday night at Merkin Concert Hall in a program that lingered in the cloudy zone where contemporary composition meets the pop song. You’ll swear that dude is gazing directly into your fucking soul.First it was brusque, then eerie and sly. Chug a bottle of Cuervo before the group takes the stage, then listen closely when frontman Paul Murphy sings “Danse Macabre” (“Oh you had such big, big plans/Swallowed all your vitamins/Wore your poems like a scar/Whatever happened to them?”). But why take our word for it? See for yourself when Wintersleep plays the Commodore on Saturday (February 16). Not only is Wintersleep’s tuneful indie rock perfect for singing along with-just check out the na-na-na refrain on “Weighty Ghost”-the Halifax band also writes the kind of lyrics that seem deeply profound when you’re very, very drunk. Catch a sneak preview, and a chance to root for the underdog, when Mos Def plays the Croatian Cultural Centre on Monday (February 18). With production by Madlib and Kanye West, The Ecstatic should help earn the introspective alt-rapper the attention he deserves. Watch for that to happen in April when Mos Def’s new album drops. On the other hand, the latter’s recording career has arguably been mismanaged in recent years-his last studio album, 2006’s True Magic, was initially released with no cover art, and the 2007 rarities compilation, Mos Definite, didn’t even come out in the U.S.-so he’s due for a comeback. But while Cube is content to smirk his way through second-rate comedies such as Are We Done Yet? and First Sunday, Mos Def has earned bragging rights by working with such acclaimed directors as Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball) and Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind). In the growing pantheon of actors-turned-rappers, Dante Terrell Smith, better known as Mos Def, isn’t the box-office champ. Brown’s ever lovin’ sidekicks, the Prairie Dogs, will also be there, making sure things don’t just get lonesome and ornery, but mean and probably quite loud, too. Rock meets country yet again at the Railway Club on Saturday (February 16) for the official release party of Do What You Should, where Brown will appear beneath the ubiquitous brown Homburg he calls “the Woody” (after Guthrie). Gone Wild back in ’84, ruled college radio with Brilliant Orange, and has just released his fourth solo album, Do What You Should. With so much talent up here, isn’t it time Vancouver was twinned with Austin, Texas, or something? A case in point is Graham Brown, the local boy who helped to midwife shit-kickers of legend Jr. By the way, that’s Marilyn Manson’s new record, even though it sounds like Peter North’s latest video showcase for his his fuck stick. Manson and Ramirez are back together and touring for Eat Me, Drink Me. Suddenly, the sight of Manson scrubbing his fish-belly-white ass crack with wadded-up Bible pages isn’t the only reason to wish you had tickets to Marilyn Manson’s sold-out show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Sunday (February 17). Following a highly publicized split a half-decade ago-for the Ruby Gloom set, the equivalent of John Lennon dumping Paul McCartney-the two lipsticked collaborators have officially kissed and made up. ![]() Was it really only yesterday that Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez spent their leisure time smoking crack mixed with Tic Tacs and ground-up human bones? Well, based on all reports, happy times are here again.
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