#a.c. newman

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: The New Pornographers feat. Aimee Man - “Firework in the Falling Snow” (Acoustic Version)

The New Pornographers stripped everything off “Firework in the Falling Snow” to make room for Aimee Mann and the song’s subsequent reconstruction.

Mann sings with A.C. Newman on the Pornographers’ new, acoustic version of the Continue as a Guest track. Outfitted with acoustic and pedal-steel guitar and mandolin - there’s no need for a rhythm section - this “Firework” is a quiet blast.

Whatever you’re selling, I’ll/take it all, Newman and Mann sing in tight harmony that should be reprised as often as possible. And Newman knows this to be true as the studio re-recording is the result of a 2022 on-stage collaboration on the number.

“So I figured, let’s do a for-real studio version …,” he said in a statement. “Honored to sing with (Mann), she is a giant and just a cool person.”

Grade card: The New Pornographers feat. Aimee Man - “Firework in the Falling Snow” (Acoustic Version) - A

10/30/23

[thekylemeredith]

"The 2000s were a good time to be an indie rock band"

A.C. Newman on Social Media Dread, Mandolin Minimalism, and Why the #NewPornographers Will Never Be Cool Enough for Bagpipes

https://www.lpm.org/music/2023-06-17/new-pornographers-a-c-newman-the-2000s-were-a-good-time-to-be-an-indie-rock-band

[eternal--returned]

A.C. Newman ֍ Prophets (2009)

I was the silent partner I know The part of the forest where you shouldn't go

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played The Bloody Handed Name of Bronze ?

By Joshua A.C. Newman

The lushly illustrated Bronze Age Sword & Sorcery roleplaying game of passion and dread compromise. The Bloody-Handed Name of Bronze is a game of imaginative, visceral fantasy.

The World of Names is a world of blood spilled by hammered bronze clenched in the hands of Fated Heroes who seek to become immortal through their great feats and greater death…

And it is a world of desire and promise spoken by Namedealers; a world wherein all that has a name, has desires and a will to accomplish them — and will compromise and promise and coerce to achieve the whims of their heart. Before you lie arrayed the many splendors of the Earthen Firmament of the World of Names, holding its many peoples, its deserts and mountains, its forests and animals. It is born of the union of the Vault of Heaven and the Waters of the Underworld,whose passion named the world.

Will you die in glory, to return — immortal! — to the Earthen Firmament — or will you be forgotten, that you might escape the consequences of your many promises?

[xabiramone]

Happy birthday to the late Rowland Stuart Howard (24 October 1959 – 30 December 2009) was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career.

Rowland Stuart Howard was born on 24 October 1959 in Melbourne, to John Stanton Howard and Lorraine (née Stuart), the second of three children. His siblings were sister Angela Howard and brother Harry Howard, both also musicians. In a 2016 interview, his brother Harry Howard stated the family is of paternal English descent from Bolton, Lancashire and maternal Scottish descent.

Rowland Stuart Howard wrote "Shivers" at the age of 16 while in the band Young Charlatans. Howard gained acclaim after joining Melbourne-based band The Boys Next Door, when the song was released as a single. The band changed their name to The Birthday Party and Howard's discordant guitar remained a major factor in their sound. The Birthday Party relocated from Australia to London in 1980 and subsequently to West Berlin.

The Birthday Party's early records were released by Missing Link Records in Australia and 4AD Records in the UK. They later became associated with Mute Records in Europe. Howard was also a member of the short-lived project, Tuff Monks with Birthday Party bandmates, Nick Cave and Mick Harvey. However, Howard and singer Nick Cave suffered 'creative differences', and Howard left the Birthday Party as they transformed into The Bad Seeds. He soon became a member of Crime & the City Solution, a band led by Simon Bonney. Howard, with Crime & the City Solution, appeared in the 1987 movie Wings of Desire by German filmmaker Wim Wenders playing the song "Six Bells Chime" in a Berlin Club. Later he formed These Immortal Souls with girlfriend Genevieve McGuckin, brother, Harry Howard, and Epic Soundtracks.

Howard also collaborated with Lydia Lunch, Nikki Sudden, ex-Barracudas singer Jeremy Gluck, guitarist Gavin Poolman, French electro group KaS Product, Barry Adamson, Einstürzende Neubauten, guitarist Chris Haskett, The Gun Club singer and songwriter Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Fad Gadget, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Henry Rollins, and A.C. Marias.

After the release of These Immortal Souls' second album, I'm Never Gonna Die Again, (1992) and another Howard/Lunch collaboration Shotgun Wedding, Howard, Lunch and members of The Beasts Of Bourbon performed live on tour in Australia and Europe with guitarist Link Benka. Shotgun Wedding was re-released with a second compact disc of live recordings. Shotgun Wedding featured cover versions of "In My Time of Dying" and Alice Cooper's "Black Juju". Recorded in Memphis with Link Benka (rhythm guitar), Joseph -Joe- Drake (bass) and Brent Newman (aka Glyn Styler) (drums).

Howard sang backing vocals on the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Let Love In (1994). In 1995 These Immortal Souls contributed their version of "You Can't Unring a Bell" to a Tom Waits tribute album Step Right Up.

In September 2007, Howard joined with Magic Dirt and Beasts of Bourbon for a tour of the east coast of Australia. Howard appeared at the All Tomorrows Parties rock festival in Australia in January 2009, curated by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He was backed by Mick Harvey on drums, and JP Shilo on bass. Howard's second solo album, Pop Crimes, was released in October 2009 to acclaim from the musician Robert Forster. He appeared on the Magic Dirt EP White Boy playing guitar and supplying vocals on the track "Summer High".🎂

[starsandsteelandbrokenglass]

November 2024 Reading Wrap Up

Well. It sure is past election night and things are. Bad. Dragged myself out of the doom spiral, but it's definitely been a rough month, despite a lot of fun social engagements. Reading's been all right--it's remained on track when nothing else has. (I've been sleeping a lot more than usual, so I don't know what's up with that.) I read 6 books and about 2,500 pages this month, which is not bad all things considered. Here they are:

The Ghost Sequences by A.C. Wise- 5/5 stars; this was the best short story collection I've read in recent memory--there's clear themes that the author is interested in, which leads to a little repetition maybe, but I think it works

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott- 3.75/5 stars; this was pretty heavy, but good, though I wanted it to be more supernatural than it was, if I'm being honest

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi- 5/5 stars; this was such a fascinating read, and one of those twists that had me go "WHAT" when I was reading but when I thought about it a little was totally obvious and well-foreshadowed

From Unseen Fire (Aven Cycle #1) by Cass Morris- 4/5 stars; ancient-Rome inspired fantasy that I liked quite a bit! definitely felt like the author knew their stuff historically speaking for the politics and magic, and the characters are interesting, even if I'm not super into the romance

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #2) by Theodora Goss- 3.5/5 stars; rated slightly lower than the first one because I personally didn't love the direction they took with the Dracula characters, but very similar vibes to the first one and a good found family romp

Scorpica (The Five Queendoms #1) by G.R. Macallister- 2.5/5 stars; this was fine I guess? honestly kind of boring and I couldn't get invested in the characters

Favorite book this month was probably The Ghost Sequences, though The Centre is right there too.

Currently Reading: The Tiger's Daughter (Their Bright Ascendancy #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera and Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s by Kim Newman (no I will probably not finish it before I go home for the holidays, don't look at me)

[yodawgiheardyoulikemecha]

Space Marines by Bryan Rombough Via Flickr: Small tweak to my "Space Marine" Frames. Frame design by Joshua A.C. Newman; with modifications inspired by [Soren] and zeekhotep.

[fantasyfantasygames]

Paranoia, 4th Edition

Paranoia, More Wester End Games, 1999

1999 was a hell of a time in computing, folks. You had Y2K breathing down everyone's neck, this whole "Internet" thing had finally happened for real, the iMac had just come out, Windows 98 had just come out despite some anti-trust arguments... what more perfect time for a new edition of Paranoia?

If you're not already familiar with the comedy / sci-fi game Paranoia, a quick web search will get you the basics and more "Friend Computer" jokes than you need. Here's how 4th Ed differed from 3rd Ed:

Chutzpah was moved to a skill that you use with Moxie instead of being its own stat.

Exploding dice no longer keep increasing in die size.

The implication of a "secret spectrum" beyond the existing IR-to-UV clearance levels, where someone could have X-Ray Classification or be relegated to the Microwave Undercaste.

The "Zap", "Classic", and "Straight" modes of play were introduced, with perhaps more rules changes than they needed.

Jokes about "Computette" were removed.

Time machines were relegated back to "implied in a few places" instead of just being available to everyone Blue and up.

3rd's switch to roll-under mechanics was reverted, making this version more compatible with supplements from 1st and 2nd.

Several of the less-popular changes from 3rd edition were reverted, including the "Baker's Six-Pack" rule for clones, the Unsecret Societies that no one cared about, and a notorious real-world reference that basically was spoiled milk the moment it hit print.

All in all, Paranoia 4th fell into the "evolution not revolution" bucket, which is honestly ok. Paranoia is still, as Joshua A.C. Newman said, one of only three actual science fiction games ever published. It just needed to find its level of polish. A revolution would mean a completely different game, and this game owns its niche. Who's going to believe a revolution happening in Alpha Complex? (... I have no idea if that's a joke or not.) Anyway, once things got to Paranoia XP, the good stuff from this had mostly been kept, the bad stuff had been removed, and the game was overall stronger for it.

Two adventures were produced: Nothing Rhymes with Orange, and The Grass Is Always Greener Or So They Tell Me It's Above My Clearance Level I've Never Seen Grass. There were no other supplements.

Much like most older Paranoia, the 4th edition has been declared an "unproduct" and is no longer in print. More Wester End Games appears to have been a one-off imprint rather than its own company, but I'm not certain on that one - Paranoia's legal history gets real hazy from about 1995 to 2003.

[thoughtswordsaction]

The New Pornographers Share New Track "Ballad Of The Last Payphone" 

Illustration by Brian Lutz Last month, The New Pornographers went analogue, surprising fans with the vinyl-first release of their first full band tracks since 2023, “Ballad of the Last Payphone” and “Ego Death For Beginners” via A.C. Newman’s Substack, Ballad of a New Pornographer.With the limited 7-inch making its way onto turntables around the world, the band today shares a new lyric video for…

[dd20century]

10 Significant Buildings Lost in the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires

On January 15, 2025, Sam Lubell wrote in the New York Times about ten architecturally significant buildings destroyed in the wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Here is that list:

Benedict and Nancy Freedman House by Richard Neutra, 1949, Pacific Palisades

Park Planned Homes by Gregory Ain, 1946-48, Altadena

708 House by Eric Owen Moss, 1982, Pacific Palisades

Pasadena Waldorf School/Scripps Hall, Charles W. Buchanan, 1904, Altadena

Nature Friends Clubhouse, Sierra Madre Canyon, 1924

William D. Davies Memorial Building by Charles H. Kyson, 1934, Altadena

Altadena Community Church, Harry L. Pierce, 1947, Altadena

Pacific Palisades Business Block by Clinton Nourse, 1924

21640 Pacific Coast Highway by Buff and Hensman, 1969, Malibu

Corpus Christi Church by A.C. Martin, 1965, Pacific Palisades

Still Extant Structures

The Ray and Charles Eames House and Eames Case Study Houses in Pacific Palisades survived. The Eames House suffered some damage to the surrounding property. According to Lubell's report, “branches had fallen, and its expansive glass windows were covered in fire retardant, the home was largely unharmed.”

Greene and Greene's iconic Gamble House in Pasadena, located less than five miles from the Eaton Fire reopened for visitors on January 18. 

The Getty Villa and Alfred Newman-Martha Montgomery House by Frank Lloyd Wright also survived the fires. 

For the latest information on the status of damage by the wildfires visit the Los Angeles Conservancy and  Save Iconic Architecture websites.

Read Sam Lubell's story in the New York Times (behind paywall).

Read about additional homes lost in the wildfires.

Clinton Nourse, Pacific Palisades Business Block for the Santa Monica Land & Water Company (1924). Image source.

[30000songs]

#896 - The Midnight Organ Fight - White Rabbit

Wonder if this is a songwriter's particular type of favorite (A.C. Newman, IIRC, is a fan). For me, I can't really get enough of a handle o nit. Maybe I'll try again one day.

58/100

[eternal--returned]

A.C. Newman ֍ Thunderbolts (2009)

We used to throw thunderbolts Twilight on the overpass We rest in that gravity Colorfast and cool with me

And we had some direct hits We shone in that villain light TV yellowed, hanging 'round In whatever's shining down

[guessimdumb]

The New Pornographers - Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies (2023)

Great track from the latest New Pornographers LP. - some haunting sax from Zach Djanikian.

The sun kept rising ‘til it floated away

[beginningspod]

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode, I talk to musician Carl Newman. Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Carl began his musical career in the early '90s as a member of Superconductor, but it was really with his next band Zumpano where he began to find his voice, a style that would come to fruition with The New Pornographers. Since their first album Mass Romantic in 2000, the band has become one of the preeminent indie rock groups of the 21st century, with nine albums to their name, all of which are great. Carl has also recorded three wonderful solo albums, and most recently The New Pornographers' latest album Continue as a Guest was released on Merge Records, and like everything else they've done, it is just delightful!

I'm on Twitter here and you can get the show with:

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[dustedmagazine]

The New Pornographers — Continue as a Guest (Merge)

Photo by Ebru Yildiz / Composite by Nicole White

At their best, the New Pornographers are an architectural feat. Were not the various pieces so perfectly arranged, the collective of musical heavyweights might collapse under its own density.

2001’s manic, tart debut, Mass Romantic, is now (as it was then, to an extent) hailed as a powerpop landmark. Listening back, I’m still slightly amazed at the circus-level balancing act achieved by three remarkably distinct, powerful voices, A.C. Newman, Neko Case and Dan Bejar. 

By the time they released Twin Cinema in 2005, the NPs had ripened from a scrappy supergroup (a term they never liked) into something more comfortable, a band. Since then, amicable lineup shafts notwithstanding, the group has continued to release good records on a semi-regular basis. 

But as anyone who has held a job can attest, being consistently good at what you do generates diminishing returns. The handful of six or seven-point-whatevers awarded by that one music website reinforces the narrative that the New Pornographers peaked with Twin Cinema. I can’t decide whether or not that’s true, but it’s beside the point. Continue as a Guest sounds exactly like a New Pornographers record. It’s energetic, insanely catchy and occasionally thrilling pop music. The compositions are dense and clever and complex, but not too much for their own good. Newman has been the primary songwriter since Bejar’s temporary-ish departure in 2014 and, while he might be consistent he – like the rest of his cohort- is incapable of phoning it in. 

Playing with the light and shadow of modern life, Continue as a Guest offers a gratifyingly hot-blooded exploration of socal decay and isolation (“I don’t want to go by myself/Come with me,” Newman and Case implore against the glimmering shuffle of “Last and Beautiful”). Of the  title anthem, Newman says that the phrase “felt very apropos to the times. Feeling out of place in culture, in society—not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out.” 

That’s not to say Continue as a Guest is a bummer. Power-pop connoisseur Tom Scharpling described 2014’s Brill Bruisers as the Drive soundtrack by way of ABBA, and that spirit persists via shiny production, neon disco beats, retro horns and gorgeous, exuberant vocal harmonies. It might not be zeitgeisty, but it certainly sets a nice tone. We’re all struggling, why not see if we can still enjoy ourselves? 

Margaret Welsh