Welcome to… well, I don’t know quite what to welcome you to yet. We’ve been naming so many things over here at Racket these past few months (including Racket itself) that I’ve personally kinda hit a wall. And so I turn to you, our readers, who have already given so much. Drop some suggestions for a column name in the comments, and if I pick yours we’ll send you a Racket koozie or something.
Whatever I wind up calling this, you can expect some new music, some new videos, some news, some bad jokes. Lots of boldface names. Oh, a list of notable local shows. Like most of what’s happening here at Racket, this column is a work in progress, so let me know what you want to see more of or what you want to see less of at keith@racketmn.com. I might ignore you but at least you’ll get it off your chest.
Let’s start this week with FPA, the sort of electronic/sort of R&B project of singer/songwriter Frances Priya Anczarski, who performed at this year’s “Sound for Silents” show at the Walker recently. 37d03d announced this week that it will release FPA’s new album, Princess Wiko, on November 5. The artist describes the album as “the story of a young woman of noble birth forced to betray her heart, and marry a man she hardly knows, all the while going down the slow path of self discovery.” There’s a new single, simply called “Baby” that gives you a hint of what you’re in store for, and a video too. I could describe it for you, or you could just listen and watch. Music criticism is pointless in the 21st century!
And now, a Racket World Premiere! Ace singer-songwriter Mary Bue has released a suitably trippy video for her psychedelic “Tequila Song,” from her most recent album, The World Is Your Lover. But despite the title, don’t expect Kenny Chesney to be covering it anytime soon. "While this chaotic and absurd video seems the epitome of a cocaine-tequila bender, it speaks to the truth that we never really know what is going on inside of a person’s head and heart,” Bue says. For those of you who like to plan ahead, she’ll be at the Landmark Live concert series at the Landmark Center in St. Paul on October 15. You’ll be able to watch the video several times before then.
You know the South Asian music program Sangam on KFAI? Been around for 30 years? Well, the long-running show, which Mukthar Thakur and Sanjit Baines started back in 1991, is calling it quits. The current hosts (Thakur, Shashi Gupta, and Ahmed Naumaan) will say goodbye at 8 p.m. on Monday, and you can send parting thoughts and wish them wall at hello@kfai.org. At midnight on September 14, Naumaan’s new show Pakemon's Pitara debuts, and word is it’s a touch more contemporary than Sangam, taking in the entire South Asian diaspora and most every genre.
Finally, there’s a great lil (mostly local) rap show over at the 7th St Entry Wednesday night, headlined by Student1, who dropped his latest single “Race” in December. He’s joined by Chicago-based rapper CRASHprez and locals FruitPunchLoverBoy, Drelli, MaeIsBae, and DJ Nanobyte, who shared some info about where he’s been with Racket this week. It’s hosted by former Go 95.3 host Augie 5000 and it should offer a nice sampler of one corner of the local hip-hop world.
Here are some other reasons to leave your house.
Friday, Sept. 3
Green/Blue, Scrunchies, and Products @ Palmer’s Bar
Dj Snuggles Presents Metasota & Tek @ Icehouse
Bathtub Cig EP Release @ Mortimers
Saturday, Sept. 4
Dan Israel @ Lake Harriet Bandshell
Sunday, Sept. 5
Communion Not Closing Party @ Pourhouse Downtown
Yam Haus @ Leinie Lodge Bandshell Stage, State Fair (also Monday)
Thursday, Sept. 9
