Gotcha!

Allmusic’s bio of Harry Nilsson:
“Much of Nilsson’s notoriety stems from a period in the mid-’70s when he was a drinking buddy of John Lennon in Los Angeles (where Lennon was living during a separation from Yoko Ono). The drunken pair were thrown out of L.A.’s Troubadour club in a well-publicized incident, following which Lennon offered to produce Nilsson’s next album. The timing was not opportune; Nilsson lost his voice during the sessions, rupturing one of his vocal cords, keeping it a secret out of fear that Lennon would abandon the project.”

And Jason Crock’s Taintfork review of the Walkmen’s album-cover of Nilsson’s Pussy Cats:
“Nilsson was Lennon’s main drinking buddy throughout the ex-Beatle’s “Lost Weekend” period in L.A., a time when Lennon was separated from Yoko Ono and Pussy Cats came to fruition. When the two finally went into the studio with Lennon as producer, Nilsson’s vocal cords ruptured, ruining his impressive higher register for the entirety of the session– yet he never told Lennon, for fear the project would be halted.”

If it isn’t plagiarism, it’s at least the laziest paraphrasing I’ve ever read. Wassa matter, Crock, up too late in your underwear, pushing through a Walkmen review so you can wack off to the new Luomo album?

Sorry. I hate lazy writers.

Meanwile, around the lab, J Frank has experienced a conversion of sorts to the Joanna Newsom Ys album, arriving in Nov for buyers. His Young Parnell also took an unusual liking to the record, going as far as repeating Newsom’s well-phrased rhyme-runs while smearing her yogurt across her cheeks. The album is can’t miss, of course, because it sounds great — a given when Albini records it, O’Rourke mixes it, and Van Dyke Parks arranges it. With friends like that, who needs a publicist.

Joanna Newsom — Sawdust and Diamonds

One-sentence-reviews coming up soon. Two raves right now: Peter, Bjorn, and John’s Writer’s Block is very pretty, and Jay Reatard’s Blood Visions, after first listen, had to be listened to again, right away, to believe it was truthfully that good.