Earlier this summer, on one of the hottest days in the history of Seattle, I sat down with Mercury Prize-nominated artist Elly Jackson, half of British electronic pop sensation La Roux, before one of just a handful of stateside club shows she played prior to her band's domestic release. With her partner-in-music Ben Langmaid, the 21-year-old Ms. Jackson has created one of my favorite records of the year, La Roux's self-titled debut, which made its much-anticipated appearance on American shores just this week.
With a bevy of UK top 10 singles ("Bulletproof," "In For The Kill," "Quicksand"), critical acclaim, and superstar status across the pond, La Roux is poised to make a big splash here in the states. We talked about songwriting, the '80s, and the band's international potential, among other things. Check out the interview below.
Determined to give a little back to their fans, 30 Seconds To Mars
invited willing travelers to mass recording sessions in April so that
fans could sing on their forthcoming release, This Is War.
For those fans who couldn’t make it, or who know they can’t carry a
tune, the band has created another opportunity to be on the album. Fans
are invited to take mugshots of themselves and upload them to the
official 30 Seconds To Mars website; the first two thousand who do so
will have their picture featured on one of two thousand different album
covers. In an interview with AOL Spinner, frontman Jared Leto
said “I thought that the ‘Faces of Mars’ campaign would be a way to
acknowledge all the people who have supported us throughout the years.”
The album itself has already caused a great deal of controversy, with
their record label Virgin
filing a $30m lawsuit against the band last year because the lateness
of the record allowed the band to terminate their contract. The lawsuit
was eventually halted, resulting in renewed expectations for an
imminent release: it was initially expected in April, then September,
then October; now it’s been put back to the end of November. Is that
enough time to design and manufacture an album with two thousand
different covers? Eager fans may have to wait quite a while before they
get their fractional moments of fame.
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.
As an incidental result of listening to a lot of Brother Ali's Us, R.E.M.'s Accelerate, and the Beatles' Revolver this week, my coffee table happened to be strewn with these three great black-and-white albums covers.
There must thousands more out there, but what are the best?
I've already got a graphic artist interested in putting together a collage of these, which is where you come in. Leave comments with your suggestions for great black-and-white album covers. I'll collect them and--eventually--post the artist's finished collage.
Foo Fighters - "Wheels" Even though their last couple albums have been spotty enough to make me almost lose interest, I've always felt like the Foos had it in them to assemble a pretty stacked greatest hits collection, which they've VERY CONVENIENTLY done just in time for the holidays. Unfortunately for us, the band tacked on two new jams, of which, "Wheels" is one. Listening to the beginning, I felt like the MP3 was mislabled and I accidentally downloaded some Keith Urban. What followed was a generic smear of limp, slick, unfortunate, late-period Tom Petty impersonation. I'm not against the new stuff, but I'm pretty sure I would have been happier if they had clipped this from the tracklist in favor of "I'll Stick Around" or "Walking After You."
Suggested if you like: Tom Petty, an extremely competent cover band performing Tom Petty songs, "mediocre-of" material appearing on a "best-of" Rating: 13/69 Full Moon Fevers
Consequence (feat. Kanye West and John Legend) - "Whatever U Want" Because he has but one flow and a steadfast refusal to vary his rhyme schemes, Consequence is best taken in small doses. For a number of IMMA-LET-YOU-FINISH-related reasons, our old pal Yeezy has, as of late, also been getting his mail forwarded to an address in the best-in-small-doses zip code. As such, you'll be satisfied to know that they're each limited to four bars at a pass in this slinky Gin and Tonic of a tune. With its low-key vibe and 2:37 run time, it feels more like the suggestion of a song than an actual song. Still, I've listened to it five times in short succession, mostly because I'm left wanting more each time. When was the last time you could say that about anything involving any of these parties?
Suggested if you like: "I'm Good" by the Clipse, "Love Hangover" by Kidz in the Hall, surprise awesome Rating: 26/30 prefunk cocktails
Melissa Laveaux - "Crazy in Love" I have no idea who this person is and I'm generally against covers of songs I like (TWO STRIKES, LADY), but this thumpy, acoustic reinvention of the Beyonce ultrajam is-- no exaggeration-- the best new song I've heard in months. Should you decide to scoot over to her MySpace page, you can listen to, along with some of her originals, another unique cover, this time of Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay." Her version of "Crazy in Love," however, is so good I don't even miss the Jay-Z verse. A++++ NEW ARTIST. WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN.
Suggested if you like: Lykke Li, Emiliana Torrini, making a great thing even better Rating: 93/100 oh-no-nos
David Gray
has come full circle back to his roots on his latest release, Draw the Line, which is
significant given the fact that he could have easily succumb to the many distractions
of success. Long-time fans of David Gray who gravitated to his earlier releases including A Century Ends, Flesh, and Sell, Sell, Sell will be happy to know he has
not wandered far from the musical path he set out on nearly 20 years ago.
The
result is a humble album punctuated by his gritty baritone, layered acoustics,
and a sobering thrush that comes across as an amped-up middle-aged confession
half the time, and a sweet lullaby the rest.
After the
overwhelming success he garnered from 2000’s White Ladder, followed by an introspective period that
included more down tempo and ethereal albums, Gray returns with a bit of idyllic
hope delivered with his own brand of cynicism and irony.
In my
interview with him, David Gray was gracious with his time and quite conversational
in talking about Draw The Line
and the multiple journeys that inspired it. He admitted to being full of
confidence following a long period where he was stuck in the “shock of success” that
descended on him with the ubiquitous accolades and critical acclaim of White Ladder. Now liberated from that
period that tested his personal demons, David Gray feels a new presence and sense of
purpose as he reflects and bears his musical soul to us all, more content than
ever with his life and his music.
Hear it all in the 14 minute interview, and enjoy.
The mighty Verdi Requiem has long been a staple of both the huge orchestra and huge opera singer. Set from the catholic funeral mass, the practical use in an actual funeral is somehow secondary to the intense drama, which storms down with the full force of a John Martin canvas, on us miserable listeners.
The last 50 years have given us several notable recordings which are joined this month by a new rendition, offered by EMI. Produced from a series of live concerts in Rome, Antonio Poppano conducts the orchestra and chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, with soloists whose credentials are impressive; Anja Harteros, Sonia Ganassi, Rolando Villazón and René Pape. The artwork is flames against a black background. Flames of passion? Flames of religious torment? Both, it turns out.
It is the band and especially the chorus that often take this recording beyond simply good. Great choruses are rare. They're horrendously expensive to maintain, and usually the most agile ones are made up of younger singers, whose voices have yet to mature. Pappano has his hands on the real thing. The fugal sections of the "Libera me, Domine" are first rate. Tons of full blooded, mature voices,with beautifully turned-out diction and articulation, demonstrate a heart-felt response to the dynamics of conductor and score. This brings me back to the flames. It is never lost on us that we're listening to Italians, making very catholic Italian music, with fire and intensity.
My perception of the Requiem will always be colored by the '67/Solti recording, which is flawed in so many ways but still, one of the most hell-for-leather, viscerally exciting events on record. I cherish this recording, but the bombast of the Vienna Philharmonic grate on the ear next to this new one. Also the soloists are too inconsistent. Marilyn Horn's Peterbuilt gear-change is distracting, Pavarotti delivers a "Ingemisco" for the ages, that is marred by really sloppy editing, Martti Talvela's grip on intonation is tenuous and Sutherland for all her worth, is just plain mis-cast.
The performance of Pappano's soloists are marked by truly impressive legato singing, without exception. All of them have the courage to throttle back and exhibit pure sotto voce, especially Villazón, but Anja Hartenros leaves the most indelible mark.
She and once again, that stunning chorus, deliver a "Requiem aeternam" that left me in the middle of the office, wondering what time of day it was. Youtube has a more. -- Hugo Munday.
KRS-One weighed in on Def Jam Records' legacy (which he believes "sucks, straight up") at last week's filming of the 2009 Vh1 Hip-Hop Honors--an event honoring the legacy of Def Jam Records. Watch the video (via xxl):
While Kris somewhat confusingly flips back and forth between harsh words and claims of love and respect for Def Jam, his criticism rings much more sincere than the praise he uses to pad it. It seems everybody likes to point the finger at someone else for killing hip hip--even the man who released an album entitled "Hip-Hop Lives" in 2007 as a sort of retort to Nas' 2006 "Hip-Hop is Dead."
Jeru the Damaja handled the subject with a bit more elegance on 1996's Wrath of the Math, blaming Sean "Diddy" Combs and his Bad Boy Records imprint for the decline and commercialization of hip-hop in the 90s. In the storytelling lyrics of "One Day," hip-hop is kidnapped by the Bad Boy crew, dressed up in a Versace suit and fake alligator boots, and forced to quaff Cristal with the likes of Foxy Brown... who was actually a Def Jam artist at the time. So maybe The Teacher has a point.
Is hip-hop dead? Alive? Did Def Jam kill it? See what other hip-hop recording artists think of the label when Vh1's celebration airs on Tuesday, October 13th, at 9 pm ET/PT.
Robert Glasper is a man of many talents. Certainly, he's both an inarguably accomplished jazz pianist and a first-rate composer. But what Glasper does best is pick drummers. With 2007's In My Element, he provided Damion Reid with a platform to record nothing less than the drum performance of the year. For his newest album, Double Booked (Blue Note), Glasper teams up with Chris Dave, and the results are astonishing.
It's a concept album, sort of. The first half features Glasper, Dave, and bassist Vicente Archer. It opens with a voice mail from a worried Terence Blanchard, who has booked the Trio for his club but hears rumors that Glasper's Experiment has plans to play elsewhere on the same night. A handful of originals and a take on Thelonius Monk's "Think of One" follow. Throughout, the piano and drums intertwine with a complex integrity that sounds deceptively effortless. To call it virtuosity is almost demeaning. It simply must be heard. (And to be fair, Archer keeps up.)
Then comes the Experiment: Derrick Hodge replaces Archer with an electric bass, and Casey Benjamin adds saxes and vocoder. Bilal and Mos Def drop in for vocal cameos (welcome and disposable, respectively). The Experiment's five compositions -- including one each by Glasper, Hodge, Benjamin, and Herbie Hancock -- showcase what a second voice mail from the Roots' ?uestlove describes as "miraculous, spaced-out, past-geometry." The Experiment's songs differ in texture and depth from the Trio's set, but the adventurousness of the performances and the gorgeous lyricism of Dave's drumming fuse the album's halves into a single musical statement whose two chapters and two stars make for the year's best jazz album so far.
--Jason Kirk
P.S. A few more words on Chris Dave, starting with two pieces of advice:
• If you're a drummer, start listening to Chris Dave now. Right now. Go! • If you know a drummer, buy her a copy of Double Booked, immediately.
Why? Well, Dave might just be the best drummer out there right now. His most high-profile gig has been recording and touring with Maxwell, but the man's a collaborative dynamo, the list of musicians who call on him long, ecstatically diverse, and worth discovering on your own. YouTube abounds with disappointingly short clips of his performances, and picking one to include here is an excruciating exercise in unfortunate exclusion. But hey, ChordStrike's here to do the dirty work for you…
Part of Portland indie film darling Matt McCormick's heart has always belonged to the music scene. In between creating and screening his own experimental film projects, managing international film label Peripheral Produce and directing the PDX Film Festival, he's found time through the years to collaborate with musicians, compose soundtracks for some of his own short films, and direct music videos for The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, YACHT and other acts.
So it's not surprising that McCormick recruited some musically-minded friends to collaborate in his first full-length feature film. James Mercer of the Shins and Carrie Brownstein of the recently disbanded Sleater-Kinney play the lead roles in Some Days are Better Than Others, and Portland-based Matthew Cooper, better known as Eluvium, is scoring the film. The trailer was released this week. Watch it below for a taste of the four Portlanders' collaborative work.
Matt was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about the roles that music--and musicians--play in Some Days are Better than Others.
How did you decide James and Carrie were right for the two lead roles?
There were a lot of factors. The storyline of James' character actually derives from a music video I made for the Shins a long time ago ("The Past and Pending") and throughout the writing process I sort of had his image as that character. I also had worked with him on a couple other video projects and knew he was good in front of the camera, so when the time came to cast the film I gave him a shot to audition and he nailed it. Carrie originally came in to audition for a smaller role, but she asked if she could also read for the bigger role (Katrina) which she also nailed. The character Carrie plays works at a local dog shelter, and in real life Carrie works at the Oregon Humane Society, so she had a very acute understanding of the story line.
What did they bring to the table as musicians that made them interesting to work with, or different from actors without that background?
I have worked with so few actors that it's hard to say, but Carrie and James are both very smart, creative people who I think were able to bring a larger artistic sense to the process. It really just felt like one big artistic collaboration.
You've scored some of your own short films in the past - how did you approach the scoring of this film, and how did you decide to work with Matthew Cooper?
Matthew Cooper (who performs under the name Eluvium) is kind of a hero of mine. I recently met him and we realized we were mutual fans of each other's work, and it almost seemed like we were just destined to do this project together.
Several other local musicians appear in the film as well. How did that evolve?
There are some little bit parts that musician friends of mine played, but nothing too serious. I guess a lot of it comes down to the fact that I just have a lot of friends who are musicians, and it's always fun to work with them in one way or another.
Watch the just-released trailer for Some Days are Better Than Others here, find out more on the Some Days are Better than Others site, and check out more of Matt McCormick's work (including music videos for the Shin's "The Past and Pending" and "Australia," as well as Sleater Kinney's "Jumpers") on Matt McCormick's site.
While browsing through the October 2009 issue of Psychology Today magazine, I came across an interesting blurb titled "Pop Goes the Bubble: Song Lyrics Fit the Times," by Sophie Chen. According to the blurb, Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" was popular this year not just because it's catchy, but also because we happened to be going through an economic recession when it hit the airwaves.
The blurb goes on to reference the soon-to-be-published work of professors Terry Pettijohn II of Coastal Carolina University and Donald Sacco Jr. of Miami University of Ohio. Pettijohn II and Sacco Jr. looked at the correlation between hit songs and socioeconomic conditions from 1955 to 2003. The results of their study showed that "popular songs dealt with more meaningful themes at times when socioeconomic conditions were threatening. Lyrics also focused more on friendships and romances; in hard times, people feel a stronger need for close relationships." The blurb goes on to provide an interesting snapshot of the #1 Billboard singles during a few key years:
There may be some truth to this data, but I'm not sure if I fully buy the research team's conclusion. If "Independent Woman, Part I" were released today, I'm inclined to think it would still be a hit single. After all, Beyoncé's similarly-themed"Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" was released this year (in the deepest throes of the economic downturn, coincidentally), and not only did it peak at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it also became Beyoncé's highest-selling song in the U.S. to date.
So what do you think--are song lyrics really a true reflection of economic times? Or is this Psychology Today report just a load of pseudo-scientific twaddle?
The news in 2005 was so happy that jazzy hip-hop heads may actually remember where they were when they heard it: the Digable Planets had reunited for a live tour, putting their differences behind them and resurrecting the funk they had purveyed on Reachin' in '93 and Blowout Comb in '94. Ten years had been too long to live without them. Bootleg recordings of their first reunited shows made the rounds, featuring Butterfly, Doodlebug (aka Cee Know) and Ladybug (aka Mecca) still sounding on point, and the reunion tour was accompanied by The Creamy Spy Chronicles, a sort of greatest hits album culled from just two previous full-length releases.
All three of the Digable Planets have pursued solo careers since their heyday as a Grammy-winning trio, but none has come anywhere near the success the Digable Planets enjoyed as a group, which might be why they stuck it out through another 2008 tour and intended to join forces for a Summer 2009 tour as well. Alas, whatever differences had come between them in the past became contentious once again, and that tour was canceled, reportedly due to infighting. What a shame.
If you happen to live in the Northeast U.S. and love the Digable Planets, there's some good news for you this week - sort of - via brooklynvegan. Two of three Planets, Butterfly and Doodlebug, will be playing a string of five shows in NYC, Philly, Maine and Massachusetts in October. Will it be the same without Mecca the Ladybug? Probably not. But after two breakups, this may be as close to the real thing as we're ever going to get.
Nick Cave turns 52 today. A man who has always followed his singular vision, Nick Cave not only changed the way many of us felt about music, but introduced us to a whole slew of new and old artists through his associations and inspirations. His last album, Dig!!! Larzarus Dig!!!, was one of his best in years, and he just released his second novel, The Death of Bunny Munro. Not a bad way to bring in your birthday.
Leonard Cohen gave fans a scare Saturday night when he crumpled into a heap onstage in Spain following a stoic performance of "Bird on the Wire" (see video below). Cohen's publicist has since reported that he was battling a tough case of food poisoning, and music lovers everywhere are relieved to know that he is recovering well. But the news got me thinking about older artists who are still on the road bringing their music to the masses, despite the physical stresses involved.
Touring is a grueling experience, as any musician who has spent even a week living out of a tour bus will tell you. Artists follow late evening shows with a bumpy night's sleep in a bus bunk roughly the size of a casket, only to wake up the next day in time to soundcheck and repeat. Aggressively gigging bands book back-to-back shows for days on end, enjoying a truly restful night's sleep in a hotel room as seldom as once a week. And while older and more established musicians may have the luxury of forgoing bus sleep and retiring to a hotel each night, they are often back on the bus by early morning anyway, without the full eight hours of regeneration that many of us take for granted.
Add the perils of promoter-supplied meals, the stress of living out of a suitcase and showering in a different dressing room every day, and in some cases a tendency toward a partying lifestyle, and it becomes easier to understand how artists occasionally end up heaped on a stage, exhausted. (Those extravagant-sounding tour riders you hear about can also begin to seem like the least these hardworking musicians deserve.)
So let's take a moment to appreciate those musicians of a certain age who are still out there onstage, toughing it out to share their talent with the crowds who love them, for better or worse, after most in their cohort have observed the traditional retirement age of 65. I'll start the list - add yours in the comments!
The hip-hop community suffered another tragic loss this weekend with the untimely passing of one of its best turntablists: DJ Roc Raida of New York City crew the X-Ecutioners.
Born Anthony Williams in 1972, Roc Raida made his first indelible stamp on DJ culture as a young competitor in the DMC World DJ Championships, an international competition that challenges beatmasters to test just how far the turntable can be pushed as an instrument. Each year competitors lift the disciplines of scratching, mixing, beat juggling and body tricks to ever-higher levels. In 1995, ten years after the competition began, Roc took home the champion's spoils: gold turntables and hip-hop infamy. In recent years he has been better known as Busta Rhymes' tour DJ.
Those who were lucky enough to play shows with Roc Raida say he was as humble as he was skillful - always the nicest guy at the party.
His family released the following statement on Saturday: "Anthony Williams... has passed away unexpectedly today, September 19, 2009. He is survived by his wife, three lovely daughters, mother and friends. Raida was recently in a mixed-martial-arts accident, something that he has been practicing for several years. Although he had undergone two surgeries with great success, was released to an inpatient physical therapy facility and was in great spirits the past few days, this morning he started to have complications and passed. The family asks for privacy at this time."
Check out Roc Raida's championship-winning 1995 battle routine for some stunning examples of turntable science. RIP.
After years of rumors, seminal indie-rock band Pavement have finally
confirmed they are to reunite. New York-based blog Brooklyn Vegan was first
to declare these rumors were the real deal, and on Thursday guitarist Scott Kannberg
(a.k.a. Spiral Stairs) confirmed the reunion in an interview with
Rolling Stone. The first confirmed date is a Central Park, New York
show on September 21 next year. Referring to frontman Stephen Malkmus,
Kannberg said "Steve and I just had a conversation on the phone, and
we’d never talked about it before at all. We’ve talked over the years,
but the subject never came up. Then our agent asked us about these New
York shows, so we went around to everybody in the band, and they said,
‘Yeah, the time is right If everybody’s ready to do it, then we’ll do
it and see what happens.’ There was no real impetus — it just kind of
happened naturally.” Pavement split up ten years ago after releasing
five hugely influential albums. While never big sellers, their
reputation has only grown in the years after they broke up, so their
reunion shows are sure to be attended by big crowds. "There’s festivals
and stuff that we’re talking to, like Coachella," Kannberg added.
"After that, anything that happens in the future is in the future."
It's also been confirmed by Pavement's record label, Matador, on their blog.
"After years of speculation, the most important American band of the 1990’s is returning to the stage, with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010."
They also say that a pre-sale (password ZOWEE) for the Central Park show begins tomorrow. That's right, if you want to guarantee a ticket, you need to pre-pay a year in advance!
SoundUnwound's editorial team write about the latest big music news and
quirky stories which catch the eye. We'll be posting a selection of
these news stories on Chordstrike every week; for much, much more,
visit SoundUnwound.com, the new music site from IMDb and Amazon. Follow us at twitter.com/soundunwound.
Every now and again, I get super obsessed with a record, and this week belongs to Chandra. I first heard Chandra years ago, when I was writing for a website that reviews bizarre, hip, and unique vinyl finds called Waxidermy. Someone had happened upon a copy of this long out-of-print (circa 1980) gem of an EP, Transportation, and shared some MP3s. When I heard the tracks, I was totally floored.
Why, you ask?
Because Chandra Oppenheim is (well, was) a 12-year-old girl dynamically and powerfully fronting a no-wave/experimental disco band (think early Talking Heads or B-52's, only weirder) that sounds as confrontational, dissonant, beautiful, and odd as any of the work out of the active NYC no wave/noise scene of the day. Beyond that, these were her own compositions, with subjects ranging from the city's confusing subway system, to a girl named Kate "who thinks she's really great, but she's not." (Ever since my first exposure to this song, every time I meet someone named Kate, these are the first words that come to my mind.) Hearing these well-written, exceptional tracks was, as they say on Waxidermy, "face-melting."
Is this children's music? Electronic? Post-punk? Experimental? Pop? The answer is yes.
Somehow, I missed the re-issue of the Transportation EP late last year, but I'm sure glad I discovered it now, even if a few months late! Now with four additional tracks (from a 14-year-old Chandra) tacked on, the EP sounds better than ever. The newer tracks are more accessible, and she's accompanied by an all-teen backing band to boot. Although Chandra abandoned her band to focus on school before these bonus tracks could be released, it's a thrill to get to hear them now.
Oh, how I wish I lived in a world where the Chandras of world replaced the Miley Cyruses, Selena Gomezes and Demi Lovatos.
It would sure be a lot different.
Check out some tracks below, and let me know what you think.
An exclusive video from Monsters of Folk is now available for your viewing pleasure. We're also hosting a Streaming Listening Party of the full album a week before street date release.
In an era chock-full of super groups (see Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, and Chickenfoot just to name a few), now Indie Music fans of the world can rejoice, too!
The media was buzzing this morning over Kanye West's outburst at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. If you haven't already heard, Kanye rushed onstage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Best Female Video, snatched the mic, and loudly proclaimed that Beyoncé had "one of the best videos of all time."
For some reason, this doesn't surprise me at all. It's Kanye, after
all. And while this particular incident is all over the media today,
it will blow over fairly quickly, as these things tend to do. I was,
however, mildly curious about seeing the actual incident, so I dug up
some video. Check it out below.
I also came across the video of Lady Gaga
performing "Paparazzi" at the awards, and what a performance it was. I
found it thoroughly entertaining--dramatic, satirical, and
"bloody" good fun (you'll see what I mean if you watch the video.) And
she can actually sing live, too. Sometimes her musical ability is
overshadowed by her penchant for the outrageous, but she's quite the musician, IMHO.
