The writing credit for “Everything” goes to Buble, his pianist Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Giles, and it really is a terrific song. The album was a smash though “Everything” stalled. Still, it builds along American stadard faultlines and finds a middle ground between pop and easy listening rock. As full hearted declarations of love goes, this is pretty thorough:
The clip was directed by James Frost, and based on a concept by the band’s singer-songwriter Brittany Howard, who had already explained her multi-horizon influences in an interview with Rolling Stone. She said ‘she was inspired by everything from Roberta Flack to the E.T. soundtrack as the band expanded beyond the soulful roots-rock of their debut.’…
Good old nostalgia? Definitively! Plus DeRosa’s dark baritone immediately gave me a very strong Stephin Merritt vibe and it was definitively not a surprise to read that DeRosa had collaborated with Merritt and that his long time collaborator and producer Charles Newman had worked with the Magnetic Fields
Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserable” is one of the greatest novels of all time, the first chapter, the story of Bishop Myriel, is worth Dr Zhivago movie and musical and Les Miz movie and musical combined to infinity. There is no comparing Hugo’s genius to three hacks and a great movie director (David Lean).
He is now at the center of a mini documentary posted on YouTube by Uproxx video and entitled ‘One Man’s Plan To Reunite Guns N’ Roses’. Actually you can watch part 1 now, but the two other episodes will be posted in the following days.
It is a wild and abrasive thing, earth-shaking, wall-crumbling, playing with dissonance and twisting around distortion. The first track, ‘Acetate’, sounds like Nirvana meets the Pixies in a hairy bath of testosterone. There is so much rage and passion, such fuzz and buzz that ‘Swimmer’ explodes at your face like a Nepal bomb and ‘Spit You Out’ does exactly this… with disdain and fury.
“What Time Do You Call This” sounds like a typical (but typical in a good way) swooning melancholy masterwork, like the National if the national were from the UK. It is prime Elbow, it isn’t “My Sad Captain”, but it is tasteful melodic gripper and yet another in their consistently awesome catalog of swooners.
Jack Brewer and Joe Baiza are members of South Bay punk rock band Saccharine Trust. This past week I have been going down memory lane and revisiting my “punk roots”, if you will. It all started with a book release of the San Pedro punk scene called “A Wailing of a Town, 1977-1985” an oral history written by Craig Ibarra.
‘It would not be beyond the realms of possibility that somewhere outside of our own universe lies another different universe,’ he added. ‘And in that universe, Zayn is still in One Direction.’
If “The Age Of Adaline” sounds exciting, it isn’t, a terrible narrator takes care of that, and though it is a beautiful looking movie, set in San Francisco, still it has little use for its basic premise, Adaline leaves the audience as distant as everybody else in the world, and the sheer joy you’d expect, a sort of past-future axis, is blown off completely.The best scene, Adaline giving a nervous apology, has nothing to do with aging.
First these tasteful shirts (above) were on sale: ‘Titties & Beer Thank God I Ain’t Queer’, or ‘Roses Are Red, Areolas Are Pink, Show Me Yours And I’ll Buy You A Drink.’ What kind of message is this sending? That country lovers are a bunch of homophobic misogynist rednecks? It’s pretty sad
Tepper wrote many many popular songs. Minor league pop numbers but in retrospect, Presley’s movie tracks with tuneful, playful, self-effacing and often very very good. If Tepper was borderline novelty tunes, the operative word was borderline, and many of them have been part of our pop vernacular since we first heard them.
We are always told to separate the art from the artist, this should be the norm even though it is often difficult. But when it comes to making movies and writing books about artists, I wonder why directors and writers cheerfully transgress this rule and get away with it?
Please note “The Who Band” doesn’t include Roger Daltrey which means, I guess, the stars will be performing the lead singing (Billy was the Ace Face at the Quadrophenia performance at MSG in July 1996) though it hits me as a major missed opportunity because, cmon, what a chance to roll out some great solo Townshend stuff.
The Rangers take the Penguins in five and now have a break before round two. The games were close but if ever a team seemed capable of winner the cup, this is that. Meanwhile, the Mets have an 11 game winning streak stopped by the Yanks, and then beat up on CC the very next day. The season (unlike the weather) is heating up nicely.
There is no getting around Mitch’s love for his daughter, it is a real tragedy, with enough blame to go around. The truth is always nice without being necessary, and whatever the truth is the makers of the movie should be ashamed of themselves for adding to his sorrow.
If Morgen had wanted to make a film about the impressions that Cobain may have inspired him, the overwhelming sensations that a Nirvana concert may have left on him, I would be totally fine with it, and I would even said this is brilliant. Unfortunately he sells us his movie as the first authorized documentary about Kurt Cobain, and this is where I have a problem, because when it comes to documentaries, I care about fact-checking.
The movie, directed by A.M. Bushe, is in black and white, and even features grainy shaky super 8 footages. It also features in-depth interviews, performances, and commentary from many career musicians including Ben Smith (Heart), Andrew Joslyn (Macklemore & Ryan Lewis), Danny T. Levin (Vampire Weekend, Julian Casablancas), David Moyer (U2, Snoop Dogg, Tears for Fears, Broken Bells)
Infinities is pop art by other means, a well choreographed blast by two youngsters with the spirit of rock inside em whether they know it or not. Their playfulness is just exactly what we want from our entertainment.
if I was Jimmy and Jimmy I’d go into reruns till May 20th, the Letterman level is amazingly high. Earloer this week, Jason and Amanda covered “Mutineer” (David was close to Warren of course), and Costello said his farewell. On Monday alone there is Todd Rundgren and John Mellencamp. And what does Fallon have? Glad you asked: the Zac Brown Band.
He started developing his idea in 1974 after taking LSD and listening to Bach, and he now has a version that can synchronize his animations with realtime performances. Of course, avant-garde artist Björk discovered him on Youtube and she used some of his animations for the apps in her Biophilia project.
“Unfriended” taps into that horror, it is like the entire movie says, what happens when you can’t control your PC? And if you’ve ever had a wonky PC, or when somebody is attacking your PC and ruining your life, well “Unfriended” turns the concept into a horror movie. A good one.
Look at it this way: if Jesus was crucified, raised from the dead, got crucified and raised from the dead a second time, even the greatest believer might have his dates.
When checking upcoming shows on the Echo/Echoplex page, I was intrigued by this one: ‘Mexrrissey, Mexico goes Morrissey’; it’s happening at the Regent Theater on Monday May 11th, and yes it is an homage to Morrissey by Latino musicians!
” It is something that is powerful and strong. And it is something that can be used to fight ‘ people have injustices, and you can declare them and fight for it. I think rock & roll is a brash sort of medium, so you’re allowed to say what you want and what you mean”
Either one could fill BB Kings, Paul could fill Beacon Theatre, and together… well, there’s the rub… together they could fill Radio City Music Hall easy. Why won’t they do it? If they really concentrated they could release a live album on top as well.
He seemed to strongly believe in it just a few weeks ago, but Kanye wouldn’t possibly be part of a failure, his ego wouldn’t possibly envision it…. I am so tempted to quote the old adage, rats always abandon a sinking ship? Did I just compare Kanye to a rat? Is that blasphemy?
Stern is a happy man and on the occasions I listen to his show I don’t regret it, so a happy man who didn’t sell out. But he is also a minor player. He has removed himself from the zeitgeist and has stopped being an innovative force I the world of radio. He is rich and smart, but he isn’t powerful and he isn’t a force of life. America may have talent but it doesn’t have genius.
I am blasting ‘Sound & Color’, the new Alabama Shakes album at home, I could not get a ticket to see them in Jimmy Kimmel Live, I wasn’t invited to their intimate performance at Apogee Studios in Santa Monica arranged for the press, but I just got to see their signing at Amoeba on Tuesday night. Better than nothing
As long as a lonely girl picks up her guitar in her bedroom, or a coupla of friends jam together in the garage, or a loft in Brooklyn, it will breath life into music. When seventy year old retirees plug in in their living room, that’s where the rock and roll hall of fame lives. It can’t be quantified or controlled. And it will never die.
It has been two years, April 15th, 2013, to be precise, since Muse played Madison Square Garden but now, with the band performing two local shows in May, to which none of us will be able to get in, perhaps it is time to remember the last time we saw em, on today’s Oldies But Goldies
It doesn’t go away. It never will. Death is a game changer. Death of a spouse changes one’s entire future, ones plans, ones goals; every waking minute is different these days. I see things in entirely different ways now. It doesn’t seem fair but at least I was blessed with the time and memories that we had together
Contrarily to Young, Dolenz is not in the music business anymore and he is totally involved with the craft of his daughter Georgia: They are making beautiful wooden furniture together. It all started as a hobby, but since 2013 the two of them have a real business, making handmade furniture in his home woodshop west of Los Angeles
Young artists talk about themselves, not what’s happening out there. It’s the selfie generation. They’re talking platitudes. What are any of them saying? I don’t hear anything other than: ‘This is how I feel.’
This is what happens when you have a hipster running the city hall… are Los Angelinos ready for more stuff like this? Mayor Eric Garcetti, who is always concerned by (bad) music, will give you, in collaboration with Dim Mak Records, ‘LAoki’, a free Steve Aoki downtown LA on Saturday May 16th.
if you believe in this new interpretation by Traczyk , the real soundtrack of the universe is not some Mozart-like requiem, not even like Strauss’ ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ as Kubrick thought, it is heavy, very heavy metal.
At the start of the year I’d have absolutely embraced my inner Miranda Lambert ( “Thank you so much for allowing me to live my dream. I love you so much, thank you”) and been happy she walk away with album, female vocalist and Milestone awards, but after a lousy live show, I am seriously less thrilled .
You might think Aldous, or maybe Harold Wilson, or God knows John Lennon, who returned his MBE “…as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts.”, would turn down a Knighthood but Bowie?
I dragged myself to Citi Field and froze myself to death in order to watch the Mets win their seventh in a row, now up to eighth as I write. Impressed? You will be…
Tina’s voice requests and receives empathy from us, as she explains the nature of the nature. We care so much because she cares so much. But we quite see them as fellow creatures with the rights of fellow creatures. It is intrusive without being helpful.
there was an art party at Space 15Twenty as TV on the radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Julian Gross (‘Seeds’ artist, who designed the cover of the band’s last album) had decided to draw caricatures of people shopping at Amoeba and Space 15Twenty… How cool of them
The thing about gun control is it makes more sense in suburban living, with miles between people, when, really, self-protection may be an issue. And while the “if there are stringent gun controls only the bad guys will have em” is a little on the specious side, please help me find the flaw.
With barely more than a month left till David Letterman signs off, it should be all David all the time although I really thing between the heart attack and the intern scandal, Letterman began to lose it, and I have found him nearly uwatchable for the past couple of years. The first time I watched Letterman, Marshall Crenshaw was appearing and Letterman ran late because of elevator races… oh to be youg, right? The end of an era, not the way Carson was, but nevertheless…
‘the two of us — me and Bob — don’t look like we belong together in the same band, which is something I’ve always loved. I’ll look at photos of us together sometimes and just be struck by what a strange-looking team we are. But that’s what makes us special.’
a band that references Ray Davies may have a little more up their sleeve than Future Shock, and the lead singers robot in love vocal has a hint of qu’est que ce about it…. It’s a nice vibe and should take em far, and they are opening at Baby’s All Right on Saturday May 15th…
Though as offensiveness goes, this is a little on the pathetic side, it is worth noting that the Texas community in which Grapevine resides is quite wealthy (median annual income for a male is a healthy $55K) and 80%white (3% black) which might explain this story a little bit clearer.
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We wouldn’t have joined it anyway, even if they had asked. We don’t want to be tribal. I think smaller bands should get paid more for it, too. Bigger bands have other ways of making money, so I don’t think you can complain. A band of our size shouldn’t be complaining. And when they say it’s artist-owned, it’s owned by those rich, wealthy artists.’
‘My parents were many things, but homophobic they were not. In fact, they were blazing liberals. They were caught in a bewildering web of guilt, fear, and poor psychiatric care. Did they make a mistake in not challenging the doctor’s recommendation for ECT? Absolutely.
The age of the average American in 1967 was 27 years of age, in 2015 it is 37 years of age. Since the average person dies at the age of 78, that ten years is something like a change of 15%. Also, the difference between 27 and 37 is the difference between first job out of college and married with children
