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August 31, 2007
Friday a Wry Day for Music News
August 30, 2007
Radiohead's Kid A Meant to Be Listened to With… Radiohead's Kid A?
Bloggers are blogging that certain songs on Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A can be, er, enhanced by playing two copies of the CD together, one of them delayed by 17 seconds. Some fans are claiming Thom Yorke has said this mysterious phenomenon is "intentional." As someone who's gone on record as being amused by unlikely juxtapositions, I'm game for this: okay, internet, try me.
The Modern Age has three sample tracks posted, and I gave them each a listen. "Everything in its Right Place (17 Second Delay Version)" comes out, um, muddy and ridiculous; "Kid A" actually does synch up on the beat, but still just sounds like two songs playing at once; "Morning Bell" not only syncs up, but, I'll admit, actually sounds kind of cool. Hmm. What could it mean?
Despite my mashuppy history, I've never actually tried watching The Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, although at a party this weekend, the hostess had Hitchcock's "Vertigo" on the TV and a mix CD on the stereo, and when Interpol's sparse, haunting "Pioneer to the Falls" came on, they seemed to go together pretty well. And no, there was nothing funny in the brownies. Anybody have any other secret musical juxtapositions they've enjoyed, either sober or not?
Hillary Clinton Nabs Prestigious 50 Cent Endorsement
In an interview with MTV News, 32-year-old Curtis James Jackson, otherwise known as rapper 50 Cent, revealed his views on our current president ("he has less compassion than a regular human being") and came out in favor of Hillary in '08, for reasons the candidate might call right and not-so-right:
I'd like to see Hillary Clinton be president. It would be nice to see a woman be the actual president and ... this is a way for us to have Bill Clinton be president again, and he did a great job during his term.
While his statement might seem a little self-contradictory, I'll go down on record as feeling a little bit the same way.
So-called "backpack" rappers like Talib Kweli and Common have been giving shout-outs to Obama in their songs lately (Common's single, "The People," says "My raps ignite the people like Obama") but Hil may have a good strategy by going after the platinum-sellers. The big question is: who will get Lil Wayne on their side.
Thurston Moore Says Maybe Sonic Youth Should Have Broken Up
We've been covering reunions a bit here on the Riff lately: actual reunions, ones that will never happen, and ones we're hoping for. Sonic Youth, to their great credit, have stayed a band (and a creative, relevant band at that) for almost 30 years, but even they realize that a breakup might have made things more exciting—and more lucrative. In an interview with Spin Magazine, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore said their greatest career "faux pas" was not breaking up:
The Pixies reunion was a real success, and Dinosaur Jr. seems like a big success, and both those bands play as good as they ever did. Mission of Burma blew my mind when they came back. But a band like us never did break up. Which was to our own [detriment]. What would have happened if we did break up after Daydream Nation -- or even after Dirty -- and had gotten back together two years ago? You wouldn't be interviewing me here. You'd be interviewing me at the Chateau Marmont as I'm waiting for my limousine. We probably would have made so much money. That was our biggest career faux pas: not breaking up.
Well, I'm not sure der Yoof would have made Police money, but still, he's probably right—absence makes the heart (and wallet) grow fonder. But with the band continuing to make some of the best music of their career, one hopes they're not seriously considering it. I'll give you $20 to stay together!
Beastie Boys Are Now, Like, All Mellow and Stuff
I was surprised by a few things at this past weekend's Beastie Boys performance at San Francisco's Warfield, where the veteran hip-hop/punk band played material from their latest album The Mix-Up. Mainly, I was thrown off by the gray hair and the good manners.
Members of the Beastie Boys have hit their 40s, so it's no big surprise to see MC and bass player Adam Yauch rockin' the salt and pepper up top. But it wasn't just the gray hair that got me. The Beastie Boys were so damned nice and polite. There was no shit-talking or rabble-rousing, and barely any cursing. The atmosphere was one that made you want to sip tea and dance rather than drink beer and punch the guy next to you. I have to say it was jarring to think that not long ago, I was jumping around like a fool at one of their concerts in a sea of hyped-up break dancing and moshing 20-year-olds.
That said, I'm not complaining. I dig it. The musicianship of the band is impressive and the songs are loungy and heavy with organ, percussion, wah-wah guitar licks, and lots of echo, reverb, and sci-fi sounds. It's similar to their earlier instrumentals from Check Your Head and The In Sound From Way Out!, but without any semblance of punk rock.
And the Beasties have traded in their signature Adidas track suits and beanies for old-man suits with pork-pie hats and skinny ties. It's not hip hop, it's mod, all the way. And I'm liking it.
August 29, 2007
Life Imitates Art: Little Britain vs. Larry Craig
Towleroad reminds us of a hilarious clip from the brilliant UK TV series "Little Britain" (a US version coming to HBO soon!) that Senator Craig maybe should have watched before formulating his denial. "Little Britain" is edgy but this clip is basically safe for work, unless your boss knows what a "Split Rose" "Spit Roast" is. (That one makes more sense, come to think of it).
Compare and contrast:
Chart Beat: Albums
Two weeks ago, I predicted M.I.A.'s Kala would debut at #39 on the Billboard albums chart. How did I do? Well, her sophomore effort spent most of the week in the iTunes Top Ten so it's not surprising I was a little low: Kala landed at #18, ladies and gentlemen, with 29,000 sold the first week. Go, M.I.A.!
Of course, to put it in perspective, Disney's High School Musical 2 stayed at #1 for a second week, selling, uh, 367,000 copies. Yeah. Moving on, Talib Kweli's Ear Drum sold 60,000 copies, which is good for #2 this week, and Swizz Beatz' debut album as a solo artist lands at #7. Unintentionally (?) hilarious San Diego Christian metalcore outfit As I Lay Dying hits #8 with their fourth album, An Ocean Between Us. Well, at least it's something different.
Rilo Kiley sold out on Under the Blacklight, and that's good for a #22 debut with 28,000, while New Pornographers stuck to their guns on Challengers and entered the charts at #34, selling 20,000 copies.
August 28, 2007
Rock the Bells Was a Beats and Rhymes Marathon and I'm Still Exhausted
I got my fill of hip hop this year at Rock the Bells, a nationwide hip hop event that graced San Francisco with its presence August 18. I heard so much hip hop that day, that I couldn't listen to any beats and rhymes for days afterward.
With 19 hip hop groups in the lineup—split between two stages—performing from 11 a.m. past 10 p.m., Rock the Bells was a music marathon.
The lineup was phenomenal. The Coup rocked harder than any straight-ahead rock band, and Sage Francis turned a rant about portable toilets into poetry. EPMD live was much better than that beat-up cassette tape of theirs I used to listen to in junior high. Mos Def danced with the crowd, The Roots knocked it completely out of the ballpark with a full band and horn section, and Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, and Rage Against the Machine were as good now as they were 10 years ago. Three decades of hip hop were all in one place for a day in front of more than 40,000 people, and it was a damn good time.
But would I go again? Probably not. I think next time, I'll just bring a folding chair and set up right outside the fence. The stage was maybe 50 feet away from the perimeter, and there were three huge television screens mounted on the stage. Yeah, if money's tight, I'll just camp out and watch it all on TV.
Tuesday? Peruse Music News Day
Buju Banton Calls Protestors "Stupid"
Dancehall superstar Buju Banton continued walking a confusing line on the topic of anti-gay lyrics this week, after protests against his appearance at the Reggae Carifest in New York. It has been both confirmed and denied that Banton signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, and this week the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation lodged a protest against Carifest for inclusion of Banton and Bounty Killer for the violently anti-gay lyrics in some of their songs. NY1 talked to Banton about the protest, and he either denied promoting hatred or continued to promote it:
Banton said has a message for people who say he's promoting hatred. “I would say to them they are ignorant, they are stupid, even though they proclaim to be intelligent,” said Banton.
The New York Times reported Banton did not perform his infamous hit, "Boom Boom Bye" (which contains the lyrics that most upset protestors) at the sparsely-attended festival. NY1 talked to attendees who seemed nonplussed by the affair: “It’s just music, so I feel when people make their music they have freedom of speech… I go to gay parade, I come to reggae music, but they don't push us to go out there and bash gay people.”
Bruce Springsteen Announces Fall Tour, Free Download of New Single
The New Jersey rocker (who's seemingly a bigger influence than ever lately) has announced his first tour with the E Street Band in four years, set to kick off in October, in Hartford, Connecticut. Their new album, Magic, is out October 4th, but they're offering the first single free for a week from iTunes (and various other websites who've taken the initiative). "Radio Nowhere" is a driving, reverby, uptempo number, kind of like "Jenny (867-5309)" except about 100 times ballsier. The UK Guardian says it's like "Springsteen singing Interpol," and while I'm not sure I'd go that far, it's pretty good. Download it from iTunes or grab an mp3 from the Guardian.
August 27, 2007
Top Ten Stuff 'n' Things - 8/27/07
In this edition of the Top Ten: some French techno, as usual, plus French-Canadian hip-hop, as well as some hip-hop made by ladies, although they're not French or French-Canadian. Plus a mashup with a French band too! And, if you think about it, you can probably see the moon in France, although I have no proof of this either way. Actually, maybe I do.
10. The Moon (from The Sky, available outside your house)
Well, I just took that picture there out my window, and you can't really tell since my camera's pretty cheap, but tonight's moon seems extra bulbous and psycho bright, perhaps in anticipation of being eclipsed in just a few hours. I was reminded of Laurie Anderson's "Sharkey's Day," although she was talking about the sun, "like a big bald head / rising up over the grocery store."
9. Parts & Labor - "The Gold We're Digging" (video)
Supposedly this clip took endless hours to shoot, considering each alteration of the background color blocks meant another take, really. The end product is a little like "Fell In Love With A Girl" divided by "Everybody Wang Chung Tonight," both hypnotic and spastic. Thankfully the song is also kind of like that, a noisy double-time stomper that's somewhat reminiscent of Joy Division.
8. The Pharcyde / J Dilla - "Runnin'" (from Jay Deelicious on Delicious Vinyl)
(iTunes link)
Originally on the LA hip-hop group's fantastic 1995 album Labcabincalifornia, this was one of my favorite tracks of that year, before I had any idea who Jay Dee / J Dilla was. Of course, now I know he produced it, and while Delicious Vinyl's altering the credits on these tracks to read "J Dilla and The Pharcyde" is a little silly, it's nice to see they're alerting people to the impact he had on hip-hop. Plus there's instrumental versions!
7. Vitalic - "The 30,000 Feet Club" (from V Live, out 9/18 on Different/Pias)
(mp3 via Kids by Colette, or listen on his MySpace)
Before Justice stole the fire, Vitalic was France's great techno hope. 2005's brilliant OK Cowboy presaged the current crop of electronic CDs that actually cohere as full-length albums. Plus, live, he's actually pretty interesting, and he's beating Daft Punk to the punch by releasing a live recording of a performance in Belgium last year. This is one of the new tracks from that set, a propulsive, buzzing number that seems to fall out of tune now and then, only to resolve itself with greater energy.
6. Payroll - "Daft Prayer" (Daft Punk vs. Bon Jovi) (mp3 via his site)
I know, something Daft Punky has to be in every Top Ten it seems like, but this is really worth it. UK bootlegger Payroll basically leaves Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer" alone (since it's perfect as is, natch) and cheekily cuts up "Around the World" to fit, creating a combo that's both an awesome dance remix of Bon Jovi and a great way to enjoy both songs at once.
5. Northern State - "Mother May I" (from Can I Keep This Pen?, out 8/28 on Ipecac) (listen on their MySpace)
This all-female answer to the Beastie Boys are actually way better than the Beastie Boys these days, and they seem to make amusing reference to their fellow New Yorkers in this track with the line "I like my coffee with lots of gin." They continue in this fast-paced, witty fashion (did they just rhyme "lemon spritzer" with "Eliot Spitzer?"), and then flip the traditional hip-hop model by having a male guest vocalist do the chorus. Not exactly Lil Wayne, but a hell of an improvement from their 2003 debut, Dying in Stereo.
4. Calvin Harris - "Vegas" (from I Created Disco, out 9/4 on Almost Gold)
(grab an mp3 at Ryan's Smashing Life)
People call him the Scottish James Murphy, but he's kind of like the Scottish Mylo, although Mylo's already Scottish, right? Hmm. Either way, his debut album of electro beats is far cheekier than either artist (as you might notice from the title) but just as sophisticated: this track, while repeating the odd line "I've got my car, and my ride, and my wheels," has a strange melody that doesn't really match up with the funky bassline, creating odd chords that stick in your brain.
3. Liars - "Sailing to Byzantium" (from Liars on Mute) (grab an mp3 at Fractostratus or listen to the whole album on their MySpace here)
The New York trio have been holed up in Berlin recently, getting freaky; their last album, the highly conceptual Drum's Not Dead, ended up on a lot of year-end top ten lists, but it took a little more patience than I had available at the time, I think. The new album is more straightforward, but still devastating and somber, and this track is a good entry point: a Portishead-reminiscent, ethereal ode to our messed-up country.
2. VHS or Beta - "Can't Believe a Single Word" (from Bring On the Comets, out 8/28 on Astralwerks)
(mp3 via You Ain't No Picasso or listen on their MySpace)
This Kentucky combo were lumped in with dance-punk hipsters like The Rapture after their 2004 single "Night on Fire," but on their new album they explore the danceable properties of a wider range of rock music. In the chorus, they could almost be Cheap Trick, with big guitar riffs that are perfect for fist-pumping as well as booty-shaking.
1. Omnikrom - "Ete Hit" (video) (from Trop Banane! on Saboteur)
I've had a soft spot for hip-hop en français ever since MC Solaar, but this Montreal combo couldn't be further away stylistically, with a purely electronic backing beat that basically qualifies as "crunk." What are they saying? Other than, er, "Summer Hit," I'm not really sure, but I think I'd like to live inside this silly neon video.
Kelly Clarkson Helps Teens Realize Pain of Adulthood
Flipping channels last night, I headed for Fox in search of some rerun Family Guy, and was confronted with the Teen Choice Awards. Normally, nothing could make me hit a button—any button!—on the remote more quickly, but I'm not sure what happened. Maybe I had set the remote down to eat a snack before I realized what I was watching, or maybe I saw David Boreanaz smirking his way through an intro and got flustered, but I suddenly found myself watching a live performance by Kelly Clarkson. The American Idol winner has been in the news lately since her apparent rumbles with Clive Davis over her new album, My December; the singer wrote most of the album herself and Davis didn't like it, I guess. The single, "Never Again," has been floating around the Billboard charts for a while, but I'd never actaully heard it, and her performance of it last night illustrated the conundrum perfectly: as the camera cut to an audience of shrieking teens and pre-teens, Clarkson and her band performed a driving, passionate, minor-key rock song. Clarkson reached into the upper registers of her voice to deliver lyrics that laid bare the agony of heartbreak with uncomfortable autobiographical references: "Bet it sucks/To see my face everywhere." Erp! The chorus avoids an obvious hook and instead just ups the emotional level from "fiery" to "conflagration," and overall the song is reminiscent of, I dunno, Heart's "Barracuda" or something. It's not great, or even that good, really, but her voice was flawless, and the performance was intense and affecting. However, the kids in the audience had looks in their eyes like the Tooth Fairy had just picked up a chain saw. Davis is probably right about the material's accessibility, but Clarkson may be headed somewhere far more interesting.
My Bloody Valentine to Reunite?
It's reunion mania! Remember in that post on the Smiths below where I said they're one of the last major defunct bands of the past 30 years who haven't gotten back together? Well, right there next to them stands My Bloody Valentine, a band whose fans erupt into seizures of glee at the mere mention of a possible reconciliation. Rumors are swirling that the band will come together at 2008's Coachella festival, reports Billboard magazine. While such rumors have popped up before previous Coachellas, it seems slightly more likely this time: first, the producers of the event have finalized a continuation of their contract with the polo fields in Indio, something that was apparently not guaranteed; second, there's basically nobody left who hasn't played; and third, the wild success off the Daft Punk tour proves an appearance at Coachella can re-launch a career. The booker for Coachella and a My Bloody Valentine representative both declined comment to Billboard.
Now legendary, the British-Irish combo (led by American-born Kevin Shields) had humble origins. They produced only two albums (1988's Isn't Anything and 1991's Loveless, above) and were part of a tangential British genre: "shoegaze," which, like most artistic movements, got its name from a mocking journalist, in this instance describing the bands' tendencies to stare at their effects pedals rather than engage the audience. However, the second of those two albums exploded across the music world like a fuzzy pink bomb. Marrying the thick, distorted sound of The Jesus & Mary Chain to the abstraction and delicate beauty of the Cocteau Twins, Loveless was a revelation, but critical and popular acceptance took a few years, by which time the band had fallen apart. Shields, in his own words, went "crazy" and isolated himself, while the other members drifted away, and the band's label, Creation records, was forced by financial problems into partnership with Sony, eventually dissolving.
In the meantime, Loveless has seemingly become all the more treasured as time goes by and a repeat performance seems less and less likely. Shields has emerged now and then, dropping hints about new material or a possible reunion. Whether the desert will swoon to the sounds of classic dream-pop next spring, we'll have to wait and see.
Some videos from Loveless after the jump.
"Only Shallow"
"Soon"
"To Here Knows When"
August 24, 2007
Freaky Friday Music News
Pras: Fugees Reunion Will Never Happen
Rapper Pras, one-third of defunct hip-hop trio The Fugees, says a reunion of the acclaimed trio is off the table, due to the erratic behavior of singer Lauryn Hill. Pras, who along with Hill and Wyclef Jean rose to fame with the 1996 album The Score and its ubiquitous cover of "Killing Me Softly," told Allhiphop.com that there is "no way" a reunion will happen, and used an amusing political metaphor to illustrate his point:
Before I work with Lauryn Hill again, you will have a better chance of seeing Osama Bin Laden and Bush in Starbucks having a latte, discussing foreign policies, before there will be a Fugees reunion. At this point I really think it will take an act of God to change her, because she is that far out there.
Mmm, latte. Hill made news recently with bizarre shows in Oakland and Brooklyn, where she arrived hours late and performed unrecognizable arrangements of her classic material. Both Wyclef and Pras had expressed interest in bringing the trio back together, but apparently it's not working out. The Smiths, The Fugees... why can't everybody just get along?
August 23, 2007
Morrissey Says "No" Again to Smiths Reunion
In more Morrissey-related news, sit down. Think of the person you hate most in the world, and then think how much money it would take for you to hang around with him or her for, I dunno, a few weeks. What do you say, 50 grand? A million? Howabout $75 million? Well, Morrissey is made out of stronger stuff than you and I, as Billboard is reporting the Mozzer has turned down £40 million to tour as The Smiths, the only requirement being the inclusion of guitarist Johnny Marr. That's right, drummer Mike Joyce, who was awarded £1 million in a 1998 lawsuit against Marr and Morrissey for unfair distribution of royalties, doesn't even have to be included, and Morrissey still said no. What's the deal?
Well, maybe he's holding out for more cash. With bands from The Police to The Pixies reaping huge profits from reunion tours, The Smiths are one of the only major bands of the last 30 years (whose members are all still alive) who refuse to put their differences aside. The price can only go up, really. Hold out for $200 mil, Moz!
Worth the Wait? Harper Lee Breaks Decades of Silence
After forty years of fame, Harper Lee, author of the beloved American classic To Kill a Mockingbird, uttered her first words in public. At the Alabama Academy of Honor induction ceremony Monday, the 81-year-old writer said, "Well it's better to be silent than to be a fool."
Lee has spoken with only a handful of reporters since the 1960 publication of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. She briefly emerged earlier this year to present awards to winners of the To Kill a Mockingbird essay contest. In recent years, she has been portrayed on screen by Catherine Keener in Capote (2005) and Sandra Bullock in Infamous (2006).
Lee's years of silence have maintained an aura of mystery around her. After selling 10,000,000 copies of a book denouncing racism, she declined to offer up any political opinions. The audience of fellow Alabamans that heard Lee speak that one droll sentence yesterday did not fail to grasp the significance of the moment: they met her witticism with laughter and a standing ovation.
— Ellen Charles
Will Too Much Joy Division Love Tear You Apart?
Will it make your new dawn fade? Will it cause you to lose control? I can keep going! No? Alright, fine. Legendary post-punk Manchester four-piece Joy Division had an all-to-brief run, playing their first gig (as Warsaw) in 1977, and releasing only two full-length albums, 1979's Unknown Pleasures and 1980's Closer, before lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide in May, 1980. While the remaining members continued (continue?) as New Order, Joy Division gained far more attention after Curtis' death, with at least four major collections of their work gaining wide release. But now, the Joy Division publicity machine is about to kick into an even higher gear.
Not one, but two Joy Division-themed films are set for release in the upcoming months. First up, Pitchfork reports that a documentary, helpfully titled Joy Division, will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month. Then there's Control, the Anton Corbijn-directed profile of Curtis, currently playing festivals and set for limited release in the US in October. NME says that the band's most well-known single, "Love Will Tear Us Apart," will get a re-release in the UK ahead of Control's premiere (this whole recycling-singles phenomenon being a distinctly British phenomenon), and that the band's two studio albums, as well as Still, the live/rarities collection, will get remastered and repackaged for re-release on September 10th.
So here's the question: how much attention to a defunct band is too much? Nobody loves Joy Division more than me, but even I feel a little strange about "Love Will Tear Us Apart" being tossed in with Mika and Plain White T's to see where it'll land in the Top 40. On the other hand, anything that helps introduce the band to a new generation is worth it, right? Give us your comments: has your favorite musician been glorified or diminished by extensive posthumous publicity?
August 22, 2007
Neato Viddys on the Intertubes
Hey, it's a Movie Trailers Edition, specifically, Trailers for Upcoming Movies that Have Something to Do With Music!
I'm Not There (out October 21st)
The Todd Haynes-directed Bob Dylan biopic in which Bob is played by (deep breath) Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Cate Blanchette. Also, David Cross as Alan Ginsburg. For real.
Walk Hard (out in December)
The Judd Apatow-produced biopic parody starring John C. Reilly as musician Dewey Cox. "I do believe in you… I just know you're gonna fail!"
Music Piracy Destroying Economy
You thought it was the subprime mortgage crisis behind recent global economic instability? Wrong! Remember that mp3 you downloaded the other day? That's what did it. I hope you're sorry. Yesterday, the Dallas, Texas-based Institute for Policy Innovation released a study that says worldwide piracy of recorded music costs the US $12.5 billion and 71,060 jobs annually. The Institute came up with those numbers by combining jobs in sound recording and retail, as well as lost earnings and taxes, and then multiplying them by ten thousand, apparently. And yes, their Dallas headquarters should give you a clue as to their political leanings: the IPI was founded by Dick Armey, and was ranked as "super freaking conservative," by a conservative research center. So these are the people angry at Bush for being too liberal.
No word on whether the study took into account all the glamorous blogging jobs that have actually been created by this whole downloading trend.